Kentucky State Facts & Information
Early Kentucky vital records, beginning from the dates indicated and until 1911 are held by the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives (see Vital Records). Land and probate records may be available at the office of the county clerk or at the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives.
Legal enactment dates for counties often vary from effective date of organization and beginning of record maintenance. The latter date is the one reflected in the following chart. Inventory sheets from the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives and the Kentucky Historical Society were used for beginning dates of some records. Land records may pre-date county organization because records were transferred from the parent county.
Dates given for court records may apply to one of many court records located in the county seat (see Court Records). Not all records are extant from the first date given. Campbell and Kenton counties have two county courthouses.
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List of Kentucky Counties
Select a county from the table below to to view more information on genealogical information & records pertaining to each county.
Kentucky State History
The official state website is located at http://www.kentucky.gov/.
Kentucky, state in the east central United States, bordering the Ohio River. Kentucky is one of four states that bear the name commonwealth, and its full title is the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Frankfort is the capital of Kentucky. Lexington-Fayette is the largest city, and Louisville is the center of the state’s largest metropolitan area.
Kentucky has had a rich and varied history since frontier times, when it was the haunt of Daniel Boone and other famous pioneers. Kentucky was admitted as a state (to be formally admitted as the 15th state on 1 Jun 1792) followed on 18 Feb 1792 by Vermont which was as the 14th state. Located on the border between the historical U.S. regions of the North and the South, the state officially remained in the Union during the American Civil War (1861-1865). But the state was a contested area, and a considerable number of its citizens fought with the Confederate army. Significantly, the key Civil War political figures of the Union and the Confederacy, Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, were both born in Kentucky. Kentucky slowly recovered from the war, and in the remaining decades of the 19th century, its people began to develop the manufacturing sector of the state’s economy that remains its cornerstone today.
The name of the state is derived from a Cherokee name for the area south of the Ohio River. The early pioneers spelled the name in many ways, including “Kaintuckee” and “Cantuckey.” Its meaning is disputed, but some historians believe it means “meadowland.” The state’s official nickname is the Bluegrass State, which is derived from the famed bluegrass grown in pastures in central Kentucky. The grass, while green itself, has buds with a purplish-blue hue, which give pastures a bluish tint when seen from a distance. The nickname also recognizes the role that the Bluegrass region has played in Kentucky’s economy and history.
Few American settlers had moved into the region of present-day Kentucky prior to the completion of the western portion of the border survey between Virginia and North Carolina in 1748. When the French and Indian War (Seven Years War) ended, the Ohio River was designated as the boundary between settlers and native inhabitants. Kentucky was under the jurisdiction of Augusta County, Virginia. Fincastle County, Virginia, was organized in 1772 to include all of present-day Kentucky with Harrodsburg designated the county seat. The following year the McAfee brothers and others surveyed land along the Salt River. In 1774, under James Harrod, Harrodsburg was founded as the first permanent English settlement in Kentucky by a group that arrived via the Ohio River.
That same year Richard Henderson purchased from the Native Americans all land lying between the Ohio, Kentucky, and Cumberland rivers for his Transylvania Company. John Finley's stories of Kentucky land precipitated Daniel Boone's subsequent exploration. Boone blazed the trail from the Cumberland Gap (at the junction of present-day Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee) to the interior. This path between the Cumberland Gap and central Kentucky became known, through the Transylvania Company's publicity, as the Wilderness Road. In 1775 Boonesborough was established as the headquarters of the Transylvania Company.
During the Revolutionary War the settlements in Kentucky were virtually ignored by the Virginia government. Troubles with native tribes, lack of military assistance, and isolation from the eastern portion of Virginia precipitated agitation for Kentucky's own statehood. Between 1784 and 1790, nine conventions met at Danville demanding separation from Virginia, but none of these were successful in gaining a division.
The Commonwealth of Kentucky was admitted to the Union as the fifteenth state on 1 June 1792 after the first constitution was drafted on 3 April of that year. Established as a commonwealth state, its first capital was at Danville. Early settlers included Revolutionary War veterans staking claim to bounty-land grants. They were joined by Scots-Irish, German, and English individuals and families from Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.
