Doniphan County, Kansas Genealogy

Guide to Doniphan County, Kansas ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
Named for Col. Alexander W. Doniphan, of Missouri. He commanded a regiment of cavalry during the Mexican War, marching across the plains, and taking a very prominent part in the conquest of New Mexico. He was a zealous partisan in the effort made to extend slavery into Kansas. The County has Troy as its seat and the County was created August 25, 1855. The County is located in the northeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Doniphan County Courthouse Main Street Troy, Kansas 66087 Phone: 785.985.3513 Doniphan County Website Clerk District Court has birth and death reords1898-1910, marriage, divorce, probate and court records from 1856. Register of Deeds has land records from 1858. A yearly county census is taken.

County Clerk Mailing Address – P.O. Box 278 - Troy, Kansas 66087 Physical Address – 120 East Chestnut - South Side 1st Floor - County Courthouse - Troy, Kansas Telephone: (785) 985- 3513 Fax: (785) 985-3723 Office Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.

District Court Mailing Address - P.O. Box 295 - Troy, Kansas 66087 Physical Address - 120 East Chestnut - 2nd Floor County Courthouse -Troy, Kansas Telephone: (785) 985-3582 &amp; (785) 985-3583 Fax: (785) 985-2402

Register of Deeds Mailing Address - P.O. Box 73 - Troy, Kansas 66087 Physical Address - 120 E Chestnut Troy, Kansas 66087 Telephone: (785) 985-3932

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

Note: The wandering Missouri River forms Dohiphan's northern and eastern borders separating it from the Missouri counties of Holt, Andrew, and Buchanan. The main population center for the area is St Joseph, Buchanan, Missouri which, because of the meander of the river, almost surrounds the Doniphan town of Elwood. Doniphan's larger towns; Elwood, Wathena, and Troy; all lay in the vicinity of St Joseph, Missouri. It is important to look for records of residence of Doniphan in these surrounding Nebraska and Missouri counties especially Buchanan, Missouri.
 * Kansas Heritage gives details on all these locations.

Cemeteries
Kansas State Historical Society holds these titles on microfilm. They may be available through interlibrary loan: List of Doniphan cemeteries in 1906 according to Transactions of the Kansas State Horticultural Society, vol. XXVIII (1906), pp. 325-377. With additions from Doniphan County, Kansas, GenWeb and Doniphan County Cemeteries. A surname index to many of these cemeteries, "Cemetery Readings of Doniphan Co., KS" by Speedy &amp; Gail Stewart, can be found at Doniphan County Cemeteries.
 * Cemetery record, Mt. Olive Cemetery, Troy, KS, 1871-1913 [AR 6783]

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
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Wathena

Court Records
Kansas State Historical Society holds these titles on microfilm. They may be available through interlibrary loan:


 * Civil appearance dockets, 1858-1923 [AR 6751-6755]
 * District court journals, 1858-1918 [AR 6755-6762]
 * Judgement docket and record book, 1858-1926 [AR 6762-6763]
 * Marriage records, 1856-1921 [AR 6746-6749]
 * Naturalization index, 1881-1942 [AR 6750]
 * Naturalization certificate stubs, 1925-1928 [AR 6750]
 * Naturalization declaration of intention, petitions, and record, 1906-1934 [AR 6750]
 * Naturalization final record, 1859-1910 [AR 6763-6766]
 * Naturalization miscellaneous citizenship papers, 1905-1934 [AR 6750]
 * Probate court index and abstracts, 1855-1938 [AR 6767, AR 6778]
 * Probate court journals, 1858-1923 [AR 6778-6783]
 * Probate case files, 1857-1917 [AR 6796-6797, AR 6784-6793, AR 6798, AR 7066-7067, AR 11934]
 * Will records, 1882-1915 [AR 6767-6769]
 * Other probate records, 1858-1935 [AR 6766-6778, AR 6784-6798, AR 7066-7067]

Land and Property Records
Register of Deeds: Phone: (785) 985-3932 Mailing Address - P.O. Box 73 - Troy, Kansas 66087 Physical Address - 120 E Chestnut Troy, Kansas 66087

Kansas State Historical Society holds these titles on microfilm. They may be available through interlibrary loan:
 * Indexes, 1856-1908 [AR 6651-6652, AR 6681-6683]
 * Deed and mortgage records, 1856-1919 [AR 6649, AR 6652-6683, AR 6698]
 * Troy City Cemetery record, Mt. Olive Cemetery, 1871-1913 [AR 6783]

Online Land Records
 * Land records at Kansas Historical Society
 * 1882 Land Plat book for Doniphan County - image of plat book
 * 1904 Land Plat book for Doniphan 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

