Russell County, Kansas Genealogy Facts and Records

Start your family tree. We'll start searching. It's FREE. - Enter a few simple facts about recent generations of your family. We'll use what you enter to try and find more about your family in the world's largest online collection of historical records and family trees.

SEARCH THIS SITE

SEARCH FOR YOUR ANCESTORS IN THESE KANSAS GENEALOGICAL DATABASES:

KS Court, Land & Wills

KS Public Records

KS Birth, Marriage & Death

Russell County History and Information

Russell County Facts

Click HERE to see full size D.O.T. County Map

Russell County was created on February 26, 1867 (Organized on 1872) from Unorganized Territory. The County Seat is Russell. The County was named for Avra P. Russell, captain of Co. K, 2nd Kansas Cavalry, who died 12 Dec 1862 of wounds received in action at Prairie Grove, Ark., on 7 Dec.

Counties adjacent to Russell County are Osborne County (north), Lincoln County (east), Ellsworth County (southeast), Barton County (south), Rush County (southwest), Ellis County (west). Cities and Towns Include Russell, Lucas, Gorham, Dorrance, Luray, Bunker Hill, Paradise, Waldo. See also County History and County Courthouse for more details.

Kansas Settlers, 1854-1879: Listing of over 3200 early settlers of Kansas
The Russell County Official Government Website
Search the Kansas USGenWeb Archives
Russell County, Kansas History Books at Amazon.com
Family History Library - The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.

There are free downloadable and printable forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms, U.K. Census Extraction Forms, Research Calendar, Ancestral Chart, Research Extract, Correspondence Record , Family Group Sheet , Source Summary Form.

Records at the Russell County Courthouse

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 400 Main, PO Box 113, Russell, KS 67665-2732; Phone: (785) 483-4641. NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.

Russell County Clerks Office has Birth Records from 1885-1911, Marriage Records from 1872 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.

Russell County Register of Deeds Office has Land Records from 1872.
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.

Russell County Clerk of District Court has Probate Records from 1872 and Court Records from 1872.
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.

Click Here to Search Kansas Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records! - Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.

Below is a list of online resources for Russell County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Russell 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
Kansas Voter Registration Lists, 1854-1856: Voter registration lists from the territory of Kansas between 1854 and 1856
Kansas Settlers, 1854-1879: Listing of over 3200 early settlers of Kansas
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Russell County, Kansas Court Books at Amazon.com

Russell County Tax Records

See Also Military Records in Kansas

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.

Below is a list of online resources for Russell County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Russell 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.
Kansas Society of Daughters of the American Revolution, 2601 Central Avenue, Dodge City, KS 67801; (620) 225-1951
National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution, 1776 D Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20006; Phone: (202) 628-1776
Kansas Society of Sons of the American Revolution
National Society of Sons of the American Revolution, 1000 South Fourth Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40203; (502) 589-1776
Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900 from the State of Kansas (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Pension applications for service in the U.S. Army between 1861 and 1917, grouped according to the units in which the veterans served.
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.
1883 List of Pensioners on the Roll - Veterans or widows of veterans living in Kansas who have applied for a Pension
Russell County, Kansas Military Books at Amazon.com

Russell County Genealogical Addresses

See Also Other Kansasa Genealogical Addresses

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 Russell County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Russell County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

Russell County Historical Society, 331 Kansas, Box 245, Russell 67665
Local Kansas Researchers, Find a local researcher or become a local researcher.
Kansas State Historical Society, 6425 SW 6th Avenue, Topeka KS 66615-1099
Kansas State Genealogical Society, 2109 Twentieth Avenue, Monroe, WI 53566
Kansas Genealogical Society, PO Box 103, 700 Avenue G and Vine Street, Dodge City, KS 67801; (620) 225-1951
National Archives - Great Lakes Region (Chicago), 7358 South Pulaski Road, Chicago, Illinois 60629-5898; 773-948-9001; E-mail: chicago.archives@nara.gov (Maintains retired records from Federal agencies and courts in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Kansas.)
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.
Kansas Genealogical Society Books at Amazon.com

Russell County Church & Cemeteries

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.

There are many churches and cemeteries in Russell County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Russell County Tombstone Transcription Project.

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 Russell County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Russell County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

Click Here to Search Kansas Obituary 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 Russell County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Russell County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

Search 60 Years Of Everton Data: For the first time ever you can get access to more than 150,000 pedigree files and family group sheets from Evertons. Learn More
Search the Family Tree DNA Project- Use DNA testing to break through your genealogical barriers!
Sites on USGenweb: [ Russell County ] [ Kansas ] [ Main Page ]
Russell County USGenweb Archives
[GenForum Message Boards] [Rootsweb Message Boards]
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Kansas Family Group Sheets
Meet your ancestors. Learn their stories. Start your FREE family tree.
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.
Genealogical Document Search and Retrieval Service
Russell County, Kansas Family Books at Amazon.com

County History

Transcribed from Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. ... Standard Pub. Co. Chicago : 1912.

