Woodson County, Kansas Genealogy Facts and Records

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Woodson County History and Information

Woodson County Facts

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

Woodson County was created on August 25, 1855 as an Original County. The County Seat is Yates Center. The County was named for Daniel Woodson (1824-1894), who served as secretary of Kansas Territory, 1854-1857, including four stints as acting governor. Some other sources suggest it was named for Silas Woodson (1819-1896), a lawyer and politician in St. Joseph, Missouri, who served as governor of that state in the 1870s.

Neosho Falls was the original county seat (1858-1873). Kalida was the seat from 1873 to 1874, when it moved to Defiance. Yates Center became the seat after the election of 12 Sept 1876.

Counties adjacent to Woodson County are Coffey County (north), Anderson County (northeast), Allen County (east), Neosho County (southeast), Wilson County (south), Greenwood County (west). Cities and Towns Include Yates Center, Toronto, Neosho Falls. See also County History and County Courthouse for more details.

Kansas Settlers, 1854-1879: Listing of over 3200 early settlers of Kansas
The Woodson County Official Government Website
Search the Kansas USGenWeb Archives
Woodson 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 Woodson 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 105 West Rutledge Street, Yates Center, KS 66783-1237; Phone: (620) 625-8605. NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.

Woodson County Clerks Office has Birth Records from 1885-1911, Marriage Records from 1860 and Death Records from 1885-1992.
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.

Woodson County Register of Deeds Office has Land Records from 1858.
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.

Woodson County Clerk of District Court has Probate Records from 1864 and Court Records from 1864.
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 Woodson County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Woodson 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)
Woodson County, Kansas Court Books at Amazon.com

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

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

Woodson County Kansas Genealogy Society, 608 North Prairie, Yates Center 66783
Woodson County Historical Society, RR 1, Box 16, Yates Center 66783
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

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

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

Woodson County, one of the counties created by the first territorial legislature of 1855, is located in the third tier of counties from the Missouri state line, and in the third tier from the Oklahoma line. It is bounded on the north by Coffey county; on the east by Allen; on the south by Wilson, and on the west by Greenwood. At the time it was created and named it contained very little of its present territory, but occupied almost the identical land which is now Wilson county. In 1857 the counties of the third tier were crowded northward until Woodson occupied about the same territory as at present. In 1861 a slice was cut off the southern part and given to Wilson. By act of the legislature in 1868 the boundaries of Woodson county were defined as follows: "Beginning at the southwest corner of Anderson county; thence south to the south line of township 26 south; thence west to the east line of Greenwood county; thence north to the corner of township 23 south of range 13; thence east to the place of beginning."

The county was named in honor of Daniel Woodson, territorial secretary. In common with the territory of that section Woodson county was not open to settlement until 1860. However, this did not keep out immigration entirely, so eagerly were the lands taken up by the white men. The lands of Woodson county belonged to the New York Indians, who never lived on them, maintaining only a temporary headquarters at Fort Scott. The government finding that the Indians declined to settle upon the lands offered them for sale in 1860 and they were eagerly taken up by white settlers. As nearly as can be ascertained the first permanent settlement of white men within the county was made in 1856. It is impossible to know who was first, the following having located in that year: David Cooper in Toronto township; Reuben Daniels in Belmont township, and John Coleman in Owl Creek township. A trading post was established in 1856, by D. B. Foster, at Belmont, where he carried on traffic with the Osage Indians. Among those who came in 1857 were John Chapman, Jack Caven, John Woolman and a few others who located where Neosho Falls now stands; William Stockbrand, August Toddman and August Lauber, in Center township; and Thomas Sears in Liberty township.

The first school in the county was taught in Toronto township in 1858. Neosho Falls also had a school the same year. The first churches were the Methodist and the Baptist organized in 1859. The first business outside of the trading post was a store which was opened at Neosho Falls in 1857 by Peter Stevens, who was the first postmaster in the county, and had charge of the Neosho Falls postoffice established in that year. The first birth was that of Eliza Jane Tassel in 1857. The first marriage was between Dr. S. J. Williams and Miss Eva Fender.

