African American Resources for Kansas

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Kansas

African American Resources

African American Online Genealogy Records

Introduction

A list of resources for African American research of ancestors who lived in Kansas.

Online Resources

1818-1936 Kansas Births and Christenings, 1818-1936

1840-1935 Kansas Marriages, 1840-1935

1846-1867 U.S., Freedmen’s Bureau Marriage Records, 1846-1867 ($)

1855-1911 Kansas County Marriages, 1855-1911

1861-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872

1865-1874 Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874

1885-1930 Kansas Deaths and Burials, 1885-1930

African American Digital Bookshelf - a growing list of digital books on FamilySearch and other websites

Discover Freedmen - this site searches all of the Freedmen's Bureau record collections on FamilySearch altogether (and redirects there)

Kansas City Public Library: Genealogy

Research Strategy

Kansas African American Genealogy

History

The first African American settlers in Kansas were enslaved persons brought into the area in the years before the Civil War. The few enslaved persons that may have been in Kansas before the Civil War may be listed in the United States Census Slave Schedules. The issue of slavery was heavily contested between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces in the state; Kansas was known as "Bleeding Kansas" because of violent clashes between the two groups. Kansas entered the Union as a free state months before the start of the Civil War. During the Civil War, African Americans in Kansas formed volunteer military units to fight against the Confederates. To learn more, see African Americans in Kansas. After the Civil War, Kansas was advertised as a good place for African Americans to settle; the 1859 Kansas Constitution opened the state to all settlers regardless of their ethnic or racial background.

A large exodus ("Exoduster Movement") of African Americans out of the deep south into Kansas began in 1879. This exodus occurred in part because of recruitment by other African Americans and the prospect of jobs and in part because of the difficult economic times for poor African Americans in the South. Although the Kansas Constitution welcomed settlers of all races, many African Americans faced discrimination from white settlers and also hard economic times. While some African Americans either went back to the South or migrated west into unsettled territory, the majority of African Americans remained in Kansas indefinitely.

Another huge wave of Black migration occurred in the 1920s and 1930s. During this time, the mechanization of the cotton and other industries and hard economic times forced many African Americans out of their homes. Jobs in the meat packing industry in Kansas lured many to migrate there.

To learn more, see these websites:

• African Americans in Kansas
• Museum - African American History

To learn more, see these books:

• Exodusters: black migration to Kansas after reconstruction
• Blacks in Topeka, Kansas, 1865-1915: a social history
• Black towns and profit: promotion and development in the Trans-Appalachian West, 1877-1915
• Narratives of African Americans in Kansas, 1870-1992: beyond the Exodust movement

Resources

Biographies

• Jacob U. Gordon. Narratives of African Americans in Kansas, 1870-1992 : beyond the Exodust movement. Lewiston, New York : E. Mellen Press, c1993. FS Library 978.1 F2g

Cemeteries

• African American Cemeteries Online

Church Records

• First Presbyterian Church records, Pleasanton, Kansas, 1869-1900

Funeral Homes

• CAAGS Obituary and Funeral Home Collection at California African American Genealogical Society - index & images

Obituaries

• CAAGS Obituary and Funeral Home Collection at California African American Genealogical Society - index & images

Oral Histories

• Lawrence Douglas County, Kansas African American Oral History Interviews

Military Records

Many of those involved in the Civil War moved west after the War.

• Researching African American Soldiers of the Civil War
• Military history of African Americans in the American Civil War
• Military history of African Americans
• Nicodemus, Kansas: the History of America’s Black Towns

Newspapers

Since 1876, African Americans newspapers have been published in Kansas. See African American Newspapers to learn more about these newspapers and find a list of more than 80 African American newspapers.

