Chautauqua County was created on March 25, 1875 (Organized on June 01, 1875) from Godfroy and Howard Counties. The County Seat is Sedan. The County was named for Chautauqua County, New York, the birthplace of Edward Jaquins, a member of the Kansas House who in 1875 introduced the bill dividing Howard County into Elk and Chautauqua. The New York county, in turn, derives its name from an Indian word meaning 'foggy place.'
PLEASE READ FIRST!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.
All Departments below can be contacted by clicking the link, by contacting the Phone number below for each department or contacting the County Courthouse at 215 Chautauqua, Sedan, KS 67361; Phone: (620)725-5800.NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.
Chautauqua County Clerks Officehas Birth Records from 1886-1911, Marriage Records from 1870 and Death Records from 1896-98; 1910-11.
The Register of Deeds shall have custody of and safely keep and preserve all the books, records, deeds, maps, papers and microphotographs deposited or kept in the office of the Register of Deeds. The Register of Deeds shall also record or cause to be recorded all deeds, mortgages, maps, instruments and writings authorized by law to be recorded in the office of the Register of Deeds and shall perform all other duties as are required by law.
Chautauqua County Register of Deeds Officehas Land Records from 1875. Phone 620-725-5830
The Register of Deeds shall have custody of and safely keep and preserve all the books, records, deeds, maps, papers and microphotographs deposited or kept in the office of the Register of Deeds. The Register of Deeds shall also record or cause to be recorded all deeds, mortgages, maps, instruments and writings authorized by law to be recorded in the office of the Register of Deeds and shall perform all other duties as are required by law.
Chautauqua County Clerk of District Court has Probate Records from 1875 and Court Records from 1871. The Clerk of Court is part of the Judicial Branch of local government and as such is required to maintain a record of all documents filed with the courts, keep a record of all court proceedings, and collect various fines and forfeitures ordered by the court and specified by statute.
Below is a list of online resources for Chautauqua County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Chautauqua County Court Records by clicking the link below:
Kansas Election List, 1854: Listing of voters from Kansas in 1854 taken from Congressional report in 1856
For the most part, tax records remain at the local level. Assessment and tax rolls are kept, permanently, by the County Treasurer's office.
Below is a list of online resources for Chautauqua County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Chautauqua County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
Chautauqua County Treasurers Office
The County Treasurer's Office by Kansas State law is responsible for the tax billing, collection and distribution of tax money for the State, County, Cities and all other taxing entities that levy Ad Valorem and/or special assessment taxes.
Click Here to Search Kansas Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
Office of Vital Statistics, 1000 S W Jackson, Suite 110, Topeka, KS 66612; (785) 296-1400 Info; (785) 296-3253.
All Fees below cover a five-year record search – one certified copy is issued if the record is found and if not found, the fee is retained. You will receive either the certified copy or a letter explaining the search conducted and that no record was located. All Request Filled requests take 2-4 weeks when ordered by mail (Application for Birth, Marriage, Divorce or Death) or 2-5 Days when you order ONLINE.
They have the following records:
Birth Certificates: In Kansas, Birth certificates began being filed with the Office July 1, 1911. The Kansas Historical Society and/or the County Clerk holds birth records before July 1, 1911.
Cost: $12.00 fee for a certified birth certificate copy is $7 for each additional copy of same record ordered at same time.
Delayed Certificates of Birth: are on file with dates of birth dating back to the 1860's. In 1940, statutory authority was received by the Office which allowed individuals still alive in 1940 and later with no prior birth record filed to submit certain documentation to file a Delayed Certificate of Birth. A request for a Delayed Certificate of Birth is made in the same manner as one for a regular birth certificate – just specify the date of birth. If the date specified is between the late 1860's and July 1, 1911, a Delayed Certificate of Birth search will be conducted.
Death Certificates: In Kansas, Death certificates began being filed with the Office July 1, 1911. The Kansas Historical Society and/or the County Clerk holds death records before July 1, 1911.
Cost: $13.00 fee for a certified birth certificate copy is $8 for each additional copy of same record ordered at same time.
