Kansas Archives and Libraries

The following archives, libraries, and societies have collections or services helpful for genealogical research in Kansas.

Kansas State Historical Society 6425 SW Sixth Avenue Topeka, KS 66615-1099 Telephone: 913-272-8681 Ext. 117 Fax: 913-272-8682 Internet: http://www.kshs.org/

The Kansas State Historical Society has several important facilities for genealogists. The Reference Library houses printed materials and the Department of Archives maintains original records of Kansas government jurisdictions, newspapers, and other historical documents. The Manuscript Department has unpublished papers, maps, and photographs.

National Archives—Central Plains Region 2312 East Bannister Road Kansas City, MO 64131 Telephone: 816-926-6934 Fax: 816-926-6982 Internet: http://www.archives.gov/central-plains/kansas-city/

Kansas Genealogical Society, Inc. P.O. Box 103 Dodge City, KS 67801 Telephone: 316-225-1951 Internet: http://www.dodgecity.net/kgs/

Kansas State Library State Capitol Building Room 343 N 300 SW 10th Topeka, KS 66612-1593 Telephone: 913-296-3296 Fax: 913-296-6650 Internet: http://skyways.lib.ks.us/KSL/

University of Kansas Spencer Research Library—Kansan Collections Lawrence, KS 66045-2800 Telephone: 913-864-4274 Fax: 913-864-5803 Internet: http://spencer.lib.ku.edu/sc/newamericanpoetry.shtml

To learn more about the history and record-keeping systems of Kansas counties, use the 14 inventories of county archives published by the Historical Records Survey around 1940. Copies of these inventories are at the Family History Library.

Computer Networks and Bulletin Boards
Computers with modems can be useful tools for obtaining information from selected archives and libraries. In a way, computer networks themselves serve as a library. The Internet, certain computer bulletin boards, and commercial on-line services help family history researchers:


 * Locate other researchers
 * Post queries
 * Send and receive e-mail
 * Search large databases
 * Search computer libraries
 * Join in computer chat and lecture sessions

You can find computerized research tips and information about ancestors from Kansas in a variety of sources at local, state, national, and international levels. The list of sources is growing rapidly. Most of the information is available at no cost.

Addresses on the Internet change frequently. As of April 1997, the following sites are important gateways linking you to many more network and bulletin board sites:

USGenWeb
http://www.usgenweb.org/

A cooperative effort by many volunteers to list genealogical databases, libraries, bulletin boards, and other resources available on the Internet for each county, state, and country.

Roots-L
http://www.rootsweb.com/roots-l/usa/

A useful list of sites and resources. Includes a large, regularly-updated research coordination list.

For further details about using computer networks, bulletin boards, and news groups for family history research, see the United States Research Outline (30972), 2nd ed., "Archives and Libraries" section.

FamilySearch™
www.familysearch.org

The Family History Library and some Family History Centers have computers with FamilySearch™. FamilySearch is a collection of computer files containing several million names. FamilySearch is a good place to begin your research. Some of the records come from compiled sources; some have been automated from original sources.