Missouri Marriage Resource

Today's free genealogy resource is Missouri Marriages 1820-1850. This information comes from a book published in 1901. The book was microfilmed and the pages featured on this site are actual images of the microfilmed pages. Therefore, the quality varies. Some pages are clearer than others.

To find a marriage, simply click on the first letter of the surname. The surname can be the bride's or the groom's. Some letters have multiple pages so you may have to click on more than one page before you find the record. Images open in a separate page.

Entries have the name of the bride and groom, their wedding date and a number. The number refers to the minister or justice of peace that performed the ceremony. If you go back to the original page, you will find links to four pages of ministers and justices. Simply find the number given in the marriage entry on one of these four pages to determine the officiant. Ministers are marked with a M.G. and justices with J.P.

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Missouri Resource

Today's free genealogy resource was suggested by Joyce on our Facebook page. Like many state archives, the Missouri State Archives can be a boon for genealogists. There are quite a few databases that can be helpful when tracing family that lived in the state.

The Missouri Judicial Index contains a wide variety of abstracts from court cases ranging from the county level all the way through the supreme court. These include criminal and civil cases. You can search by party name, year or record group. You will taken through a couple screens that request additional information.

The results will then be shown with a brief overview of the case including date, party name, subject, cause of action and case summary. Clicking on the view record detail button will give you more information such as the court, case disposition and identifying information to help locate the records.

The death certificate index contains information on deaths that occurred in Missouri from 1910 to 1958. These are searchable by name, county or year. The results screen will give you the name, date of death, city and county of death, and the certificate number. The last column contains a link that takes you to the image of the certificate which can be saved to your computer or printed.

A third database, the Missouri Birth & Death Records Database, is actually two databases accessible from the same page. It searches events that occurred prior to 1910. You can search by name or county.

For births (which includes stillbirths), the results screen will give you the child's name, place and county of birth, date of birth, father and mother's name, and in some cases, the mother's maiden name. The right-hand column has a details button you can click on for additional information on the birth. For deaths, the results screen gives you name, age, sex, color, date of death and county. As with births, you can click on the details button for more information.

The Civil War Provost Marshall Index is another nice free genealogy resource found in the online archives. It can be searched by name, keyword or county. The results screen gives the name, county, city, subject, date and reel number. Subjects vary, but may include oaths, statements, prisoner records and more. If one of the results seems likely, you can look it up on microfilm with the given reel number to get more information.

The Coroner's Inquest Database covers inquests ranging from the early 1840s to the early 1930s. You can search by record group, name of deceased, cause of death or year range. The results page gives you the deceased's name, county, date of death and cause of death. Clicking on the view details hyperlink will take you to another page which gives a few more details as well as information on what box, folder and reel you can find the actual inquest papers at the archives.

The Land Patents Database cover the years 1831 to 1969 and can be helpful in locating where an ancestor lived. You can search by name, county or year. The results screen gives the record number, purchaser's name, location of the land and the year purchased. Clicking on view in the far right column will take to a screen which may offer additional information including where to find the land patent entry, type of land, size of property and price per acre. Some entries offer more information than others.

Other helpful databases include the Local Records Inventory, Missouri Supreme Court Historical, Naturalization Records, St. Louis Circuit Court Historical Records and Soldier Records: War of 1812-World War I.

When it comes to free genealogy resources, the Missouri Archives has quite a bit to offer.

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St. Louis Obituary Resource

If you have family that lived in or around St. Louis, Missouri, you will want to check out a free genealogy resource offered by the St. Louis Public Library. The St. Louis Obituary Index is compiled from burial permits, obituaries and death notices from the local newspaper. Also included are the casualty lists from WWI and WWII. These include individuals killed in action, missing in action or prisoners of war (WWII only).

The index currently spans 1880 to early 2006. Each year is broken down alphabetically. The WWI and WWII lists are subdivided into the categories casualty lists, African American, missing in action, reburial lists and prisoners of war. Each category is organized alphabetically as well.

