Kansas County Resources

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This entry was originally written by Marsha Hoffman Rising, CG, FUGA, FASG and Mary Clement Douglass, CGRS for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.

This article is part of
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the Kansas Family History Research series.
History of Kansas
Kansas Vital Records
Census Records for Kansas
Background Sources for Kansas
Kansas Maps
Kansas Land Records
Kansas Probate Records
Kansas Court Records
Kansas Tax Records
Kansas Cemetery Records
Kansas Church Records
Kansas Military Records
Kansas Periodicals, Newspapers, and Manuscript Collections
Kansas Archives, Libraries, and Societies
Kansas County Resources
Map of Kansas
County Map of Kansas

The 'County Address' indicates the address of the county courthouse in the county seat where inquiries regarding land (registry of deeds), probate (probate judge), and court (clerk of the district court) can be addressed. The county clerk at the same address holds birth and death records before statewide recording. Those years with an asterisk (*) are not complete. Those years with a dagger (' ) are held either in book or microfilm form at the Kansas State Historical Society. Marriage records are held by the probate judge. The year indicated is the first known record continuing to the present. Sources for this information include the Kansas State Historical Society and the Guide to Public Vital Records in Kansas as indicated by the society.

Land, probate, and court records in Kansas generally begin with the organization of the county, although there will be individual county variations. Records created soon after county organization may be incomplete. The 'Date Formed' indicates when that occurred, although for some counties the date of government organization actually took place after legislative formation. In those cases the dates in parentheses are those for when the records begin. County seat names in parentheses are original names or county seats no longer functioning.

The appearance of a question mark (?) indicates that the information was not available, while dashes () indicate that no records are known to exist in this category.

The Kansas GenWeb's project includes county sites with street addresses or post office boxes of county courthouses and names of key personnel.

Information on land, probate, and court records was taken from the WPA Historic Records Survey, Kansas Counties, SKHS (for counties with question marks only). For other counties, information was verified at the respective county office. Addresses and dates of formation were taken from the National Association of Counties. Every county was also checked against the KSAS online collection of local history records on microfilm.



