Ellis County, Kansas Genealogy

United States Kansas  Ellis County

Guide to Ellis 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
Ellis County Courthouse 23rd Judicial District

107 W. 12th St., Box 8

Hays, KS 67601

(785) 628-9415 - phone

(785) 628-8415 - fax

Clerk District court has divorce, probate, court and naturalization records. Coroner's Reports 1890s- Present

Probate Files - 1867 - Present

Marriages - 1890s - Present

Domestic & Criminal Court Cases 1970s - Present

Guardianship Cases - early 1900s

NOTE: Ellis County recently reorganized and moved all non-court related offices from the Courthouse. They are now located in the new Ellis County Administrative Center.

Ellis Co. Administrative Center

718 Main St., POB 720

Hays, KS  67601

Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Monday - Friday

(785) 628-9410

(785) 628-9413 fax

dclerk@ellisco.net

Must file a Kansas Open Records Act request to access these records. County Clerk has birth, marriage, and death records 1886-1911. Register of Deeds has land, military discharge &amp; school records.

Parent County
1867--Ellis County was created 26 February 1867 from unorganized territory. County seat: Hays

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

Places/Localities

 * Ellis - http://www.ellis.ks.us/
 * Hays - http://www.haysusa.com/
 * Victoria - http://victoriaks.com/

Neighboring Counties



 * Barton
 * Ness
 * Osborne
 * Rooks
 * Rush
 * Russell
 * Trego

Court
See Courthouse above.

Military

 * Ellis County was not organized until after the Civil War so no Civil War enlistment records exist.
 * Historic Fort Hays  1472 Hwy 183 Alt.   Hays, KS  67601   (785) 625-6812   Email:  thefort@kshs.org   http://kshs.org/   Open 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.  Wednesday - Saturday   Some records available for soldiers who served there 1867-1889 - also available at the state archive in Topeka, Kansas.     Celebrating Fort Hays Sesquicentennial June 17&18, 2017

Newspapers
Ellis Review - Ellis Community Newspaper – issues 1886 – present available on microfilm from the Kansas State Archive in Topeka. Print copies available at the Ellis Public Library 1969 - 1986

http://kshs.org/newspaper/newspaper_reels/search/county:EL

Hays Daily News  - County’s official newspaper. Issues 1929 – 2013 available on microfilm from the Kansas State Archive in Topeka. http://kshs.org/newspaper/newspaper_reels/search/county:EL

Historic Ellis County newspapers available through:

Chronicling America – http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/titles/places/kansas/ellis/

Kansas State Historical Society Ellis County Newspaper Collection

https://www.kshs.org/newspaper/newspaper_reels/search/county:EL

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

 * 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 $

Societies and Libraries
Ellis County Historical Society Museum 100 West 7th Street Hays, KS 67601 Telephone Number: 785-628-2624 Website

Ellis Public Library: Library holdings can be searched in Pathfinder Central. The library may have cataloged unique items related to genealogy and local history, in addition to published works for this area.

Hays Public Library – Kansas Room:

The Kansas Room is located in the basement of the Hays Public Library.

1205 Main St.

Hays, KS  67601

(785) 625-9014

Kansas room staffed 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.  Monday - Friday

Open for research all hours the library is open.

http://www1.youseemore.com/hays/ Fort Hay State University - Forsyth Library
 * Large collection of Germans from Russia material pertaining to the settlement of Ellis County
 * Many local family histories
 * Ellis County Cemetery records
 * Polk's Hays City Directories 1938, 1963 – 2015
 * Several local historic newspapers on microfilm
 * Kansas history books
 * Many Kansas County Histories

Special Collections

502 S. Campus Dr.

Hays, KS  67601

(785) 628-4434

http://fhsuguides.fhsu.edu/special_collections

They are an affiliate library to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. This allows them to order in microfilms from the FHL.

Parking is challenging during the school year. Visit campus Police department located in Custer Hall to obtain a visitor parking permit.

Photos allowed. Copiers and scanners available.

Archivist available 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday or by special appointment.

Their Special Collections include:

Special Collections include extensive Volga German history, Ellis County history, local family histories, area town and church histories. They also have many area County histories.

University Archive includes faculty information 1902- present

FHSU yearbooks 1914-2002

Government Records

Western Collection includes Smoky Hill Trail Association documents

Family History Centers



 * Hays Kansas Family History Center

Web Sites

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