Kansas County Marriages, 1855-1911

What Is in This Collection?

The collection consists of an index & images of marriage registers and records made by county clerks in Kansas from 1855 to 1911. The type of record and time period varies between counties. Records for the following counties are included: Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Brown, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Clay, Coffey, Crawford, Doniphan, Douglas, Elk, Franklin, Geary, Greenwood, Harvey, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Labette, Linn, Marshall, McPherson, Miami, Montgomery, Morris, Nemaha, Neosho, Osage, Pottawatomie, Riley, Saline, Sedgwick, Wabaunsee, Washington, Wilson, and Woodson. Counties recorded marriages to legalize marital relationships and to protect the interests of the wife and other heirs to legal claims on property. The marriage date, place, and residence of the bride and groom are relatively reliable. Other information, such as age or birthplace, is dependent on the knowledge, memory, and accuracy of the informants, usually the bride and groom. The earliest marriage bonds and licenses were usually handwritten on loose papers that were later bound into lettered volumes. Some marriage records had multiple entries on each page, while others had single records per page. Marriages were usually recorded by the clerk of the district court for each county from the time the county was formed. Persons desiring to marry obtained a license that they presented to the minister or other person authorized to marry, such as a justice of the peace. Once the marriage was performed, the officiator sent a return to the clerk confirming that the marriage had occurred. Marriage records were generally well preserved, although fires, floods, or other disasters may have destroyed some records.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

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What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Collection Content

Sample Image

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  1884 Marriage License