Kansas Genealogy

This page of our website provides links to Kansas genealogy databases and historical narratives about Kansas. These genealogical records may include, vital records (birth, marriage and divorce, death), ethnic records (Black, Native American), court records (land, probate and wills, criminal and civil), church records (Bibles, baptisms, marriages, burials and histories), cemeteries, census records, military records directories and yearbooks.

Black Kansas Genealogy

  • Kansas African American Records
  • WPA Slave Narratives
    Slave narratives are stories of surviving slaves told in their own words and ways. Unique, colorful, and authentic, these slave narratives provide a look at the culture of the South during slavery which heretofore had not been told.
  • Colored Directory
    This directory primarily deals with African Americans living in Topeka, Kansas, but it also contains listing for Alma, Burlingame, Council Grove, Dunlap, Eskridge, Osage City, Oskaloosa, Paxico, Perry and rural Shawnee County. Listings of the residents of the smaller communities include name and occupation. The address is included only if it is rural with the RFD numbers. The listings for Topeka include name, occupation or place of employment, and home address.
  • Colored Directory, Topeka, Kansas
    This “Colored Directory” is similar to other city directories. It lists African American churches, organizations, businesses and professionals. The bulk of the directory lists the names of African Americans and their addresses. Page 59 lists the names of the faculty, what they teach, and where they received their education for the Kansas Vocational School, as well as other employees. The directory does not list occupation. It also contains a number of advertisements from Topeka and Shawnee County businesses.

Kansas Biographies

  • Kansas and Kansans Biographies
    In these 2100+ biographies are found the names, portraits (coming soon) and accounts of a great number of the people of the state of Kansas. Preserving the records of families is at least as worthwhile as keeping record of live stock. These biographies also have a great value in interpreting the broader movements described in the general history. The truth is, biography is a most important portion of any historical effort. In the great drama of history, all play a part -— more or less important— - more or less significant. Some are the mere settings of the stage. Some play an insignificant part. But others - —the strong men in a community or state - —those who labor and achieve - —these are the men who really possess and preserve the genius of a people and perpetuate to ultimate destiny the real trend of a commonwealth's progress. The combined stories of the lives of these men create and constitute, in the main, true history. They furnish a standard by which can be computed the results of combined effort in the up-building of states and nations.
  • Biographies of Ford County Kansas
  • Biographies of Jewell County Kansas
  • Biographies of Russell County Kansas

Kansas Cemeteries

Kansas Census Records

Kansas Genealogy

  • Reminiscences of the Early Settlement of Dragoon Creek, Wabaunsee County
    When the Kansas-Nebraska Act opened up the Kansas Territory to settlement, a tide of immigration began as citizens from across the United States, and foreigners, recently arrived in the US, rushed to receive some of the prime property. Stephen J. Spear was one such settler, and this manuscript depicts his life along Dragoon Creek in Wabaunsee County, Kansas.

United States Genealogy

Kansas County Websites

Kansas History

Kansas Images and Photographs

  • Wichita Photo Archives
    A collaborative effort of WSU Libraries’ Department of Special Collections, the Wichita Public Library Local History Division and the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum that presents nearly 150 images of Wichita dating from the 1860s to the present.
  • Images of Kansas Cities and Towns
    A collection of postcards and photographs showing scenes in Kansas and the western United States.
  • A. A. Hyde Collection of William S. Soule Photographs
    A collection of portraits of Native Americans made by William S. Soule in Indian Territory around 1870.
  • Sod House Photograph Collection
    A collection of postcards and photographs depicting the sod houses typical of early homesteads on the North American plains.

Kansas Maps

Kansas Military Records

Kansas Native American Records

Kansas Vital Records