Sedgwick County, Kansas Genealogy

Guide to Sedgwick County, Kansas ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
The County was named for John Sedgwick. The County is located in the south central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Sedgwick County Courthouse 525 N Main Street Wichita, KS 67203 Phone: 316.383.7666 Sedgwick County Website District Probate Court has marriage and probate records from 1870. District Civil Court has court records. County Clerk has land records from 1887. Community Health Department (1900 E. 9th, Wichita, KS 67214) has birth and death records.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Cemeteries

 * at FamilySearch How to Use this Collection — index

State and Territorial Census Records

 * 1855-1925 - Kansas State Census Collection, 1855-1925 at Ancestry — ($), Index and images; covers census years 1855-1859, 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, 1925
 * 1860 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection - Index and images
 * 1860 - 1860 U.S. Federal Census for Kansas Territory at Ancestry - ($), Index and images
 * 1865 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection— index and images
 * 1875 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection — index and images
 * 1885 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection — images
 * 1895 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection — index and images
 * 1905 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection — index
 * 1915 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection — index and images
 * 1919-1961 - Kansas, City and County Census Records, 1919-1961 at Ancestry - Partial index (4 counties) and images
 * 1925 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection — index

Federal Census Records
The 1870 Census was the first Federal Census taken for Kansas after it became a state in 1861. For links to Federal Census indexes, see Kansas Census.

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * 1861-1918 - at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection —index
 * FamilySearch Places

Land and Property Records
Online Land Records


 * Land records at Kansas Historical Society


 * 1882 Land Plat book for Sedgwick County - image of plat book
 * 1905 Land Plat book for Sedgwick County - image of plat book


 * Land Patent Search - index to federal patents and homesteads on the Bureau of Land Management website, some images available
 * 1796-1907 - U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 at Ancestry - index, info taken from Bureau of Land Management website
 * 1863-1908 - U.S. Homestead Records 1863-1908 at Ancestry.com - ($), index and images

For more information see Kansas Land and Property

Local Histories
Online County Histories


 * Historical Atlas of Sedgwick County, Kansas.  1982.  By John P. Edwards.  Wichita, Kansas : Midwest Historical and Genealogical Society.   Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library;.
 * History of Wichita and Sedgwick County, Kansas. 1910, 1994.  Editor-in-chief Orsemus Hills Bentley. Mount Vernon, Indiana : Windmill Publications. (Originally published: Chicago : C. F. Cooper, 1910). Online at: Hathitrust, Internet Archive, vol. 1, Internet Archive, vol. 2, Ancestry ($);.
 * Portrait and Biographical Album of Sedgwick County, Kan. 1888.  Chicago, Illinois : Chapman Brothers.  Online at:  Hathitrust,  Internet Archive, Google Books;.
 * The Wichita Photo Archives - over 1,000 photographs of Wichita and Sedgwick County.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
 * Early Township maps of Sedgwick County http://specialcollections.wichita.edu/wcf/townships/index.asp
 * Township Map of 1887 Sedgwick County, Kansas with enlarged views of each township (My Genealogy Hound)

Atlas

[1882] Historical Atlas of Sedgwick County, Kansas, published by John P. Edwards, 1882. The 1982 reprint has a 17 page index of names. Kansas memory item 224001

[1905] Standard Atlas of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Including a Plat Book of the Villages, Cities and Townships of the County, published by George A. Ogle and Company. Kansas memory item 209421

Online Collections
These collections are unique to Kansas. You will find nationwide databases for military records on U.S. Military Online Genealogy Records and Kansas Military Records. Collections Covering Multiple Wars


 * Kansas Military Index at Kansas Historical Society - Index only, includes Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Iraq and Afghanistan Conflicts
 * Records of the Deaths and Burials at the Kansas State Soldiers Home - Index only, the home is located in Fort Dodge, Ford County, Kansas.

Civil War


 * Kansas Civil War Soldiers at the Ancestry.com - ($), Index only
 * 1862, 1863, 1868: Kansas, Civil War Enlistment Papers, 1862, 1863, 1868 at the Ancestry.com - ($), Index and images
 * 1866-1931: Kansas, Grand Army of the Republic Bound Post Records, 1866-1931 at the Ancestry.com - ($), Index and images
 * 1880-1940: Kansas, Grand Army of the Republic Post Reports, 1880-1940 at the Ancestry.com - ($), Index and images
 * 1889: Kansas, Enrollment of Civil War Veterans, 1889 at the Ancestry.com - ($), Index and images
 * Kansas Civil War Soldiers at the Ancestry.com - ($), Index and images

Spanish-American War (1898)


 * 1945-1970: Kansas, United Spanish War Veterans Reports of Deaths, 1945-1970 at the Ancestry.com - ($), Index and images

World War I


 * History and Roster of the Kansas State Guard (WWI) at KSGenWeb - Taken from the book by the Adjutant General's Office
 * 1917-1919: Kansas, World War I Veteran Collection, 1917-1919 at the Ancestry.com - ($), Index and images
 * 1930: Kansas, Enrollment of WWI Veterans, 1930 at the Ancestry.com - ($), Index and images

World War II


 * 1940-1946: Web: Kansas, WWII Selective Service Index, 1940-1946 at the Ancestry.com - ($), Index and images
 * World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel from Kansas at KSGenWeb - Index only

Korean War


 * U.S. Military Fatal Casualties of the Korean War for Kansas - Index only

Vietnam War


 * U.S. Military Fatal Casualties of the Vietnam War for Kansas - Index only

For further information see Kansas Military Records.

