Sedgwick County, Kansas Genealogy Facts and Records

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Sedgwick County History and Information

Sedgwick County Facts

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Sedgwick County was created on February 26, 1867 (Organized on ?) from Hunter, Otoe and Peketon Counties. The County Seat is Wichita. The County was named for Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick (1813-1864). A career soldier, Sedgwick fought in the Seminole and Mexican Wars and served in territorial Kansas, on the Mormon Expedition, and in several frontier Indian campaigns. While commanding 6th Corps in the Army of the Potomac, he was killed by a Confederate sharpshooter at Spotsylvania on 9 May 1864, shortly after assuring his troops that the rebels "couldn't hit an elephant at this distance."

Counties adjacent to Sedgwick County are Harvey County (north), Butler County (east), Cowley County (southeast), Sumner County (south), Kingman County (west), Reno County (northwest). Cities and Towns Include Wichita, Derby, Haysville, Park City, Bel Aire, Mulvane, Valley Center, Goddard, Clearwater, Maize, Cheney, Sedgwick, Colwich, Kechi, Mount Hope, Garden Plain, Eastborough, Andale, Bentley, Viola. See also County History and County Courthouse for more details.

Kansas Settlers, 1854-1879: Listing of over 3200 early settlers of Kansas
The Sedgwick County Official Government Website
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Sedgwick County, Kansas History Books at Amazon.com
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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 Sedgwick 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 525 N Main, Room 320, Wichita, KS 67203-3731; Phone: (316) 660-9300. NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.

Sedgwick County Clerks Office has Birth Records from 1884-89; 1908-11, Marriage Records from 18? and Death Records from 1884-87; 1908-11.
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.

Sedgwick County Register of Deeds Office has Land Records from 1870.
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.

Sedgwick County Clerk of District Court has Probate Records from 1870 and Court Records from 1870.
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 Sedgwick County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Sedgwick 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)
Sedgwick County, Kansas Court Books at Amazon.com

Sedgwick 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 Sedgwick County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Sedgwick 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
Sedgwick County, Kansas Military Books at Amazon.com

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

Wichita/sedgwick County Historical Society, 204 South Main, Wichita 67202
Wichita Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 3705, Wichita 67201
Wichita County Historical Society, Box 1561, 201 N. 4th St., Leoti 67861
Midwest Historical-Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 1121, Wichita 67201-1121
American Historical Society of Germans from Russia,
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

Sedgwick 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 Sedgwick County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Sedgwick 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 Sedgwick County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Sedgwick 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 Sedgwick County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Sedgwick County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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Sites on USGenweb: [ Sedgwick County ] [ Kansas ] [ Main Page ]
Sedgwick County USGenweb Archives
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Genealogical Document Search and Retrieval Service
Sedgwick 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.

Sedgwick County, in the southern part of the state, is 135 miles west of the Missouri line, 250 miles east of Colorado and is the second county north of Oklahoma. The territory of which it is comprised was included in Butler county until 1867, when Sedgwick was formed by act of the legislature. The description was as follows: "Commencing at the northwest corner of Butler county, thence south to the southwest corner of the same; thence west to the west line of range 4 west; thence north to the south line of township 22; thence east to the place of beginning." In 1872 four townships on the north of the west tier were given to Reno county, and two full tiers from the north were given to Harvey. The county was named in honor of John Sedgwick, a general of the Civil war, who was killed at Spottsylvania Court House, Va., in May, 1864.

The first settlers were William Greiffenstein, who located on Cowskin creek and established a trading post in 1865; Charles Whittaker took a claim in the Little Arkansas valley in the spring of 1866; Durfee & Leedrick built a ranch on the Little Arkansas in 1867; about the same time Lewellen & Davis opened a post for trading with the Indians, and Eli Waterman and John Lawton located in the county. In 1868 came J. R. Mead, H. W. Vigus, William Whitman, M. A. Sales, D. S. Munger, Milo B. Kellogg, John Allison, Charles Hunter, F. H. and Harvey Dunlap, Robert and William Houston, David Edmounds, John D. Goyler, James French, David Wousick, and about a score of others. That year Sedgwick was organized into a township and attached to Butler county for judicial purposes. D. S. Munger was appointed the first justice of the peace and the first election was held in November, at which 35 votes were cast. The officers chosen were as follows: Trustee, M. A. Sales; clerk, H. W. Vigus; treasurer, S. B. Boyd; superintendent of public instruction, Mrs. Sales (mother of M. A. Sales).

