CAPE GIRARDEAU COUNTY, MO HISTORY AND LOOKUP
County History Books
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Cape Girardeau County, Missouri: A Genealogical Overview
As one of Missouri’s five original counties, Cape Girardeau County is a region rich in history and genealogical significance. Situated on a strategic bend of the Mississippi River, it served as a crucial gateway for American westward expansion and a destination for diverse groups of settlers, including French-Canadian traders, American pioneers from the Upland South, and waves of German immigrants. Its records are foundational for researching many families who later migrated throughout Missouri and the American West.
I. County Formation and Evolution
Cape Girardeau’s history as a massive parent county means its early records are essential for researchers whose ancestors lived in a large swath of modern-day Southeast Missouri.
- 1812: County Formed: Cape Girardeau County was officially organized on October 1, 1812, as one of the original five counties of the Missouri Territory.
- Parent Entity: It was created from the boundaries of the pre-existing Cape Girardeau District, an administrative division established under Spanish rule around 1793 and continued by the United States after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Records for the earliest American settlers (1790s-1812) fall under this territorial district.
- Subsequent Formations (Daughter Counties): The original territory of Cape Girardeau County was vast. Researchers should be aware that if their ancestors lived in the region before the dates listed below, their records may be located in Cape Girardeau County. Numerous counties were carved from its original land, including:
- Wayne County (1818)
- Madison County (1818)
- Perry County (1821)
- Scott County (1821)
- Stoddard County (1835)
- Bollinger County (1851)
- Name Origin: The county is named for Jean Baptiste de Girardot, a French ensign who established a temporary trading post in the 1730s on the rocky promontory on the Mississippi River that came to be known as “Cape Girardot.”
- County Seat History: The first seat of justice was the town of Cape Girardeau. However, in 1814, the county seat was moved to the more centrally located town of Jackson to better serve the county’s large inland population. Jackson remains the county seat today, a crucial distinction for researchers, as the major city of Cape Girardeau is not the location of the county government.
II. Settlement and Early History
- Early Inhabitants: The land was historically occupied by peoples of the Mississippian culture. By the time of European contact, the area was a hunting ground for various tribes. In the 1790s, the Spanish government granted land to groups of Shawnee and Delaware peoples who migrated from east of the Mississippi.
- Colonial Settlement and Economy: The district’s formal settlement began in 1793 under the leadership of French-Canadian Commandant Louis Lorimier, acting for the Spanish government. Lorimier actively recruited American settlers—primarily from North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky—offering them generous Spanish land grants. This created a unique Anglo-American culture in Spanish territory before the Louisiana Purchase. The early economy was based on farming, fur trading, and Mississippi River commerce.
- 19th Century Development: After the Louisiana Purchase, American settlement accelerated. Beginning in the 1830s and continuing for decades, a significant wave of German immigrants arrived, profoundly influencing the county’s agricultural methods, social customs, and religious landscape (particularly Lutheran and Catholic). The county was deeply divided during the Civil War, serving as a Union administrative center. In the late 1830s, several detachments of the Cherokee Nation passed through the county on the Trail of Tears.
III. Genealogical Records and Resources
Records are primarily located in the county seat of Jackson, with other significant collections in the city of Cape Girardeau.
- County Courthouse: The main county offices are located in Jackson.
- Circuit Court Clerk: Holds judicial records, naturalizations, and probate files (wills, estates, administrations). Located at 100 Court St, Jackson, MO 63755.
- Recorder of Deeds: Holds all land records (deeds, mortgages) and marriage records from 1805 to the present. Located at 1 Barton Square, Jackson, MO 63755.
- Vital Records:
- Birth and Death Records: Statewide registration began in Missouri in 1910. Limited county-level registration began in 1883, but compliance was inconsistent. Pre-1910 records are sparse. For official copies, contact the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center or the state Bureau of Vital Records. For earlier events, researchers must rely on church records, cemetery inscriptions, newspapers, and census records.
- Marriage Records: These are the best-preserved vital records, with excellent coverage from 1805. They are held by the Recorder of Deeds in Jackson.
- Archives and Libraries with Genealogy Collections:
- Cape Girardeau County Archive Center: A premier facility for local genealogy. It houses historical county records, probate packets, tax books, and court documents. It also houses the Cape Girardeau County Genealogical Society. Located at 112 E. Washington Street, Jackson, MO 63755.
- Kent Library, Southeast Missouri State University: The Special Collections and Archives department holds extensive regional history materials, including manuscripts, photographs, maps, and oral histories. Located in Cape Girardeau.
- Cape Girardeau Public Library: Offers access to online databases, local history files, and microfilm resources. Located in Cape Girardeau.
- Missouri State Archives: Located in Jefferson City, this is the central repository for state records and holds microfilm copies of nearly all of Cape Girardeau County’s historical records.
- Bordering Jurisdictions:
- Bollinger County, MO (west)
- Perry County, MO (north)
- Scott County, MO (south)
- Union County, IL (northeast, across the Mississippi River)
- Alexander County, IL (east, across the Mississippi River)