Records that survive
These are the record series from Miami 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
- Divorce case files · District/Probate Court1857–1917
- Marriage records · District/Probate Court1857–1945
- Marriages, births, and deaths (includes index) · County Clerk1885–1911
Deeds and land
- Deed records · Register of Deeds1855–1902
- Numerical Index Lots And Lands · Register of Deeds1858–1939
- Deed Indexes · Register of Deeds1859–1985
- Index Of Chattel Mortgages Destroyed · Register of Deeds1863–1917
- Chattel Mortgage Register · Register of Deeds1868–1941
- Mechanics Lien Docket · District Court1871–1899
- Stock Lien Record · Register of Deeds1887–1909
- Index to Chattel Mortgages · Register of Deeds1890–1912
- Chattel Mortgage Record · Register of Deeds1893–1924
- Transfer Record Lands · County Clerk1909–1953
- Mortgage Indexes · Register of Deeds1911–1917
- Tax Assessment Rolls - Real Estate · County Appraiser1916–1938
- General Election Poll Book And Tally Sheet For Richland Township · County Clerk1938
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · District/Probate Court1857–1917
- Will Records1857–1921
- General index to probate court · District/Probate Court1860–1924
- Index to Probate Case File Packet Numbers · District/Probate Court1860–1917
- Probate journals · District/Probate Court1860–1919
- Habeas Corpus Hearings · Probate Court1887–1905
- Probate Case Files - Miscellaneous · Probate Court1891–1931
- Probate Court Fee Book · Probate Court1891–1901
- Record Of Epileptics And Feeble Minded · Probate Court1917–1943
Naturalization
- Naturalization Declaration of Intention1867–1951
- Naturalization certificates · District/Probate Court1907–1929
- Naturalization petition and record · District/Probate Court1907–1945
Tax records
- Tax Assessments and Abstracts: County Summaries · County Clerk1859–1929
- Tax Rolls · County Treasurer1859–1890
- Tax Assessment - Railroads · County Clerk1870–1895
- Tax Rolls - Railroad · County Clerk1874–1891
- Personal Property Tax Assessment Abstracts - Townships & Cities · County Clerk1888–1895
- Miscellaneous Files - Tax and County Finance Related · County Treasurer1890–1940
- Personal Property Statements · County Treasurer1895–1955
- Delinquent Poll Tax Notice · County Treasurer1920
- Delinquent Poll Tax Receipts · County Treasurer1920–1921
- Osawatomie Township Zone Values and Taxation Record · County Engineer1920
- Poll Tax Warrants · County Treasurer1927
- Tax Rolls - Corporations · County Treasurer1933–1939
- Personal Property Statements Oil And Gas · County Treasurer1936
Court records
- Appearance Dockets -- Civil · District/Probate Court1858–1919
- District Court Files · District Court1858–1958
- Justice of the Peace - Case Files, Financial Records · Justice of the Peace1858–1953
- Execution Docket · District Court1859–1904
- Order Book · District Court1860–1871
- Judgement Docket · District Court1867–1870
- Motion Docket · District Court1869–1908
- Trial Docket · District Court1869–1900
- Bar Docket · District Court1875–1912
- Witness Docket · District Court1882–1891
- Attachment Record · District Court1885–1907
- Indictment Record · District Court1888–1909
- Case File: Horatio Clark versus. L. F. Sheldon et al · District Court1893
- Civil Dockets · Justice of the Peace1893–1960
- and 9 more series in the full listing
Schools
- School Annual Reports · Superintendent of Public Instruction1870–1965
- Register Of School District Officers · Superintendent of Public Instruction1876–1929
- Apportionment Of School Funds · Superintendent of Public Instruction1877–1929
- Scholastic annual report and census · Superintendent of Public Instruction1901–1916
- School District Bonds · County Clerk1911–1926
- County Teachers Association Record · Superintendent of Public Instruction1915–1918
- School District Treasurers Receipts · County Treasurer1949–1950
County government
- Journals · County Commissioners1857–1911
- Recognizances Bail Bonds · District Court1865–1890
- Railroad Development Bonds · County Clerk1868–1879
- Index To Journals · County Commissioners1873–1907
- Financial Record Book · City Treasurer1894–1920
- Bonds Records · County Treasurer1934–1939
Other records
- Miscellaneous Records · County Clerk1858–1958
- Statistical Rolls for Agriculture · County Clerk1871–1912
- Superintendent's Record And Annual Reports · Superintendent of Public Instruction1877–1939
- Appointment Of Conductor And Instructors · Superintendent of Public Instruction1890
- Record Of Checks Deposited · County Treasurer1891–1894
- Bank Book · County Treasurer1894–1914
- Transfer Record Lots · County Clerk1895–1953
- Normal Institute Attendance Record · Superintendent of Public Instruction1897–1928
- Treasurers Daily Statements · County Treasurer1903–1905
- Motor Vehicles License Record · County Treasurer1914–1925
- Transcript Of Preliminary Examination State Vs H Roscoe Hornbaker · Justice of the Peace1915
- County Engineers Record Of Bills Approved For County Road Work · County Engineer1919–1922
- Cost Records For Road And Bridge Projects · County Engineer1920–1928
- County Engineer Files · County Engineer1920–1944
- and 9 more series in the full listing
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
- Miami 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: Miami 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, Miami" 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.