Crawford County was created on February 13, 1867 (Organized on ?) from Bourbon and Cherokee Counties. The County Seat is Girard. The County was named for Samuel J. Crawford (1835-1913), governor of Kansas from 1865 to 1868, when he resigned to take command of the 19th Kansas Regiment.
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 P.O. Box 249, Girard, KS 66743-0249; Phone: (620)724-6115.NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.
Crawford County Clerks Officehas Birth Records from 1887-1912, Marriage Records from 1867 and Death Records from 1887-1911.
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.
Crawford County Register of Deeds Officehas Land Records from 1867. Phone 620-724-8218
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.
Crawford County Clerk of District Court has Probate Records from 1870 and Court Records from 1867. 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 Crawford County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Crawford 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 Crawford County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Crawford County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
Crawford 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 Crawford County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Crawford 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 Crawford County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Crawford 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 Crawford County Maps. Email us with websites containing Crawford 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 Crawford County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Crawford 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 Crawford County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Crawford County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Crawford County Genealogical Society,
211 West 4th,
Pittsburg 66762
Crawford County Historical Society,
651 South Highway 69,
Pittsburg 66762
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 Crawford County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Crawford 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 Crawford County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Crawford 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.
Crawford County, one of the eastern tier and the second north of the line separating Kansas and Oklahoma, is bounded on the north by Bourbon county; on the east by the State of Missouri; on the south by Cherokee county, and on the west by the counties of Neosho and Labette. It was created by the act of Feb. 13, 1867, and was named for Col. Samuel J. Crawford, at that time the governor of Kansas. The area of the county is 592 square miles. It is divided into nine townships, to-wit: Baker, Crawford, Grant, Lincoln, Osage, Sheridan, Sherman, Walnut and Washington. The general surface of the county is undulating, the water-courses flowing in three different directions. In the northeast Drywood, Bone and Coxes creeks flow northward to the Marmaton river; in the west Big and Little Walnut and Hickory creeks flow southwest to the Neosho; and in the southeast Lightning, Lime and Cow creeks flow southward, their waters finally reaching the Neosho.
Crawford county lies in the tract known as the "Neutral Lands" (q. v.), which were ceded by the Cherokee Nation to the United States by the treaty of July 19, 1866. Prior to that treaty some attempts were made by white men to settle within the territory. John Leman, a blacksmith, settled in Osage township in 1848. In 1851 P. M. Smith located in Baker township, but did not erect a dwelling, being content to live during his short stay in a tent. A man named Sears built the first house (a log cabin) in this township in 1856. Coal was discovered in this township by a government exploring party under Col. Cowan, and was first mined by parties from Missouri in 1857. As early as 1852 a number of white men, among whom were Howard, Fowler, Hale and the Hathaways, settled in Lincoln township, and the first school in the county was opened there in 1858 in a small log house that had formerly been used as a dwelling, the settlers contributing the funds to pay the teacher. James Hathaway had established a blacksmith shop where Arcadia now stands in 1844. Harden Mathews settled in Sherman township in 1850, and there were a few white men in Walnut township in 1857. In 1861 the Cherokee Indian agent, acting under orders from President Buchanan, took a body of United States troops and expelled the settlers, burning their houses and destroying their crops. Others soon came, however, to take the places of those who had been driven out. That same year a man named Banks settled on the Big Cow creek in Crawford township. In the summer of 1865 John Hobson, Frank Dosser, Marion Medlin and a few others settled in Osage township, and about the same time J. F. Gates, Stephen Ogden, John Hamilton and others located in Sheridan township. Settlements were made the following year in Grant and Washington townships. In Sept., 1866, a postoffice was established at Cato, in the northwest corner of the present Lincoln township.
J. W. Wallace, Lafayette Manlove and Henry Schoen were appointed special commissioners and F. M. Logan county clerk, for the purpose of organizing the county. The first meeting of the commissioners was held on March 16, 1867, and the first order was one dividing the county into nine civil townships. The second order divided the county into election precincts. Another order directed the clerk to give 30 days' notice of an election to be held on April 15, 1867, for the election of county and township officers, and to decide the location of the permanent county seat. At the election J. W. Wallace, F. M. Mason and Andrew Hussong were elected commissioners; F. M. Logan, clerk; and J. M. Ryan, sheriff. The county seat question was not decided at that time, and in September Crawfordsville was selected as temporary seat of justice.
At the general election on Nev. 5, 1867, a full quota of county officers was chosen, as follows: County clerk, H. Germain; clerk of the district court, C. H. Strong; probate judge, Levi Hatch; sheriff, J. M. Ryan; treasurer, R. B. Raymond; register of deeds, H. Coffman; assessor, William Roberts; surveyor, R. Stalker; coroner, Jacob Miller, attorney, L. A. Wallace; commissioners, Frank Dosser, I. Evans and Joshua Nance. At this election Girard was selected as the county seat, and at a meeting on May 11, 1868, the commissioners ordered all the county officers to remove their offices, records, etc., to that point. The people of Crawfordsville applied to the district court at the September term for a writ of mandamus to compel the county clerk to take all records back to Crawfordsville, claiming that it was the legal county seat. The writ was granted, but on Nov. 7 a petition, signed by 577 citizens, was laid before the county commissioners, asking them to order an election for the location of a permanent county seat. An election was accordingly ordered for Dec. 15, when Girard received 375 votes and Crawfordsville 312. This settled the question.
