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Resources
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Use these helpful tools to aid you in your research.
How to...
How can I find out more about an announcement that was made in Topeka?
The Topeka Room has a variety of resources to help you with your search for wedding or funeral announcements.
You can explore several newspaper databases, including Newspapers.com – World Collection for Newspapers from the late 1800s through the 1920s, and NewsBank for Topeka-area newspapers from 1948 to today. The Topeka Room also has an extensive collection of local newspapers on microfilm. Our staff will be happy to help you locate and use these materials.
In addition, we offer an Obituary Index with more than 17,000 entries from Topeka newspapers. If you can’t find the obituary you need, fill out our obituary request form, and staff will search our Topeka and Shawnee County collections for you.
For further information on wedding announcements, you can access our Kansas Marriage License Indexes in person through the Topeka Room collection.
How can I find out more about an event that happened in Topeka?
The Topeka Room has many resources to learn more about historic events that happened in Topeka and Shawnee County.
To see if the Topeka Room has a vertical file on the event, search our subject index. Within these files there might be newspaper clippings, photographs, and ephemera on a variety of events, natural disasters, and festivals that have taken place in Topeka over the years.
Our complete collection of the Shawnee County Historical Society Bulletins is also a great source for information on a variety of topics. You can view them in person in the Topeka Room or digitized on our Digital Collections webpage.
You can also search our library catalog to see if there is a particular book covering the topic of interest.
How can I find a person who lived in Topeka?
There are several resources in the Topeka Room that you can use to find details about a person who lived in Topeka and Shawnee County.
To see if the library has a vertical file with information on an individual or family, search our biography index. These files may contain newspaper clippings or photographs related to the person.
City directories can be a wonderful resource to find where a person lived and for how long. You can view these either in person in the Topeka Room or on HeritageQuest Online.
Our complete collection of the Shawnee County Historical Society Bulletins is also a great source for information on the lives of notable Topekans. You can view them in person in the Topeka Room or digitized on our Digital Collections webpage.
You can search our newspaper databases to find any newspaper articles that mention an individual. For papers from the late-1800s through the 1920s, use Newspapers.com-World Collection. For Topeka papers from 1948 to today, use NewsBank. Use our newspapers on microfilm for the most comprehensive collection of Topeka news. Our staff is happy to show you how to use our microfilm readers.
How can I find a place in Topeka?
The Topeka Room has many resources to learn more about local homes and businesses. To see if the library has a vertical file with information on a home, search our index under the subject heading “HOUSES” and look for the street address. With these files, you can often find newspaper clippings or photographs related to your topic.
Our collection of Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps is accessible in person or online (color versions can be found here). Use these to find buildings by street blocks and building numbers.
With our city directories, you can search for local properties and find information about previous owners. These records are also available online on HeritageQuest Online.
Our Sherwood Smith collection shows the blueprint plans for many Topeka homes and businesses from the 19th and 20th centuries. Search for a property on our Digital Collections webpage.
To research historic homes and properties in Kansas, search the Kansas Historic Resources Inventory database and interactive map for more information.
The Shawnee County Appraisers Office and Shawnee County Register of Deeds can also help you learn more about local properties.
Local History
- Shawnee County Appraisers Office
A great resource to get more information about properties in Topeka and Shawnee County. Click on real estate property search and enter the address. - Shawnee County Register of Deeds
Mortgage and deed records from 1988 to present are available on Public Access Computers located in our office during office hours (8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.). - Sherwood Smith Collection
The Sherwood Smith blueprint and document collection contains approximately 500 items that represent the growth of Topeka from the late 19th century to the middle of the 20th. - City of Topeka Historic Preservation Office
The Planning Department works to preserve Topeka’s history, and strengthen its recognition and value within a wide variety of applications. - Sanborn Maps
Learn about the history, growth and development of American cities, towns and neighborhoods through digitized, Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, 1867-1970. - State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO)
The Kansas Historic Resources Inventory (KHRI) is administered by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) at the Kansas Historical Society (KSHS) and is a searchable inventory of the state’s surveyed historic properties. - Topeka Building Permits index
The corresponding microfilm is available in the Topeka Room. - HeritageQuest Online
Search the Topeka city directories online. - U.S., Indexed County Land Ownership Maps
1860-1918: Database that includes Topeka and Shawnee land ownership maps that portrays land purchased, granted, or inherited with the property owners name. (Available in library only)
- Kansas Secretary of State-Business Entity Database Search
Trying to figure out when a business or organization started in Kansas. Check out the Business Entity Database - Shawnee County Historical Society
preserves, collects and interprets the history of Shawnee County, Kansas. - Shawnee County Historical Society Bulletins
- Topeka Capital Journal:
- Local Newspaper Index – contains articles, obituaries and events from 1989-1999.
- Full text articles and archives (1999 – present).
- Kansas Digital Newspapers
Select historic Topeka newspapers can be found here as are freely available on the websites of several of their digital partners (must be a Kansas resident) - Sanborn Maps
Learn about the history, growth and development of American cities, towns and neighborhoods through digitized, Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, 1867-1970. - Kansas Historical Society-Archives
- African-African History & Genealogy
A keyword searchable database of Topeka and Shawnee County’s African American newspapers. (1880- 1971). View a list of titles and dates. - History of Shawnee County, Kansas, and representative citizens
One of the earliest county histories written about Shawnee county is keyword searchable in electronic format. (Available in library only) - With Christ in Kansas: a history of the First Presbyterian Church of Topeka Kansas, 1859 to 1934.
