Records that survive
These are the record series from Barton County in the Kansas Historical Society's catalog of county government records, with the office that kept each and the earliest and latest years. Most are microfilm copies at the State Archives in Topeka. A span can include gaps.
Deeds and land
- School Land Purchase Records · County Clerk1886–1906
- Stock Lien Record · District Court1888–1912
Wills and estates
- Record of Inventories and Appraisement1873–1931
- Journals - Probate Court · Probate Court1901–1977
Tax records
- Tax Warrant Judgements · District Court1929–1948
- Tax Assessment Statements - Oil · County Clerk1958
Court records
- Civil Dockets · Justice of the Peace1872–1965
- Criminal Dockets · Justice of the Peace1872–1964
- Criminal Trial Dockets · District Court1873–1935
- Journals - District Court · District Court1873–1973
- District Court Order of Sale Docket · District Court1932–1940
- Civil Appearance Dockets · County Court1949–1970
- Criminal Appearance Dockets · County Court1949–1979
- Civil Trial Dockets · County Court1970–1974
Elections and voters
- Primary Nomination Papers · County Clerk1912
- Election Records · County Clerk1940–1964
- Poll Books · County Clerk1964
County government
- Cost Bonds · District Court1889–1925
- Journals · County Court1949–1977
Other records
- Deliveries & Shipments of Intoxicating Liquors · County Clerk1916
- Oil Property Statement · County Appraiser1958
- State Dept Of Social Welfare Schedules Of Disbursement · County Clerk1959–1964
See the full list at the Kansas Historical Society
Source: Kansas Historical Society, catalog of county government records (the county searches on its County Records On Microfilm page). Most of the film was made by the Genealogical Society of Utah, so FamilySearch may have it too. Kansas began statewide registration of births and deaths in 1911.
Where to find the records
- Barton County official website
Hours, addresses and phone numbers for the register of deeds, the probate court, the clerk of the district court and the county clerk, and any online record search the county offers.
- The register of deeds
Deeds, mortgages and other land records, usually from the county's beginning.
- The probate court
Wills, estates, guardianships and, for most years, marriage licenses. Since court unification in 1977 the probate court has been part of the district court, so ask the clerk of the district court for these records.
- The clerk of the district court
Civil and criminal cases, divorces and, in many counties, naturalizations.
- The county clerk
Tax rolls and the county commissioners' journals.
- The Kansas State Archives (Kansas Historical Society)
In Topeka: microfilm of county records, the Kansas state censuses and newspapers from across the state.
- Kansas Historical Society: Barton County recordsfree
Every county record series in the Society's catalog, with the office, dates and a description of each.
- Kansas Historical Society: County Records On Microfilmfree
How to use or borrow the county microfilm, with links to each county's list.
- Kansas Historical Society: Kansas censusesfree
The territorial and state censuses, what each one asks, and where to find them and their indexes.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Kansas, Barton" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.
Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.
Boundaries and parent counties
Formed from: Marion County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Marion County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1867, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
Kansas took its own census every ten years from 1865 to 1925, halfway between the federal ones. A state census can place a family in a county and township in a year the federal census misses, and most of them (all but 1865) also ask where a family came from before Kansas.