Records that survive
These are the record series from Leavenworth 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 Certificate Record1855–1880
- Marriage Certificate Index · District/Probate Court1866–1880
- Marriage License Record1867–1953
- Marriage Record Index, Blacks1867–1868
- Divorce case files · District/Probate Court1868–1917
- Marriage License Record Index1876–1953
- Coroners Death Record · County Coroner1891–1934
Deeds and land
- Deed records (various) · Register of Deeds1857–1940
- Index to Mechanics Lien Docket · Probate Court1857–1859
- Mechanics Lien Docket · Probate Court1857–1859
- Record of Real Estate Transfers · County Clerk1859–1860
- Indexes · Register of Deeds1866–1908
Wills and estates
- Docket of Executors, Administrators, and Guardians · Probate Court1855–1879
- Ledger · Probate Court1855–1859
- Probate Case Files · District/Probate Court1855–1929
- Probate records (various) · District/Probate Court1855–1916
- Estates Inventory · District/Probate Court1857–1858
- Will record index · District/Probate Court1857–1918
- Index to probate court orders · District/Probate Court1863–1918
- Commitment Proceedings · Probate Court1881–1948
- Fee Books · Probate Court1898–1964
- Delinquent Child Hearings Files · Probate Court1920–1927
Naturalization
- Naturalization Docket1855–1859
- Naturalization Record Index and Record1859–1906
- Naturalization Declaration of Intention1903–1929
- Naturalization Final Record1903–1906
- Naturalization Certificate Stubs · District Court1913–1924
- Naturalization Military Pensions1918–1919
- Naturalization Military Pensions - Index1918–1919
- Naturalization Orders1929–1954
- Naturalization petitions1929–1938
Military and pensions
- Soldiers & Sailors Discharge Records1918–1919
Tax records
- Tax Assessment Rolls · City Clerk1859–1861
- Assessment Records · Probate Court1860–1864
Court records
- Civil Appearance Docket Indices1855–1916
- Court Records · District Court1855–1964
- Case Files · Justice of the Peace1856–1949
- Judgment Docket · Justice of the Peace1858–1863
- Record of Indictments · District Court1858–1867
- Final Record · District Court1859–1864
- Civil Appearance Dockets1861–1918
- Minutes1864–1871
- Order Record · Probate Court1865–1876
- Case Files · Police Court1868–1947
- City Council Minutes · City Clerk1868–1978
- Coroner's Record of Inquests · County Coroner1904–1923
- Reports · Juvenile Court1911–1934
- Journal Minute Book · District Court1938–1974
Schools
- Scholastic census records · Register of Deeds1909–1923
Town and city records
- Purchasers of Leavenworth town lots at public sale · Leavenworth1859
- Police Judge Reports · City Clerk1901–1921
- Jailers' Reports, Petitions, and Miscellaneous Documents · City Clerk1908–1923
County government
- Bond Record · County Clerk1855–1858
- Commissioners' Journal1855–1862
- Journal · District Court1970
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
- Leavenworth 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: Leavenworth 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, Leavenworth" 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 Leavenworth 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.