Records that survive
These are the record series from Cherokee 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.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage License Record · Probate Court1867–1919
- Marriage Index · Probate Court1870–1902
- Birth, Death, and Marriage Record · County Clerk1894–1911
- Register of Births · County Clerk1904–1911
- Birth and Death Records · Galena1911–1917
Deeds and land
- Deed Records · Register of Deeds1866–1927
- Index to Deeds · Register of Deeds1869–1900
Wills and estates
- Probate Journals · Probate Court1866–1907
- Will Records · Probate Court1870–1917
- Copies Of Correspondence Sent · Probate Court1876–1887
Naturalization
- Naturalization Records - Declarations of Intention · District Court1870–1906
- Naturalization - Petition and Record · District Court1907–1930
Court records
- Criminal Appearance Docket · Justice of the Peace1897–1902
Town and city records
- City Council records · City Council1869–1906
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
- Cherokee 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: Cherokee 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, Cherokee" 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: Created by the Kansas territorial legislature in 1855 from land not yet in any county
Later formed partly from Cherokee County: Crawford County, Labette County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1855, 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.