Kansas Historical Societies

This directory lists 5 historical societies, museums, and archives in Kansas. The Kansas Historical Society in Topeka anchors the list, and two National Park Service sites, Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka and Fort Larned National Historic Site on the Santa Fe Trail, round it out. Open any card for the organization's own page with address and contact details.

Kansas Territory opened to settlement in 1854 and became a state on January 29, 1861, so county records begin in the 1850s in the east but not until the 1870s or 1880s in the west, where many counties were organized only after the railroads arrived. Two things set Kansas apart for researchers: the state ran its own census every ten years from 1865 to 1925 (plus an 1855 territorial count), which fills the hole left by the lost 1890 federal census, and the Kansas Historical Society has microfilmed county records and digitized nearly every pre-1923 newspaper in the state.

Featured Historical Societies

Where the records are: Topeka and beyond

The Kansas State Archives, operated by the Kansas Historical Society at 6425 SW 6th Avenue, Topeka (785-272-8681), is the single most important stop. Its research room holds county records on microfilm, including pre-1911 birth, death, and marriage registers from many counties, the state census returns from 1855 through 1925, a Kansas military index, Grand Army of the Republic post records, Civil War material, and manuscript collections. Much of the microfilm can be borrowed through interlibrary loan, and staff answer written questions through an "Ask a research question" form if you cannot visit. Kansas State Archives

• Kansas Memory (kansasmemory.gov) is the Society's digital archive, with roughly 766,000 scanned images: photographs, diaries, letters, maps, oral histories, and government documents, searchable by place and topic.
• Ancestry for Kansans: the Society's agreement with Ancestry gives Kansas residents free remote access to the Kansas collections, including the state censuses, after verifying a Kansas driver's license or state ID.
• The Kenneth Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas in Lawrence holds the Kansas Collection, including Sanborn fire insurance maps for 241 Kansas towns.
• County-level records that were never microfilmed remain with the Register of Deeds, the district court clerk, and the county clerk in each of the 105 county seats.

Vital records: 1911 is the dividing line

Statewide registration of births and deaths began in 1911. Certificates on file from July 1, 1911 are issued by the Office of Vital Statistics, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, 1000 SW Jackson, Suite 120, Topeka; a certified copy costs $20 and includes a five-year search. The office also holds delayed birth certificates filed by people born as early as the 1860s who later needed proof of age, so a search can pay off even for a birth decades before 1911. KDHE Office of Vital Statistics

Before 1911, county clerks kept birth and death registers from about 1885 with poor compliance; the Kansas Historical Society has microfilm copies for many counties. Marriages were licensed and recorded by the county probate court from county formation (1855 in the oldest counties) through 1913; probate courts were later merged into the district courts, so ask the district court clerk for the old marriage registers or search the Society's microfilm. Divorce cases are district court records in the county where they were filed. Kansas restricts access to recent vital records to relatives, so be ready to show how you are connected. The FamilySearch wiki page on Kansas Vital Records has county-by-county detail.

Land and deeds: homesteads, railroad land, and the Register of Deeds

Kansas is a public-land state surveyed into townships and ranges. First title came from the United States by homestead, cash purchase, or military bounty warrant; from a land-grant railroad such as the Santa Fe or the Kansas Pacific, which sold land from their grants; or, in the east, from former reservation lands sold after treaties. Which path your ancestor took determines where the first record is.

• Federal patents for Kansas are searchable at the BLM General Land Office Records site; the patent gives you the land office, the date, and the legal description you need for the county records. The homestead case file, with the settler's final-proof testimony, is at the National Archives.
• Railroad land sales produced a contract and later a deed from the railroad company; look for both in the county deed books.
• The county Register of Deeds records deeds, mortgages, and plats, indexed by grantor and grantee, so start with the name and work forward and backward in time. Our how to trace a property's deed history shows how to build the chain of title.

Newspapers: nearly every Kansas paper before 1923 is online

The Kansas Digital Newspapers program, run by the Kansas Historical Society since 2009, has put almost 12 million pages online, covering nearly every newspaper from every Kansas city and town between 1854 and 1923. The pages live on Newspapers.com, but you do not need a subscription: the Open Access Portal is free with no login, and Kansas residents who verify a driver's license get the full Kansas collection. More than 300,000 Kansas pages (42 titles from 28 cities) are also on Chronicling America at the Library of Congress. Because weekly county papers printed final-proof notices, probate notices, and sheriff's sales, the newspapers often substitute for courthouse records that no longer exist. Kansas Digital Newspapers

City directories for the larger towns (Topeka, Wichita, Leavenworth, Atchison, Kansas City) are held by the State Archives and by the public library in each city, which typically has the longest run. Our guide to old city directories explains how to read them.

