Kansas Biography

The Kansas State Historical Society and the Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas have extensive collections of biographical material, but there is no statewide biographical index.

Several biographical collections are available online through the Kansas State Historical Society. Their online collections include:


 * The Lilla Day Monroe Collection of Pioneer Stories
 * Notable Kansans of African Descent
 * Notable Kansas People
 * Notable Kansas Women
 * A Kansas Portrait
 * Kansas Memory, a new digital portal to names, events, and places of Kansas

The Kansas Historical Society has a Biographical Names Index which can be searched alphabetically or by Soundex.

You may also search the biographical sections of statewide, regional, and county histories of Kansas. Some representative biographical encyclopedias are:


 * The United States Biographical Dictionary: Kansas. Chicago, Illinois and Kansas City, Missouri: S. Lewis &amp; Co., 1879. (Family History Library book 978.1 D3u; film 874388.)
 * Kansas Pioneers. Topeka, Kansas: Topeka Genealogical Society, 1976. (Family History Library book 978.1 D3t.)

Web Sites
Kansas State Historical Society

The Kenneth Spencer Research Library of the University of Kansas