Barry County, Missouri Genealogy

United States

Missouri

Barry County

Guide to Barry County, Missouri ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Facts County seat: Cassville Organized: January 5, 1835 Parent County(s): Greene Neighboring Counties Benton (AR)  • Carroll (AR)  • Lawrence  • McDonald  • Newton  • Stone See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

The county was named for William Taylor Barry. The county has Cassville as its seat and the county was created January 5, 1835. The County is located in the southwest area of the state.

County Courthouse

Barry County Courthouse
700 Main, Suite 6
Cassville, MO 65625
Phone: 417-847-2914
Barry County Website

Records Deeds has marriage and land records.
Clerk of the Circuit Court has divorce and court records.
Probate Judge has probate records.

Barry County, Missouri Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1883	1837	1883	1872	1835	1835	1830
Statewide registration started in 1910 for births and deaths. General compliance for births by 1927 and deaths by 1911.

Record Loss

1861 Courthouse burned; some records were destroyed. For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see: Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki. Arlene Eakle, When the Records are Gone in the Tennessee Genealogy Blog. Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle.

Boundary Changes

1835 Barry County was created 5 January 1835 from Greene County. County seat: Cassville For animated maps illustrating Missouri county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Missouri County Boundary Maps" (1804-1889) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Populated Places

The following are locations in Barry County, Missouri:

• The State Historical Society of Missouri has information on historical Missouri place names for all 114 Missouri Counties.

Resources

Biographies

• Families Biographies from The History of Barry County, Missouri (1888) published by Goodspeed are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.
  

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Barry County, Missouri online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com MOGenWeb MOGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project MOInterment MOGravestones EPodunk Billion Graves
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com Billion Graves
See Missouri Cemeteries for more information

 

• Missouri Genealogy Cemeteries Missouri Cemeteries

Census Records

• 1732-1933 - Missouri State and Territorial Census Records, 1732-1933 at FamilySearch — index and images

For tips on accessing Barry County, Missouri Genealogy census records online, see: Missouri Census.

Church Records

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Missouri denominations, view the Missouri Church Records wiki page.

Court Records

• 1800-1991 Missouri, County Marriage, Naturalization, and Court Records, 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index and images

Land and Property Records

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Missouri Land and Property for information about records of land transfers from the government to private ownership. After that transfer, transactions were usually recorded and are currently housed at the county courthouse.

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Barry County, Missouri Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the Wiki page section Missouri Local Histories.

• Biographies from The History of Barry County, Missouri (1888) published by Goodspeed are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.
• Goodspeed Publishing Company. Barry County section : of Goodspeed's, Newton, Lawrence, Barry and McDonald Counties history : reprint. Partial reprint of original; published: Chicago, Illinois : Goodspeed Pub. Co., 1888.
  • PDF Online at A J Lambert (Free); and at Missouri Digital Heritage (Free)

Maps and Gazetteers

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Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
• Map of Barry County townships (Histopolis)
• The University of Missouri Digital Library has digital copies of Missouri county plat books (ca. 1930) for all Missouri counties including Barry County. The city of St. Louis is not included in this collection.
• Map of 1886 Barry County with numerous small settlements (My Genealogy Hound)

Military Records

• 1900-1941 Missouri, Pre-WWII Adjutant General Enlistment Contracts, 1900-1941 at FamilySearch — images

Civil War

Online Records

• 1861-1865 Missouri, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
• 1861-1865 Missouri, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
• 1911-1938 Missouri, Confederate Pension Applications and Soldiers Home Applications, 1911-1938 at FamilySearch — index and images

Regiments
Service men in Barry County, Missouri served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Barry County, Missouri:

- 11th Regiment, Missouri Infantry - Confederate, Company C

- 11th Regiment, Missouri Infantry - Confederate, Company G

- 11th Regiment, Missouri Infantry - Confederate, Company I

- 11th Regiment, Missouri Infantry - Confederate, Company I

World War II

• 1941-1946 - Missouri, Reports of Separation Notices, 1941-1946 at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship

• 1800-1991 Missouri, County Marriage, Naturalization, and Court Records, 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index

Newspapers

Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Barry County, Missouri Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• Do a Barry County, Missouri Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

• Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has
• Joplin newspapers and Neosho newspapers from the early 1900's that covered local news on residents from Barry County communities.

Probate Records

Probate records include wills, bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distributions. For further information, see United States Probate Records.

In Missouri, probate records have usually been recorded by the clerks of the probate courts, but in some counties the common pleas or circuit courts handled this function. They are frequently indexed.

Online Probate Records

• 1750-1988 Missouri Probate Records 1750-1998 at FamilySearch — images
• 1766-1988 Missouri Wills and Probate Records 1766-1988 at Ancestry — index and images $

Tax Records

Taxes were levied on free white males over 21 and slaves aged 21 to 60. These persons are referred to as "polls." Tax listings, or digests, of a county generally list the taxable landowners and other polls and the amount of tax. The records for each county are divided by militia district. For more information see the wiki page Missouri Taxation.

Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths. For additional guidance on researching and using vital records, see United States Vital Records or How to order Missouri Vital Records.

St. Louis and Kansas City recorded births and deaths starting as early as 1850 for deaths and 1870 for births.  The Missouri Department of Health began keeping birth and death records in 1909. County records vary by year and the county. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Missouri Vital Records State Department of Health, the County Clerk's office or order electronically online.

Birth

• 1827-1935 Missouri, Births and Christenings, 1827-1935 at FamilySearch — index
• 1851-1910 Missouri Birth Records, 1851-1910 at Ancestry — index/images $
• 1883-1885 Barry County Birth Index 1883-1885. Batches C514613 and C514614 at FamilySearch - free.

Marriage

• 1750-1920 Missouri, Marriages, 1750-1920 at FamilySearch — index
• 1776-1988 Missouri, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
• 1800-1991 Missouri, County Marriage, Naturalization, and Court Records, 1800-1991 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1805-2002 Missouri, Marriage Records, 1805-2002 at Ancestry ($)
• 1837-1854 Barry County, Missouri Marriages: 1837-1854 at Ancestry ($)
• 1837-1877 Barry County Marriage Books A thru C Index 1837-1837. Batch M514611 at FamilySearch - free.
• 1850 Missouri Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry — index $
• 1877-1885 Barry County Marriage Books D and E Index 1877-1885. Batch M514612 at FamilySearch - free.

Death

• 1834-1910 Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 at Ancestry — index/images $
• 1867-1976 Missouri, Deaths and Burials, 1867-1976 at FamilySearch — index
• 1883-1885 Barry County Death Index 1883-1885. Batch B514615 at FamilySearch - free.
• Missouri State Archives provides on-line access to Missouri Death Certificates more than 50 yrs old starting in 1910.

Research Facilities

Family History Centers

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes.

Libraries

• List of Missouri Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies

Societies

• Barry County Genealogical and Historical Society
  P.O. Box 291
  Cassville, MO 65625

Websites

• Missouri Digital Heritage. Free. digital images of many types of records from institutions across the State
• MOGenWeb. Free. Data may be submitted by individuals or complete transcriptions
• USGenWeb Archives. Free. Data may be submitted by individuals or may be complete transcriptions
• FamilySearch Catalog . Free. - The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records
• RootsWeb resources. Free. Data may be submitted by individuals or may be complete transcriptions
• Linkpendium. Free. Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
• CyndisList. Free. Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
• StateofUS. Free. family history resources and government records
• Missouri Genealogy. Free. Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)