Sumner County, Kansas Genealogy

United States Kansas  Sumner County

Guide to Sumner County, Kansas ancestry, family history and genealogy and courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries.

County Courthouse
Sumner County Courthouse 500 N Washington Wellington, KS 67152 Phone: 620.326.3395 Probate Judge has marriage and probate records. Clerk District Court has divorce records. County Clerk has land records.

History
The Chisholm Trail entered Kansas south through Caldwell and moved northeastward missing Wellington by 7 miles to the west. The trail that hosted cattle travel from the 1860’s well into the 1870’s was virtually abandoned as settlers staked out homesteads diverting cattle to the West. The Santa Fe Railroad brought the Trail back to life when the railroad came to Caldwell in 1880.


 * Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc..

Parent County
1867--Sumner County was created 26 February 1867 from Butler and Marion Counties. County seat: Wellington

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Populated Places
Cities

Unincorporated Communities

Ghost towns

Local Histories
A book, Portrait and biographical album of Sumner County, Kansas containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, (1885) is available online free from Google Books. Parts I and II contain biographies of the U.S. presidents and Kentucky governors. Part III (starts about p.160) contains biographies of Sumner County residents.

Maps



 * Plot Maps of Sumner County from the Kansas Historical Society.

Military

 * Sumner County was organized after the Civil War began. Please see Butler and Marion counties for Civil War records

Newspapers

 * Belle Plaine News - 431 N. Merchant Belle Plaine Ks 67013 620-488-2234
 * Caldwell Messenger - 111 S. Main P.O. Box 313 Caldwell Ks 67022 620-845-2320
 * Conway Springs Star - Argonia Argosy - 214 W. Spring Conway Springs Ks 620-456-2473
 * Mulvane News - 204 W. Main Mulvane Ks 67110 ~ 620-777-4233
 * Oxford Register 110 E. Myrtle Oxford Ks 67119 ~ 620 455 3535
 * South Haven New Era South Haven Ks
 * Wellington Daily News 113 W. Harvey / Wellington, KS 67152 (620) 326-3326

Probate
Online Records


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

Birth Records

 * 1818 - 1936 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1885 - 1911 Kansas, Births and Christenings Index, 1885-1911 at Ancestry.com — index $

Death Records

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

Marriage Records

 * 1840 - 1935 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1855 - 1911 Kansas, County Marriages, 1855-1911 at Ancestry.com — images $

Societies and Libraries
Sumner County Genealogical Society In 2001 the Sumner County Historical Society and the Sumner County Genealogy Society voted to merge the two societies.

Sumner County Historical and Genealogical Society PO Box 402 Wellington, Ks 67152

Web Sites

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