How the Archive works

At the Cape Girardeau County Archive Center, we are resource people in two main categories: county government and court documents, and context for researchers. We house many records for only Cape Girardeau County government offices and circuit court cases, and we house the libraries for the Cape Girardeau County Genealogical Society and the Jackson Heritage Association.

Mostly, though, we help answer questions. There are certain rules and regulations around how we are able to access the information and provide insight into research questions so I thought I would share some of that process.

When you call or email the Archive Center, you'll get me or archives assistant Lyle Johnston, and we love hearing from patrons. When we aren't working on patron questions, we're mending documents (Lyle has been steadily working his way through estate papers, or files from the circuit court's probate division, from the 1800s for several months now, and each file is a fascinating glimpse into the micro-history of the county), or working on any number of smaller projects as they come up. I've worked on indexing books and records we have on file, grant applications, reorganizing shelves and boxes, and so many more -- no such thing as a typical day here.

And the questions we get! It's not all academic researchers and genealogists from far-flung locales. No, some of it is, "What did my dad pay personal property taxes on in 1947?" and "Do you have records from my church on microfilm?" and "Can you give me a copy of an obituary that ran in the Jackson newspaper in 1917?"

The answer is always, "We'll try, and if we can't help, we'll send you to someone who can."

Another big part of my work with government officials is keeping up with the retention schedule -- a set of Missouri statutes that govern when records may be destroyed. Some records are permanent, such as county commission meeting minutes, and some have specific time frames that they must be kept, such as personnel records. We also take in records and store them. So, in addition to the records from as early as 1798 we house, we also take in boxes of newly-generated documents. Some offices maintain their own records, which is also good.

If a patron needs a copy of a document, we work with county officials there too. Some records are closed, such as court cases involving paternity or abuse, or the county coroner's records, so those offices work with us to ensure protocol is followed around those situations. But if a patron needs a copy of a lawsuit or divorce decree prior to 2010, Archive staff can help with that. It's best to direct specific questions to us or to the government office, but if you don't know whom to contact, we can help there too.

Not every office stores all records with us, either, so it really is best to just ask. It's why we're here.

Contact the Archive Center: archive@capecounty.us, (573) 204-2332.