Kansas Territorial Records 1854-1861
Below is a list of territorial government records held in the Kansas State Archives. The list is arranged alphabetically by the name of the creating agency. Links to collection guides and finding aids are included where available (What is a finding aid?).
On-line Guides and Collections:
- Kansas Territorial Records Guide (PDF, 1.2MB)
- Kansas Territorial Records from U. S. Dept. of State, available on microfilm
- Territorial Records On Kansas Memory
- U.S. Territorial Court records at the National Archives in Kansas City
Appointment book; record of appropriations; receipt books; bond and warrant stubs; daily record of disbursements; ledger; preemption record; public accounts papers; bonds and warrants; warrant register. (Use of some volumes continued after statehood.)
Executive Department, 1854-1861
Election returns; correspondence; executive minutes and commissions; oaths of office; governor's appointment book; bonds of notaries public; and other records.
Legislature, 1855-1861
House and council journals; dockets; enrolled laws; bills, resolutions, and petitions; apportionment records; committee reports and miscellaneous documents.
U.S. District Court, 1854-1861
Journals, issue docket, administrative papers, and case files; U.S. district attorney's docket. Includes a small number of territorial naturalization records
U.S. Surveyor General of Kansas and Nebraska, 1833-1876
Correspondence; maps; contracts and bonds; reports; description of surveyed lands; field notes of surveys; surveyors' examinations in the field; financial records; indexes; journal of office work; records of townships surveyed; registry of letters; survey and valuation records for Indian reserves; and miscellaneous materials.
