Records that survive
These are the record series from Marshall 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 Index - Licenses · Probate Court1857–1902
- Marriage Licenses · Probate Court1857–1871
- Marriage Records - Licenses · Probate Court1857–1955
- Case Files - Divorces · District Court1863–1917
- Marriage License Records · Probate Court1876–1889
- Marriage Affadavits · Probate Court1883–1889
- Birth And Death Records · County Clerk1885–1911
- Vital Statistics Records - Marriages · District Court1892–1909
- Marriage Register · Probate Court1893–1905
- Marriage Index · Probate Court1904–1992
Deeds and land
- Sales Of Real Estate · Probate Court1857–1886
- Deeds - Warranty · Register of Deeds1858–1901
- Index - Miscellaneous Record · Register of Deeds1858–1929
- Index - Numerical · Register of Deeds1858–1930
- Land District Record · Register of Deeds1858–1863
- Miscellaneous Records - Deeds · Register of Deeds1858–1905
- Western Land District Record · Register of Deeds1859–1860
- Abstract Land Record · Register of Deeds1860–1875
- Index - Deeds - Grantor/Grantee · Register of Deeds1860–1902
- Index - Mortgages - Grantor/Grantee · Register of Deeds1860–1902
- Patent Records · Register of Deeds1870–1884
- Deeds - Tax · Register of Deeds1875–1908
- Deeds · Register of Deeds1875–1900
- Mortgages · Register of Deeds1877–1951
- and 8 more series in the full listing
Wills and estates
- Administrators - Index · Probate Court1857–1886
- Bonds - Executors & Administrators · Probate Court1857–1884
- Bonds - Guardians · Probate Court1857–1890
- Inventories · Probate Court1857–1885
- Letters, Testamentary And Administration · Probate Court1858–1883
- Probate Case Files · Probate Court1859–1939
- Record Of Sales · Probate Court1859–1879
- Settlements - Administrators & Executors · Probate Court1859–1882
- Accounts - Against Estates · Probate Court1862–1883
- Guardians - Index · Probate Court1863–1886
- Miscellaneous Records · Probate Court1864–1905
- General Index · Probate Court1865–1880
- Journals - Probate Court · Probate Court1877–1918
- Accounts - Administrators & Executors - Final · Probate Court1883–1920
- and 10 more series in the full listing
Naturalization
- Naturaliations - Final Naturalizations Index · District Court1865–1906
- Naturalizations - Final Papers · District Court1865–1906
- Naturalizations - Declaration of Intention · District Court1866–1929
- Naturalizations - Petition & Final Record · District Court1906–1929
- Naturalizations - Petition & Record Index · District Court1906–1929
- Naturalizations - Petitions & Declarations of Intention · District Court1929–1952
Military and pensions
- Military Service Discharge Records · Register of Deeds1919–1973
Court records
- Appearance Dockets · District Court1858–1922
- Record Book · District Court1858–1865
- District Court Journals · District Court1860–1920
- Final Record · District Court1860–1875
- Record Of Orders · Probate Court1863–1877
- Appearance Dockets · Probate Court1887–1897
- Naturaliations - Petitions Granted · District Court1929–1952
Schools
- School District Files - Bonds · County Treasurer1866–1878
- School District Files · County Treasurer1866–1878
- School Annual Reports - Scholastic Census · Superintendent of Public Instruction1892–1923
Town and city records
- Abstracts of Town Lots1857–1995
County government
- Letters, Testamentary And Bonds · Probate Court1883–1928
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
- Marshall 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: Marshall 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, Marshall" 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
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.