Smith County, Kansas Genealogy

Guide to Smith 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 J. Nelson Smith. The County has Smith Center as its seat and the County was created 1872. The County is located in the north central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Smith County Courthouse 218 S. Grant Street Smith Center, Kansas 66967-2798 Phone: 785.282.5110 Website Probate Judge has marriage and probate records from 1875. Clerk District Court has divorce and court records from 1875. County Clerk has land records from 1872.

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

State and Territorial 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
Lutheran


 * Records of the Christ Lutheran Church, Gaylord, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Land and Property Records
Online Land Records
 * Land records at Kansas Historical Society
 * 1900 Land Plat book for Smith County - image of plat book
 * 1917 Land Plat book for Smith 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

Maps and Gazetteers
Plat Book, Smith County, Kansas, 1900, Northwest Publishing Co. This atlas shows maps of each township with the names of landowners. It has a patrons' directory and plats of towns as of the year of publication.

Military Records
Smith County was organized after the Civil War.

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

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 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 — 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 $

Libraries
Smith Center Public Library: Library holdings can be searched in Pathfinder Central. The library may have cataloged unique items related to genealogy and local history, in addition to published works for this area.

Societies
Smith County Historical Society PO Box 38 Kensington 66951

Websites

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