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1864 - 1972 - Kansas, Naturalization Abstracts, 1864-1972 at Ancestry — ($), Index
 * 1865 - 1874 - Kansas Indian Naturalizations, ca. 1865-1874 at the National Archives — Index, District of Kansas, Record Group 21.
 * 1865 - 1984 - Kansas, Federal Naturalization Records, 1865-1984 at Ancestry — ($), Index and images
 * 1917 - 1918 - Kansas, Registration Affidavits of Alien Enemies, 1917-1918 at Ancestry — ($), Index and images, includes German and other aliens living in Kansas

Newspapers
Kansas Newspapers Online
 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * Kansas Newspapers at Newspapers.com - ($), free to Kansas residents through Kansas Historical Society
 * GenealogyBank - ($), contains images of Kansas newspapers
 * Newspaper Archive - ($), contains images of Kansas newspapers
 * Chronicling America - contains images of some Kansas newspapers; searching tips
 * Elephind - Free; search engine that retrieves newspaper images from other free newspaper websites
 * Tihen Notes - Dr. Edward N. Tihen read and took notes from nearly every issue of Wichita's newspapers dating from 1872 to 1982. Presented as PDF documents are nearly 6000 transcribed pages of the "Tihen Notes," as they have become known. Dr. Tihen's notes reflect the people, places and events that have shaped Wichita's history.

Kansas Newspaper Catalogs


 * Kansas Online Historical Newspapers - contains a list of known Kansas newspapers online and the websites they are found on
 * U.S. Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present on Chronicling America - contains a list of all known newspapers and the dates they cover; once you locate a newspaper name, contact the local library to see if they have copies of the newspaper

Obituaries
Midwest Historical and Genealogical Society Library has three Indexes of the obituaries in scrapbooks in their library.


 * Index of obituaries from The Wichita Eagle and Beacon for the period 1955 to 2014.
 * Obituaries from the Catholic Advance for 1999.
 * Miscellaneous obituaries which they have indexed.

Other Records
Voter Records


 * 1854 - Kansas Election List, 1854 at Ancestry — ($), Index
 * 1854 - 1856 - Kansas Voter Registration Lists, 1854-1856 at Ancestry — ($), Index

Probate Records
Online Records


 * 1803 – 1987 Kansas Wills and Probate Records 1803-1987 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Birth

 * 1818 - 1936 at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection  — index


 * 1885 - 1911 Kansas, Births and Christenings Index, 1885-1911 at Ancestry.com — index $

Marriage

 * 1800 - 1946 - United States Marriages – Kansas, 1800-1946 at findmypast — ($), Index and images
 * 1811 - 1911 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection — Index
 * 1811 - 1911 - Kansas, County Marriages, 1811-1911 at Ancestry — ($), Index
 * 1840 - 1935 - at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection — Index
 * 1861 - 1918 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection — index

Death

 * 1885 - 1930 at FamilySearch.org - How to Use this Collection — index
 * 1885 - 1930 Kansas, Deaths and Burials, Index, 1885-1930 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1887 - 1910 Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas, Death Index, 1887-1910. Alphabetical index giving name and certificate number.

Divorce

 * 1871 - February 1888 Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas, Divorce Index, 1871-1888. Alphabetical index giving name of plaintiff, defendant, date of filing, and case and docket numbers.

Family History Centers

 * Derby Kansas Stake Family History Center
 * Wichita Kansas Auburn Hills Family History Center

Libraries
Edward & Elizabeth Burns Historical Research Pavilion Wichita Public Library - Advanced Learning Library 711 West 2nd Wichita, Kansas 67203 Telephone: 316-261-8500 Check website for hours of operation.


 * Contains over 32,000 genealogy books and magazines covering Kansas, the Great Plains, the Midwest, the South, the Colonial States, and Native Americans. Other major collections include:  Dawes Rolls Applications, Draper Manuscripts, Germans to America, Italians to America, and the Barbour Collection.  Over 20,000 rolls of microfilm cover the city's major newspapers, the Wichita Eagle and the Wichita Beacon; local records; and state and federal census.
 * Access to: American Ancestors and Ancestry Library Edition databases.
 * Family History Library Affiliate

Museums

 * The Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum 204 S. Main Wichita, Kansas 67202 Phone 316-265-9314 Email:[mailto:wschm@wichitahistory.org wschm@wichitahistory.org] Website

Societies

 * Clearwater Kansas Historical Society 149 North 4th Street Clearwater, Kansas, 67026 Phone 620-584-2444
 * Colwich Historical Society PO Box 489 Colwich, KS 67030-0489
 * Derby Historical Society PO Box 1054 Derby, KS 67037-1054
 * Midwest Historical Society and Genealogical Society PO Box 1121 1203 North Main St Wichita, KS 67203-1121 Phone 316-264-3611 Website
 * Wichita Genealogical Society PO Box 3705 Wichita, KS 67201-3705 E-mail:[mailto:info@wichitagensoc.org info@wichitagensoc.org] Website
 * See the genealogical collection at the Wichita Public Library.


 * Haysville Genealogy Group Haysville Community Library 210 Hays Haysville, Kansas 67060 Phone 316-524-5242 Email:[mailto:haysvillegenealogygroup@gmail.com haysvillegenealogygroup@gmail.com] Facebook Website
 * Valley Center Historical & Cultural PO Box 173 112 N Meridian Valley Center, KS 67147-4800 Phone 316-744-2275 or 316-755-1488 Facebook

Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
 * The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records
 * Sedgwick County, Kansas Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)