Map County County Address Date Formed Parent County(ies) Birth Marriage Death Land Probate Court
K5 Allen 1 N. Washington, Iola 66749-2841 1855 original 1856 1861'  1858 1858
Iola city clerk has birth, death, and burial records.
K4 Anderson 100 E. Fourth Ave, Garnett 66032-1500 1855 original 1892'94* 1857-1913 1892-94 1857 1855 1860
Arapahoe 1855 (became part of the territory of Colorado, 1861)
K2 Atchison 423 N. Fifth St, Atchison 66002-1800 1855 original 1891'1911* 1855 1891-1911 1855 1855 1858
E6 Barber (Barbour) 120 E. Washington St, Medicine Lodge 67104-1421 1873 Peketon Territory 1891'1911 1874 1899'1911 1867 1874 1874
E4 Barton 1400 Main St, Great Bend 67530-4037 1872 Peketon Territory 1898'1911 1872 1892'1911 1872 1872 1873
K5 Bourbon 210 S. National, Fort Scott 66701 1855 original 1855 1856 1855 1857
Breckenridge 1855 (renamed Lyon, 1862) original
J1 Brown 601 Oregon St, Hiawatha 66434-2241 1855 original 1885'1911*'  1857 1885'1911*'  1858 1857 1859
*Incomplete. No records extant for 1891'1906. ' Records for 1907­'­­­11 at KSHS
Buffalo pre-1880 (renamed Garfield, 1887) unorganized
G5 Butler 205 W. Central, El Dorado 67042 1855 original 1886'1911 1861 1886'1911 1860 1869 1860
Calhoun 1855 (renamed Jackson, 1859) original
Early marriages of Calhoun County, Kansas Territory, are in Holton, Jackson County,
H4 Chase P.O. Box 985, Cottonwood Falls 66845-0547 1859 Wise/Butler 1885'1912 1860 1885'1911 1859 1859 1866
H6 Chautauqua 215 Chautauqua, Sedan 67361 1875 Godfrey/Howard 1886'1911* 1870 1896'98; 1910-11* 1875 1875 1871
K6 Cherokee P.O. Box 14, Columbus 66725-0014 (formerly Center, Centralia) 1855 (as McGee; original 1894'1911 1867 1893'1911 1866 1866 1868
A1 Cheyenne P.O. Box 547, Saint Francis 67756-0985 1886 unorganized 1886 1886 1886 1886
C6 Clark P.O. Box 886, Ashland 67831-0886 1885 Peketon Territory (reorganized from Ford County) 1904'11 1885 1904'11 1885 1885 1885
G2 Clay P.O. Box 98, Clay Center 67432-0098 1866 original 1885'1911* 1864 1885'1911 1866 1868 1868
*Incomplete. Birth records extant for 1885'1900 and 1906'1911 only.
F2 Cloud 811 Washington, Concordia 66901-3415 1860 (as Shirley; 1885'1910 1867 1885'1911 1867 1867 1868
J4 Coffey 110 S. Sixth, Burlington 66839-1798 1859 original 1885'1908*'  1858 1886'1910* 1858 1857 1858
D6 Comanche 201 S. New York/P.O. Box 776, Coldwater 67029-0776 1885 Peketon Territory 1891'1908 1885 1891'1905 1885 1885 1885
H6 Cowley P.O. Box 741, Winfield 67156-9631 1867 (1885) (as Hunter; renamed Cowley, 1870) 1885'1911 1870 1885'1911 1870 1870 1871
K6 Crawford P.O. Box 249, Girard 66743-0249 1867 Cherokee/ 1887'1912 1867 1887'1911 1867 1870 1867
Davis 1855 (renamed Geary, 1889) original
B1 Decatur P.O. Box 28, Oberlin 67749-0028 1873 (1879) unorganized 1889'1910 1880 1885'1910 1879 1900 1880
G3 Dickinson 109 E. First St, Abilene 67410 1857 original 1892'1911 1867 1892'1911 1861 1861 1882
K1 Doniphan P.O. Box 278, Troy 66087-0278 1855 original 1896'1911 1855 1895'1911 1856 1857 1858
Dorn 1855 original
Dorn was divided 1867 into present counties of Neosho and Labette.
K3 Douglas 1100 Massachusetts,Lawrence 66044-3064 1855 original 1885'1907 1863 1885'97 1856 1856 1863
Records destroyed 21 August 1863 in Quantrill's raid. Some marriage records reconstructed.
D5 Edwards 312 Massachusetts Ave,Kinsley 67547-1090 (Petersburg, Peter's City) 1874 Kiowa (Petersburg, Peter's City) 1902'11* 1875 1902'11* 1874 1874 1874
H6 Elk P.O. Box 606,Howard 67349-0606 1875 Howard 1885'1911 1875 1885'1911 1906 1906 1906
Courthouse burned 1906
D3 Ellis 1204 Fort St,Hays 67601-3873 1867 unorganized 1886'1911 1868 1885'1912 1871 1867 1868
F3 Ellsworth 210 N. Kansas Ave,Ellsworth 67439-3109 1867 unorganized/Peketon Territory 1884'1911* 1886'1911* 1867 1867 1867
*Incomplete. Birth records extant for 1884'95 and 1907'11 only. Death records extant for 1886'93 and 1907'11 only.
B5 Finney 311 N. Ninth St, Garden City 67846-5312 1873 (as Sequoyah) Peketon Territory 1885'1910 1884 1886'1910* 1873 1873 1885
Foote 1881 (renamed Gray, 1887) original
C5 Ford 100 Gunsmoke St,Dodge City 67801-4456 1873 Peketon Territory 1892'1911*'  1874 1892'1911*'  1873 1873 1874
*Incomplete. Records extant for 1892'1904 and 1905'11 only.

' Records for 1905'11 at KSHS.

