Cowley County, Kansas Genealogy

Guide to Cowley 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 Lt. Matthew Cowley, 9th Kansas, who died during the Civil War. The County is located in the south central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Cowley County Courthouse 311 E. 9th Ave. Winfield, Kansas 67156-2864 Phone: 316.221.4066 Cowley County Website City Clerk has birth records. Probate Court has marriage, divorce and probate records 1870 and death records. Clerk District Court has court records. Appraisers Office has land records.

County Clerk 311 E. 9th; Winfield, KS 67156 Phone: 620.221.5400 or 620.441.4500; Fax: 620.221.5498 Website


 * Records minutes of Commission meetings and maintains files for minutes and resolutions; Assist in budget preparation, accounting, payroll, etc.; Manages elections and voting; Selling of hunting and fishing licenses, etc; Birth and death records from the 1800's to 1911 for the county are available; Land records from the 1800's are also available.

Register of Deeds Phone: 620.221.5461; Fax: 620.221.5463 Location: County Courthouse; 311 E. 9th; Winfield, KS 67156 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 741; Winfield, KS 67156 Website


 * The central location for vital records and land records for Cowley County. The Register of Deeds maintains a variety of records and prepares reports of some complexity; assists the public in preparing forms, answering inquiries, certifying copies of military discharges, and looking up records; receives, records, and indexes grantor, grantee, and related records; records plats and maps; files chattel mortgages; makes lien searches; maintains various office records; computes and posts figures; etc.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

See also: National Register of Historic Places in Cowley County, Kansas

Cemeteries

 * at FamilySearch — index

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
 * 1905 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1915 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1919-1961 - Kansas, City and County Census Records, 1919-1961 at Ancestry — Partial index (4 counties) and images
 * 1925 - at FamilySearch — index

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

 * 1861-1918 - at FamilySearch — index

Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints


 * Arkansas City

List of Churches and Church Parishes


 * FamilySearch Places

Land and Property Records
Online Land Records


 * Land records at Kansas Historical Society


 * 1882 Land Plat book for Cowley County - image of plat book
 * 1905 Land Plat book for Cowley County - image of plat book


 * 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
 * 1863-1908 - U.S. Homestead Records 1863-1908 at Ancestry.com - ($), index and images

For more information see Kansas Land and Property

Local Histories
Online County Histories


 * Cowley County, History of the State of Kansas. 1883, By William G. Cutler. Chicago, IL: A. T. Andreas. Online at: Kansas Collection Books.
 * History of Cowley County, Kansas. (Title also known as The Winfield Courier : supplemental edition.) 1901. By D. A. Millington, E. P. Greer.  Winfield, Kan. : Winfield Courier. Online at: Internet Archive;.
 * The History of Cowley County, Kansas. 1990. By Cowley County Heritage Book Committee. Winfield, KS : Cowley County Heritage Book Committee ; Arkansas City, KS : Cowley County Community College. Online at: KSGenWeb;.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
 * Cowley County GIS Maps - A very detailed set of interactive and pdf maps of Cowley County including township lines, roads and water ways, towns, schools, and cemeteries.

Civil War
For information about Civil War records see Marion County.

Online Collections
These collections are unique to Kansas. You will find nationwide databases for military records on U.S. Military Online Genealogy Records and Kansas Military Records. Collections Covering Multiple Wars


 * Kansas Military Index at Kansas Historical Society - Index only, includes Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Iraq and Afghanistan Conflicts
 * Records of the Deaths and Burials at the Kansas State Soldiers Home - Index only, the home is located in Fort Dodge, Ford County, Kansas.

Civil War


 * Kansas Civil War Soldiers at the Ancestry.com - ($), Index only
 * 1862, 1863, 1868: Kansas, Civil War Enlistment Papers, 1862, 1863, 1868 at the Ancestry.com - ($), Index and images
 * 1866-1931: Kansas, Grand Army of the Republic Bound Post Records, 1866-1931 at the Ancestry.com - ($), Index and images
 * 1880-1940: Kansas, Grand Army of the Republic Post Reports, 1880-1940 at the Ancestry.com - ($), Index and images
 * 1889: Kansas, Enrollment of Civil War Veterans, 1889 at the Ancestry.com - ($), Index and images
 * Kansas Civil War Soldiers at the Ancestry.com - ($), Index and images

Spanish-American War (1898)


 * 1945-1970: Kansas, United Spanish War Veterans Reports of Deaths, 1945-1970 at the Ancestry.com - ($), Index and images

World War I


 * History and Roster of the Kansas State Guard (WWI) at KSGenWeb - Taken from the book by the Adjutant General's Office
 * 1917-1919: Kansas, World War I Veteran Collection, 1917-1919 at the Ancestry.com - ($), Index and images
 * 1930: Kansas, Enrollment of WWI Veterans, 1930 at the Ancestry.com - ($), Index and images

World War II


 * 1940-1946: Web: Kansas, WWII Selective Service Index, 1940-1946 at the Ancestry.com - ($), Index and images
 * World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing, State of Kansas, War Dept-June 1946 at KSGenWeb - Index only

Korean War


 * U.S. Military Fatal Casualties of the Korean War for Kansas - Index only

Vietnam War


 * U.S. Military Fatal Casualties of the Vietnam War for Kansas - Index only

For further information see Kansas Military Records.

