It has been brought to my attention that the data for several counties are wrong. I have changed the data from that listed by Everton's Handy Book to that listed by Ancestry's Red Book in an effort to correct this. If you know that any of the following data are incorrect, please let me know.
For the counties which are extinct, please check what they became.
Adair County was formed in 1841
from Macon County; the county seat is Kirksville.
Andrew County was formed in 1841
from the Platte Purchase; the county seat is Savannah.
Arkansas County (extinct) was formed
from New Madrid County; abolished in 1819 to become part of Arkansas Territory.
Atchison County was formed in 1845
from Holt County and the Platte Purchase; the county seat is Rock Port.
Audrain County was formed in 1836
from parts of Monroe, Callaway and Ralls Counties; the county seat is Mexico.
Barry County was formed in 1835
from Greene County; the county seat is Cassville.
Barton County was formed in 1855
from Jasper County; the county seat is Lamar.
Bates County was formed in 1841
from Cass County; the county seat is Butler.
Benton County was formed in 1835
from parts of Pettis and Greene Counties; the county seat is Warsaw.
Bollinger County was formed in
1851 from parts of Cape Girardeau, Stoddard, Madison, and Wayne Counties;
the county seat is Marble Hill.
Boone County was formed in 1820
from Howard County; the county seat is Columbia.
Buchanan County was formed in 1838
from the Platte Purchase; the county seat is St. Joseph.
Butler County was formed in 1849
from Wayne County; the county seat is Poplar Bluff.
Caldwell County was formed in 1836
from Ray County; the county seat is Kingston.
Callaway County was formed in 1820
from parts of Boone, Howard, and Montgomery Counties; the county seat is
Fulton.
Camden County was formed in 1843
by renaming Kinderhook County; the county seat is Camdenton.
Cape Girardeau County was formed
in 1812 as an Original District; the county seat is Jackson.
Carroll County was formed in 1833
from Ray County; the county seat is Carrollton.
Carter County was formed in 1859
from parts of Oregon, Reyolds, Ripley and Shannon Counties; the county
seat is Van Buren.
Cass County was formed by renaming
Van Buren County in 1849; the county seat is Harrisonville.
Cedar County was formed in 1845
from parts of Dade and St. Clair Counties; the county seat is Stockton.
Chariton County was formed in 1820
from Howard County; the county seat is Keytesville.
Christian County was formed in
1859 from parts of Greene, Taney,and Webster Counties; the county seat
is Ozark.
(Old) Clark County (extinct) was
formed in 1818, abolished 1819 to become part of Arkansas Territory.
(Modern) Clark County was formed
in 1836 from Lewis County; the county seat is Kahoka.
Clay County was formed in 1822
from Ray County; the county seat is Liberty.
Clinton County was formed 1833
from Clay County; the county seat is Plattsburg.
Cole County was formed in 1820
from Cooper County; the county seat is Jefferson City.
Cooper County was formed in 1818
from Howard County; the county seat is Boonville.
Crawford County was formed in 1829
from Gasconade County; the county seat is Steelville.
Dade County was formed in 1841
from parts of Barry and Polk Counties; the county seat is Greenfield.
Dallas County was formed by renaming
Niangua County in 1844; the county seat is Buffalo.
Daviess County was formed in 1836
from Ray County; the county seat is Gallatin.
Decatur County (extinct) was the
name of Ozark County between 1843 and 1845.
DeKalb County was formed in 1845
from Clinton County; the county seat is Maysville.
Dent County was formed in 1851
from parts of Crawford and Shannon Counties; the county seat is Salem.
Dodge County (extinct) was formed
in 1849/50, abolished 1853, being absorbed by Putnam County.
Douglas County was formed in 1857
from Ozark County; the county seat is Ava.
Dunklin County was formed in 1845
from Stoddard County; the county seat is Kennett.
Franklin County was founded in
1818 from St. Louis County; the county seat is Union.
Gasconade County was founded in
1820 from Franklin County; the county seat is Hermann.
Gentry County was formed in 1845
from Clinton County; the county seat is Albany.