Ideology over the slave issue divided the populace before and during the Civil War. Many large land owners supported slavery, but the small farmers and mountain families did not. Officially, Kentucky, the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, was neutral during the Civil War only until September 1861 when it actively began support of the Union, even though the Confederate States continued to act as if Kentucky were one of theirs.
Following the Civil War, tobacco and coal became leading commodities in Kentucky's economy. Kentucky's bluegrass pastures have produced an exceptional number of thoroughbred horses, leading to worldwide recognition in horse racing. Fort Knox, originally Camp Knox, began as a permanent military post and later became an official U.S. gold depository. In the twentieth century it has been a major training center for military recruits.
Genealogical research in the state is aided by excellent research facilities and printed materials on Kentucky's early settlement.
Discontinued & Extinct Kentucky Counties
This section provides an list of Kentucky counties that no longer exist. They were established by the state, provincial, or territorial government. Most of these counties were created and disbanded in the 19th century; county boundaries have changed little since 1900 in the vast majority of states.
- Beckham: was formed from Carter Co. and from Lewis and Elliott Counties. It was dissolved by the state Court of Appeals on 29 Apr 1904 as not being formed in accordance with the state constitution. Only marriage and postal records remain.
- Josh Bell: Formed just after the Civil War, on February 5, 1867, from portions of Harlan and Knox Counties. Originally named Josh Bell County at its formation, the name was changed to Bell County by the legislature on January 31, 1873.
Kentucky Counties with Burned Courthouses
Below is a list of Kentucky Counties and the years the Courthouses were subjected to a disaster. This does NOT mean that ALL RECORDS were lost. Often, folks took their documents again in for recording after a disaster and later deeds will contain long chains of title, etc.
The destruction of courthouses greatly affects genealogists in every way. No only are these historic structures torn from our lives, so are the records they housed: marriage, wills, probate, land records, and others. Once destroyed they are lost forever. Even if they have been placed on mircofilm, computers and film burn too. The most heartbreaking side of this is the fact that many of our courthouses are destroyed at the hands of arsonist. However, not all records were lost.
- Allen County - a courthouse fire on 2 Oct 1902 destroyed some records.
- Anderson County - Two courthouse disasters, on 26 Oct 1859 and on 13 Jan 1915, resulted in some record loss. However, only Order Book D and Mortgage Book B were lost.
- Ballard County - Most records were destroyed in a courthouse fire on 17 Feb 1880.
- Bath County - No records seem to have been lost in a courthouse fire on 21 May 1864.
- Bell County - Records were lost in fires in 1914 and 1918. Also records were damaged with some loss in a flood in 1976.
- Boone County - Some records may have been destroyed in the late 1880s due to a fire.
- Bourbon County - Some records were lost in a fire on 8 May 1872.
- Boyle County - Some records were lost in a courthouse fire in 1860.
- Bracken County - Some records were lost in a fire on 20 Apr 1848.
- Breathitt County - The courthouse or the jail was burned during the Civil War by Confederate troops. A fire in 1873 destroyed most of the county's records.
- Breckinridge County - Records were saved from a fire on 28 Dec 1864, though some records were lost to a fire in Feb 1958.
- Butler County - The courthouse was burned in 1872.
- Caldwell County - A courthouse fire on 15 Dec 1864 destroyed some records.
- Calloway County - A courthouse fire destroyed some records in 1906.
- Carlisle County - A courthouse fire destroyed some tax records on 22 Oct 1980.
- Christian County - The courthouse burned in December 1864 and destroyed some records.
- Clay County - On 20 Jan 1936, there was a courthouse fire.
- Clinton County - Most records were lost in a courthouse fire in 1864. Another fire in 1980 destroyed some records.
- Crittenden County - The courthouse was burned by guerillas on 25 Jan 1865 destroying some records. More records were destroyed in a fire which occurred in May 1870.
- Cumberland County - Records were lost in courthouse fires on 3 Jan 1865 and on 3 Dec 1933.
- Daviess County - No records were lost in a courthouse fire on 4 Jan 1865.