An attempt to effect county organization was made in the fall of 1869, when an election was held which was declared void by the governor on account of irregularities. A new census was taken and in the winter of 1870 the governor issued a proclamation organizing the county, designating Wichita as the county seat, and appointing S. C. Johnson, William Lockard and Henry Stein commissioners. The commissioners appointed John Ward clerk, divided the county into three election districts and called an election in April for the choice of officers and the selection of a permanent county seat. The contest was between Wichita and Park City. The total vote was 260, many of which were said to have been fraudulent, but of which Wichita received the majority. The officers elected were: County clerk, J. M. Steele; county attorney, T. J. Fulton; register of deeds, L. F. Buttles; clerk of the district court, D. A. Bright; probate judge, Reuben Riggs; sheriff, W. N. Walker; treasurer, S. C. Johnson; superintendent of public instruction, John P. Hilton; surveyor, William Finn; coroner, E. B. Allen, and commissioners, N. A. English, T. S. Floyd and Alexander Williams. J. M. Steele and H. E. Vantrees were made justices of the peace. The first term of district court was held in June, 1870, and was presided over by Hon. W. R. Brown.

There were a number of Indian scares in Sedgwick county, and although no fighting took place here, a detachment of the Fifth United States infantry, under command of Col. Barr, was stationed on the site of Wichita in 1867. A number of the men, at the expiration of their term of enlistment, became settlers in the vicinity. During the last Indian scare, which occurred in 1874, more than 1,000 people from Sedgwick, Kingman, Sumner and Harvey counties came to Wichita in a single day. In a few days they all returned to their homes. Shortly after that it was reported that the Comanches and Apaches were about to raid southern Kansas. Gov. Thomas A. Osborn ordered S. M. Tucker of Wichita to raise a company of 50 men for Indian service, and sent Adjt.-Gen. Morris to that point with commissions for the officers of the company, arms and equipment, etc. Mr. Tucker was made captain; Cash Henderson, first lieutenant; and Mike Meagher second lieutenant. They started on the campaign on the morning of July 11, and were gone 10 days but saw no Indians.

In common with other border territory Sedgwick county was the scene of a number of murders and outrages on the part of "gangs" and ruffians, most of whom at some time or other "died with their boots on." Six of such deaths occurred in 1873, while Wichita was a cattle shipping point.

The first court-house was built in 1872 and was located at the corner of First and Main streets. The city court and jail occupied the basement. In 1874 a county jail was erected. The present court-house is one of the best in Kansas. The site for it was donated by the founders of Wichita and the building, which was erected at a cost of $220,000, was paid for by 20-year bonds.

Prior to 1872 all the travel was by wagons and stage coaches, the main road being known as the Kingman trail. A stage station was maintained at Wichita, at which point there was a ferry across the Arkansas. The first railroad was the Wichita & Southwestern, built in 1872 by a company of local capitalists. The president of the company was J. R. Mead; treasurer, William Greiffenstein; secretary, H. C. Sluss; directors, Solomon H. Kohn, J. M. Steele, S. C. Johnson, G. H. Smith, George Schlieter, C. F. Gilbert, T. J. Peter, R. W. P. Muse and F. J. Fulton. In Aug., 1871, the county voted $200,000 to aid in the construction of the road. During the last year before the road reached Wichita it was estimated that 800,000 cattle were driven through Sedgwick county. In 1880 the St. Louis & San Francisco railroad was completed to Wichita. In 1885 the Missouri Pacific was built from the east, and a little later the Wichita, Anthony & Salt Plains and the Wichita & Colorado lines were projected by local capitalists, and both became a part of the Missouri Pacific system. About that time the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe road was built from Sedgwick to Wichita, thence west to Kingman, the people of Wichita furnishing the right of way from that point to the west line of the county. In 1886 a line known as the Kansas Midland was built from Wichita to Ellsworth by Wichita capitalists, Senator Bentley, W. E. Stanley, J. O. Davidson. C. R. Miller, Robert E. Lawrence and others being the promoters. It became a part of the St. Louis & San Francisco system. The next year the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific was built across the county from the northeast. This being the main line of that road from Chicago to the gulf, the Sedgwick county people felt themselves very fortunate in securing it although they never realized any profits from the stock which they bought in the concern. The last road to be constructed in Sedgwick county was the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient, about 1906 or 1907. It connects this territory with the rapidly developing southwest and is one of the most valuable lines that has ever come to the county. Beside these roads which pass through Wichita, a branch of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe runs from east to west through the southern part and another line of the same road cuts across the southeastern corner.