Once you have found the right person, click on their name to be taken to a screen that lists where the information was found. Once you have identified the source, you can then look up the newspaper. It isn't specifically stated, but you can probably use the Ask the Librarian function to request a copy if you don't live close.

This free genealogy resource offers two bonuses that are really nice. The first is suggestions of other places you can try to get more information. The second is a list of family histories that may also be helpful in your search. You can click on the family history names to get information on the book.

The WWI and WWII entries don't have the bonuses. They do, however, list the individual's rank. A few also offer the cause of death.

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Free WWI Records

Arizona WWI Alien Registrations-During WWI, people who lived in Arizona, but were citizens of other countries were required to register as aliens. This free genealogy resource just gives you a list of the names, their date of registration and the ARC description number. Once you have the description number, visit the National Archives ARC system and put the number in the search box. Then click on the icon on the left that looks like a CD to view a digital image of the registration documents. From the documents, you get the name of the individual, any other names used, address, how long they have lived at that address, any other residences, birthplace and date, employer, occupation, date arrived in the US, port of arrival, ship arrived on, name of parents, address of parents if they are living, name of spouse and children, name of relatives fighting for or against the US, whether registered for draft and where if they are, previous military or government service, whether naturalized or not, if naturalized or applied to be naturalized where and when, any oaths of allegiance and any criminal history. It also includes a photograph, age, physical description and fingerprints of the individual. This is one of the many free genealogy resources available that could be considered a goldmine for researchers.

Connecticut WWI Military Service Questionnaires-This database is searchable by name and residence. It gives you the full name of the individual, residence, if they had an foreign service, notes if there are any pictures, and gives you the box number of their questionnaire. Some results may include notes. You can request a copy of the questionnaire for a small fee.

Florida WWI Service Cards-This database searches service cards, which are an abbreviated version of the individual's military record. All cards include name, age, serial number, race, birthplace and residence when entering service. Cards may also include information on service with dates of beginning and transfer, engagements served in, wounds or injuries sustained in action, time served overseas, discharge notes and other comments.

Kansas Enemy Alien Registration-This one is broken down into county. Once you select the correct county, you get a list of names. Information included with the names is the city and county of residence, sex, birthdate, birth country, city of origin and maiden name for women. The name can be searched in the National Archives ARC System to find their documents.

Kansas WWI Casualties-This database is searchable by surname. There are also several options for statistics including by cause of death, by state, by residence, etc. Be sure to note the number beside your ancestor's listing. This corresponds to a list that has the person the soldier named as an emergency contact. In most cases, the individual listed in this list is a family member. You may also want to check the supplements as they correct erroneous information that may be in the original listings.

Louisiana WWI Soldiers-This includes soldiers killed in action. Unfortunately, this isn't searchable so finding your ancestor requires browsing or using your browser's find command. You get name and residence. Some names are hyperlinked and clicking on them will take you to a photograph of the individual. Some names also have notes for further information about the individual.

Missouri WWI Service Cards-This database covers soldiers from multiple conflicts. Just select WWI from the conflict drop down to access. Cards give name, branch of service, serial number, race, residence, place and date of induction, birthplace, age or date of birth, organizations served in with dates, rank with dates of appointment, engagements, injuries sustained in action, overseas service dates, discharge information, disability upon discharge, and remarks.

St. Louis WWI Casualties-This database covers casualties from St. Louis, MO and St. Louis County. You can scroll through the names or select the first letter of the surname to jump to that set of names. You get name, rank at time of death and residence at time of enlistment.

Virginia Military Dead Database-This databases covers just about all conflicts in history. Just select World War I from the conflict drop down box for your search. Results will give name, city or county, gender, race, service branch, rank, date and place of death, cause of death, source, residence and comments.

WWI Casualties-This database is from the American Battle Monuments Commission. It only contains records of those individuals buried in their cemeteries or listed on the Wall of the Missing. That's roughly a third of WWI casualties, but as a free genealogy resource, it's worth a check. Search results give you the name, rank, state, death date and cemetery location. Clicking on the 'Go' button beside the name yields a little more information.

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