Researching Marriages in Jackson Co., Missouri, Just Got Easier!

(Thanks to society treasurer, Viki Fagyal, for alerting us to this website.)

Jackson County, Missouri, Recorder of Deeds Office Marriage Records Online

Do you have Kansas City or Jackson County, Missouri, ancestors? The Recorder of Deeds office in Jackson County has digitized all marriage licenses and applications from the county's beginning in 1826. You can view and print copies free of charge! Go to the Web Access page to begin your search.

As with many search engines, less is more on this site. Unless you are searching for a very common surname, try just typing in either the groom's or the bride's surname and let the search bring up all of the people with that name. You never know what you might find. If your surname is too common to do that, then begin to narrow down by date. In the following screen capture, you can see a simple search for Haycraft and the result of just one marriage. The first field in the search result is "Image" and under it, you will see it says "View." Clicking on that link will bring up a digitized copy of the marriage license and the application.

Even better, though, is clicking on the next link, the string of numbers, under "Book/Page." As you can see in the screen capture below, this link will give you a column on the left with certificate number and other information that might be on the documents.

While you are on the website, take a look at the tab called "Official Public Records." Let your mouse hover over the tab and you will see lists for grantees and grantors as well as a subdivision list and a real estate index. Of most use to genealogists, of course, are the grantee and grantor lists, but be aware that these are fairly recent, from 1962 to the present. For earlier records, you will have to look at microfilm at the Recorder of Deeds office. Another road trip, perhaps?