Seal of the City of St Louis

The St Louis Recorder of Deeds Archives is the repository of our history in documents from colonial times to the present. Our records range from before St Louis was incorporated as a city, before Missouri was a state, before George Washington succeeded George III, and even before English was spoken here.

Our office curates all St Louis County records prior to the 1876 split from St Louis City, and all records of the City of St Louis since 1876. For information on hours, fees, services, and specific record groups see the Recorder of Deeds website.

MARRIAGE RECORDS:

Colonial times to mid-19th Century Contracts

Marriage Registry mid-19th Century to 1881.

Marriage Licenses 1881 through the present. In 1881 Missouri began issuing marriage licenses through county offices, the process beginning with a license application. The application often but not always includes the couple’s home addresses if from St Louis, or hometowns if not from St Louis.

BIRTH AND DEATH RECORDS

Missouri began requiring mandatory registration for birth and death records in 1910. St Louis kept ealier registries for these events within the city. Our birth registries’ first entry is 1863. Information included the name, gender, race, age, place of birth, names of father and mother, and the informant. The death registry begins in 1860 and contains similar information including name, gender, race, age, place of death, cause of death, name of physician, cemetery, and undertaker. Early records are very incomplete.

Additional holdings of the Archives include records relating to adoption, land, trademarks, corporations, campaigns, and nursing affidavits. We also have veteran’s records and some wills. We work with wonderful research partners throughout the St Louis region: St Louis County Recorder of Deeds, St Louis Public Library, St Louis County Library, St Louis Historical Society Library, Missouri State Archives, countless localized historical societies, and, of course, the St Louis Genealogical Society.

The Recorder of Deeds offers the primary documents, the skeleton so to speak; research material from these other partners will add the flesh and blood.

St. Louis Recorder of Deeds Archives will be present at the  “Society Showcase” on Tuesday, 07 May from 1:00 pm until 5:00 pm in the Grand Ballroom Foyer. For a complete list of participants in the Showcase, please click HERE. We look forward to seeing you there.

St Louis Recorder of Deeds Archives
City Hall Room 129, 1200 Market St
St Louis, MO 63103  /  (314) 589-6796