Johnson County Archives & Records Management

Marriage Records 1857 - 1969 Index available for grooms only until 1946, thereafter by bride and groom.
District Court Civil Cases (not fully processed, searchable only with case number which may be obtained from the Clerk of the District Court) 1857 - 1939
District Court Criminal Cases 1857 - 1969
Journals of the Board of County Commissioners 1857 - 1997
Probate Court Records
Wills 1859 - 1968
Records of Inventory and Appraisement
Journals
Records of Settlements
Administrators Settlement Records
Guardians Settlement Records
Petitions for Administrators & Guardians Letters
Records of Letters and Bonds

Naturalization records, while often quite helpful, can also be quite confusing since the process, forms, and point of origin have differed greatly over the years. The following information taken from the Nevada State Archives web site sheds some light on the evolution of this process.

The naturalization process began with an Act in 1790 that made naturalization possible for any free, white adult with four years of residency.

Prior to the formation of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in 1906 any federal, state or local Court of Record could confer citizenship. Before 1952 children under 21 received derivative citizenship and have no separate file. During this same time women received automatic citizenship by marriage after one year of residency and needed no Declaration of Intent.

The forms used for Naturalization documents have also varied. Before 1906, each court had its own form that required only the signatures of two witnesses. The forms issued by the Immigration and Naturalization Service required far greater details including name, age, date and place of birth, occupation, physical description, current and former residences, Ports of Debarkation and Arrival, name of the ship, and date of arrival in the U.S. In 1912, names and birth dates of spouses and children were added.

Beginning in 1930, photographs were often included.

The normal process required two classes of documents. The Declaration of Intent was often filed upon arrival in order to begin establishment of residency without delay. With a copy of this filing in hand, final papers could be obtained from any court after residency requirements had been met. The final paper has four parts: Petition, which carries the most information; Affidavits of witnesses and petitioner; Oath of Allegiance; and Court Orders admitting, denial, or continuance.

Naturalization Service Petition and Record 1907 - 1929
Declaration of Intention 1907 - 1952
Petitions for Naturalization 1923 - 1951
Orders of Court and Repatriations 1929 - 1951
Certificate of Naturalization 1907 - 1928
Final Naturalization Record 1872 - 1906
First Naturalization Record 1870 - 1906
Record of Declarations of Intention 1904 - 1906
Naturalization Record - General 1904 – 1906
Road Petitions 1860-1960 When property owners desired to have a road constructed, altered, or vacated the process included a formal petition complete with adjacent landowner signatures. If approved a more formal survey was completed. This packet of information often included hand drawn maps complete with structures and property owner names.
Real Estate Tax Rolls 1862-1959 Accessed only through land location. These records provide the name of the property owner and amount of taxes paid.
Personal Property Tax Rolls 1888-c. 1905 Organized primarily by township these records often reflect in great detail the possessions of early residents. Although Personal Property tax rolls continue to exist the vast amount of detailed information available has long since disappeared.
School Records (not fully processed) The most useful of the school records in our collection are the Annual Reports of the District Clerk. We have these records from 1914 to 1959 and many include the names of teachers, name of student, birthday of student, age of student, address of student, and parents’ names.

In addition we also have other miscellaneous school records from the same basic time span including the following:

Common School Examinations
Department of Public Instruction Reports
Truancy Records
Teacher Examinations
Record of School Sessions
Record of Certificates Granted
Agricultural Extension Yearbooks During the early 20th Century the County Agricultural Agent not only served, as a vital source of information for the then rural county but many of its activities became the focus of social life for the citizens of the county. Their Annual Reports reflect these activities complete with photographs and agricultural statistics. Included in our holdings are Annual Reports of both the Agricultural Agent and the Home Demonstration Agent for many of the years between 1919 and 1968 as well as approximately 600 photographs.
Coroner Records Includes name, date, cause of death, and remarks 1888 – 1975
Last Copy Repository In an effort to help preserve the history of Johnson County, Kansas Government the Last Copy Repository was created. This area houses copies of newsletters, informational bulletins, studies, surveys and reports that were created by the offices of the Johnson County, Kansas Government.
Vertical File Newspaper clippings from 1985 to 2000. Primarily limited to significant events or individuals that have appeared in local newspapers in the recent past.
Olathe Justice of the Peace Civil Docket books 1890 – 1929
District Court Records Although not all inclusive our collection includes the minutes, journals, trial dockets, motion dockets, execution dockets, recognizance dockets, and bar dockets of the District Court.
Ephemeral Collections Druggists permits; Record of strays; Peddlers permits; Record of brands; Abstract of votes cast 1866; Ferry licenses 1870-1871; Druggist liquor receipts, 1918; Liquor delivery reports 1913-1919; WPA Survey forms, 1941.

This page last updated: March 3, 2008