Kansas County Listings - The “County Address” indicates the address of the county courthouse in the county seat where inquires 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 state-wide recording. Those years with an asterisk (*) are not complete. Those years with a double plus (++) are held either in book or microfilm form by 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.
If you Cannot use, activate or see the map below then use the County Selection Table to select a County
Kansas State History - Kansas, state in the western part of the central United States. Kansas is usually designated as a Midwestern state. However, it is commonly referred to as a plains state, and sections are often considered part of the Southwest or West. Such variations in terminology reflect the fact that Kansas does not belong wholly to one region and is an area of diversified relief, climate, economy, and patterns of settlement. The landscape of the east, with its hills, woodlands, grain-and-livestock farms, and comparatively large cities, contrasts sharply with the dry treeless plains and vast wheat farms of the sparsely populated west. In addition, the High Plains of the west include areas of canyon country and sand dunes reminiscent of New Mexico and other parts of the Southwest, while the rolling grasslands of the Flint and Smoky hills, in central Kansas, resemble the rangelands of the West. Kansas entered the Union on January 29, 1861, as the 34th state. Topeka is the capital of Kansas. Wichita is the largest city.
Kansas, which has been called the Wheat State and the Breadbasket of the Nation, leads all other states in production of wheat. However, wheat dominates neither the landscape nor the economy of Kansas. The sale of livestock, especially beef cattle, provides a larger percentage of annual farm income than the sale of wheat. Moreover, manufacturing and service industries are far more valuable to the state’s economy than agriculture.
The state is named for the Kansas River, which, in turn, was named for the Kansa people, who once inhabited northeastern Kansas. The word Kansas means “people of the south wind.” The nickname preferred by most Kansans is the Sunflower State. The helianthus, or native wild sunflower, grows profusely throughout Kansas and is the official state flower. Kansas is also referred to as the Jayhawk or Jayhawker state. The origin and meaning of the term “Jayhawker” are disputed. In Kansas it was used at the beginning of the American Civil War (1861-1865) to refer to the bands of guerrillas and irregular troops that were active along the Kansas-Missouri border. The name was taken up by some regular troops in Kansas. Eventually it became a nickname for all Kansans.
Until Alaska and Hawaii achieved statehood in 1959, the geographical center of the United States was located near Lebanon in Kansas. Although the center subsequently shifted to North Dakota, Kansas is still recognized as the site of the geographical center of the coterminous United States, that is, of all the states except Alaska and Hawaii. The geodetic center (which takes into account the curvature of the earth’s surface) of the United States is located at Meades Ranch Triangulation Station in Osborne County in north central Kansas. The station serves as the basic reference point for all government mapping undertaken in the United States (except in Hawaii), Canada, and Mexico. Selected in 1901, it has also served as the geodetic center of North America since 1913. The Official State Website is http://www.kansas.gov/
Kansas derives its name from a tribe of plains native peoples, the “Kansa,” who lived in earth lodges along the Missouri, Kansas, and Blue rivers in the northeastern section of the state. Kansas, which was a segment of the vast area known as the Louisiana Purchase, became part of the United States in 1803. With the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, it became the Kansas Territory. On 29 January 1861 Kansas was admitted as a free state and became the thirty-fourth state in the Union.
Kansas was first designated as permanent Indian territory and became home for many of the displaced tribes from the states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Missouri as well as the remaining indigenous plains people. In 1825 the Kansa and Osage tribes were induced to give up part of their eastern Kansas lands to make way for those from the east: the Shawnee, Kickapoo, Delaware, Wea, Piankeshaw, and others. By 1846 nineteen reservations had been established within the boundaries of what is now Kansas. The first mission for Native Americans in what is now Kansas was Mission Neosho, established in 1824. A Methodist mission was founded for the benefit of the Shawnee in 1829.
It did not take long for the restless white settlers to desire permanent homes and farms in Kansas. This settlement, however, was spurred not so much by natural westward expansion as by the determination of both pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions to achieve a majority population. This struggle became an important part of the peopling of Kansas, and the genealogist with early Kansas settlers will want to become familiar with the details.
Passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854 only accentuated the difficulties, and this early civil war ultimately turned the Kansas Territory into “bleeding Kansas.” As each faction attempted to establish a majority, fraud became common. As an example, the 1855 Kansas state census showed fifty-three voters in the seventh district, but three months later, 253 votes were cast. From 200–300 men from Missouri went into the seventh district of Kansas territory in wagons and horseback on the day preceding the election. They were armed with pistols and other weapons and intended to vote to secure the election of pro-slavery members to the territorial legislature. These examples are typical of the stuffing of ballot boxes by residents of Missouri who were hoping to create a slave state. In 1859 slavery was prohibited by the Wyandotte Constitution, but this low did not go into effect until statehood in 1861. Kansas became a strong Republican force when it entered the Union. For the settler of Kansas, this period was a long, bloody, and difficult one. Bushwhackings, burnings, lootings, and murder became an inevitable part of life. Graphic testimony is offered in the Reports of the Special Committee and in the stories reported in surviving newspapers published along the Kansas-Missouri border.
The first act of the Kansas territorial legislature on 30 August 1855 was to designate thirty-three counties in the eastern section of the territory. The second act created Marion and Washington counties, and a third created Arapahoe County out of territory that would later become part of the territory of Colorado.
Kansas experienced its greatest population expansion at the end of the Civil War when peace brought development of the prairie lands. The construction of railroads and the availability of cheap lands through both the railroad companies and the federal government brought many settlers to the area. Kansas was not always hospitable; pioneers were visited by prairie fires, droughts, blizzards, dust storms, grasshopper plagues, cyclones, and floods. Many would-be settlers retreated saying, “In God We Trusted; In Kansas We Busted.” Some early settlers returned to the safety of the east. The settlers who remained and those who came later established the farms, communities, and businesses that shaped Kansas history.
Territorial Records. Most extant territorial records, including census enumerations, are located at the Kansas State Historical Society. The researcher should review the specific category of records of interest for exact information. The Kansas State Historical Society holds the territorial records such as those pertaining to John Brown, the New England Emigrant Aid Company, and territorial military records as well as information about early settlers and pioneers.
Kansas Discontinued Counties - This section provides an list of Kansas counties that no longer exist. They were established by the state, provincial, or territorial government. Most of these counties were created and disbanded in the 19th century; county boundaries have changed little since 1900 in the vast majority of states.
Arapahoe (1st) County: Established in August 30, 1855 This county comprised land west of the present Kansas/Colorado border to the crest of the Rocky Mountains. A large swath of unorganized territory separated it from the westernmost tier of organized counties in present-day Kansas.
By the act of creation, Allen P. Tibbetts was appointed judge of the probate court, the plan for holding court being left to his discretion, and he, Levi Mitchell, and Jonathan Atwood were appointed commissioners to locate the county seat, to be known as Mountain City. Arapahoe County was attached to Marshall County for all business purposes.
Arapahoe County was never organized. In early 1859 it was split into six counties (Arapahoe, Broderick, El Paso, Fremont, Montana, and Oro). When Colorado Territory was established Feb. 28, 1861, the new Colorado legislature created seventeen counties, which are considered the original counties of the state. Arapahoe County is still extant, but today is a relatively small county (12 miles north-south, 72 miles east-west), with its western end in the Denver metropolitan area.
Billings County: Established on March 20, 1873. Billings County, during its brief history of less than one year, operated as an organized county because Norton County was organized on 22 Aug 1872 by the proclamation of Governor James Madison Harvey. Billings did not, however, have a county seat during its period of existence. The town of Norton was elected the county seat in 1874, following the reinstatement of the name of Norton County on February 25, 1874.
Breckenridge County: Established on August 25, 1855. The Territorial Legislature of 1855 organized Breckinridge County, attaching it to Madison County for civil, criminal, and military purposes. Agnes City was the first county seat. It was during 1858-59 that the bitterest fight occurred between Americus and Emporia over the location of the county seat; Americus won by a total of 14 votes.