K4 Franklin 315 S. Main,Ottawa 66067-2331 1855 original 1892'1910 1858 1892'1911 1857 1856 1859
Garfield pre-1880 (as Buffalo; renamed 1887; became part of Finney, 1893) unorganized
H3 Geary 139 E. Eighth St, ,Junction City 66441-2554 1855 (as Davis;renamed 1889) original 1905'11 1857 1871'1911 1858 1857 1861
Godfrey 1855 (renamed Seward, 1861; then Howard) original
B3 Gove 520 Washington,Gove 67736-0128 1886 unorganized 1892'1911 1886 1892'1911 1886 1886 1887
C2 Graham 410 N. Pomeroy St,Hill City 67642-1649 1880 unorganized 1892'1911* 1880 1892'1911* 1880 1880 1880
*Incomplete. Records extant for 1892'1904 and 1910'11 only.
A5 Grant 108 S. Glenn, Ulysses 67880-2551 1888 unorganized 1887 1886 1885
B5 Gray P.O. Box 487, Cimarron 67835-0487 1881 (as Foote; renamed 1887) 1890'1926 1888'1912* 1888'1909* 1888 1888 1887
County clerk has tax rolls from 1889.
A4 Greeley 208 Harper St./Box 277, Tribune 67879-0000 1873 (1889) unorganized 1896'1904 1887 1897'1905 1886 ? 1880
H5 Greenwood 311 N. Main, Eureka 67045-1321 1862 original 1885'1911 1859 1885'1911 1857 1865 1880
A5 Hamilton 219 N. Main/P.O. Box 1167, Syracuse 67878 (Hollidaysburg) 1873 (1886) unorganized 1896'1911* 1886 1896'1911* 1884 1886 1885
F6 Harper 201 N. Jennings, Anthony 67003-2748 1873 Peketon Territory 1892'1910* 1878 1891'1913 1873 1873 1878
G5 Harvey 800 N. Main St., Box 687, Newton 67114 1872 Sedgwick 1886'1911 1872 1886'1911 1862 1872 1872
B5 Haskell P.O. Box 518, Sublette 67877-0518 (Santa Fe) 1887 Finney 1888'97 1887 1888'1904* 1887 1887 1886
C5 Hodgeman (Hageman) 500 Main/P.O. Box 247, Jetmore 67854-0247 (Buckner) 1879 Peketon Territory 1880 1879 1887 1880
Howard 1855 1855 (as Godfrey; renamed Seward, 1861; then Howard, 1867) original
Howard was abolished in 1875 when it was divided into Elkland and Chautaugua.
Hunter 1867 (renamed Cowley, 1870) original
K2 Jefferson 300 W. Jefferson, Oskaloosa 66066-0321 1855 original 1892'98* 1855 1892'98* 1854 1855 1858
F1 Jewell 307 N. Commercial St,Mankato 66956-2025 (Jewell City) 1867 (1870) unorganized 1886'94 1871 1886'94 1870 1870 1872
K3 Johnson 111 S. Cherry, Olathe 66061-3441 1855 original 1857 1857 1857 1858
Kansas 1873 (abolished 1883; became Morton) unorganized
A5 Kearny (Kearney) 305 N. Main St, Lakin 67860-0086 1873 (abolished 1883) (1889) Peketon Territory 1911 1888 1911-13 ? 1886 1888
F5 Kingman 130 N. Spruce, Kingman 67068 1869 (1874) Reno 1885'1911 1875 1885'1911 1890 1878 1878
D6 Kiowa 211 E. Florida, Greensburg 67054-2211 1867 (abolished 1875;re-created, 1886) Peketon Territory/Edwards 1886 1879 1886 1886
K6 Labette 501 Merchant, Oswego 67356 1867 Dorn/Neosho 1885'96 1867 1885'93 1867 1868 1865
B4 Lane 144 S. Lane/P.O. Box 788, Dighton 67839-0788 1886 Peketon Territory/ 1888'1911 1886 1888'1911* 1886 1886 1886
K2 Leavenworth 300 Walnut St, Leavenworth 66048-2725 1855 original 1887'1911* 1855 1887'1911* 1856 1855 1855
F3 Lincoln 216 E. Lincoln Ave., Lincoln 67455-2058 (Lincoln Center) 1870 unorganized 1886'1910 1871 1885'1910 1871 1871 1871
K4 Linn P.O. Box 350, Mound City 66056-0350 1855 original 1885'1911* 1855 1885'1911* 1857 1856 1859
A3 Logan 710 W. Second St, Oakley 67748-1251 (Russell Springs) 1881 (as Saint John; renamed 1887) Wallace unorganized 1911 1888 1911 1885 1885 1888
Lykins (see Miami) 1855 (renamed Miami, 1861) original
