Republic County, KansasEdit This Page
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United States 
Kansas Republic County
Republic County, Kansas genealogy and family history research page. Guide to genealogy, history, 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.
Coordinates: 39.99°0′N 91.19°0′W / 39.99°N 91.19°W
| Republic County, Kansas | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Kansas | |
 Location of Kansas in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | February 27, 1860 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Belleville |
| Courthouse | |
| Photo courtesy [[]] | |
| Address | Republic County Courthouse 1815 M Street Belleville, Kansas 66935 Phone: 785.527.5691 |
Contents |
County Courthouse
Republic County Courthouse
1815 M St Rt 1
Bellevillew, KS 66935
Phone: 785.527.5691
Register of Deeds has land records.
Probate Court has probate records. [1]
When the county was officially organized in 1868, the governor named the town of Pleasant Hill as a temporary county seat. An 1869 election declared Belleville to be the permanent seat. Two subsequent elections failed to have it relocated.
In 1872, the first courthouse, a 24 by 50 foot wood frame structure was built in Belleville. It was replaced in 1885 by a larger brick and limestone building. This masonry courthouse was destroyed by a fire on 1 April 1938.
The current courthouse, which occupies an entire block, was dedicated on 18 December 1939. It is an example of the Art Deco style architecture popular among Kansas county courthouses of the early 20th century. Since 2002, the Republic County courthouse in Belleville has been listed on the National Register of Historic places.
History
| Census | Population |
|---|---|
| 1870 | 1,281 |
| 1880 | 14,913 |
| 1890 | 19,002 |
| 1900 | 18,248 |
| 1910 | 17,447 |
| 1920 | 15,855 |
| 1930 | 14,745 |
| 1940 | 13,124 |
| 1950 | 11,478 |
| 1960 | 9,768 |
| 1970 | 8,498 |
| 1980 | 7,569 |
| 1990 | 6,482 |
| 2000 | 5,835 |
| 2010 | 4,980 |
Parent County
Republic County was created 27 February 1860 as an original county of what was, at the time, the Kansas Territory.[2] It remained a county when the territory became a state on 29 January 1861.[3] Until the county was formally organized on 23 March 1868, it was attached to neighboring counties "for judicial purposes".
- From 22 May 1861 to 13 February 1865, it was attached to Marshall County.[4]
- From 14 February 1865 to 1 March 1867, it was attached to Washington County.[5]
- From 2 March 1867 to 22 March 1868, it was attached again to Marshall County.[6]
Boundary Changes
Republic County has not undergone any boundary changes since its creation in 1860.
Record Loss
Records from the 1890 Federal Census (including those from the special Veterans and Widows schedules) were lost in the 1921 warehouse fire. County records were probably lost during the 1938 courthouse fire.
Places/Localities
Republic County is divided into 20 townships, each approximately 6 miles by 6 miles, except White Rock and Union townships, whose boundary is the Republican River.
| |
R5W | R4W | R3W | R2W | R1W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1S | Big Bend | Washington | Liberty | Rose Creek | Albion |
| T2S | White Rock | Union | Freedom | Fairview | Farmington |
| T3S | Courtland | Scandia | Belleville | Jefferson | Richland |
| T4S | Beaver | Norway | Lincoln | Grant | Elk Creek |
Populated Places
Neighboring Counties
- Cloud
- Jefferson County, Nebraska
- Jewell
- Nuckolls County, Nebraska
- Thayer County, Nebraska
- Washington
Resources
Cemeteries
|
|
Church
Court
Land
Local Histories
Maps
Military
- "The only soldiers from Republic county in the war of the rebellion were Ezra Spencey Cory, who enlisted at Ft. Riley as a private in Company C, 2nd Cavalry, August 27th, 1863, served a little more than a year, and died at Springfield, Missouri, March 9th 1864, and Wm. Harshberger, ...who on the 8th of April was commissioned by the President as second lieutenant in the 5th U.S. Volunteers." from A History of Republic County, Kansas `by I.O. Savage.
Newspapers
The Belleville Public Library, with financial support from local patrons and The Belleville Telescope, has digitzed almost its entire collection of Republic County newspapers (and a few other periodicals) published from 1876 to 2005. This entire collection, comprising nearly 150,000 pages, can be searched, browsed, and saved free online at the Digital Archives of the Belleville Public Library.
| Title | Place of Publication |
From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belleville Telescope | Belleville | 6 April 1876 | 29 December 2005 |
| Scandia Republic | Scandia | 3 January 1877 | 28 November 1877 |
| Republic County Journal | Scandia | 9 January 1878 | 12 February 1892 |
| Scandia Journal | Scandia | 7 January 1882 | 27 May 2004 |
| Republic County Independent | Narka | 13 September 1883 | 13 December 1883 |
| Belleville Weekly Record | Belleville | 5 October 1883 | — |
| Republic County Pilot | Cuba | 26 Mar 1885 | 26 May 1887 |
| Republic County Chief | Narka | 22 May 1885 | 19 November 1886 |
| Scandia Independent | Narka | 17 December 1886 | 9 August 1889 |
| Cuba Pilot | Cuba | 3 June 1887 | 12 October 1888 |
| Cuba Union | Cuba | 30 August 1888 | 22 February 1889 |
| Cuba Daylight | Cuba | 19 October 1888 | 29 December 1922 |
| Cuba Union Pilot | Cuba | 8 March 1889 | 25 April 1890 |
| Farmer's Alliance | Cuba | 7 August 1890 | 3 October 1890 |
| Alliance Sun | Cuba | 14 May 1891 | 29 October 1891 |
| Western Record | Kackley | 1 April 1893 | 19 September 1893 |
| Kackley Leader | Kackley | 6 April 1893 | 22 June 1894 |
| Evangelistic War Cry | Kackley | 3 October 1893 | 3 May 1894 |
| Herald of Pentecost | Kackley | 1 August 1894 | 1 September 1894 |
| Cuba Advocate | Cuba | 22 October 1897 | 11 October 1901 |
| Belleville Freeman | Belleville | 2 February 1899 | 13 December 1900 |
| Cuba Record | Cuba | 12 October 1900 | 14 December 1900 |
| Belleville Telescope and Belleville Freeman |
Belleville | 22 October 1909 | 1 February 1923 |
| God's Messenger | Elk | 17 September 1914 | 1 October 1925 |
| Cuba Tribune | Cuba | 22 November 1923 | 18 August 1938 |
| Pentecostal Holiness Faith and God's Messenger |
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
1 December 1925 | — |
| Scandia High News | Narka | 4 October 1935 | 13 December 1940 |
| Svenskens Rost | Narka | 13 October 1963 | 25 November 1964 |
The Kansas Historical Society has additional Republic County newspapers that may be borrowed on microfilm.
Probate
Taxation
Vital Records
Societies and Libraries
Family History Centers
Web Sites
- USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
- Family History Library Catalog
- Republic County, Kansas Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
References
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Republic County, Kansas page 255, At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ U.S. Stat., vol. 12, ch. 20 [1861]/pp. 126–128; Van Zandt, 138–139
- ↑ Kans. Laws 1861, 1st leg., ch. 23, sec. 1/p. 123
- ↑ Kans. Laws 1865, 5th leg., ch. 18/pp. 46–47
- ↑ Kans. Laws 1867, 7th leg., ch. 52, sec. 16/p. 89
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- This page was last modified on 2 February 2013, at 02:24.
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