Frequently Asked QuestionsOn this page page we have attempted to answer some of the questions our reference staff hear most often and direct you if possible to sources for additonal information. If you don't see your question addressed here, please check our ask a research question page for directions on how to contact our reference staff. Q. Do you have vital records for Kansas? A. We have copies of birth and death registers for some Kansas counties for ca. 1885 to 1911 and marriage records for some counties up to ca. 1913. See our local records web page for a county-by-county list of records available on microfilm. Birth and death certificates beginning in 1911 and marriage certificates beginning in 1913 are available from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Office of Vital Statistics, 1000 SW Jackson St., Suite 120, Topeka, Kansas 66612-2221 (785) 296-1400, FAX (785) 296-8075. Q. Are adoption records open in Kansas? A. Adoption records are open to adoptees 18 years and older. The adoptee has to request the records from the Clerk of the District Court's office in the county where the adoption occurred. An adoptee can obtain their birth certificate. Proof of identity is required. Descendants of the adoptee cannot view the records. For information about obtaining pre-adoption birth certificates please see the Office of Vital Statistics web page. Q. Do you have homestead records for Kansas? A. We have examples of homestead records because a few individuals have donated theirs to our collection, but homestead records are federal records held by the National Archives and Records Administration. You'll find detailed information about homestead records and how to request copies of them on the Government Land Office records web site. Q. Do you have information on the landmark school desegregation case, Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka? A. We have microfilm copies of the documents
filed in the U.S. District Court. We also have records of the Kansas
Attorney General's office and newspapers from the time period. We have
tapes and transcripts of oral histories which were collected between
1991-1996 from people involved in or affected by school desegregation
cases. We do not have photographs. For more information about the case
you may also want to contact: Q. Where can I get help finding information on Black history in Kansas? A. The Kansas African American Museum, Inc., 601 N. Water, Wichita, KS 67203-3833, 316-262-7651 The Nicodemus National Historic Site is on the site of "the only remaining western town established by African Americans during the Reconstruction Period following the Civil War." Nicodemus NHS, 304 Washington Ave., Bogue, KS 67625-3015, 785-839-4233. Q. Do you have military service records or pension records for Kansas soldiers? A. These are federal records held by the National Archives and Records Administration. For information about requesting these records, please see their web page on access to military service and pension records Our state military records include Civil War muster rolls and copies of World War I enlistment/discharge records for some Kansas servicemen. For more information, please see our military records page. Q. Where can I find information on dinosaurs in Kansas? A. University of Kansas Natural History Museum, 1345 Jayhawk Blvd. Lawrence, KS 66045-7561 Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University, 600 Park, Hays, KS 67601 Q. Do you have anything on John Brown? A. We have a collection of letters written by John Brown while he was in Kansas, as well as other letters and papers from his relatives and friends. These are available for interlibrary loan on microfilm reels MS1245-MS1247. More than 100 of the documents from the John Brown Collection are available on the internet through the Territorial Kansas Online web site. There are also many publications in our library collections about John Brown that can be used in our reading room. Other major collections of John Brown manuscripts are held at the Ohio Historical Society, West Virginia Archives and History Library, and Atlanta University. The Kansas State Historical Society also administers the John Brown Museum in Osawatomie, Kansas. Q. Do we have the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad personnel records? A. Personnel records were never part of the ATSF records sent here. The KSHS does have surviving ATSF prior service records, which may include genealogical information in addition to the employment history. A prior service record was created for any employee that was working for the ATSF on August 29, 1935, because of the Railroad Retirement Act. For additional online information about the Atchison, Topeka &
Santa Fe Railway Co., see this Santa Fe links web page: Q. Do we have Fred Harvey Company records? A. Many of the company's records were destroyed in a fire. Many others were not kept by the company. The remainder are located in Arizona. Contact the Dept. of Special Collections, Arizona State University Libraries, P. O. Box 871006, Tempe, AZ 85287-1006, phone no. 480-965-6519, for more information. See the Heard Museum's web site for information about the Fred Harvey Company Photographs and Papers. Q.Do you have inmate records from Leavenworth Penitentiary? A. Those are federal records. The records for 1895 to 1952 are at the National Archives Central Plains branch in Kansas City, Missouri. For more recent records, contact the Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas directly. The State Archives at KSHS holds prisoner records from the State Penitentiary at Lansing in Leavenworth County, Kansas, dating from 1864 to ca. 1952. (These include the prisoners from Indian Territory before Oklahoma built its own prison.) The name index to these prison records is on microfilm reels AR 7458-7469 and we have the Lansing admission ledgers and the individual files for many of the male prisoners. We have additional Lansing admissions ledgers on microfilm up to 1985 but we do not have those prisoner files. We have limited records from other state prison facilities. The index to Kansas prisoners after 1980 is available online on the KASPER website Q. Where can I purchase rare and used books that are no longer in print? A.The Kansas State Historical Society does not endorse or guarantee the work of any of the firms listed below. We merely provide these addresses as a service to our patrons.
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