Kingman County was created on March 07, 1872 (Organized in 1874) from Harper and Reno Counties. The County Seat is Kingman. The County was named for Samuel A. Kingman (1818-1904), member of the Wyandotte Constitutional Convention, chief justice of the Kansas supreme court, briefly state librarian, and first president of the Kansas State Historical Society.
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 130 N. Spruce, Kingman, KS 67068; Phone: (620)532-2521.NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.
Kingman County Clerks Officehas Birth Records from 1885-1911, Marriage Records from 1875 and Death Records from 1885-1911.
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.
Kingman County Register of Deeds Officehas Land Records from 1890. Phone 620-532-3211
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.
Kingman County Clerk of District Court has Probate Records from 1878 and Court Records from 1878. 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 Kingman County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Kingman 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 Kingman County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Kingman County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
Kingman 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 Kingman County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Kingman 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 Kingman County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Kingman 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 Kingman County Maps. Email us with websites containing Kingman 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 Kingman County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Kingman 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 Kingman County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Kingman County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Kingman County Historical Society,
P.O. Box 281,
Kingman 67068
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 Kingman County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Kingman 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 Kingman County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Kingman 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.
Kingman County, in the south central part of the state, is located in the second tier from the Oklahoma state line, and is bounded on the north by Reno county; on the east by Sedgwick and Sumner; on the south by Harper and Barber, and on the west by Barber and Pratt. It was named for Samuel A. Kingman, who was chief justice of the Kansas supreme court at the time it was organized.
The first settler is said to have been W. H. Childs, who came from Michigan in 1872, though some accounts place the date as 1874, and that of the first settlement as Feb., 1873, when Martin Updegraff located on the Chikaskia river 20 miles south of the present city of Kingman. A few months later half a dozen others settled in the county, among whom were J. K. and F. S. Fical and Charles Barr. Early in 1874 W. H. Childs, H. L. Ball, A. D. Culver, H. S. Bush and W. P. Brown located at Kingman and took claims in the vicinity. W. H. Mosher located at the head of Smoot creek, and a number of families located on the Ninnescah. Late in the summer the settlements were threatened by the Indians. Mr. Fical was commissioned as captain and W. H. Childs as lieutenant to organize a military company to repel any attack. When the commissions arrived there were no men to organize, all the residents having fled. They returned as soon as the scare was over.
During the years of 1874 and 1876 there were few new people. A large number came in 1877 and every part of the county was settled. The last of the buffalo disappeared in that year. Heavy rains in the spring swelled the streams so that they became impassable and the settlers being shut off from supplies were threatened with famine. For several days parched corn was the only food, and even this gave out before the flood subsided.
The organization of the county took place in Feb., 1874, when there were not more than 20 bona fide settlers. Gov. Thomas A. Osborne designated Kingman as the temporary county seat and appointed the following officers: J. Harmony, county clerk; and J. K. Fical, J. M. Jordan and G. W. Lacey county commissioners. The officers met at Kingman on March 5, and as J. K. Fical withdrew, W. C. Frink was appointed in his place. A special election was called for April 7, to vote on the issuing of bonds to the amount of $70,000, for court-house, bridges and general expenses. It was ordered also that county and township officers should be elected at this time, and a permanent county seat chosen. The election resulted in the choice of the following officers: H. L. Ball, J. K. Fical and G. W. Lacy, commissioners; J. Harmony, clerk; F. S. Fical, sheriff; J. M. Jordan, treasurer; W. P. Brown, county attorney; George Pitts, probate judge; G. A. Whicher, county superintendent; W. J. Harmony, register of deeds; W. P. Brown, coroner; R. R. Wilson, surveyor; and G. A. Whicher, district clerk. Kingman was made the permanent county seat and the bonds were authorized. These bonds were printed but were canceled and destroyed the next spring. Two efforts were later made to have the county seat removed from Kingman. One was in 1878, when a town called Akron was started in the eastern part of the county. A petition was presented to the commissioners asking for an election to relocate the county seat, and when this petition was denied, the town of Akron was abandoned. The other attempt was in 1881, when the people in the southeastern part of the county succeeded in having an election called. The competing points were Kingman and Dale City, a point about 7 miles to the southwest. Kingman won by a majority of 85 votes.
The first child born in Kingman county was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. K. Fical, whom they named Ninnescah, born in 1873. The first marriage was in Nov., 1875, between Jesse McCarty and Cecilia Capitolia Scribner, the ceremony being performed by W. H. Mosher, a justice of the peace. The first school was opened in 1874 with only 5 pupils, Miss Ada Crane, teacher. The first farming was done by Charles Barr in 1873. Six years later there were 76,000 acres under cultivation. The first water-mill was built by Starling Turner in 1879, at a cost of $20,000. The Mercury, the first newspaper, was established in 1878 by J. C. Martin. The census of 1878 gave Kingman county 729 people, but in the next three years the population increased to 3,125, showing that the development of the county did not really begin until about 1880.
Kingman is divided into 23 townships as follows: Allen, Belmont, Bennett, Canton, Chicaskia, Dale, Dresden, Eagle, Eureka, Evan, Galesburg, Hoosier, Kingman, Liberty, Ninnescah, Peters, Richland, Rochester, Rural, Union, Valley, Vinita and White. The postoffices are, Kingman, Adams, Basil, Belmont, Calista, Cleveland, Cunningham, Murdock, Nashville, Norwich, Penalosa, Rago, Spivey, Varner, Waterloo, Willowdale and Zenda.
The surface of the county is rolling prairie somewhat broken in the vicinity of the Ninnescah. The bottom lands comprise 15 per cent. of the total area. Cottonwood is the principal timber and is found along the Chikaskia. An excellent water system is formed by the two branches of the Chikaskia. The south branch of the Chikaskia enters the county near the southwest corner and flows east 15 miles, where it unites with the north branch forming the main stream, which leaves the county near the southeast corner. The south fork of the Ninnescah enters on the west line north of the center, crosses in a southeasterly direction past Kingman, and leaves the county near the central part of the east line. The north fork crosses the northeast corner. There are several small lakes, numerous springs, and well water is found at a depth of 25 feet. Sandstone, rock salt, gypsum and mineral paint are found in large quantities.
There are nearly 150 miles of main track railroad in the county. A branch of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe crosses the northern part from east to west, another crosses from east to west in the southern part, and still another branch of the same system runs through the center from north to south. A branch of the Missouri Pacific enters in the southeast and extends northwest through Kingman into Reno county. The Kansas City, Mexico & Orient crosses the extreme southeast corner.
The area of Kingman county is 864 square miles or 552,960 acres, of which over 400,000 acres are under cultivation. The county ranks high in agriculture and stock raising. Wheat, corn, oats, sorghum, Kafir corn and hay are the principal crops. The value of the farm products in 1910 was $3,042,500, of which wheat was worth $853,824; corn, $656,000; and hay, $156,904. The population in 1910 was 13,386, a gain of about 30 per cent. over that of 1900. The property valuation of 1910 was over $30,000,000, which makes the wealth per capita nearly $2,200.
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