The 75th anniversary history of one of the oldest churches in Topeka is keyword searchable in electronic format. (Available in library only) - Kansas, Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Prior Service Records, 1859-1935.
The cards in this database serve as an index to “prior service” record files for employees of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Prior service refers to employment with the railroad before 29 August 1935. Some may include only a name and a department, while others may record a birth date, retirement date, years of service, and other details. (Available in library only) - Selected U.S. Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880.
Agriculture, Industry/Manufacturers Schedules, Social Statistics and Supplemental Schedules 1850-1880. This database contains U.S. federal non-population schedules from 1850-1880 includes Topeka and Shawnee County. - If your Jayhawk great-grandfather fought for the Union, see if he joined the club after the war in these Kansas GAR records. (Available in library only)
- HathiTrust Digital Library keep in their repository several items related to Topeka history.
Genealogy
Ancestry Library Edition
The world’s largest online resource for family history resources.
American Ancestors Online
by New England Historic and Genealogical Society, is a repository for more than 400 million searchable names covering New England, New York, and beyond. It provides access to the New England Historical and Genealogical Register and American Ancestors magazine, databases, and more than 200,000 published genealogies, biographies, local histories, vital records, maps, and other printed materials.
African-American History & Genealogy
Explore African American history, culture and experience from the 16th through 20th centuries in newspapers, periodicals, pamphlets, broadsides and other imprints. NewsBank’s Archive of Americana family of historical collections give access to a wide range of resources on African Americans.
A to Z Databases
A to Z databases is a directory and marketing database that includes 30 million businesses and 220 million residents. It is ideal for sales leads, mailing lists, market research, job searches and finding friends and relatives.
Family Search Catalog
Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library is an affiliate site for Family Search microfilm. You can now search the catalog, find microfilm or microfiche and have it sent to our library for you to view. (Library Card Not Required)
Fold3
Fold3 is the web’s premier collection of original US military records, including many from the US National Archives.
Genealogy Connect
Collection of nearly 600 genealogy research and reference publications.
Heritage Hub
Access a vast collection of historical documents, including newspapers, books, pamphlets, and government records, covering over 300 years of history. Formerly known as America's Obituaries.
HeritageQuest
A free resource for census records and city directories. It has resources for researchers who are either just beginning their family research or who after years of work are still uncovering their past.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
Find a book to help you with your family research in the Family Search Catalog or another library? Our Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Department may be able to borrow it for you from another library.
Newspapers.com - World Collection
Find marriage and birth announcements, obituaries, news and more.
Sanborn Maps
American cities, towns and neighborhood histories are digitized via Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, 1867-1970.
Social Justice Suite
Research the history of slavery in America, civil rights and social justice issues, gun regulation and legislation in America and more.
FamilySearch Finding Digital Records
The following sites can be accessed without a library card:
American Genealogical Index
The best starting point to find any early New England settlers via the Godfrey Memorial Library.
BLM General Land Office Records
Bureau of Land Management records provide live access to Federal land conveyance records for the Public Land States, including image access to more than 5 million Federal land titles records issued between 1820 – present.
Cyndi’s List of Genealogy Sites
A helpful list of genealogy resources on the Internet.
FamilySearch
FamilySearch maintains a collection of records, resources and services designed to help people learn more about their family history.
Find a Grave
A free resource for finding the graves of ancestors and creating virtual memorials.
GEDMatch
A free website to help you connect to your kinship through DNA.
Genealogy & Local History Tutorials
Take training classes that will teach you about creating oral histories and learn more about the kits used in creating them.
Kansas State Government Publications
A listing from the Kansas KGI Online Library of about 60,000 publications from 1861-2019. They include directories, reports and catalogs that contain names of employees, residents, professionals, retailers and others that can help genealogists in finding relatives.
Kansas State Historical Society
Kansas Historical Society has served as the State Archives since 1905, including government records, manuscripts, photos and other primary sources. Kansas log in to Newspapers.com.
KS Maps Online
Wichita State University Libraries Special Collections and University Archives presents over 325 digitized Kansas maps, dating from 1556 to 1900, for interactive viewing.
KSGenweb Project
Volunteers work together to provide free genealogy websites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States.
Making of America
From the Cornell University Library, a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction.
The Mt. Auburn Cemetery Files (.zip)
Mt. Auburn Cemetery is located at 916 SE California in Topeka. It was formed August 12, 1909 and forfeited September 15, 1991. Mt Auburn Cemetery Map
National Archives Records Administration
Valuable federal records for genealogists include the census, immigration, land records and more.
Nationwide Gravesite Locator
The National Cemetery Administration department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides the Nationwide Gravesite Locator to help families locate the burial locations of veterans.
Rootsweb
RootsWeb is the Internet’s oldest and largest free genealogical community with searchable databases and message boards.
Topeka Genealogy Society
TGS houses a large and growing collection of more than 12,000 books and 700 genealogical periodical titles and offers resources and learning opportunities.
USGenWeb Project
USGenWeb Project is a group of volunteers working together to provide free genealogy websites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States.
WorldGenWeb Project
The WorldGenWeb Project is a non-profit, volunteer based organization dedicated to providing genealogical and historical records and resources for world-wide access!
