Potawatomi Indian Agency (Kansas)

Indian Tribes Associated With This Agency
Potawatomi, Kansa

History
The Potawatomi Agency was established in 1851 for the Potawatomi and Kansa Indians. A separate Kansas Agency for the Kansa was established in 1855. By 1871, only the Prairie Band of Potawatomi remained in Kansas, as the rest had moved to Indian Territory.

In 1874, the Kickapoo Agency was consolidated with the Potawatomi Agency. At that time, it was the only agency in Kansas and was often called the Kansas Agency. In 1876, the Chippewa and Munsee were assigned to the Potawatomi Agency. In 1882, the Potawatomi Agency and the Great Nemaha Agency were merged.

In 1903, the agency was divided into the Potawatomi Agency (for the Potawatomi) and the Kickapoo (for the Kickapoo, Sauk and Fox, and Iowa). They were again merged as the Kickapoo Agency, 1 July 1919. However, the name was changed to the Potawatomi Agency, 1 January 1921. On 1 April 1927, the Potawatomi was placed under the Haskell Institute, again became independent in January 1935.

In 1950, the agency was renamed the Potawatomi Area Field Office. And in 1964, the name was again changed to the Horton Agency, by which it is known today.

Agents and Appointment Dates
Luke Lea 1851, Francis W. Lea 1851, John W. Whitfield 1853, Richard C.S. Brown 1854, George W. Clarke 1854, Isaac Winston 1856, William E. Murphy 1857, William W. Ross 1861, Luther R. Palmer 1864, Joel H. Morris 1869, Mahlon H. Newlin 1873, and Henry C. Linn 1878

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.

Some records for the Potawatomi Agency, for the Potawatomi and Great Nemaha Agency, and for their successors, 1851-1968, are in the Central Plains Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Kansas City.

Letters received from the Potawatomi Agency, 1851-1880, are included among Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs from the Idaho Superintendency, filmed by the National Archives as their Microcopy M832, Rolls 678-695. This set of records is also available at the Family History Library and its family history centers (their ).

Reports of Inspection of the Field Jurisdictions of the Office of Indian Affairs, 1873-1900 have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of Microcopy Number M1070. The reports for Potawatomi Agency, 1873-1879, and for the Potawatomi and Great Nemaha Agency, 1881-1900, are on roll 40 of that Microcopy set. Copies are available at the National Archives, their Regional Archives, and at the Family History Library and its family history centers (their ).

Microfilm copies of ...Narrative and Statistical Reports... for the Potawatomi Agency, 1907-1928 and 1935, are included in National Archives Microcopy M1011, Rolls 109-110, available in the National Archives system and in the collections of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City (their ).

Annual Indian Census Rolls were taken at this agency for 1891-1893, 1895-1919, 1921, 1926, 1935-1940 and 1942. These rolls have been microfilmed by the National Archives as part of their Microcopy Number M595, rolls 392 thru 395. Copies of these records are also available at the National Archives, their Regional Archives, and at the Family History Library and its family history centers (their ). These census rolls are also available online at Ancestry.com subscription web site.

Records Available through the Family History Library

 * Annuity Pay Rolls 1886-1909. FHL film: 1015902 item 4-7


 * Census 1891-93, 1895-1919, 1921-26, 1935-40, 1942.FHL film: 580771-580774


 * Census Records various tribes and years 1901-1930. FHL film: 882982-882983


 * Land Records (Allotments) 1855-1928. FHL film: 101902-1015903 item 1-8


 * Probate Heirship Records 1859-1941. FHL film: 1015900 item 9 -1015901


 * Records of Indians in World War I. FHL film: 1015903 item 9


 * Register of Employees 1883-1907. FHL film: 1015901 item 3


 * Vital Records. Birth and deaths 1918-1935. FHL film: 580774


 * Vital Records. FHL film: 1015900 items 1-8