Records that survive
These are the record series from Wabaunsee 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 License Records · District/Probate Court1859–1923
- Marriage Affidavit Records · District/Probate Court1888–1917
- Vital Statistics Register - Births and Deaths · County Clerk1892–1911
Deeds and land
- Deeds Indices · Register of Deeds1859–1930
- Deeds, Mortgages, and Property Records1859–1949
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · District/Probate Court1857–1917
- Probate Court Records - Index · District/Probate Court1857–1990
- Probate Court Journals · District/Probate Court1859–1918
- Probate Court Records · District/Probate Court1870–1937
- Wills Records1872–1918
- Probate Fee Books · District/Probate Court1898–1920
Naturalization
- Naturalization Records · District/Probate Court1906–1928
Court records
- Civil Case Dockets · District/Probate Court1860–1923
- District Court Journals · District/Probate Court1861–1920
- Dockets · Justice of the Peace1869–1887
- District Court Records Index · District/Probate Court1877–1927
- Alta Vista City Council Minutes · City Clerk1905–1990
- Orders and Occupational Classification Cards · Poor Commissioner1934–1935
Schools
- School District 24 - Clerk's Records · Superintendent of Public Instruction1876–1927
- Teachers' Daily Registers · Superintendent of Public Instruction1889–1894
- Scholastic Census Records · Superintendent of Public Instruction1893–1916
- School District 24 - Attendance Registers · Superintendent of Public Instruction1897–1910
- School Term Reports · Superintendent of Public Instruction1903–1910
- School District 24 - Teachers' Classification and Attendance Registers · Superintendent of Public Instruction1911–1941
Town and city records
- Alta Vista Ordinances and Resolutions · City Council1959–1988
Other records
- Records1907–1966
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
- Wabaunsee 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: Wabaunsee 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, Wabaunsee" 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: Land not yet in any county; attached to Shawnee County for civil and military business until it was organized
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.