Russell County, in the northwest section of the state, is in the third tier from the Nebraska line, and is the sixth county east from Colorado. It is bounded on the north by Osborne county: on the east by Lincoln and Ellsworth; on the south by Barton, and on the west by Ellis. The railroad was built throught[sic] the central part of the county in 1867, about the time the boundaries were first defined, and before there was a single settler. In 1868 the legislature again defined the boundaries and named the county in honor of Avra P. Russell of the Second Kansas cavalry. In July, 1869, A. E. Mathews settled near the eastern edge of the county for the purpose of mining coal. Early in that year a party of seven section hands working 3 miles west of Fossil were attacked by 25 Indians. The Indians were armed with native weapons and the white men had but two guns. They tried to escape on a handcar, but two of their number were killed and all but one wounded. The five were saved by a man named Cook, who came to their aid with a gun.

In 1870 a number of men came into the county on a hunting expedition, selected claims and returned to their homes. In April, 1871, a large colony from Green Lake, Wis., settled upon the site of Russell. Shortly afterward a colony from Ohio settled east of Russell and started the town of Bunker Hill. In 1872 a colony from Pennsylvania settled near Dorrance. Up to this time the county had been attached to Ellsworth for judicial purposes. In 1872 Gov. Harvey issued the proclamation organizing the county, naming Russell as the temporary county seat, and appointing the following temporary officers: County clerk, J. L. V. Himes; commissioners, J. B. Corbett, John Dodge and E. W. Durkey; justice of the peace, Stillman Mann. The first election was held on Sept. 9, 1872, and the officers chosen were: Commissioners, John Fritts, John Dodge and Benjamin Pratt; county clerk, E. W. Durkey; sheriff, John Hemminger; treasurer, L. Langdon; probate judge, H. J. Cornell; superintendent of public instruction, H. C. Hibbard; register of deeds, R. G. Kennedy; surveyor, James Selling; coroner, J. W. VanScyoc. The candidates for county seat were Russell and Bunker Hill. The latter had the majority of the votes, according to the count of the commissioners, and was declared the permanent county seat.

This was the beginning of a two-year fight between the towns. The people of Russell never admitted the change of the seat of justice to Bunker Hill, and although the records were taken there, the people of Russell and about half of the county officials, including one commissioner, considered Russell the county seat. When the time came to canvass the vote at the November election this one commissioner and the clerk met at Russell, and the other two commissioners met at Bunker Hill. The county was so evenly divided on the matter that half of the returns were sent to Bunker Hill to be counted and half to Russell. Neither recognized the action of the other. The matter then was taken to the courts and after considerable delay the supreme court decided in favor of Russell. Another county seat election was held on April 23, 1874, and by scheming and plotting Russell succeeded in getting the more votes.

Meanwhile the settlers were steadily coming, and in 1877 a large colony of Russians located about 12 miles southwest of Russell. The next year they were followed by another colony of the same nationality. The first school was taught at Russell in 1871 by Mrs. A. H. Annas. The first newspaper was the Western Kansas Plainsman, established in 1872 by A. B. Cornell. The first flour mill was built at Russell in 1875. The county has always been remarkably free from debt.

There are 12 townships, viz: Big Creek, Center, Fairfield, Fairview, Grant, Lincoln, Luray, Paradise, Plymouth, Russell, Waldo and Winterset. The postoffices are Bunkerhill, Dorrance, Fairport, Gorham., Lucas, Luray, Milberger, Paradise, Russell and Waldo. The main line of the Union Pacific R. R. passes through the center of the county from east to west. A branch of the same road enters in the east and crosses northwest into Osborne county. There were 66 organized school districts in 1910.

The general surface of the county is rolling and there are high bluffs along the Saline and Smoky Hill rivers. Bottom lands average three-fourths of a mile in width and comprise 20 per cent. of the area. The soil is mostly clay loam with some Benton and sandy loams. Thin belts of timber line the streams. The Saline river enters on the western border near the northwest corner, crosses east and a little south into Lincoln county. The Smoky Hill river flows east across the southern portion. There are a number of creeks tributary to these two rivers. Soft and hard limestone, potter's clay and salt are found.

The early occupation of settlers was stock raising rather than farming. Up to 1880 sheep were the principal kind of stock, and at that time there were about 30,000 head in the county. Cattle were found to be more hardy and profitable, and in the course of 10 years they were raised more exclusively than sheep. In 1910 there were less than 1,000 sheep and about 33,000 cattle. The first farming was done in 1872, when 600 acres were cultivated. Ten years later the number of acres under cultivation was 214,260. In 1910 there were 433,063 acres out of a total of 576,000 under cultivation. There were then about 50,000 bearing fruit trees. The total value of farm products in that year was $3,355,929. The amount received from animals sold for slaughter was $395,143; for corn, $607,851; wheat, $1,716,048; oats, $45,680; tame grasses, $85,689; wild grasses, $79,905; poultry and eggs, $99,424; butter, $39,686; milk, $55,515.

The population in 1870 was 156 (all coal miners); in 1875 it was 1,212; in 1880 it had grown to 7,321. There was a slight decrease during the '80s, followed by an increase so that the figures of 1890 were 7,333. In the next decade there was an increase of 1,156, and in 1910 the population was 10,800. The assessed valuation of property in 1910 was $24,920,442, the average wealth per capita being $2,308, which is several hundred dollars above the average for the state.

County Courthouse

Your user agent does not support frames or is currently configured not to display frames.