Greene County was formed in 1833
from parts of Crawford and Wayne Counties; the county seat is Springfield.
Grundy County was formed in 1841
from Livingston County; the county seat is Trenton.
Harrison County was formed in 1845
from Daviess County; the county seat is Bethany.
Hempstead County (extinct) was
formed in 1818, abolished 1819, to become part of Arkansas Territory.
Henry County was formed by renaming
Rives County in 1841; the county seat is Clinton.
Hickory County was formed in 1845
from parts of Benton and Polk Counties; the county seat is Hermitage.
Holt County was formed in 1841
from the Platte Purchase; the county seat is Oregon.
Howard County was formed in 1816
from parts of St. Charles and St. Louis Counties; the county seat is Fayette.
Howell County was formed in 1857
from Oregon County; the county seat is West Plains.
Iron County was formed in 1857
from parts of Madison, Reynolds, St. Francois, Washington, and Wayne Counties;
the county seat is Ironton.
Jackson County was formed in 1826
from Lafayette County; the county seat is Independence..
Jasper County was formed in 1841
from Barry County; the county seat is Carthage.
Jefferson County was formed in
1818 from parts of Ste. Genevieve and St. Louis Counties; the county seat
is Hillsboro.
Johnson County was formed in 1834
from Lafayette County; the county seat is Warrensburg.
Kinderhook County (extinct) was
formed in 1841 from parts of Benton, Pulaski and Morgan Counties; renamed
Camden in 1843.
Knox County was formed in 1845
from Scotland County; the county seat is Edina.
Laclede County was formed in 1849
from parts of Camden, Pulaski, and Wright Counties; the county seat is
Lebanon.
Lafayette County was formed by
renaming Lillard County; the county seat is Lexington.
(Old) Lawrence County (extinct)
was formed in 1815 from New Madrid County and abolished in 1819 to become
part of Arkansas Territory.
(Modern) Lawrence County was formed
in 1845 from parts of Barry and Dade Counties; the county seat is Mount
Vernon.
Lewis County was formed in 1833
from Marion County; the county seat is Monticello.
Lillard County (extinct) was formed
in 1820 from Cooper County; renamed Lafayette County 1825.
Lincoln County was formed in 1818
from St. Charles County; the county seat is Troy.
Linn County was formed in 1837
from Chariton County; the county seat is Linneus.
Livingston County was formed in
1837 from Carroll County; the county seat is Chillicothe.
Macon County was formed in 1837
from parts of Chariton and Randolph Counties; the county seat is Macon.
Madison County was formed in 1818
from parts of Cape Girardeau and Ste. Genevieve Counties; the county seat
is Fredericktown.
Maries County was formed in 1855
from parts of Osage and Pulaski Counties; the county seat is Vienna.
Marion County was formed in 1826
from Ralls County; the county seat is Palmyra.
McDonald County was formed by renaming
Seneca County; the county seat is Pineville.
Mercer County was formed in 1845
from Grundy County; the county seat is Princeton.
Miller County was formed in 1837
from parts of Pulaski and Cole Counties; the county seat is Tuscumbia.
Mississippi County was formed in
1845 from Scott County; the county seat is Charleston.
Moniteau County was formed in 1845
from parts of Cole and Morgan Counties; the county seat is California.
Monroe County was formed in 1831
from Ralls County; the county seat is Paris.
Montgomery County was formed in
1818 from St. Charles County; the county seat is Montgomery City.
Morgan County was formed in 1833
from Cooper County; the county seat is Versailles.
New Madrid County was formed in
1812 as an Original District; the county seat is New Madrid.
Newton County was formed in 1838
from Barry County; the county seat is Neosho.
Niangua County (extinct) was formed
in 1841 from Polk County; renamed Dallas County in 1844.
Nodaway County was formed in 1841
from Andrew County; the county seat is Maryville.
Oregon County was formed in 1845
from Ripley County; the county seat is Alton.
Osage County was formed in 1841
from Gasconade County; the county seat is Linn.
