Morgan County Genealogy

Settlement in this area began in the 1820s, and Morgan County was organized from Cooper County in 1833. The county seat is at Versailles. The northern half of the county is prairie farmland; the southern half is wooded hills and bottomlands. The economy of Morgan County was forever altered by the construction of the Bagnell Dam in 1929-31 and the formation of the Lake of the Ozarks along its southern border.

Township names and boundaries are in purple. The original map was generated by the Tiger Map Server of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Morgan County In terms of the Public Land Survey, Morgan Co. lies between Townships 40-45 of Ranges 16-19. Townships and Towns Richland twp.: Florence Mill Creek twp. (originally "Willow Creek"): Syracuse; Akinsville Haw Creek twp.: Versailles (part); Stover; Glenstead; Pyrmont Moreau twp.: Versailles (part); Barnett; Excelsior; Marvin Buffalo twp.: Proctor; Boylers Mill Osage twp.: Gravois Mills; Laurie; Rocky Mount Morgan County Placenames (GNIS)

Links to Other Morgan County Sites

Data Posted by Volunteers

Morgan County is well served by genealogists and local historians who are posting genealogical data on their web sites.

• "Wynkydynk's Home Page" - Scroll down this page to find selected marriages (transcribed from the three books of Morgan Co. Marriages 1833-1882; from Book 1, mainly before 1848; from book 2, mainly 1860-63; from book 3(?), 16 marriages 1881-87). This is followed by transcriptions from the 1860 censuses for Buffalo Township, and the 1920 census for Buffalo Township, Haw Creek Township, and now Mill Creek Township; it will eventually include the whole county.
• Pat Calton's sites:
  • Morgan County - This is Pat Calton's main Morgan County page. Here you will find obituaries and cemetery photographs and listings.
  • The complete text of A.G. Baker's History of Morgan County and its People (1907-17), with plenty of genealogical information on prominent individuals and families. A search engine is provided.
  • Genealogy in Missouri - Pat's general Missouri site, but still with a strong Morgan County flavor. Look here for more obituaries (including a collection provided by Patsy Wickern), and a list of Morgan County war dead.
• Two other volunteers deserve mention here: Malinda James and Sarah Davis, who frequently post obituaries and other newspaper items to the MOMorgan-L email list. You can search for their contributions in the archives of that list (see below).
• About 200 Morgan County men were included in the June-Sept 1861 Benton County Home Guards, aka German Regiment, Missouri Volunteers. This Union unit's roster can be viewed online (contributed by Homer Ficken).
• Entries for African-Americans in the 1870 census have been extracted as part of the Missouri Slave Data project.
• Morgan County Black Marriages: Book 1 (1865-1870); Book 2 (1870-1880); Book 3 (1881-1887); Book 4-6 (1889-1903)
• 1883 Pensioners Roll - veterans of the Civil War (Union only) and the War of 1812, and their widows

Other Useful Sites

• Map of Morgan County from the 1895 U.S. Atlas (note: the image is about 800k, and takes a very long time to load!)
• Sites on the Web Relating to Morgan County (As found in the Excite search engine - if you find something that ought to be on this page, let me know!)
• Morgan County Archives - list of microfilms of Morgan County records in the Missouri State Archives; further information (including how to order microfilms)
• SKPUB - a commercial site, selling the 1850 census in book form.
• National Association of Counties - Morgan County - for links to current political and demographic information
• Missouri Ozarks - Morgan County - for links to a variety of current information about Morgan County

Searching the Morgan County E-Mail List Archives

I heartily recommend that new visitors search these archives for their ancestors, since they contain many, many obituaries and other materials posted by volunteers.

Morgan County Addresses

Morgan County Courthouse
100 East Newton Street
Versailles, Missouri 65084
(573) 378-5436

The courthouse burned in 1887, but the records were saved. (Photo: Ted Hitt)

Morgan County Library
102 North Fisher Street
Versailles, Misssouri 65084
(573) 378-5319

Morgan County Historical Society

120 North Monroe Street
Versailles, MO 65084
email: mocohist@advertisnet.com

The historical Martin Hotel museum has finally been reopened after 2 years of extensive renovations. It is now open year round and the hours are Tues. - Fri. from 12 noon to 5 pm; Sat. 9 - 12.

The Society is always looking for family history materials, census records, old pictures, cemetery records, or anything to do with the history of your family in Morgan County. If you have something to contribute, please contact the Morgan County Historical Society.

A Special Offer

The Morgan County Historical Society is going to offer a First Families of Morgan County Pioneer Certificate for a nominal fee ($10.00). Families must have been in Morgan County by 1870 or before. There is an application form for direct descendents to complete which includes a four or five generation pedigree chart and proof of the Morgan County connection. Application forms may be obtained by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to "First Families of Morgan County," Morgan County Historical Society, 120 North Monroe Street, Versailles, MO, 65084.

Surrounding Counties

To go further afield, look at the map of the counties of Missouri.

Send comments and questions to Peter Binkley and do come back to visit. New materials will be added all the time!

What's New

My name is Peter Binkley, and I am the county coordinator for the Morgan County MOGenWeb page (which was founded by Ted Hitt). If you see any errors on these pages or can contribute information, please let me know. If you would like to volunteer to host a county in Missouri contact Larry Flesher.