Marriage Certificates: In Kansas, Death certificates began being filed with the Office May 1, 1913. The Kansas Historical Society and/or the County Clerk holds marriage records before May 1, 1913.
Cost: $12.00 fee for a certified birth certificate copy is $7 for each additional copy of same record ordered at same time.
Divorces: Divorce Certificates began being filed with this office July 1, 1951. The divorce decree is not filed with this office. The decree is the court document detailing the settlement of the divorce. The divorce certificate is completed by the plaintiff's attorney and contains only basic information – names of husband and wife, date of marriage, date of divorce, etc. Certified copies of divorce decrees are obtained from the Clerk of the District Court in the county where the divorce was filed.
Cost: $12.00 is the cost for the search, which includes one copy of the divorce certificate, if found. Additional copies of the same record, requested at the same time as the first, are $7.00 each.
Order On-Line: To obtain a certified copy of a vital record by on-line purchase with a credit card, please link to VitalChek.
Order In Person: Go to Curtis State Office Bldg., 1000 SW Jackson, Ste. 120, Topeka, KS 66612. Open 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. weekdays.Payment made by cash, check, money order, or credit card.
Below is a list of online resources for Chautauqua County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Chautauqua County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Kansas Voter Lists & Census Records! - Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable.
Below is a list of online resources for Chautauqua County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Chautauqua County Census Records by clicking the link below:
Kansas Census, 1850-90: This database contains indexes to the Kansas (U.S.A.) portions of the 1850-18700 U.S. Federal Censuses as well as to the 1855-1859 state and territorial census, and the 1890 Veterans Schedules. Information contained in these indexes can include name, state, county, township, year of record, and name of record set.
Kansas State Census Collection, 1855-1915: This database contains state censuses for Kansas from 1855-1915. Information available in this database includes: name, age, gender, race, relationship to head of household, birthplace, marital status, and place of enumeration. Additional information about an individual may be listed on the original record.
Genealogy Atlases has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for Kansas showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for Kansas showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries . You can view a list of maps for other states and State Department of Transportation Maps at County Maps. The Kansas Department of Transportation has county maps the show the locations of churches, cemeteries, roads, ect... free for viewing or download here
Below is a list of online resources for Chautauqua County Maps. Email us with websites containing Chautauqua County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Kansas Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design. A list of Wars fought on American.
Below is a list of online resources for Chautauqua County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Chautauqua County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Kansas Civil War Soldiers: Listing of over 20,000 men who served in the Union Army from Kansas, 1861-1865
Leavenworth, Kansas Veterans, 1915-16: One of the oldest and most important communities in Kansas, Leavenworth has been home to thousands of military veterans. This database is a listing of residents of the Western Branch of the Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers between 1915 and 1916.
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Kansas (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.
Below is a list of online resources for Chautauqua County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Chautauqua County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Kansas Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Click Here to Search Kansas Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.
The earliest churches were established among the native tribes settled in Kansas long before it was organized as a territory. The Methodist, Baptist, Society of Friends, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, and Congregational churches all had early missions which grew as the white settlers immigrated.
There is no central registry of cemetery locations in Kansas. The Woman's Kansas Day Club has identified and located many Kansas cemeteries. The project's results are at the Kansas State Historical Society which has additional collections of published cemetery inscriptions, though not comprehensive, listed in their card catalog.
The Register of Deeds in each county is often able to assist in locating cemeteries. Certain maps distributed by the Kansas Department of Transportation show the location of known cemeteries in relation to county roads.
Below is a list of online resources for Chautauqua County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Chautauqua County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Kansas Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.
When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Chautauqua County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Chautauqua County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Kansas Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
Transcribed from Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. ... Standard Pub. Co. Chicago : 1912.
Chautauqua County, formerly the southern half of Howard county, is located in the southern tier of counties and is the fourth west from the Missouri line. It is bounded on the north by Elk county, on the east by Montgomery county, on the south by the State of Oklahoma, and on the west by Cowley county.