Although a courthouse was not erected in Americus, it continued to be regarded as the county seat up until the general election of 1860. Emporia received 384 votes for the honor, Americus 141, Fremont 73, Breckinridge Center 14, and Forest Hill 1. This election decided the matter.
The first school in the county was opened by Rev. G.W. Torrence in the summer of 1858. In October of that year, Miss Mary Jane Watson opened a free school in Emporia. In 1861, Madison County was abolished, and its northern part was given to Breckinridge.
Breckinridge County was renamed Lyon County in February 05, 1862, due to Breckinridge's political sympathies.
Buffalo County: Established on March 20, 1873. In 1881, the northern tier of townships was removed from Buffalo County and added to Lane; the remainder was made part of newly-created Gray County, and later was taken to form part of Finney County. Buffalo County was never organized.
Calhoun County: Early marriages of Calhoun County, Kansas Territory, are in Holton, Jackson County, Kansas.
Established on August 25, 1855 and Organized on September 24, 1855. The location of the town of Calhoun was in the extreme southeast corner of the county. The county was formally organized by its commissioners: William Alley, Richard D. Beeler, and James Kuykendall.
Most probably named in honor of John C. Calhoun (1782-1850), statesman, U.S. senator from South Carolina, and vice-president of the United States. It may, however, have been named for John Calhoun (1806-1859), the first surveyor-general of Kansas and Nebraska and ex-officio registrar of the land offices therein (appointed 1854), who was a proponent of slavery in Kansas Territory and a member of the Lecompton constitutional convention.
Their first official act was an order naming the voting places for the election of a delegate to Congress; the second was a resolution to build a courthouse in the town of Calhoun "out of brick." That resolution was rescinded on 19 May 1856. Instead, a small frame structure was constructed that year out of native logs, standing two stories high at a cost of $2500.
James Kuykendall, perhaps the most influential man in the history of Calhoun County, came from Platte County, Missouri, where he had held the office of sheriff for four years. In Calhoun County, he was probate judge, chairman of the county commissioners, registrar of deeds, and prosecuting attorney. After the Free Soil party gained control over county politics, his name was soon forgotten.
On 11 October 1858, an election was held to permanently locate a county seat. The selection of Holton signaled the end of the town of Calhoun's prosperity. By the time the 1859 Legislature changed the county name to Jackson on February 11, 1859, the town of Calhoun had lost its postoffice, and it soon faded into oblivion.
Davis County: Established on August 25, 1855. Named for Jefferson Davis (1808-1889), at the time the U.S. Secretary of War, and later president of the Confederacy.
Davis was one of the original 33 counties created by the first territorial legislature. It lost territory to Dickinson County in 1857 and to Wabaunsee County in 1860; it gained territory from Dickinson in 1860 and from Riley in 1873. The name was changed in 1889 to Geary; an 1893 attempt to change it back was unsuccessful.
The first Europeans to visit Davis County were Coronado and his expedition, searching for Quivira in 1541. The Bourgmont expedition of 1724 probably traveled along the south bank of the Kansas River through what became Davis County. Fort Riley was established by the U.S. Army in 1852; the first post office in the county was established at the fort in 1855. Name changed on March 07, 1889 to Geary County
Dorn County: Established on August 25, 1855. Named in honor of either (1) Earl Van Dorn (1820-1863), an army officer during the Mexican War and Indian campaigns, or, more likely, (2) Andrew Jackson Dorn (1815-1889), also a Mexican War veteran and Indian agent for the Osages, Quapaws, and Senecas and Shawnees at the Neosho Agency from 1853 to 1861. Both men joined the Confederate Army in 1861, and the county was renamed Neosho.
The county was never organized. Dorn was divided on June 03, 1861 into present counties of Neosho and Labette.