Ozark County was formed in 1841
from Taney County;between 1843-1845 it was Decatur County before changing
back to Ozark County; the county seat is Gainesville.
Pemiscot County was formed in 1851
from New Madrid County; the county seat is Caruthersville.
Perry County was formed in 1820
from Ste. Genevieve County; the county seat is Perryville.
Pettis County was formed in 1833
from parts of Cooper and Saline Counties; the county seat is Sedalia.
Phelps County was formed in 1857
from parts of Crawford County; the county seat is Rolla.
Pike County was formed in 1818
from St. Charles County; the county seat is Bowling Green.
Platte County was formed in 1838
from the Platte Purchase; the county seat is Platte City.
Polk County was formed in 1835
from Greene County; the county seat is Bolivar.
Pulaski County was formed in 1833
from Crawford County; the county seat is Waynesville.
Putnam County was formed in 1845
from parts of Adair and Sullivan Counties; the county seat is Unionville.
Ralls County was formed in 1820
from Pike County; the county seat is New London.
Randolph County was formed in 1829
from parts of Ralls and Chariton Counties; the county seat is Huntsville.
Ray County was formed in 1820 from
Howard County; the county seat is Richmond.
Reynolds County was formed in 1845
from Shannon County; the county seat is Centerville.
Ripley County was formed in 1833
from Wayne County; the county seat is Doniphan.
Rives County (extinct) was formed
in 1834 from Lafayette County, renamed Henry in 1841.
St. Charles County was formed in
1812 as an Original District; the county seat is St. Charles.
St.Clair County was formed in 1841
from Rives County (which became Henry County); the county seat is Osceola.
St. Francois County was formed
in 1821 from parts of Jefferson, Ste. Genevieve, and Washington Counties;
the county seat is Farmington.
St. Louis City was first settled in 1764 and officially recognized as an American city in 1804; it was organized October 1, 1812 as a city in St. Louis County, one of the five original counties. On August 22, 1876, under the 1875 Constitution of the State of Missouri, St. Louis City separated from St. Louis County and became its own entity, maintaining its own courthouse and records.
St. Louis County organized October 1, 1812 as one of the five original counties; on August 22, 1876 St. Louis City separated from St. Louis County and became its own entity; the county seat is Clayton.
Ste. Genevieve County was formed
in 1812 as an Original District; the county seat is Ste. Genevieve.
Saline County was formed in 1820
from Cooper County; the county seat is Marshall.
Schuyler County was formed in 1845
from Adair County; the county seat is Lancaster.
Scotland County was formed in 1841
from parts of Shelby, Clark, and Lewis Counties; the county seat is
Memphis.
Scott County was formed in 1821
from New Madrid County; the county seat is Benton.
Seneca County (extinct) was formed
in 1849 from Newton County; renamed in 1849 McDonald County.
Shannon County was formed in 1841
from Ripley County; the county seat is Eminence.
Shelby County was formed in 1835
from Marion County; the county seat is Shelbyville.
Stoddard County was formed in 1835
from New Madrid County; the county seat is Bloomfield.
Stone County was formed in 1851
from Taney County; the county seat is Galena.
Sullivan County was formed in 1845
from Linn County; the county seat is Milan.
Taney County was formed in 1837
from Greene County; the county seat is Forsyth.
Texas County was formed in 1845
from parts of Shannon and Wright Counties; the county seat is Houston.
Van Buren County (extinct) was
formed in 1835 from Jackson County; it was renamed Cass County in 1849.
Vernon County was formed in 1855
from Bates County; the county seat is Nevada.
Warren County was formed in 1833
from Montgomery County; the county seat is Warrenton.
Washington County was formed in
1813 from Ste. Genevieve County; the county seat is Potosi.
Wayne County was formed in 1818
from Cape Girardeau County; the county seat is Greenville.
Webster County was formed in 1855
from Greene County; the county seat is Marshfield.
Worth County was formed in 1861
from Gentry County; the county seat is Grant City.
Wright County was formed in 1841
from Pulaski County; the county seat is Hartville.
Background courtesy of Barbara Prestridge
last updated 01 September 2004