If you are doing research on your Kansas ancestors, you are bound to run onto the Kansas Historical Society (KHS) website. It has quite a bit of information available, but the information on the census records were not available unless you went there in person. Since I am doing my research from afar, I could not visit. The Ancestry website has the records, but to access them I had to pay. At the time, there was no option. Now you can get to the Kansas State Census Records free! (**if you have a Kansas driver’s license or ID**)
The Kansas State Archives has partnered with Ancestry.com to make genealogical records available to Kansas State residents for free!
It is pretty simple and easy to do. Best of all, access is instant! All you need is a computer, internet connection and your Kansas Driver’s License. (Don’t worry, they do not store your driver’s license number. You will have to verify it each time you access the records through the KHS portal.)
How to Access Free Kansas State Census Records

- Click on the Verify your Kansas driver’s license link. This will take you to the following page.

- This brings you to the Kansas Historical Society page on Ancestry.com. From this page you can choose which document you want to search for.

Easy as 1-2-3!!!
What Records Are on the Kansas Historical Society page of Ancestry?
According to the KHS website, the following records will be available through their partnership with Ancestry:
Kansas State Census Records (1865-1925—taken every 10 years for each year ending in “5”)
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Prior Service Records, 1859-1935
Civil War Enlistment Papers of Kansas Volunteer Regiments, 1862, 1863, 1868
Grand Army of the Republic, Bound Post Records, 1866-1931
Naturalization Abstracts, 1864-1972
Russell County Vital and Probate Records (J. C. Ruppenthal Collection)
Vital Records Abstracts
World War I, Kansas Veterans, Manuscript Collection no. 49
Additional Information on the Kansas Historical Society-Ancestry Partnership
The federal census records are not available for free online through this site. If you want free access records other than those listed above, you will have to either pay the Ancestry membership or access the website at almost any library or on location at the Kansas Historical Society.
This is a great service for Kansans who do genealogy, so take advantage of it.