Woodson county did its duty by the government during the Civil war. In Nov., 1861, a company of soldiers for service in the Union army was organized at Neosho Falls with B. F. Goss as captain and I. W. Dow as first lieutenant. This was part of what was called the Iola battalion and was consolidated with others to form the Ninth Kansas cavalry, which took part in a number of engagements in Missouri and Arkansas.

The board of supervisors in Woodson county, consisting of I. W. Dow, G. J. Caven and William Phillips, with Charles Cameron clerk of the board, met at Neosho Falls, in May, 1858, and ordered that all official county business be transacted at that place. N. G. Goss & Co. donated a jail building to the county for so long a time as Neosho Falls should remain the county seat. In 1865, the county officers being without a suitable headquarters, Dow's Hall was rented at $36 per year. In 1867 an election was called to select a permanent county seat. The contesting towns were Neosho Falls, Center, Coloma and the site of Yates Center, which was entered in the list merely under its section, town and range description. Neosho Falls received 129 votes and Yates Center 118. At the second election held in Sept., 1868, Neosho Falls received 313 votes and Chellis, 199. The question was not revived again until 1873, when the vote stood as follows: Defiance, 506; Kalida, 530; Waldrip, 1. This made Kalida, which was 2 miles south of Yates Center, the county seat. Defiance was 6 miles east, and in the election held the next year it was victorious. In 1875 another election was called in which Neosho Falls and Yates Center were again the contestants. The first ballot gave no majority. The second ballot, which was hotly contested, was taken in Sept., 1876, and resulted in favor of Yates Center. The matter was never brought up again.

In the early days Woodson county like the other pioneer districts was a lively place in which to live. Men were shot for mere whims, most of the murders being committed for property or in drunken quarrels. One of the most notorious of the ruffians that infested the community was "Bully Smith," who had a long string of crimes laid at his door, and finally "died with his boots on" in California.

Efforts to build railroads in Woodson county began in 1867, but were unsuccessful for a number of years, owing to the failure of bonds to carry. Several different roads made propositions during the latter '60s and the '70s but all were turned down by the people. The first road to be built was the St. Louis, Fort Scott & Wichita (now the Missouri Pacific), which crosses the central part of the county in a northeasterly direction, passing through Toronto, Yates Center, Durand and Piqua. Another line of the same road enters the county from Kansas City and runs south to Yates Center, where it connects with the first line. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. crosses the county from the northeast corner to Yates Center, and a third line of the Missouri Pacific runs north from Wilson county. A line of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe also crosses the southwest corner, and a line of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas crosses the northeast corner, passing through Neosho Falls.

In 1858 the county supervisors organized five townships: Neosho Falls, Liberty, Owl Creek, Belmont and Verdigris. There are at present 9 townships as follows: Belmont, Center, Everett, Liberty, Neosho Falls, North, Owl Creek, Perry and Toronto. The towns and villages are Yates Center, Burt, Coloma, Cookville, Finney, Griffin, Keck, Lomando, Neosho Falls, Piqua, Ridge, Rose, Toronto and Vernon.

The surface of Woodson county is largely upland, especially toward the center, being the bluffs which rise from the Neosho river which crosses the northeastern corner, and from the Verdigris which crosses the southwest corner. Owl and Turkey creeks are the principal tributaries of the Neosho, and Sandy and Buffalo creeks of the Verdigris. The bottom lands along these streams average one and one-half miles in width, and comprise about 10 per cent. of the area of the county. The principal native timbers which grow along the streams in belts of from one-fourth to one mile in width are oak, cottonwood, hickory, black walnut, elm, hackberry, honey-locust, pecan, sycamore, box-elder and maple. Limestone and sandstone are found in commercial quantities, and large shipments are made from the quarries to other parts of the country. Potter's clay and brick clay exist in considerable quantities and thin veins of coal have been found. The surrounding counties are oil and gas producing districts and it is believed that Woodson is underlaid with these products.

The total area of the county is 504 square miles or 322,560 acres, of which nearly three-fourths have been brought under cultivation. The value of the farm products are very nearly $2,000,000 annually. Corn, wheat, oats, potatoes and Kafir corn are the leading field crops. Animals for slaughter, butter, eggs, poultry and dairy products contribute a large sum to the total output. The total valuation of property in 1910 was upwards of $15,000,000 and the population was 9,450.

County Courthouse

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