Hamilton County was created on March 20, 1873 (Organized in 1886) from Unorganized Territory. The County Seat is Syracuse. The County was named for Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804), Revolutionary War veteran, author of The Federalist, and the first Secretary of the Treasury for the young United States. Hamilton was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr.
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 219 N Main, PO Box 1167, Syracuse, KS 67878-1167; Phone: (620)384-5629.NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.
Hamilton County Clerks Officehas Birth Records from 1896-1911, Marriage Records from 1886 and Death Records from 1896-1911.
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.
Hamilton County Register of Deeds Officehas Land Records from 1884. Phone 620-384-6925
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.
Hamilton County Clerk of District Court has Probate Records from 1886 and Court Records from 1885. 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 Hamilton County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Hamilton 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 Hamilton County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Hamilton County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
Hamilton 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 Hamilton County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Hamilton 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 Hamilton County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Hamilton 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 Hamilton County Maps. Email us with websites containing Hamilton 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 Hamilton County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Hamilton 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 Hamilton County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Hamilton 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 Hamilton County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Hamilton 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 Hamilton County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Hamilton 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.
Hamilton County, one of the western border tier, was erected by the act of March 6, 1873, which defined the boundaries as follows: "Commencing at the intersection of the east line of range 39 west with the 4th standard parallel thence south along said range line to its intersection with the north line of township 27 south; thence along said township line to the west boundary of the State of Kansas; thence north along said west boundary line of the State of Kansas to where it is intersected by the 4th standard parallel; thence east to the place of beginning."
In 1883, when several of the western counties were discontinued by act of the legislature, the boundaries of Hamilton were extended to include the western half of the present counties of Grant and Kearny and all of the present county of Stanton, but by the act of March 5, 1887, the original boundaries were restored. At present the county is bounded on the north by Greeley county; on the east by Kearny; on the south by Stanton, and on the west by the State of Colorado. It was named for Alexander Hamilton, one of the founders of the American republic, who was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr.
Pike's expedition of 1806 crossed the western boundary of Kansas in what is now Hamilton county; Long's expedition of 1820 passed through the county, and Fowler's journal of Glenn's expedition for Nov. 4, 1821, says: "We steered No 75 west 4 miles to [a point] of Sand Hills washed by the River and at Six miles farther to an island clothed With Willow and Cotton Wood—the main Chanel on the North Side of the Island the last 6 miles of our Corse Was West," etc. Coues thinks the 16 miles of this day's march took the expedition past the site of the present city of Syracuse, and that the camp of the 4th was not far from the present town of Coolidge. Fort Aubrey (q. v.) was established not far from Mayline in the late summer of 1865 and was occupied as a military post until the following spring.
The first permanent settlement in the county was made by a colony from Syracuse, N. Y. The colony was organized there on Oct. 23, 1872, and a committee, consisting of Evelin P. Barber, S. R. Jones and D. G. Ackland, was sent forward to Kansas to select a location. On Christmas day the committee decided on a tract of land in Hamilton county, though that was before the county had been created by legislative enactment. The main body of the colony arrived on the site on March 23, 1873. These colonists tried to have the name of the county changed to Onondaga, after their old county in New York, but the legislature declined to comply with their request. Following the New Yorkers came some Mennonites and other settlers, and by the beginning of 1886 an agitation was commenced for the organization of the county.
Early in that year a memorial signed by 250 citizens of the county was presented to Gov. John A. Martin, who appointed Alfred Pratt to take a census of the county. The census showed a population of 1,893 people, of whom 614 were actual householders, and on Jan. 29, 1886, the governor issued his proclamation declaring the county organized. At that time the county embraced Stanton and the portions of Kearny and Grant above mentioned. The governor appointed as commissioners J. H. Leeman of Hartland, Lawrence W. Hardy of Medway, and Dennis Foley of Syracuse. Thomas Ford was appointed county clerk, and Kendall was designated as the temporary county seat.
A bitter contest soon arose between Kendall and Syracuse for the permanent seat of justice, and an element in the fight was the question of restoring the old county lines by the reëstablishment of the counties of Grant, Kearny and Stanton. At an election on April 1, 1886, Syracuse was declared the county seat, but Kendall charged gross frauds on the part of the advocates of Syracuse and appealed to the supreme court. That tribunal threw out the vote of Syracuse township and ordered the county officers to take their offices back to Kendall until another vote could be taken at the general election the following November. At the November election the vote for county seat stood: Syracuse, 785; Kendall, 390; Coolidge, 224; Johnson City, 93; Scattering, 4, giving Syracuse a majority of 74 over all competitors. At the same election the following county officers were chosen: Representative, J. T. Kirtland; probate judge, W. C. Higgins; clerk of the district court, W. P. Humphrey; county clerk, J. M. Hicks; sheriff, C. C. Mills; treasurer, J. H. Bentley; register of deeds, J. P. Gardner; county attorney, G. N. Smith; county superintendent of schools, C. N. Gartin; surveyor, J. W. Beatty; coroner, J. N. Slown; commissioners, L. C. Swink, A. A. G. Stayton and S. S. Taggert.
Hazelrigg's History of Kansas (p. 224) says the fight for the county seat was kept up for some years, two sets of county officers being elected and the county records divided, until the question was finally decided by the supreme court in favor of Syracuse.
The surface of the county is level in the northern part and rolling prairie in the southern. The Arkansas river enters the county from the west, near the center, and flows in a southeasterly direction until it enters Kearny county. Along this river the bottom lands are from 2 to 4 miles wide. There is little native timber, but a number of artificial groves have been planted. White magnesian limestone is abundant in the bluffs along the river and some gypsum deposits have been found. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad runs along the north bank of the Arkansas river, giving the county a little over 28 miles of railroad. The county is divided into eight townships. viz.: Bear Creek, Coolidge, Kendall, Lamont, Liberty, Medway. Richland and Syracuse. In 1910 there were 27 organized school districts in the county, with county high schools at Coolidge and Syracuse. The population of the county in that year was 3,360, a gain of 1,934 during the preceding decade—over 100 per cent. The value of taxable property was $5,257,355, and the value of farm products, including live stock, was nearly $372,500. The principal crops are broom-corn, milo maize, hay (including alfalfa), sorghum and wheat.
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