Wyandot Indian Subagency (Kansas)

Indian Tribes Associated With This Agency
Wyandot

History
The Wyandot Subagency in what became Kansas was established in 1843 for members of the Wyandot tribe who had emigrated from Ohio. The Wyandots in Ohio had been assigned to the Ohio Subagency, which sometimes was called the Wyandot Subagency. The subagency headquarters was located at the site of Wyandot City, which is now part of Kansas City.

The Wyandot Subagency was discontinued in 1851. The Wyandot Indians were assigned to the Kansas Agency from 1851 to 1855, to the Shawnee Agency from 1855 to 1863, and to the Delaware Agency from 1863 to 1869. Most of the Wyandots moved to the Seneca Reservation in Indian Territory by 1870 and were assigned to the Neosho Agency and thereafter to the Quapaw Agency.

Subagents
Jonathan Phillips 1843, Richard Hewitt 1845, and Thomas Mosely, Jr.

Records
Agencies and subagencies were created as administrative offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and its predecessors. Their purpose was (and is) to manage Indian affairs with the tribes, to enforce policies, and to assist in maintaining the peace. The names and location of these agencies may have changed, but their purpose remained basically the same. Many of the records of genealogical value (for the tribe and tribal members) were created by and maintained by the agencies.

Letters received by the Office of Indian Affairs from the Wyandot Subagency, 1843-1863 and 1870-1872 have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of their Microcopy Number M234, Rolls 950-952. Copies are available at the National Archives and at the Family History Library and its family history centers on their. This correspondence includes some relating to the settlement of Wyandot affairs in Kansas after they moved to Indian Territory. There is also a "Wyandot Reserves" subheading under this Agency, which includes correspondence, 1845-1863, relating to Wyandot lands in both Kansas and Ohio. Some correspondence regarding Wyandot affairs in Kansas and even in Indian Territory was filed under this heading for 1870 thru 1872.