Allen County, Kansas Genealogy

Guide to Allen County, Kansas ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
The County was named for William Allen. The County has Iola as its seat and the County was created August 25, 1855. The County is located in the southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
The Allen County Courthouse was designed by Brentwood S. Tolan of Fort Wayne, and was built by James Stewart and Company of Saint Louis, Missouri. When the cornerstone was laid in 1897, the oldest man in the county, Louis Peltier, was present; he remembered Fort Wayne when it was a fort. The courthouse was completed in 1903 at a total cost of $817,553. Built in the Beaux-Arts architecture style, it was one of the most expensive courthouses in the state. It also was filled with artwork that cost more than other entire courthouses of the time. The courthouse has been protected as a National Historic Landmark since 2003. The building is now used primarily as a government annex, as most of the offices were moved across Main Street to the Edwin J. Rousseau Centre in 1971.[22]

Allen County Courthouse 1 N. Washington Iola, Kansas 66749-2841 Phone: 316.365.7491 Allen County Website Clerk of the District Court has marriage records from 1856; divorce, probate and court records 1860; and naturalization records 1871-1929. Allen County Register of Deeds has land and military records from 1860.

Populated Places
The following are locations in Allen County, Kansas:


 * Name and population (2006 estimate):

Cemeteries
Iola's two cemeteries came under the direction of the Park Superintendent in April of 1998 after a vote to dissolve the Cemetery Board. The old Iola Cemetery located on the west edge of town was opened in 1863, and Highland Cemetery located on the north end was opened in 1907. Full time employees manage the grounds and take care of burial work. In the summer several part time workers help with mowing, weeding and general upkeep. In 2000, cemetery employees completed the conversion of all cemetery deeds and burial records to computer. This new system will allow genealogists and others interested in locating information about family or friends to have easy access to records and site locations. For your convenience, burial identification lists are avalable from the links below. The lists are in alphabetical order.
 * Iola, Kansas, Cemeteries
 * Iola Cemetery
 * Highland Cemetery


 * For those seeking genealogy information associated with the Iola and Highland Cemeteries, it is available at the Iola Public Library.
 * Other sources of burial information are listed below:
 * Allen County Poor Farm Cemetery Search Form

State and Territory Census Records

 * 1855-1925 - Kansas State Census Collection, 1855-1925 at Ancestry - ($), Index and images; covers census years 1855-1859, 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, 1925
 * 1860 - at FamilySearch - Index and images
 * 1860 - 1860 U.S. Federal Census for Kansas Territory at Ancestry - ($), Index and images
 * 1865 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1875 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1885 - at FamilySearch — images
 * 1895 - at FamilySearch — index and images.
 * 1919-1961 - Kansas, City and County Census Records, 1919-1961 at Ancestry - Partial index (4 counties) and images

Federal Census Records
The 1870 Census was the first Federal Census taken for Kansas after it became a state in 1861. For links to Federal Census indexes, see Kansas Census.

Church Records

 * List of Iola, Kansas, Religions

Court Records

 * Allen County Genealogy Research Resources
 * Allen County Birth, Death, Marriage, Divorce Records

Land and Property Records
Online Land Records
 * Land records at Kansas Historical Society
 * 1906 Land Plat book for Allen County - image of plat book
 * 1921 Land Plat book for Allen County - image of plat book

For more information see Kansas Land and Property
 * Land Patent Search - index to federal patents and homesteads on the Bureau of Land Management website, some images available
 * 1796-1907 - U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 at Ancestry - index, info taken from Bureau of Land Management website
 * 1861-1936 - U.S. Homestead Records 1861-1936 at Ancestry.com - ($), index and images

Local Histories
For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau. In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre. In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized. Allen County is one of the 33 counties established by the first territorial legislature in August 1855, six years before Kansas statehood in 1861. It was named in honor of William Allen, a United States senator from Ohio. At the time of its creation, Charles Passmore was appointed probate judge; B.W. Cowden and Barnett Owen were appointed county commissioners, and William Godfrey was appointed sheriff. The appointments were temporary until the general election in 1857. The four men were authorized to appoint the county clerk and treasurer thus completing the county organization.

Online County Histories
 * History of Allen and Woodson Counties, Kansas. 1901. Edited and compiled by L. Wallace Duncan, Chas. F. Scott. Iola, Kansas : Iola Register. Online at:, Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($);.
 * History of Iola, Kansas

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Kansas: Interactive and historical maps of Kansas
 * Maps of Allen County:
 * David Rumsey Map Collection
 * Kansas Historical Society (KHS) Allen County Plat Book
 * KHS Allen County Atlas and Plat Book

Civil War
Men from Allen County enlisted in:

The Iola Battalion in 1861


 * Ninth Regiment
 * Three companies, commanded by Captains Coleman, Flesher and Killen
 * Tenth Regiment
 * Two companies, commanded by Captain N. B. Blanton
 * Seventh Regiment
 * Commanded by General J. H. Lane

World War II

 * ALLEN County WWII Honor List Of Dead and Missing - 1946 USGenWeb Archives

Newspapers
Kansas Newspapers Online Kansas Newspaper Catalogs
 * Kansas Newspapers at Newspapers.com - ($), free to Kansas residents through Kansas Historical Society
 * GenealogyBank - ($), contains images of Kansas newspapers
 * Newspaper Archive - ($), contains images of Kansas newspapers
 * Chronicling America - contains images of some Kansas newspapers; searching tips
 * Elephind - Free; search engine that retrieves newspaper images from other free newspaper websites
 * Kansas Online Historical Newspapers - contains a list of known Kansas newspapers online and the websites they are found on
 * U.S. Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present on Chronicling America - contains a list of all known newspapers and the dates they cover; once you locate a newspaper name, contact the local library to see if they have copies of the newspaper

Obituaries

 * Selected Allen County Obituaries Scroll down on page to Obituaries heading. USGenWeb Archives

Probate Records
'''Online Records


 * 1803 – 1987 Kansas Wills and Probate Records 1803-1987 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Birth

 * 1818 - 1936 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1885 - 1911 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1885 - 1911 Kansas, Births and Christenings Index, 1885-1911 at Ancestry.com — index $

Marriage

 * 1811 - 1911 at | FamilySearch — index
 * 1840 - 1935 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1855 - 1911 at | FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1855 - 1911 Kansas, County Marriages, 1855-1911 at Ancestry.com — images $

Death

 * 1885 - 1930 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1885 - 1930 Kansas, Deaths and Burials, Index, 1885-1930 at Ancestry.com — index $

Family History Centers

 * Iola Kansas Family History Center

Museums

 * Humbolt Historical Museum

Societies
Allen County Historical Society 20 S Washington Ave Iola, KS 66749 Telephone Number: 620-365-3051 E-mail:[mailto:achsdirector@outlook.com achsdirector@outlook.com] Director: Kurtis Russell Website

Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
 * Allen County USGenWeb Archives
 * The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records
 * Allen County, Kansas Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)