Census, military, and statewide indexes

Kansas took its own census in 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, and 1925, after a territorial census in 1855. Each lists every member of the household by name with age, sex, race, and birthplace. From 1865 they add marital status and Civil War service (company and regiment); the 1875 census records the state or country each person came from before Kansas, which is the single most useful column for tracing migration; 1885 through 1915 add military enlistment and discharge details; and 1925 adds relationship to the head of household and the year of naturalization. The returns are on microfilm at the State Archives in Topeka and online at Ancestry (free to Kansans through the Society's program). Kansas censuses 1855-1930

• The Kansas military index at the State Archives points to Kansans in state-held military records, and the Grand Army of the Republic post records name Union veterans who settled in Kansas after the war.
• Naturalization was handled by the district court in each county; ask the district court clerk or check the Society's microfilm.

Researching a house or building in Kansas

The Kansas State Historic Preservation Office is a division of the Kansas Historical Society in Topeka. It maintains the nomination files for the National Register of Historic Places and the Register of Historic Kansas Places (the state register) and administers the Kansas Historic Resources Inventory (KHRI), a free, searchable database of every property that has been surveyed, with photographs, survey findings, and historic context. Check KHRI first: if your house has already been surveyed, much of the work is done.

Sanborn fire insurance maps for 241 Kansas towns, 1883 to the 1930s, are in the Kansas Collection at KU's Spencer Research Library, and the 1883-1922 sheets are free online in KU's Kansas Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps collection. Pair them with the Register of Deeds chain of title and city directories to date a house; our when was my house built article lays out the order to do it in, and researching an old building's history covers commercial buildings.

Tips for working with Kansas societies

Nearly every one of the 105 counties has a county historical society, usually running a museum in the county seat on limited weekday hours and staffed by volunteers who know the local families. Many keep the obituary file or newspaper index for the county, which is faster than searching 12 million pages cold. Write with the full name, approximate dates, and township, and offer to pay for copies. The National Park Service sites listed here (Brown v. Board, Fort Larned) are interpretive rather than archival, so send genealogy questions to the Kansas Historical Society instead. For burials, the county society and the cemetery district office are the two places to ask; see our how to find where someone is buried.

Additional Kansas History Resources

• Kansas State Archives (Kansas Historical Society) - County records on microfilm, state censuses, military index; Topeka
• Kansas Digital Newspapers - Nearly 12 million free pages, 1854-1923, via the Open Access Portal
• Kansas Censuses 1855-1930 - What each state census year records and how to access it
• Kansas Memory - Digital archive of about 766,000 images from the Kansas Historical Society
• KDHE Office of Vital Statistics - Birth certificates from July 1, 1911; $20 certified copy
• Kansas Historic Resources Inventory (KHRI) - Searchable database of surveyed historic properties, run by the Kansas SHPO
• KU Kansas Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps - Free digitized Sanborn maps for Kansas towns, 1883-1922
• BLM General Land Office Records - Federal land patents and survey plats for Kansas homesteads
• FamilySearch Wiki: Kansas Vital Records - Dates and locations of Kansas birth, death, marriage, and divorce records

Frequently Asked Questions

What years did Kansas take a state census?

Kansas counted its population in 1855 (territorial) and then in 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, and 1925. The 1875 census names the state or country each person lived in before Kansas, and the 1925 census gives the year of naturalization. All are on microfilm at the Kansas State Archives in Topeka and online through Ancestry, free to Kansas residents.

How do I get a Kansas birth or death record from before 1911?

There is no state certificate before July 1, 1911. County clerks kept registers from about 1885, and the Kansas Historical Society has microfilm copies for many counties. The state Office of Vital Statistics also holds delayed birth certificates, some for births back to the 1860s.

Are old Kansas newspapers free online?

Yes. The Kansas Digital Newspapers program has nearly 12 million pages covering almost every Kansas paper from 1854 to 1923, free through an Open Access Portal on Newspapers.com with no login. More than 300,000 Kansas pages are also on Chronicling America.

Where are Kansas deeds and homestead records?

Deeds and mortgages are recorded by the Register of Deeds in each county. The original federal patent is searchable at the BLM General Land Office Records site, and the homestead case file with the settler's testimony is at the National Archives.