Records that survive
These are the record series from Greenwood 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 Records · District Court1856–1953
- Cemetery Lot Record · Eureka1857
- Divorce Case Files Only · District Court1857–1917
- Vital Statistics Register · Register of Deeds1885–1911
Deeds and land
- Deed Record · Register of Deeds1857–1901
- Deed Records in Misc. Records · Register of Deeds1857–1955
- General Indices to Deeds · Register of Deeds1857–1905
- Student Census Index · Register of Deeds1864–1878
- Land Patents and Military Documents1865–1924
- Record of Mortgages · Register of Deeds1872–1875
- Record of Graduates · Register of Deeds1889–1929
- Petition to Sell Real Estate (Minors) · District Court1898–1927
Wills and estates
- Probate Court General Index · District Court1857–2003
- Probate Court Case Files · District Court1858–1917
- Probate Court Journals · District Court1868–1918
- Index to Record Wills · District Court1870–1898
- Record of Wills · District Court1870–1920
- Probate Court Appearance Docket · District Court1871–1925
- Record of Inventory and Appraisement · District Court1875–1921
Naturalization
- Naturalization Records · District Court1870–1902
Military and pensions
- Military Discharge Record · Register of Deeds1862–1949
Tax records
- Real And Personal Property Tax Assessments · County Treasurer1868–1891
- Delinquent Tax Sales · County Treasurer1876–1887
Court records
- Civil Appearance Docket · District Court1857–1921
- District Court, General Index · District Court1857–1983
- District Court Journals · District Court1867–1895
- Civil Docket · Quincy Township1928–1932
Schools
- School Property · Register of Deeds1871–1956
- School District Boundary and Maps · Register of Deeds1884–1928
- Annual Student/Scholastic Census · Register of Deeds1887–1923
County government
- Record of Oaths and Bonds · District Court1884–1943
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
- Greenwood 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: Greenwood 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, Greenwood" 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 Allen 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.