Reconstruction Records

• Nell Irvin Painter. Exodusters : black migration to Kansas after reconstruction. New York, New York : W.W. Norton, c1976, 1986. FS Library 978.1 F2p

Freedman’s Bank

An excellent source is the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company (visit the African American Freedman's Savings and Trust Company Records page to learn more). This company was created to assist African American soldiers of the Civil War and Freedmen. Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company signature cards or registers from 3 March 1865 to 25 July 1874 may list the name of the depositor, date of entry, age, birthplace, residence, complexion, name of employer or occupation, wife or husband’s name, death information, children’s names, name of father and mother, brothers’ and sisters’ names, remarks, and signature. Early books sometimes contained the name of the former slaveholder and the name of the plantation. Copies of death certificates were sometimes attached to the entries. The collection is organized alphabetically by state, then city where the bank was located, then date the account was established, then account number.

Online collections of Freedman's Bank records:

• United States, Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874
• U.S., Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1871 ($)

Freedmen's Bureau

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was created by the US government in 1865 until 1872 to assist formerly enslaved persons in the southern United States. The Bureau created a wide variety of records extremely valuable to genealogists. Such documents include censuses, marriage records, and medical records. These records often include full names, former slaveholders and plantations, and current residences. For 1865 and 1866, the section on abandoned and confiscated lands includes the names of the owners of the plantations or homes that were abandoned, confiscated, or leased. It gives the county and location, a description of the house, the number of acres owned, and the number of cabins of enslaved persons. These films do not appear to contain the names of the enslaved.

To find Freedmen's Bureau records:

• DiscoverFreedmen - the search on this site will utilize all of the Freedmen's Bureau records on FamilySearch, including:
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Claim Records,1865-1872 - How to Use this Collection
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Hospital and Medical Records, 1865-1872 - How to Use this Collection
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Labor Contracts, Indenture and Apprenticeship Records, 1865-1872 - How to Use this Collection
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872 - How to Use this Collection
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Ration Records,1865-1872 - How to Use this Collection
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Records of Persons and Articles Hired, 1865-1872 - How to Use this Collection
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Freedmen's Court Records, 1865-1872 - How to Use this Collection
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Land and Property Records, 1865-1872 - How to Use this Collection
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen's Complaints, 1865-1872 - How to Use this Collection
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Superintendent of Education and of the Division of Education, 1865-1872 - How to Use this Collection

Other FamilySearch collections not included:

• United States Freedmen's Bureau Miscellaneous Records,1865-1872 - How to Use this Collection
• United States Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen, 1865-1872 - How to Use this Collection
• United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1872 Images only. - How to Use this Collection These reports primarily contain statistical and historical information.
• More collections are available in the FamilySearch Catalog. Search for "FREEDMEN - INDIANA" in the Subjects search bar to find.

Visit the African American Freedmen's Bureau Records page to learn more about utilizing these records.

School Records

• The History of our Public Schools Wyandotte County, Kansas 1844-2014
• African American Teachers in Kansas

Vital Records

Birth

• Kansas Births and Christenings, 1818-1936 - information may include name, birth date and place, race, and parents and their ages

Marriage

• Kansas Marriages, 1840-1935 - information often includes the bride and groom’s name, age, birthplace, race, parents, and marriage date and place
• Kansas County Marriages, 1855-1911 - lists bride and groom's name, residence, occupation, age, race, place of birth, parents, and number of marriage

formerly enslaved persons in the southern United States. One of their responsibilities was to record the marriages (past and present) of formerly enslaved couples. These records can be found in the collections below and include the lists of marriages that occurred previously, marriage certificates, and marriage licenses. The information contained on the records may include the name of the husband and wife/groom and bride, age, occupation, residence, year or date of marriage, by whom, number of children, and remarks.

• United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872
• U.S., Freedmen’s Bureau Marriage Records, 1846-1867

Death

• Kansas Deaths and Burials, 1885-1930 - information often includes name, death date and place, gender, age, marital status, race, occupation, and burial place

Archives and Libraries

The Kansas African American Museum
601 N Water
Wichita, Kansas 67203
Phone: 316-262-7651

Midwest Genealogy Center
3440 S. Lee's Summit Road
Independence, Missouri 64055-1923
Phone: 816-252-7228

Wichita Public Library
711 W. 2nd
Wichita, KS 67203
Phone: (316) 261-8500

Societies

The Kansas Genealogical Society & Online Library
2601 Central Ave, LL Suite 17
Dodge City, Kansas 67801
Email: kgslibrary@gmail.com