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1864 - 1972 - Kansas, Naturalization Abstracts, 1864-1972 at Ancestry — ($), Index
 * 1865 - 1874 - Kansas Indian Naturalizations, ca. 1865-1874 at the National Archives — Index, District of Kansas, Record Group 21.
 * 1865 - 1984 - Kansas, Federal Naturalization Records, 1865-1984 at Ancestry — ($), Index and images
 * 1917 - 1918 - Kansas, Registration Affidavits of Alien Enemies, 1917-1918 at Ancestry — ($), Index and images, includes German and other aliens living in Kansas

Newspapers
Kansas Newspapers Online


 * 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 Newspaper Catalogs


 * 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


 * Newspaper Files Transcribed by Mary Ann Wortman from Microfilm contains transcribed articles for various newspapers 1868-1895 and 1918-1922.
 * Kansas State Historical Society houses one of the largest newspaper collections. They have 1321 reels of Cowley newspapers which may be available through interlibrary loan. Titles include Arkansas City Traveler 1876 - 2008, Cowley County Reporter 1967 - 1996, Winfield Daily Courier 1885 - 2007, and many more.
 * Births and deaths of Cowley County, Kansas as abstracted from the Winfield Daily Courier and other sources, 1875-1969 [compiled by members of the Cowley County Genealogical Society including Cheryl Voigtlander and Ruby Mussen ; data entered by Connie Lea Becker Lawrence] is available from the F
 * Deceased persons from the Winfield daily courier : Winfield, KS, April 1995 to February 1998 compiled by Gale J. Bunner available as

Current Newspapers


 * Arkansas City Traveler (620) 442-4200; 200 E. Fifth Avenue / P. O. Box 988, Arkansas City, KS 67005
 * Cowley County Reporter (620) 438-2370; Burden, KS 67019
 * Winfield Daily Courier (620) 221-1050; 201 E. Ninth Street / P.O. Box 543, Winfield, KS 67156

Obituaries

 * Obituary notices, Winfield Daily Courier by Gale J. Bunner covering Dec. 1988-Mar. 1995 available as

Other Records
Voter Records


 * 1854 - Kansas Election List, 1854 at Ancestry — ($), Index
 * 1854 - 1856 - Kansas Voter Registration Lists, 1854-1856 at Ancestry — ($), Index

Probate Records
Online Records


 * 1803 – 1987 Kansas Wills and Probate Records 1803-1987 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Vital Records
See County Offices above.

Birth

 * 1818 - 1936 at FamilySearch.org — index


 * 1885 - 1911 Kansas, Births and Christenings Index, 1885-1911 at Ancestry.com — index $

Marriage

 * 1800 - 1946 - United States Marriages – Kansas, 1800-1946 at findmypast — ($), Index and images
 * 1811 - 1911 - at FamilySearch — Index
 * 1811 - 1911 - Kansas, County Marriages, 1811-1911 at Ancestry — ($), Index
 * 1840 - 1935 - at FamilySearch.org — Index
 * 1854 - 1861 - KHS Kansas Marriage Index, 1854-1861 at Kansas Historical Society — Index
 * 1861 - 1918 - at FamilySearch — index

Death

 * 1885 - 1930 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1885 - 1930 Kansas, Deaths and Burials, Index, 1885-1930 at Ancestry.com — index $

Libraries

 * Cowley County Genealogical Library Cherokee Strip Land Rush Museum 31639 US 77 Arkansas City, KS 67005 Website The library houses Cowley County Cemetery records, Arkansas City Traveler obituaries, Cowley County Birth, Death and Marriage records, the Robert Docking collection and much, much more.
 * Arkansas City Public Library 120 E. 5th Avenue Arkansas City, KS 67005 Telephone: (620) 442-1280 Website
 * Southwestern College Library 100 College Street Winfield, KS 67156 Telephone: (620) 229-6225 Website
 * Udall Public Library 109 E. First Udall, KS 67146 Telephone: (620) 782-3435 Website
 * Winfield Public Library 605 College Winfield, KS 67156 Telephone: (620) 221-4470 Website

Museums

 * Cowley County Historical Museum 1011 Mansfield Winfield, KS 67156 Telephone: (620) 221-4811 Website
 * Cherokee Strip Land Rush Museum Attn: Heather Ferguson, Director/ PO Box 778 31639 US 77 Arkansas City, KS 67005 Telephone: (620) 442-6750 Website The mission of the Cherokee Strip Land Rush Museum is to collect, preserve, and interpret natural material culture and documentary items which focus on the history and development of the South-Central Kansas and North-Central Oklahoma areas as it relates to Arkansas City. The emphases will include Native Americans, Land Settlement, and the Cherokee Strip/Outlet Run.
 * Cowley County Historical Museum 1011 Mansfield Winfield, KS 67156 Telephone: (620) 221-4811 Website The museum is dedicated to preserving the past for the future. In pursuit of this goal, the museum preserves historical documents, artifacts and genealogy records pertaining to the rich history of the region.

Societies

 * Cowley County Genealogical Society 1518 East 12th Winfield, KS 67156 Telephone: (620) 221-4591
 * Cowley County Historical Society 1011 Mansfield Winfield, KS 67156 Website
 * Udall Community Historical Society 113 E. First Udall, KS 67146
 * East Central Cowley County Historical Society c/o Emory Lewis 123 Easy Street Burden, KS 67019 Telephone: 620-438-3384 Website Our purpose is to preserve the past of East Central Cowley County in digital form and present it on the internet and at our new home, the old Burden City building. Online databases include lots of photographs of early people, places and things, plus birth and death records, Family Trees, early school records, and more.

Websites

 * Cowley County, KS USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
 * Cowley County KS Genealogy Research. Contains information for researching genealogy in Cowley county KS,  Census, bios, obituary, birth, death, marriage, maps, and other records
 * 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
 * Cowley County, Kansas Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)