This website best viewed with Internet Explorer Browser

Top of Page

Kansas, USA

A Guide for Your
Family History Research

Flag

introduction

Introduction

Seal

Kansas is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. Residents of Kansas are called "Kansans." Kansas was first settled by European Americans in the 1830s, but the pace of settlement accelerated in the 1850s, in the midst of political wars over the slavery issue. When officially opened to settlement by the U.S. government in 1854, abolitionist Free-Staters from New England and pro-slavery settlers from neighboring Missouri rushed to the territory to determine if Kansas would become a free state or a slave state. Thus, the area was a hotbed of violence and chaos in its early days as these forces collided, and was known as Bleeding Kansas. The abolitionists eventually prevailed and on January 29, 1861, Kansas entered the Union as a free state. After the Civil War, the population of Kansas grew rapidly, when waves of immigrants turned the prairie into farmland. Today, Kansas is one of the most productive agricultural states, producing high yields of wheat, sorghum and sunflowers. Kansas is the 15th most extensive and the 33rd most populous of the 50 United States.

Kansas is bordered by Nebraska on the north; Missouri on the east; Oklahoma on the south; and Colorado on the west. The state is divided into 105 counties with 628 cities, and is located equidistant from the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The geographic center of the 48 contiguous states is located in Smith County near Lebanon. The geodetic center of North America was located in Meades Ranch, Kansas, Osborne County until 1983. This spot was used until that date as the central reference point for all maps of North America produced by the U.S. government. The geographic center of Kansas is located in Barton County.

Surname

The following are surnames of persons, found within our databases, as having been either

born, married or died in this U.S. State. Names in dark red denote direct ancestral surnames.

McVicker; Moreland; Pinnell; Scruggs and allied families

· Alexander

· Amos

· Bailey

· Baker

· Brown

· Collier

· Cooper

· Dickson

· Douglass

· Elliott

· Fritts

· Gardner

· Giddens

· Harvey

· Hitt

· Johnson

· Jones

· Kohler

· Lemons

· Lineberry

· Littlepage

· Lovelace

· Lyons

· McVicker

· Moreland

· Peachee

· Pinnell

· Riley

· Ross

· Tabler

· Tatum

· Thomason

· Tiffin

· Valentine

· Wilson

Bozarth; Peiffer; Quigley; Rhubart and allied families

Dellinger; Knecht; Pfeffer; Silar and allied families

Click on this link to find out more about each surname listed above as well as other surnames found within our three family databases.

This link will also lead you to surname resources at Rootsweb, and information about the world-wide distribution of a surname.

searching the web (gold)

Free Surname
Search Engines

searching the web (gold)

Use this free genealogy site to help you get the best genealogy searches from Google™ by using your family tree, for your research. It will create a series of different searches using tips or "tricks"

that will likely improve your results. The different searches will give you many different ways of using Google and the Internet to find ancestry information about this or any other Surname.

Looking for world (gold)

Where in the World do These
Surnames Come From?

Looking for world (gold) right

Click on the LINK to the right to see more information about the World distribution of any surname. You can get greater

detail for any of the maps by clicking on the area, i.e state, county that you are interested in.

man on computer sea grn left 379x222.jpg

research location

man on computer sea grn right 379x222.jpg

Our Ancestral Counties

Gazetteer of Places

Historical Changes in County Boundaries

County Research (Genealogical)

Our Ancestral Counties

The following named counties are associated with the history of our DIRECT ancestors. To select a specific ancestral county, go to our ANCESTRAL LOCATIONS home page. Here you will find additional links to our county pages where you can obtain information about our family gen-sites, images of localities, and surnames of persons, in our database, who have lived in the selected county.

Click on this thumbnail map for a full-sized version.

Sedgewick; Stevens

populated places left (lt green)

Gazetteer of Places

Gazetteer
of Places

populated places right (lt green)

The following Links will take you to gazetteers that identify places within this U.S. State. These resources feature profiles of cities, towns, neighborhoods and subdivisions. In addition this site contains maps, data and directions for a wide variety of physical, cultural and historic features.

Kansas Cities - profiles of 1,998 Kansas cities, towns & neighborhoods
Kansas Schools search by city, county, or address
Kansas Physical Features such as lakes, islands & steams
Kansas Cultural Features such as parks, hospitals & airports
Kansas Civil Features such as Native Areas and Political Subdivisions
Search by Name, County, ZIP Code or Area Code

* includes but not limited to Cemeteries, Churches, Locales,

Military Installations; Populated Places, Post Offices, Schools, Streams, and Trails

Kansas, United States

Boundary changes

Conducting genealogical research in the United States requires an understanding of State and County boundaries. As the population grew more counties were created to meet the public’s need for localized governments. This phenomena was common in all states during the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th centuries. As such you may be looking for records in the wrong county or state.

The web site for the Atlas of Historical County Boundary Project provides interactive maps for all states. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries is meant to be a resource for people seeking records of past events, as well as people trying to analyze, interpret and display county-based historical data like Land Records, Probate Records, Court Records, Tax Records, and Vital Records that document birth, death, and marriage. The following link will take you to a list of all the boundary changes to this State and each county or equivalent within this U.S. State, as well as the date these changes occurred. Each entry is followed by a citation to the primary source(s) used to determine the change.