Chautauqua county was not settled until after the war, the first white man to occupy land being Richard Slater, who took a claim in Salt creek valley, Salt Creek township, in 1868. Although the land still belonged to the Osage Indians and was not open to settlement until 1870, a number of people made homes in the vicinity before that time. Among these pioneers were William Bowcher, in Lafayette township; O. Hanson, Harrison township; H. S. Halliday, Sedan township; Alexander Shawver, Caneyville township; George M. Ross, Summit township; John W. Morris and John Sutton, in Belleville township, all of whom came in 1869. By the time the county was organized in 1875, the population was over 7,000. The first marriage was between Ebenezer Horton and Martha Starks of Salt Creek township in 1869, the first birth was that of Abigail Slater in the same year, in the same township. Elgin in Hendricks township was the first town.
The incorporation of Chautauqua county was provided for by act of the legislature, to take effect June 1, 1875, and Sedan was designated as the county seat. When the day arrived M. B. Light, clerk of Chautauqua county, moved to the place appointed, while the other officers were retained at Elk Falls until the constitutionality of the division could be tested in the courts. The court upheld the division and the necessary changes were made, thus bringing to a close a bitter and expensive county seat war, which was hindering development. The debt of Howard county, most of which was incurred in useless county seat elections, was divided equally between the two new counties. The debt of Chautauqua county at the beginning was therefore $30,000. In order to avoid new county seat troubles Sedan offered to build a court-house and donate it to the county in consideration that the county seat remain there. The building was put up by private donations and its construction was fraught with the greatest difficulties on account of the unsettled condition of the location of the county seat. The construction was under the management of H. B. Kelly, who was the proprietor of the paper. The walls and roof were built at a cost of $4,000 and turned over to the county. This proved satisfactory and Sedan became the permanent county seat. A jail was built in 1877.
The first school building was erected in 1870 at Elgin. A number of others were erected in 1872 in different parts of the county. In 1880 the school population was over 2,000, and in 1881 the money raised by taxation for school purposes was over $71,000. The school population in 1882 was double that of 1880, and the valuation of school property had increased from $4,500 to $52,200. There were three graded schools in the county at that time. At present all the schools are graded. The school population is 4,000, the number of districts 93, all of which are supplied with good substantial buildings, in most cases brick or stone.
The county is divided into 12 civil townships, viz: Belleville, Caneyville, Center, Harrison, Hendricks, Jefferson, Lafayette, Little Caney, Salt Creek, Sedan, Summit and Washington. The towns and villages number more than a score, the principal ones being Sedan, the county seat, Brownsville, Cedar Vale, Center, Chautauqua, Cloverdale, Colfax, Elgin, Farmersburg, Grafton, Hale, Hewins, Jonesburg, Leeds, Lowe, Monett, Niotaze, Peru, Rogers, Sedan, Spring Creek and Wauneta.
There are two lines of railroads in the county, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, and the Missouri Pacific. The former, a branch diverging from the main line at Cherryvale in Montgomery county, enters the county on the east and traverses the southern portion, the line terminating at Cedar Vale on the western border. The Missouri Pacific crosses from east to west a few miles south of the center. This company operates a line which enters the county in the northeast corner and connects with the first at Peru Junction. The total railroad mileage is 94.
The surface of the county is level in the northern part and hilly toward the south. Bottom lands along the creek beds average a mile in width on the larger streams and one-fourth of a mile on the small streams, and comprise one-fourth of the total area. The streams are numerous with the watersheds bearing toward the south. The three important branches of Caney creek—Big Caney, Middle Caney and North Caney—are the larger streams. Salt and Bee creeks in the northeastern portion are next in importance. These streams are belted with thin strips of timber native to Kansas soil.
Among the natural products of the county are sandstone of excellent quality for paving and building, limestone from which an excellent quality of lime is produced, and marble which takes a high polish is found in the hills about Sedan. There are a number of gas wells from which all the important towns are lighted and heated. Coal has been found along the streams. This is one of the leading oil producing counties of the state, thousands of barrels of oil being carried out daily by the pipe lines.
There are over 416,000 acres of land in the county, of which 250,000 are under cultivation. The value of farm products in 1910 was nearly $1,500,000, of which Indian corn amounted to $167,000 and Kafir corn to a similar figure. The field crops furnished about half the total income and barnyard products about half.
The assessed valuation of all property was $13,930,000 in 1910. The population in the same year was 11,429.
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