In regard to the financial affairs of the county it is recorded that the first levy of taxes was 2 1/2 cents on the dollar. In 1872 the county was bonded for $200,000 for the first railroad, and being ambitious and eager for public improvements, especially new railroads, liberal bonds were voted at frequent intervals. These bonds were always promptly paid in full, $155,980 being paid off in the year 1880 at a time when new enterprises were being pushed very rapidly. In 1911 Sedgwick county was one of the three largest tax paying counties of the state. In 1880 the assessed valuation of property was $3,117,460, which was a remarkable growth from practically nothing in 1870. The assessed valuation in 1910 was $108,139,773. The county affairs are in excellent condition financially. The public buildings are paid for and bridges and roads are in good shape.

The Sedgwick County Agricultural Society was organized in 1873, and the first exhibition was held in October of that year. The next year on account of the drought and grasshoppers there was nothing to exhibit and the county had to accept outside aid. In 1875 the crops were bountiful, but in 1876 the grasshoppers again caused considerable damage. In 1882 the value of garden produce and animals sold for slaughter was $610,000, and the number of bushels of grain raised was 5,332,320, of which 3,665,610 bushels was corn. In 1884, out of an abundant corn crop, Sedgwick county sent 33 car loads of the grain to the food sufferers in Ohio in recognition of the help it had received ten years before. Although as a reaction to the boom of the '80s times were a little dull in the towns for the next few years, the land kept on producing crops which formed the basis of general prosperity. Sedgwick is at present surpassed by only four counties in the value of her farm products, which in 1910 were worth $5,616,683. Of this amount corn, the largest field crop, was worth $1,325,088; wheat, $490,785; oats, $676,074; hay, $645,812; animals sold for slaughter, $1,539,012. The Sedgwick County Fair Association had a tract of 40 acres which, when the association became bankrupt, was bought by John V. Carey for $5,000, the amount of the judgment against it, and formed the Carey Park addition to Wichita. A state fair, held at Wichita, took the place of the county institution. (See State Fairs.)

The legislature of 1893 authorized the establishment and maintenance of an industrial school at the expense of the county, the amount to be spent for buildings and grounds not to exceed $10,000. A branch of the state entomological department was established in Sedgwick in June, 1911, and is of great assistance to the farmers in ridding their farms of pests and increasing the volume of produce.

Sedgwick county is divided into 27 townships as follows: Afton, Attica, Delano, Eagle, Erie, Garden Plain, Grand River, Grant, Greeley, Gypsum, Illinois, Kechi, Lincoln, Minneha, Morton, Ninnescah, Ohio, Park, Payne, Rockford, Salem, Sherman, Union, Valley Center, Viola, Waco and Wichita.

The general surface is rolling prairie, level in places. The timber belt along the streams are unusually wide, averaging more than a mile, and contain all the varieties of wood common to Kansas soil. The bottom lands are also wide and comprise 50 per cent. of the area. Well water is accessible at a depth of from 10 to 50 feet. The Arkansas river enters in the northwest and crosses the entire county southwest. The Little Arkansas enters in the north, flows south, joining the larger stream at Wichita. The north and south forks of the Ninnescah river enter and unite in the southwest, the main stream flowing southeast into Sumner county. Cowskin creek has its source in the central part and flows southeast. Limestone, clay and gypsum are abundant. The population of the county in 1882 was 19,166; in 1890, 43,626; in 1900, 44,037, and in 1910, 73,095.

County Courthouse

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