The first newspaper published in the county was the Crawford County Times, one number of which was issued by Scott & Cole on April 16, 1868. After that one issue the publication office was taken back to Osage Mission. On Nov. 11, 1869, the first number of the Girard Press made its appearance. It was published by Warner & Wasser, and was the first paper regularly published in the county. On July 14, 1871, the office and contents were burned by a mob, the ill feeling toward the paper being the outgrowth of the troubles over the diposition of the Neutral Lands. Three weeks later the publication was resumed, the paper appearing in an enlarged form and better than ever before. It is still running. The People's Vindicator was started at Girard on July 28, 1870, but suspended in the following November. Other early newspapers were the Guard Pharos, the Cherokee Pharos and the Cherokee Index, all of which were started in the early '70s. There are now published in the county 1 daily (the Pittsburg Headlight) and 13 weekly newspapers, and one quarterly periodical. One of the weeklies is printed in the German language.
In 1868 a Catholic parish was established in Grant township and a house of worship erected. This was the first church in the county. A Presbyterian church was built at Girard in 1870, and the following year the Methodist church at Mulberry Grove was established. At the present time all the leading denominations are represented in the towns and villages of the county. The first white child born in the county was John Leman, whose birth occurred in Walnut township in 1859. The first marriage license was issued on Dec. 27, 1867, to W. M. Breckenridge and Miss Elner Stone. Marriages had been solemnized in the county before that time—in fact before the county was organized—but the licenses had been procured elsewhere.
On Feb. 5, 1870, the Crawford County Agricultural Society was organized, one of the chief promoters being Dr. W. H. Warner of the Girard Press, who served as secretary of the society for six years. The affairs of the society were managed by a board of thirteen directors, who bought 40 acres a short distance east of Girard, where fairs were held annually until the society was reorganized and a new fair ground purchased on the west side of the city. The reorganization took place on May 27, 1882.
During the Civil war the few settlers in what is now Crawford county were seriously harassed by guerrillas and bushwhackers, most of the outrages being committed by the notorious Livingston gang. Among those killed by guerrillas were Capt. Henry M. Dobyns of the Sixth Kansas cavalry, and Capt. John Rodgers, who established the first store at Cato in 1858. The latter was a member of one of the Kansas volunteer regiments, but was at home on furlough when the raid was made in which he lost his life. Four brothers named Tippy came into the county in the spring of 1866, and two of them were afterward hanged by a posse of citizens near Monmouth, after they had been tried and found guilty by a jury of twelve men for participation in the murder of a man named Shannon. Several skirmishes occurred in the county between the guerrillas and Union troops.
Since its organization Crawford county has suffered severely from storms, the worst of which was probably the tornado of May 22, 1873. It came from the southwest and swept across the entire county, leaving desolation in its wake. Seven persons were killed outright, 34 others were injured, and a large amount of property was destroyed.
Coal of fine quality underlies the entire county, some of the veins running five feet or more in thickness. More than half the coal mined in the state comes from this county. Building stone, cement rock, fire and potter's clay of excellent quality are abundant in several localities and though only partially developed are a source of revenue to the owners of the deposits. Belts of timber averaging about half a mile in width are found along the streams, the principal varieties being oak, walnut, poplar, hickory and cottonwood. Some artificial groves have been planted. Agriculture is an important industry. The five leading crops in 1910, in the order of their value, were as follows: corn, $999,900; oats, $345,960; hay (including alfalfa), $187,208; wheat, $142,031; flax, $59,670. Kafir corn, Irish potatoes and sorghum are also important crops. The value of dairy products for the year 1910 was $222,558, and the value of all farm products, including live stock slaughtered or sold for slaughter, was $2,660,750.
Crawford county is well provided with transportation facilities, lines of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, the St. Louis & San Francisco, the Missouri, Kansas & Texas and the Missouri Pacific systems crossing the county in every direction and giving the county nearly 220 miles of main track. Pittsburg is one of the greatest railroad centers in eastern Kansas.
According to the U. S. census for 1910, the population of Crawford county was 51,178, a gain of 12,369 during the preceding ten years, making it the fourth in the state in population. There are eleven incorporated cities in the county, viz.: Arcadia, Arma, Cherokee, Curranville, Frontenac, Girard, Hepler, McCune, Mulberry, Pittsburg and Walnut. Other important towns and villages are Beulah, Brazilton, Cato, Chicopee, Croweburg, Dunkirk, Englevale, Farlington, Franklin, Fuller, Midway, Monmouth and Yale. (See sketches of the towns and cities.)
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