Kansas Genealogy Search

Kansas family history is anchored by the Kansas Historical Society in Topeka, which holds nearly every Kansas newspaper ever published, the state censuses of 1855 through 1925, and the county records of the state's 105 counties on microfilm, with its Kansas Memory site putting much of it online free. Kansas began statewide vital registration in 1911, but the state censuses taken every ten years from 1865 to 1925, and the 1855, 1857 and 1859 territorial censuses, fill the gaps for the settlement era.

Kansas was a public land state settled under the Homestead Act, so federal land records name the first owner of most farms, and the railroad land sales cover the rest.

Official sources on this page were checked on September 25, 2026.

Kansas statewide genealogy links

• Kansas State Historical ArchivesState Archives at the Historical Society
• Kansas State Archives and Libraries SearchKansas Archives and Libraries Search
• Kansas Historical Society Newspapers DatabaseKansas Historical Newspapers Database
• State Library of Kansas Heritage ResourcesLibrary Genealogical Resources
• Kansas State Library University Archives and Manuscripts
• USGenWeb Archives KansasSearch Kansas GenWeb Archives
• National Archives Central Plains Region for KansasKansas Genealogy Research at the National Archives

Kansas began statewide birth and death registration in 1911, with some cities keeping records from the 1880s, and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment's Office of Vital Statistics in Topeka holds the certificates. Kansas keeps vital records closed except to the subject and family, but the Kansas Historical Society holds a statewide death index and marriage records from the counties, and probate court marriage records go back to each county's founding. Divorce records sit with the district court clerk.

• Kansas Office of Vital StatisticsBirth, death, marriage and divorce certificates from 1911, checked September 25, 2026
• Kansas Historical SocietyState censuses, county records, newspapers and Kansas Memory, checked September 25, 2026
• Kansas Vital Records guideHow to order certificates and what is public

The Kansas Historical Society holds the territorial censuses of 1855, 1857 and 1859 and the state censuses of 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915 and 1925, all indexed and online, along with the Kansas Civil War and Spanish-American War rosters, the Kansas State Penitentiary registers, county records on microfilm and its Kansas Memory digital collections. Federal land patents and homestead entries for Kansas are at the General Land Office site, and the National Archives at Kansas City holds Kansas's federal court, naturalization and Bureau of Indian Affairs records, including the Potawatomi, Kickapoo and Osage agency files.

• Kansas MemoryFree digitized Kansas censuses, photographs and documents, checked September 25, 2026
• Bureau of Land Management General Land Office recordsFederal land patents and homesteads for Kansas, checked September 25, 2026
• National Archives at Kansas CityFederal court, naturalization and Indian agency records for Kansas, checked September 25, 2026
• FamilySearch Kansas research guideFree indexed Kansas records and state censuses, checked September 25, 2026

Kansas registers of deeds hold land records from each county's founding, district court clerks hold probate, divorce and civil files, and the probate courts held marriage licenses before their merger into the district courts in 1977. The Kansas Historical Society has microfilmed the older books of most counties, and many registers of deeds post indexes online. Kansas county genealogical societies have indexed cemeteries and obituaries statewide, and the Riley County and Sedgwick County historical museums hold local collections.

• Kansas County Public RecordsRegisters of deeds and district court clerks for all 105 counties
• Kansas Court RecordsDistrict court case and probate searches

These federal and national sources complement Kansas's state-level records. They are the authoritative sources you should cross-check when Kansas state records are incomplete or out-of-state activity matters.

NARA, National Archives The federal government's primary archive. Holds the U.S. census (1790, 1950), ship passenger lists, naturalization records, military service files, and land entry files.

FamilySearch Free online genealogy platform operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Digitized microfilm copies of many county and state records worldwide.

Library of Congress, Local History & Genealogy The LoC's research guides, city directories, newspapers, and Civil War records, most accessible free online through loc.gov.