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Missouri (pronounced or ) is a state located in the Midwestern United States near the geographic center of the nation. It is bordered by eight states Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. No state in the U.S. touches more than eight states. Missouri was originally purchased from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase. The Missouri Territory was admitted to the union as the 24th state in 1821. The state has 114 counties and one independent city. Missouri is known as the "Gateway to the West" because it served as a departure point for settlers heading to the west as well as the starting point and the return destination of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It is a state with both Midwestern and Southern cultural influences, reflecting its history as a border state between the two regions. The state is named after the Missouri Siouan Indian tribe whose Illinois name, ouemessourita (wimihsoorita), (meaning "those who have dugout canoes". The confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers is located in Missouri.
History
Originally part of the Louisiana Purchase (French colony in New France), Missouri was admitted as a state in 1821 as part of the Missouri Compromise. It earned the nickname "Gateway to the West" because it served as a departure point for settlers heading to the west. It was the starting point and the return destination of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Originally the state's western border was a straight line, defined as the meridian passing through the mouth of the Kansas River. In 1835 the Platte Purchase was added to the northwest corner of the state, making the Missouri River the border. This addition made what was already the largest state in the Union at the time (about 66,500 square miles to Virginia's 65,000 square miles (which included West Virginia at the time)) even larger. Many of the early settlers in western Missouri came from the southern states, and along with them came the institution of slavery. In the area of Independence and areas just north of there, Mormon settlers began arriving in the early 1830s. It wasn't long before conflict arose between the 'old'settlers' (mainly from the south originally) and the Mormons. The 'Mormon War' erupted and by 1839 the Mormons had been expelled from Missouri. In 1838-1839 a border dispute with Iowa over the so-called Honey Lands resulted in both states calling up militias along the border. During the Civil War, Missouri, a slave state, did secede from the Union, though there is some controversy as to whether or not there was a quorum when the Legislature passed the secession bill. This government was admitted to the Confederate States of America by the Confederate Congress on November 26, 1861 in proceedings which were recorded in the Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865 [Volume I] on pages 479-483. As a result of Union successes the in the Civil War, the Missourian Confederate government was exiled to Marshall, Texas in 1863 under Governor Reynolds who replaced Governor Claiborne F. Jackson following his death in exile in Arkansas. In 1865 rather than surrendering to Union forces, Major General Sterling Price, Missouri's highest ranking military officer led his army to Mexico where he became leader of a colony of Confederate exiles at Carlota in the state of Veracruz. Timeline
Population History
Note: Missouri was acquired as part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 and became part of Louisiana Territory, established in 1805 and comprising the whole of the Louisiana Purchase north of present- day Louisiana. This was renamed Missouri Territory in 1812. The southern portion (present-day Arkansas and most of Oklahoma) became Arkansas Territory in 1819. Missouri was admitted as a State on August 10, 1821; the northwestern corner (the Platte Purchase) was added in 1837, bringing the State to essentially its current boundaries. In 1810, census coverage of Louisiana Territory was limited to portions of present-day Missouri and Arkansas, mainly close to the Mississippi River. The 1810 census was reported by districts (renamed counties in 1812); Arkansas District was entirely within present-day Arkansas and is shown under that State; New Madrid District also was partly within present-day Arkansas. In 1820, census coverage of Missouri Territory did not extend beyond present-day Missouri. After statehood in 1821, Missouri Territory, distinct from the State, continued to exist until 1854, but was almost entirely Indian lands and had virtually no census coverage.. Areas reported in 1810 were districts, renamed counties in 1812. Total for 1810 is population of Louisiana Territory (20,845), excluding population (1,062) of Arkansas District, in present- day Arkansas; total includes New Madrid District, part of which was within present-day Arkansas. Total for 1890 includes 1 Indian in prison, not reported by county. Research TipsDeath records, post-1910: Missouri State Archives is in the process of digitizing death certificates from 1910-1956. The index is up (names and death dates only), with links to PDF certificates for the years 1910-1934, and 1945-1956. They are apparently allowed to release records more than 50 years old, so 1956 just became available (early 2007). Other records, pre-1910: Records are incomplete, and mostly from the late 19th century, but the Archives also has online indices for pre-1910 birth and death records.
External linksMissouri State Genealogical Association On-line Historical and Genealogical Societies of Missouri
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