Records that survive
These are the record series from Coffey 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 Record · Probate Court1858–1926
- Divorce Case Files · District Court1864–1917
- Vital Statistics Registers · County Clerk1886–1910
Deeds and land
- Deed records · Register of Deeds1857–1884
- Indexes to Deed Records · Register of Deeds1858–1900
- Mechanic Liens · County Clerk1870–1903
- Miscellaneous Records · Register of Deeds1886–1917
- Miscellaneous Public Instruction Records · Register of Deeds1956–1960
- Survey Plats: Burlington Industrial Park No. 1, Storage Building Project No. 844 · County Engineer1982–1984
Wills and estates
- Probate Court Case Files-Administration of Estates · Probate Court1859–1902
- Will Record · Probate Court1861–1919
- Will Record-Case Files · Probate Court1870–1917
- Probate Court Case Files-Closed Guardianship · Probate Court1873–1917
- General Index - Probate Records · Probate Court1883–1904
- Miscellaneous District and Probate Court Records · District Court1915–1937
Naturalization
- Naturalization Record -Declaration of Intention · Probate Court1904–1906
- Naturalization Record-Petition & Record · Probate Court1907–1929
Military and pensions
- Military Discharge Records · Register of Deeds1869–1885
Tax records
- Tax Assessment Rolls · County Treasurer1862–1866
Court records
- Index to Case Files · Probate Court1857–1986
- Justices Docket Civil Cases · Justice of the Peace1868–1928
- Justices Docket Criminal Cases · Justice of the Peace1888–1928
- Police Court Docket · Police Court1892–1905
Schools
- Public Instruction Scholastic Census Records · Register of Deeds1880–1987
- Records Of School District No 27 · Superintendent of Public Instruction1897–1953
Town and city records
- Ordinance Book · City Clerk1886–1892
County government
- Medical Examinations · Medical Examination Board1879–1880
- Record Of Official Acts · Superintendent of Public Instruction1881–1898
Other records
- Stray Book · County Clerk1859–1870
- Judicial, Correctional and Emergency Preparedness Center - Blueprint · County Engineer1983
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
- Coffey 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: Coffey 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, Coffey" 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: Land not yet in any county; attached to Anderson County for civil and military business until it was organized
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.