View Interactive Map

Maps and text covering the historical boundaries, names, organization, and attachments of every county, extinct county, and unsuccessful county proposal from the creation of the first county through 31 December 2000. Choose a date (day, month, and year) to view historical county configurations against the modern county network. Use the toolbar to zoom, pan, measure, view descriptions and citations, or print a desired map. Use the Help button on top right of the interactive map frame to read full descriptions of how to use the layers and tools on the interactive map site.

View Index of Counties and Equivalents

Complete index of every county, county equivalent, or other area relevant to the evolution of state and county boundaries; includes extinct and proposed counties, non-county areas, and provides cross references for name changes, and hyperlinks to corresponding entries from the Individual County Chronologies. Also accessible from the County Index link at the bottom of the interactive map frame.

View Consolidated Chronology of State and County Boundaries

Organizes the historical data chronologically, combining all the county events into a single composite entry for each date. Each entry is followed by a citation to the primary source(s) used to determine the change. Also accessible from the Chronologies link at the bottom of the interactive map frame.

View Individual County Chronologies

Organizes the historical data alphabetically by county name with each entry covering all the changes to a single county or equivalent. Each entry is followed by a citation to the primary source(s) used to determine the change. Also accessible from the Chronologies link at the bottom of the interactive map frame.

County Research (Genealogical)

Clicking on a Link (below) will take you to the County’s website. Here you will find additional links to more information specific to that location. The USGenWeb Project also sponsors important Special Projects, at the national level, that were created to collect and disseminate data that goes beyond county and state lines.

Allen; Anderson; Atchison; Barber; Barton; Bourbon; Brown; Butler; Chase; Chautauqua; Cherokee; Cheyenne; Clark; Clay; Cloud; Coffey; Comanche; Cowley; Crawford; Decatur; Dickinson; Doniphan; Douglas; Edwards; Elk; Ellis; Ellsworth; Finney; Ford; Franklin; Geary; Gove; Graham; Grant; Gray; Greeley; ; Greenwood; Hamilton; Harper; Harvey; Haskell; Hodgeman; Jackson; Jefferson; Jewell; Johnson; Kearny; Kingman; Kiowa; Labette; Lane; Leavenworth; Lincoln; Linn; Logan; Lyon; Marion; Marshall; McPherson; Meade; Miami; Mitchell; Montgomery; Morris; Morton; Nemaha; Neosho; Ness; Norton; Osage; Osborne; Ottawa; Pawnee; Phillips; Pottawatomie; Pratt; Rawlins; Reno; Republic; Rice; Riley; Rooks; Rush; Russell; Saline; Scott; Sedgwick; Seward; Shawnee; Sheridan; Sherman; Smith; Stafford; Stanton; Stevens; Sumner; Thomas; Trego; Wabaunsee; Wallace; Washington; Wichita; Wilson; Woodson; Wyandotte

County Research (General)

County Research
(General)

Wikipedia is a multilingual, Web-based, free-content encyclopedia project based mostly on anonymous contributions. Clicking on a Link (below) will take you to the Wikipedia article about the county. Here you will find additional links to guide the user to related pages with additional information.

Looking for world (LT GREEN)

Where in the World are My Ancestors?

Looking for world (LT GREEN) right

Resources which enhance our knowledge of the places inhabited by our ancestors are almost as important as their names. The LINK

to the right will take you to Maps, Gazetteers, and other helpful resources that will assist you in discovering Ancestral Locations.

Gen tool-kit

Gen Tool-Kit

Our “Gen-Tool Kit” has been primarily designed for those researchers who may be traveling to this location to perform on-site studies of their family history, or to just visit some of the interesting historical sites located therein. It can be very satisfying to mix research with sightseeing at historical and scenic spots. Such activity not only gives you an understanding of the land but a needed break from intense research sessions. When visiting an ancestral state for genealogical research we’ve found that the three most important places to visit are the State Archives; the State Library; and the State historical and/or genealogical societies. It is also good to plan ahead by contacting any site you intend visiting in order to ascertain where it is and when it will be open. This is especially true with regard to historical and genealogical societies.

Most if not all of these links are to websites that do not require a subscription. We hope that the following information will provide you with a better idea of what resources are available, within this county, to the family historian.

