Republic County, Kansas Genealogy

United States Kansas  Republic County

Republic County, Kansas genealogy and family history research page. Guide to genealogy, history, and courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries.

County Courthouse
Republic County Courthouse 1815 M St Rt 1 Bellevillew, KS 66935 Phone: 785.527.5691 Register of Deeds has land records. Probate Court has probate records.

When the county was officially organized in 1868, the governor named the town of Pleasant Hill as a temporary county seat. An 1869 election declared Belleville to be the permanent seat. Two subsequent elections failed to have it relocated.

In 1872, the first courthouse, a 24 by 50 foot wood frame structure was built in Belleville. It was replaced in 1885 by a larger brick and limestone building. This masonry courthouse was destroyed by a fire on 1 April 1938.

The current courthouse, which occupies an entire block, was dedicated on 18 December 1939. It is an example of the Art Deco style architecture popular among Kansas county courthouses of the early 20th century. Since 2002, the Republic County courthouse in Belleville has been listed on the National Register of Historic places.

Parent County
Republic County was created 27 February 1860 as an original county of what was, at the time, the Kansas Territory. It remained a county when the territory became a state on 29 January 1861. Until the county was formally organized on 23 March 1868, it was attached to neighboring counties "for judicial purposes".


 * From 22 May 1861 to 13 February 1865, it was attached to Marshall County.
 * From 14 February 1865 to 1 March 1867, it was attached to Washington County.
 * From 2 March 1867 to 22 March 1868, it was attached again to Marshall County.

Boundary Changes
Republic County has not undergone any boundary changes since its creation in 1860.

Record Loss
Records from the 1890 Federal Census (including those from the special Veterans and Widows schedules) were lost in the 1921 warehouse fire. County records were probably lost during the 1938 courthouse fire.

Places/Localities
Republic County is divided into 20 townships, each approximately 6 miles by 6 miles, except White Rock and Union townships, whose boundary is the Republican River.

Neighboring Counties

 * Cloud
 * Jefferson County, Nebraska
 * Jewell
 * Nuckolls County, Nebraska
 * Thayer County, Nebraska
 * Washington

Military

 * "The only soldiers from Republic county in the war of the rebellion were Ezra Spencey Cory, who enlisted at Ft. Riley as a private in Company C, 2nd Cavalry, August 27th, 1863, served a little more than a year, and died at Springfield, Missouri, March 9th 1864, and Wm. Harshberger, ...who on the 8th of April was commissioned by the President as second lieutenant in the 5th U.S. Volunteers." from A History of Republic County, Kansas `by I.O. Savage.

Newspapers
The Belleville Public Library, with financial support from local patrons and The Belleville Telescope, has digitzed almost its entire collection of Republic County newspapers (and a few other periodicals) published from 1876 to 2005. This entire collection, comprising nearly 150,000 pages, can be searched, browsed, and saved free online at the Digital Archives of the Belleville Public Library.

The Kansas Historical Society has additional Republic County newspapers that may be borrowed on microfilm.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Republic County, Kansas Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Republic County, Kansas Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)