Local Histories

 * Bendena, Kansas, Centennial, 1887-1987. 1988. By Bendena Centennial Committee. N.p.: n.p. (K978.1/-D71/B432).
 * Doniphan County Clippings, 1858-1988. (4 vols.). Kansas State Historical Society. Topeka, KS: KSHS, n.d. (K978.1/-D71/Clipp.).
 * Doniphan Village Twice Site of Once-Thriving Community. 1949. Atchison Daily Globe (2nd). Dec. 11, 1949. [1 p.]. (Reel: A1859).
 * History of Leona, 1885. Kercher, Delno. N.p.: n.d. (K978.1/-D71/Mss/no. 1).
 * History of Wathena, Kansas. By Ralph Brazelton. 1978. N.p.: n.p. (K978.1/-D71/ Pam.v.1/no. 4).
 * Index to Gray's Doniphan County History. Topeka, KS: KSHS, 1974. (Reel: MF 295, no. 8).
 * Makers of Kansas History: A Series of Sketches of Characters & Events. Lynn, C.P. Ness County News &amp; Ness City Times. May 26-June 30, 1906. [6 pp.]. (Reel: N497).
 * Records of the Squatter Association of Whitehead District, Doniphan County. Kansas Historical Quarterly 13 (Feb. 1944): 16-35. Edited by Martha B. Caldwell. (SP 906/K13q). Available online.
 * A Sketch of Doniphan County, Kansas. 1878. By C. G. Bridges. Troy, KS: Bulletin Office, 1878. (K978.1/-D71/ Pam.v.1/no. 2).

Online County Histories
 * Doniphan County, Kansas, History and Directory. 1868. Edited by R. F. Smith.  N.p.: : Smith & Vaughn. Online at: Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Google Books, Ancestry ($); ..
 * Gray's Doniphan County History : a Record of the Happenings of Half a Hundred Years. c1905. By Patrick Leopold Gray. Bendena, Kans. : Roycroft Press. Online at:, Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Google Books.
 * Historical Plat Book of Doniphan County, Kansas with Illustrations. 1882. Chicago, IL: J S Bird. (Digitized). Online at: Rootsweb.
 * History of the State of Kansas. (Includes history of Doniphan County.) 1883. By William G. Cutler. Chicago, IL: A. T. Andreas. Online at: Kansas Collection Books.
 * Illustrated Doniphan County. 1916. Troy, Kan. : n.p. Online at:
 * Illustrated Doniphan County, 1837-1916. 1999. Troy, Kansas : Trojan Graphics. Online at: ;.
 * An Old Kansas Indian Town on the Missouri. 1919? By George J. Remsburg. Plymouth, Iowa : G. A. Chandle. Online at:, Hathitrust, Internet Archive.

Maps and Gazetteers
Plat Book of Doniphan County Kansas. (1904) (Digitized) This atlas includes plats of the townships and largest towns of Doniphan County with the names of landholders. It also includes a patrons' directory.

[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pyle/Plat1882/DPC_Plat_Text_TOC.html#TABLES. Historical Plat Book of Doniphan County, Kansas with illistrations. ] (1882) Chicogo, IL: J S Bird. (Digitized)

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Doniphan County, Kansas Genealogy for European and African American settlers included:


 * Missouri River
 * Oregon Trail 1830s to 1890s from western Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon
 * California Trail 1846 to 1869 from western Missouri to northern California
 * Mormon Trail 1846 to 1869 from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah

Civil War
Men from this County enlisted in 1st Infantry Regiment, Company A.

Newspapers
Kansas Newspapers Online Kansas Newspaper Catalogs
 * Kansas Newspapers at Newspapers.com - ($), free to Kansas residents through Kansas Historical Society; List of Doniphan newspapers available through interlibrary loan; Titles include Highland Vidette 1892 - 2002, Weekly Kansas Chief 1873 - 1918, Kansas Chief 1920 - 2003, Severance Weekly News 1891 - 1926, Wathena Times 1905 - 2001, White Cloud Globe (Tribune) 1892 - 1946, White Cloud Review 1883 - 1921, and many more.
 * GenealogyBank - ($), 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 $

School Records
Kansas State Historical Society holds these titles on microfilm. They may be available through interlibrary loan:


 * Scholastic census, 1892-1916 [AR 6683-6685, AR 6699-6701]

Vital Records
Kansas State Historical Society holds these titles on microfilm. They may be available through interlibrary loan:


 * Marriage records, 1856-1921 [AR 6746-6749]
 * Vital statistics, 1898-1916 [AR 6749]

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
Doniphan County Library District Central Library 105 N. Main P. O. Box 458 Troy, KS 66087 Telephone: (785) 985-2597 Website
 * Branches:
 * Elwood Branch Library (913) 365-2409; 410 N. 9th / Elwood, Kansas 66024
 * Highland Branch Library (785) 442-3078; 306 W. Main / Highland, Kansas 66035
 * Wathena Branch Library (785) 989-4834; 206 St. Joseph / Wathena, KS 66090

Highland Community College Library 505 West Main St. Highland, Kansas 66035 Telephone: (785) 442-6000 Website

Societies
Doniphan County Historical Society 105 North Main Troy

Ma Hush Kah Historical Society Route 2, Box 16 White Cloud, KS 66094

Websites

 * USGenWeb project for Doniphan County has maps, histories, and information on local libraries, societies, cemeteries, schools, newspapers, and more.
 * 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
 * Kansas on the Net Doniphan County contains a variety useful history and location details about Doniphan County including libraries, schools and government agencies.
 * Doniphan County, Kansas Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)