(History & Genealogical)

Cemeteries

history

National Register of Historic Places listings in Kansas

· List of Kansas landmarks

· History of Kansas

· Kansas Bibliography

· Ghost Towns of Kansas

· Kansas Post Offices

· Post Offices in Kansas

· Kansas Post Offices 1880 ($)

Kansas Postal History

Libraries, museums, arcxhives

· Historic House Museums & Historic Structures

· Historic House Museums in Indiana

· Historical Museum Guide for Indiana

· Indiana Historical Bureau

· Indiana Memory : Indiana digital library

· Indiana Public Libraries

· Indiana State Archives

· Indiana State Digital Archives

· Indiana State Library Genealogy Division

· The Association of Indiana Museums

Maps and gazetteers

· 1872 County Map of Kansas

· 1874 Map of Kansas

· 1922 Map of Kansas

· A Collection of Digitized Kansas Maps

· Eastern Kansas 1856

· Historic USGS maps of Kansas

· Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas 1860

· Kan., Neb., Colo. 1870

· Kansas 1875

· Kansas 1897

· Kansas 1879

· Kansas 1895

· Kansas And The Gold Mines 1862

· Kansas County Maps 1855- Present

· Kansas Digital Map Library

· Kansas Historical Maps and Atlases

· Kansas Maps

· Kansas Maps U.S. Map Collection ($)

· Kansas State Atlas 1887 Land Ownership ($)

· Kansas Towns and Cities

· Kansas Towns and Cities, 1912 ($)

· Kansas, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, & Indian Territory

· Kansas, Nebraska 1880

· Kansas, Nebraska 1890

· Kansas, Nebraska 1866

· Map Of Eastern Kansas

· Map of Kansas, Texas and Indian Territory 1867

· Maps of Kansas

· Missouri And Kanzas 1860

· Nebraska And Kansas 1860

· Nebraska and Kansas 1854

· Nebraska and Kanzas 1856

· Official topographical map of Kansas 1887

· Pam Rietsch's 1895 Atlas

· Territory of Kansas And Indian Territory 1857

records

· Kansas Department of Health and Environment

· Kansas Birth Certificates, Death Records, Marriage Licenses

· Kansas Births and Christenings 1818-1936

· Kansas Deaths and Burials 1885-1930

· Kansas Marriage Index, 1854-73 ($)

· Kansas Marriage Project

· Kansas Marriages 1840-1935

· Kansas Vital Records Information

· Kansas, County Marriages 1855-1911

· Marriage Notices From Kansas Territorial Newspapers 1854-61

· Online Kansas Death Records & Indexes

societies

· Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies, Inc.

· Kansas Division (Sons of Confederate Veterans)

· Kansas Genealogical Society

· Kansas Museums Association

· Kansas Society (National Society Daughters of the American Revolution)

· Kansas Society Children of the American Revolution

· Kansas State Historical Society

· Kansas State Society United States Daughters of 1812)

· The Kansas Trekker Coalition of Historical Trekkers

WWW (tan left)

Internet resources

Internet
Resources

WWW (tan right)

The Google search engine button and following web sites may provide you

with additional information to assist with your research about this U. S. State.

General Resources

Locality Specific Resources

FREE Record Collections

Our Genealogy Reference Library

· GenealogyLinks.net

· n2genealogy.com

· 50states.com - States and Capitals

· United States Research Wiki – Family Search

· Kindred Trails.com

· Genealogy Trails History Group

· StateGenSites - U.S. Genealogy Sites by State

· Family Search, USA IGI Batches, Localities

· Birth & Marriage Records Indexes for USA

· Record Search - Family Search.org

· Genealogy.com: Resources by county

· Libweb - Libraries on the Web

· The USGenWeb Project

· RootsWeb Town Search 1.0

· Genealogy Forum: U.S. States

· Rootsweb.com – U.S. Message Boards

· Cyndi's List – United States Index

· USGenWeb Archives

· Data Base Collections at Ancestry.com ($)

· Ancestry.com Wiki

· Linkpendium

· Histopolis.com – Collaborative Genealogy and History

· MyGenealogist.com

· Access Genealogy

· DistantCousin.com - archive of genealogy records

· Searchable Death Indexes & Records

· Census Finder –Free Census and other Records

Locality Specific Resources

· Genealogy Links – Kansas

· Kansas at n2genealogy.com

· 50states.com - Kansas

· Research Wiki - Kansas

· Kindred Trails.com – Kansas

· Genealogy Trails History Group – Kansas

· Genealogy Today - Kansas

· Kansas Genealogy Forum

· Rootsweb Message Board – Kansas

· Cyndi's List – Kansas

· USGenWeb Archives – Kansas

· Kansas Data Collection at Ancestry.com ($)

· Ancestry.com Wiki - Kansas

· Linkpendium - Kansas

Free Records (Blue) lt orange

Free Records & Databases

FREE Records
& Databases

Free Records (Blue) lt orange

All of the records and databases we’ve collected are FREE and can be accessed and searched online without having to pay for a subscription. We have divided our collected into 14 record types as follows: Biographical; Birth; Cemetery; Census & City Directories; Church; Court; Death; Immigration & Naturalization; Land; Marriage; Military; Newspapers; Occupational; and Tax Records. We try not to list any sites that have only a few records for the purpose of getting you to a website that will charge a fee to actually see the record beyond just a name.

This Link will take you to our

collections of FREE Records.

library_clipart1

Genealogy Reference Library

Our Genealogy
Reference Library

library_clipart1 right

The following Link will take you to our library of genealogy reference books that pertain to this U.S. State. Here you will find books about the history and records of this State, as well as its counties and other localities such as towns and churches. The collection also contains research works about State military units and personnel during America’s wars. In addition, there are resource texts about the ethnic and religious groups who settled in this State.