J4 Lyon 7402 Commercial St, Emporia 66801-4000 1855 (as Breckenridge,renamed 1862) (1859) original 1886'1911 1856 1885'1911 1859 1859 1858
Madison 1855
Madison was divided 1861'64 into Breckenridge (later Lyon) and Greenwood.
G4 Marion P.O. Box 219, Marion 66861 1855 (1860) Peketon Territory 1881'1911* 1865 1885'1911 1865 1863 1867
H1 Marshall 1201 Broadway, Marysville 66508-1844 1855) original 1885'1911 1856 1885'1911 1855 1855 1858
McGee 1855 (renamed Cherokee, 1866) (see Cherokee)
F4 McPherson P.O. Box 676, McPherson 67460-0676 1870) Peketon Territory 1887'1911 1870 1885'1900 1870 1870 1871
Assessor's records for 1897'98 and returns for 1910'11 are available.
B6 Meade P.O. Box 278, Meade 67864-0278 1873 (abolished 1883) (1885) Peketon Territory 1886'1911 1886 1886'1911 1885 1885 1885
K4 Miami 201 S. Pearl St, Paola 66071-1756 (Peoria Village) 1855 (as Lykins; renamed 1861) original 1885'1911 1857 1885'1911 1855 1857 1858
F2 Mitchell P.O. Box 190, Beloit 67420 (Willow Springs) 1867 (1870) unorganized 1891'1911'  1871 1891'1911'  1870 1870 1871
' Records held by city clerk.
J6 Montgomery 217 E. Myrtle/P.O. Box 446, Independence 67301 1869 Wilson 1888'1911* 1870 1887'1911 1870 1870 1870
H3 Morris 501 W. Main, Council Grove 66846 1855 (as Wise) original 1859 1859 1856 1860
Death records held by city clerk.
A6 Morton P.O. Box 1116, Elkhart 67950-1116 1873 (1886) (became part of Seward, 1883; reorganized, 1886) Kansas 1911 1887 1911 1887 1887 1887
J1 Nemaha P.O. Box 186, Seneca 66538 1855 original 1883'1904 1857 1883'1904 1855 1857 1859
K6 Neosho P.O. Box 138, Erie 66733 1855 as Dorn (1864) original 1892'1905 1864 1892'1905 1866 1867 1867
C4 Ness 202 W. Sycamore St, Ness City 67560-1558 1867 (abolished 1874) (1880) unorganized/Peketon Territory 1880 1880 1880 1880
C1 Norton P.O. Box 70, Norton 67654 1872 unorganized 1885'1911 1873 1885'1911 1872 1872 1874
J3 Osage 717 Topeka Ave,Lyndon 66451-9792 1859 (1855 as Weller) original 1885'1911 1860 1885'1911 1859 1861 1861
E2 Osborne 423 W. Main St, Osborne 67473-2301 1871 unorganized 1900'09 1872 1900'09 1871 1872 1872
Otoe 1860 (abolished 1867) original
F3 Ottawa 307 N. Concord St, Minneapolis 67467-2140 1866 Saline 1885'1911'  1866 1885'1911'  1866 1866 1869
D4 Pawnee 715 Broadway, Larned 67550 1872 Peketon Territory 1880'1911 1873 1897'1911 1872 1872 1873
Peketon Territory 1854 (no population; abolished 1867) original
D1 Phillips 301 State St, Phillipsburg 67661-1941 1872 unorganized 1872 1872 1872 1873
H2 Pottawatomie 207 N. First, Westmoreland 66549 1855 original 1885'1911 1855 1885'1911 1857 1857 1862
E5 Pratt P.O. Box 885, Pratt 67124-0885 1879 Peketon Territory 1888'1900 1879 1880'1900 1879 1879 1879
B1 Rawlins 607 Main St, Atwood 67730-1839 (Kelso and Pragg) 1873 (1881) unorganized 1881 1881 1881 1881
F5 Reno 206 W. First St, Hutchinson 67501-5204 1872 Peketon Territory 1890'1911 1872 1890'1911 1870 1873 1871
F1 Republic 1815 M St, Belleville 66935-2242 1868 original 1885'1911 1869 1885'1911 1868 1868 1871
F4 Rice 101 W. Commercial St, Lyons 67554-2727 (Atlanta and Brookdale) 1871 Peketon Territory 1895'1911* 1872 1892'1911 1871 1871 1872
Richardson (see Wabaunsee) 1855 (renamed Wabaunsee, 1859) original
H2 Riley 110 Courthouse Plaza,Manhattan 66502-0125 1855 original 1885'1909*'  1856 1885'1909*'  1857 1857 1859
