Records that survive
These are the record series from Sedgwick 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 Affidavits Index · District Court1870–1928
- Marriage Index · Courts1870–1927
- Civil (District) Court Case Files (Divorces Only) · District Court1871–1917
- Marriage License Record · District Court1884–1913
- Death Certificates · Public Library1887–1910
- Index to Certificate of Death · District Court1887–1910
- Marriage Affidavits · District Court1909–1946
Deeds and land
- Abstracts of land sold at the land office · District Court1870–1878
- Sale of school land · District Court1871–1918
- School land appraisement · District Court1871–1886
- Probate Court Record of Real Estate · District Court1885–1919
- Guardian Bonds - Real Estate · Probate Court1886–1938
Wills and estates
- Probate Court Case Files · District Court1870–1917
- Probate Court Docket · Probate Court1870–1904
- Inventory and Appraisement Records · Probate Court1871–1954
- Probate Court Journal · District Court1871–1918
- Record of Wills · District Court1872–1918
- Accounts against Administrators · Probate Court1873–1888
- Guardian Bonds · Probate Court1885–1947
- Letters of Administration · Probate Court1885–1954
- Letters of Guardianship · Probate Court1885–1954
- Guardians' Inventory · Probate Court1886–1934
- Letters of Testamentary · Probate Court1886–1954
- Abstract of Claims · Probate Court1889–1939
- Administrators' Bonds · Probate Court1895–1946
- Applications for Letters of Administration · Probate Court1901–1939
- and 6 more series in the full listing
Naturalization
- Naturalization Index · County Clerk1870–1906
- Naturalization Record · County Clerk1870–1906
Tax records
- Real and Personal Property Tax Assessments · County Treasurer1876–1898
- Sale Bills of Personal Property · Probate Court1880–1939
- Personal Tax Record · District Court1913–1923
- Poll tax record · District Court1920–1929
Court records
- City council minutes · City Clerk1870–1889
- Civil Appearance Docket · District Court1870–1918
- Coroner's Record - Index Cards · County Clerk1870–1954
- District Court Journals · District Court1870–1945
- Poor fund accounts and warrants · District Court1875–1895
- Supreme Court Mandates · District Court1883–1915
- Indictment Record · District Court1887–1889
- Patent Files · District Court1898–1952
- Coroner's Record · County Clerk1910–1952
- Workmen's Compensation Claims · District Court1912–1921
- City commission minutes · City Clerk1915–1989
- Alimony Docket · District Court1921–1923
- Dockets · City Court1923–1956
- Fee Book and Appearance Docket · Probate Court1938–1958
- and 2 more series in the full listing
Elections and voters
- Certificates of election · District Court1939–1945
Town and city records
- City Bills · City Clerk1872–1873
- Petition to Repeal Chapter 86--City Manager1918–1919
- Ordinance record · City Clerk1945–1990
- City Clerk - City Council Records · City Council1951–1991
- Charter ordinance record · City Clerk1964–1989
- Resolutions · City Clerk1971–1990
- Zoning regulations · City Clerk1981
- Personnel policy manual · City Clerk1986
County government
- Record of Bonds · Probate Court1870–1887
- Journal · Court of Common Pleas1889–1891
- Appeal Bonds · District Court1920–1948
- Statutory Bonds · District Court1950–1958
- Comprehensive Annual Financial Report · County Treasurer2001
- Single Audit Report And Independent Auditor's Report · County Treasurer2001
Other records
- Sheriff's report of prisoners in county jail, Sedgwick County, Kansas1886–1907
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
- Sedgwick 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: Sedgwick 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, Sedgwick" 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: Butler County, Marion County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Butler County, Marion County
Later formed partly from Sedgwick County: Harvey County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1867, 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.