Foote County: Established on 1881 from Unorganized Territory. (renamed Gray, 1887)
Garfield County: Established on 1887 from Buffalo County. (annexed to Finney, 1893)
Godfrey County: Established on August 25, 1855 as an Original County. The name changed to Seward (not present day county); then to Howard.
Howard County: Established on 1867 from Godfrey (which had been Seward) County. (divided, 1875 into Elkland and Chautauqua)
Hunter County: Established on 1867 as an Original County. (1870) (renamed Cowley)
Kansas County: Established on 1873 from Unorganized Territory. (abolished 1883; became Morton)
Lykins County: Established on August 25, 1855 as an Original County. (changed to Miami, 1861)
Madison County: Established on August 25, 1855 as an Original County. Madison was divided 1861–64 into Breckenridge (later Lyon) and Greenwood.
McGee County: Established on August 25, 1855 as an Original County. (name changed, 1866 to Cherokee)
Otoe County: Established on February 17, 1860 as an Original County. Otoe County embraced townships 21, 22, 23, and the northern 2/3 of 24 in ranges 1 through 4 east of the sixth principal meridian. The boundaries were defined in the creating statute as: "Commencing at the northwest corner of Butler County; thence west to the 6th principal meridian; thence to a point 4 miles south of the 5th standard parallel, on the north line of the Osage reservation; thence east to a point due south of the southwest corner of Butler County; thence north to the place of beginning." Named for the Otoe [Oto] Indian tribe of Nebraska. The tribal name is derived from 'wat-ota,' meaning 'seekers of pleasure' or 'lechers,' a name given them when they separated from their kindred tribes, the Iowa and Missouri.
Apparently never organized. On February 24, 1864, the boundaries of Butler County were enlarged to include Otoe County. Most of the territory once comprising Otoe is included in the present county of Butler, with the remainder in the eastern parts of Harvey and Sedgwick counties.
Peketon Territory County: Established on 1854 as an Original County. Peketon included all territory west of the 6th principal meridian, and south of township 16 south, more than one-quarter of the state. The northeast corner was at the southwest corner of Dickinson County; from which point the northern boundary of Peketon ran west past what is now the Kansas/Colorado state line into southeastern Colorado, and the eastern boundary went south to the border of Indian Territory (now the state of Oklahoma). The County Seat was Beach Valley.
The Territory/County Name was possibly from a Sac Indian word meaning flat land, but no definitive explanation has ever been found.
Peketon County was never organized due to no population, and its territory became a part of Marion County in February 26, 1867.
Richardson County: Established on August 25, 1855 as an Original County. (changed to Wabaunsee 1859)
St. John County: Established on 1881 (name changed to Logan 1887)
Sequoyah County: Established on August 25, 1855 as an Original County. (name changed 1883 to Finney) Some records are in Ford County.
Seward (old) County: Established on August 25, 1855 as an Original County. (as Godfrey; renamed, 1861; renamed Howard, 1867)
Shirley County: Established on 1860 as an Original County. (name changed 1867, Cloud)Weller County: Established on August 25, 1855 as an Original County. (name changed 1859, Osage)Wise County: Established on August 25, 1855 as an Original County. (name changed 1859, Chase)
Kansas Burned Courthouses - The destruction of courthouses greatly affects genealogists in every way. No only are these historic structures torn from our lives, so are the records they housed: marriage, wills, probate, land records, and others. Once destroyed they are lost forever. Even if they have been placed on mircofilm, computers and film burn too. The most heartbreaking side of this is the fact that many of our courthouses are destroyed at the hands of arsonist. However, not all records were lost.
Below is a list of Kansas Counties and the years the Courthouses were subjected to a disaster. This does NOT mean that ALL RECORDS were lost. Often, folks took their documents again in for recording after a disaster and later deeds will contain long chains of title, etc.
Douglas County - Records destroyed 21 August 1863 in Quantrill's raid. Some marriage records reconstructed.
Kansas County Selection Table - Select a county from the table below to to view more information on genealogical information & records pertaining to each county.
