Kansas Census

Additional Information may be found on the United States Census Portal page.

Availability
1870-1930--The Family History Library has the federal censuses for the state of Kansas.

1890--Census was destroyed.

Historical Background
1803--The United States acquired Kansas from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase.

1804-1820--United States government expeditions explored the Kansas region.

1821--The Santa Fe Trail across Kansas was opened. It served as a wagon road from Missouri to the Southwest until 1880, when the railroad was completed.

1827-1853--The United State Army built forts and roads in Kansas for frontier defence and to protect trade along the Santa Fe Trail.

1830-1854--Kansas was part of Indiana Territory, where 20 tribes from the east were relocated. The Indian Territory was closed to white settlement.

1854--The Kansas-Nebraska Act created two territories extending from the Missouri border westward to the tops of the Rocky Mountains and opened the area to white settlement.

1861--Kansas, with its present boundaries was admitted to the Union.

Indexes
1880, 1900-1920-- A soundex (phonetic) index is available on microfilm.

The Family History Library also has a street index for Kansas City (FHL fiche 6331481) for use with the 1910 census.

Mortality Schedules
1860-1880--Kansas has mortality schedules.

The schedules and indexes are available in book or microfilm format at the Family History Library and at the Kansas State Historical Society.

Voter Censuses
1856, 1857, 1859--Censuses exist for some counties. The original records are at the Kansas State Historical Society. Many of these were printed in vols. 17-19 of Kansas Kin.

Territorial and State Censuses
1860--Federal census for the Territory of Kansas and parts of Colorado and an index.

1855, 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, 1925--Censuses taken by the territory and the state also exist. The 1855 census sometimes lists all the members of the family, but in some cases gives only the head of household and number of family members. The later censuses give information on the entire household and, after 1875, include the county or state of former residence. The Family History Library has the state censuses. All are available at the Kansas State Historical Society.

Web Sites
Ancestry: http://www.ancestry.com

Heritage Quest Online: http://www.heritagequestonline.com

Census Online: http://www.census-online.com/links/KS

Genealogy Today: http://dir.genealogytoday.com/usa/ks/census.html

Access Genealogy: http://www.accessgenealogy.com/census/kansas.htm

National Archives:http://www.archives.gov/

Kansas State Historical Society:http://www.kshs.org/

Bibligraphic Citations
Kansas Research Outline. Salt Lake City, Utah: Intellectual Reserve, Inc., Family History Department, 1998, 2001.