Records that survive
These are the record series from Johnson 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 Indexes · County Clerk1857–1989
- Marriage records · District/Probate Court1857–1918
- Divorce case files · District/Probate Court1861–1917
Deeds and land
- Shawnee Indian patents · Register of Deeds1854–1859
- Deed Records1857–1995
- Mortgage indexes and records · Register of Deeds1857
- Indian land transfer record · Register of Deeds1859–1870
- Shawnee Indian abstracts · Register of Deeds1860–1874
- Record of the Sale of School Lands1865–1869
- Indexes · Register of Deeds1868–1901
Wills and estates
- General index to probate court · District/Probate Court1857–1917
- Probate Case Files · District/Probate Court1857–1917
- Probate journals · District/Probate Court1857–1920
- Probate records (various) · District/Probate Court1858–1927
- Will Records · District/Probate Court1864–1918
Naturalization
- Naturalization records · District/Probate Court1872–1952
Tax records
- Treasurer Tax records (various) · County Offices1858–1924
- Road tax records · Monticello Township1863–1872
- Real & personal property assessment roll · Aubrey Township1871
Court records
- District Court Account Book · District Court1857–1862
- Civil Execution Docket · District Court1858–1871
- Trial Docket1859–1860
- Bar docket · District/Probate Court1861–1874
- Civil appearance docket · District/Probate Court1861–1919
- District court journals · District/Probate Court1861–1918
- City Commission minutes · City Clerk1950–1979
- City council minutes · City Clerk1977–1992
- Case Number 6113, State vs. Richard Grissom1989–1993
Schools
- School Appraisement1865–1881
- Record of School Districts · Superintendent of Public Instruction1871–1892
- School Apportionment1873–1895
- Teacher Exams and Certificates1883–1893
- School Sessions1887–1918
- Common Schools Exams1888–1929
- Teacher Attendance Records · Superintendent of Public Instruction1919–1929
Elections and voters
- Nomination record · County Clerk1908–1916
Census
- Census Report · County Clerk1880
Town and city records
- Aubrey Township - Miscellaneous Records · County Clerk1864–1885
- Township clerk's record · Aubrey Township1912–1930
- Lenexa - City Treasurer's Quarterly Reports · Lenexa1938–1941
- Ordinances · City Clerk1950–1991
- Desoto - 1968 Zoning Ordinance #3401968
County government
- Bond Record, 12/1857-6/1863 · Courts1857–1863
- Commissioners Journal · County Clerk1857–1862
- Financial Exhibit to State Auditor1873
- Record of the Poor House · Poor Farm Commissioner1885–1946
- Commissioners notebook · County Clerk1911–1916
Other records
- Shawnee Indian Reservations1860–1877
- Brands And Marks Register · County Clerk1864–1934
- Agricultural And Mechanical Stock Accounts · County Clerk1866–1870
- Proceedings of the Superintendent of Public Instruction · Superintendent of Public Instruction1873–1901
- Normal Institute Records · Superintendent of Public Instruction1881–1895
- Teaching Candidates · Superintendent of Public Instruction1894–1930
- Certificates To Practice Medicine/Surgery · County Clerk1901–1946
- Teaching Certificates Granted1902–1909
- Truancy Record1904–1928
- Embalmers' Registrations · County Clerk1910–1932
- Farm Registration · County Clerk1911–1967
- County Home/Farm Expense Reports · County Clerk1926–1934
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
- Johnson 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: Johnson 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, Johnson" 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 Johnson County: Wyandotte 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.