*Records incomplete. Extant for 1885'86 and 1892'1909 only. ' Records for 1892'1909 at KSHS.
D2 Rooks 115 N. Walnut St, Stockton 67669-1663 1872 unorganized 1888'1901 1873 1888'1901 1872 1872 1873
D4 Rush P.O. Box 220, LaCrosse 67548-0220 1874 unorganized/Peketon Territory 1895'1911 1876 1886'1911 1874 1874 1875
E3 Russell 400 Main P.O. Box 113, Russell 67665-0113 1867 (1872) unorganized (Fossil Station) 1885'1911* 1872 1885'1911* 1872 1872 1872
St. John 1881 (renamed Logan, 1887)
F3 Saline 300 W. Ash St Box 5040, Salina 67401-5040 1859 original 1885'1915* 1860 1885'1915* 1859 1859 1865
Sequoyah (renamed Finney, 1883)
Some records are in Ford County.
B4 Scott 303 Court St, Scott City 67871-1157 1886 unorganized 1904'11 1886 1906'11 1886 1886 1886
G6 Sedgwick 525 N. Main, Rm. 320, Wichita 66603-3731 1870 Hunter/Otoe/Peketon Territory 1884'1911* 1870 1884'1911*'¡ 1870 1870 1870
*Birth records extant for 1884'89 and 1908'11 only. Death records extant for 1884'87 and 1908'11 only. '¡Death records for 1908'11 at Wichita Historical Office.
Seward (old) 1855 (as Godfrey; renamed 1861; renamed Howard, 1867) original
B6 Seward (present) 415 N. Washington, Ste. 116, Liberal 67901-3462 1886 unorganized 1886 1892 1886 1886 1886
J3 Shawnee 200 SE Seventh, Topeka 66603 1855 original 1894'1910 1856 1894'1910 1855 1859 1858
B2 Sheridan P.O. Box 899, Hoxie 67740-0899 1880 unorganized 1886'1911 1878 1887'1910 ? 1881 1873
A2 Sherman 813 Broadway, Goodland 67735 1886 unorganized 1888'1911'¡ 1886 1888'1911'¡ 1888 1886 1887
'¡Records at office of Goodland city clerk.
Shirley 1860 (renamed Cloud, 1867) original
E1 Smith 218 S. Grant St. Smith Center 66967 1872 unorganized 1891'96 1872 1891'96 1872 1875 1872
E5 Stafford 209 N. Broadway St. John 67576 1879 Peketon Territory 1886'93 1879 1886'89 1879 1879 1879
A5 Stanton 201 N. Main Johnson 67855 (Veteran) 1887 unorganized 1887'1910* 1887 1889'1910* 1887 1887 1887
A6 Stevens 200 E. Sixth St. Hugoton 67951-2655 1886 unorganized 1886 1886 1886 1886
G6 Sumner 500 N. Washington, Wellington 67152-4064 1871 Hunter/Peketon Territory 1885'1911* 1871 1885'1891* 1871 1871 1880
*Birth records extant for 1885'91 and 1910'11 only.
B2 Thomas 300 N. Court St. Colby 67701-2421 1885 unorganized 1889'1910 1886 1886'1910 1885 1885 1885
C3 Trego 216 N. Main St. WaKeeney 67672-2189 1879 unorganized 1899'1911* 1879 1899'1911* 1879 1879 1880
H3 Wabaunsee 215 Kansas St. Alma 66401-9797 1855 (as Richardson; renamed 1859) original 1892'1911 1856 1892'1911 1859 1857 1860
A3 Wallace P.O. Box 70 Sharon Springs 67758-0070 1868 (abolished 1879; 1889) unorganized 1891'1911 1880 1891'1911 1884 1885 1884
G1 Washington 214 C Street Washington 66968-1928 1855 (1860) original 1887'1911 1861 1885'1911 1860 1857 1872
Weller 1855 (renamed Osage, 1859) original
A4 Wichita 206 S. Fourth Leoti 67861 (Bonasa) 1886 unorganized 1887'1909* 1887 1885'1909 1885 1887 1887
J5 Wilson 615 Madison St. Fredonia 66736-1340 1865 original 1885'1909 1864 1889'1911 1866 1869 1866
Wise 1855 (renamed Morris, 1859) original
J5 Woodson 105 W. Rutledge St. Yates Center 66783-1237 1855 original 1885'1911 1859 1885'1911 1858 1864 1864
K3 Wyandotte Unified City-Cty Gov. 701 N. 7th St. Kansas City 66101-3035 1855 (1859) original 1885'1911 1859 1885'92 1859 1857 1859