- Elliott County - Some records were destroyed in a courthouse fire on 19 Dec 1957.
- Estill County - Soldiers either set fire to the courthouse or the jail (depending on the source) in Oct 1864. In any case, the courthouse collapsed in 1865.
- Fayette County - Most records for before 31 Jan 1803 were destroyed by fire. A second fire on 14 May 1897 also destroyed some early records.
- Floyd County - Some records were destroyed by fire in Apr 1808.
- Graves County - Fire destroyed courthouse records in 1864 and on 18 Dec 1887.
- Grayson County - Three courthouse fire destroyed some or all redords of the time. The first was on 24 Dec 1864. The second was on 16 Jun 1896 from which three record books were saved. No records were lost in the fire of 3 Apr 1936.
- Hardin County - A fire destroyed records on 23 Dec 1864, and on 6 Dec 1932.
- Harlan County - The courthouse burned in Oct 1863, but the county clerk's records were saved.
- Harrison County - A fire on 24 Jan 1851 destroyed some records.
- Hart County - Some records were lost in a courthouse fire on 3 Jan 1928.
- Henry County - A loss of some records occurred due to a fire in 1804.
- Hopkins County - Courthouse fire destroyed records in 1829 and in Dec 1864.
- Jackson County - There was a courthouse fire in 1949.
- Larue County - No records were lost in a fire set by guerrillas on 21 Feb 1865.
- Laurel County - A courthouse fire occurred on 9 Dec 1958.
- Magoffin County - No records were lost in a courthouse disaster in 1957.
- Marion County - Morgan's Raiders burned the clerk's office destroying all records on 5 Jul 1863.
- Marshall County - Records were lost in two courthouse disasters in 1888 and Dec 1914.
- Martin County - A courthouse fire in 1892 destroyed records.
- McCreary County - Courthouse fires destroyed some records in 1927 and in 1951.
- McLean County - There was a courthouse fire in 1903.
- Meade County - A tornado on 3 Apr 1794 destroyed the courthouse and some records.
- Mercer County - A courthouse fire occurred on 15 May 1928.
- Metcalfe County - There were reportedly courthouse fies in Mar 1865, and in 1867 or 1868.
- Monroe County - Records were lost in courthouse fires on 22 Apr 1863 and in 1888.
- Montgomery County - Fires on 4 Mar 1851 and 2 Dec 1863 destroyed many records.
- Morgan County - Courthouse records were lost twice: in Oct 1862 and in 1925.
- Ohio County - The courthouse burned on 20 Dec 1864.
- Oldham County - A courthouse fire occurred in 1873.
- Owsley County - In Jan 1929 and again on 5 Jan 1967, there were courthouse fires. In the 1929 fire, all records were destroyed.
- Perry County - Some records were lost in courthouse disaster in 1885 and in 1911.
- Pike County - No records were lost in a courthouse disaster in 1977.
- Powell County - The courthouse was burned by guerrillas in the Spring of 1863, and the jail was burned in 1864. Records were lost in both fires.
- Pulaski County - Fires in 1838 and on 7 Dec 1871 destroyed some records.
- Rockcastle County - A fire destroyed most early records in 1871.
- Rowan County - Courthouse fires on 21 Mar 1864 and in the 1890s destroyed many records.
- Russell County - No records were lost in a courthouse disaster in 1976.
- Scott County - Many records were destroyed on 9 Aug 1837 and again in 1876.
- Simpson County - Most records were destroyed in a fire 16 May 1882.
- Spencer County - Courthouse fires occurred on 25 Jan 1865 and again in 1914. No records were lost in the 1914 fire.
- Taylor County - Some records were lost in a courthouse fire on 25 Dec 1864.
- Trigg County - Courthouse fires on 13 Dec 1864, 13 Jan 1892, and 29 Nov 1920 destroyed many records
- Trimble County - Some records were lost in a courthouse fire in 1952.
- Warren County - A courthouse fire destroyed some records in 1864.
- Washington County - Two fires, one in 1795, and the second in 1814 destroyed courthouses, though some records were saved.
- Wayne County - A fire in 1898 destroyed its fourth courthouse.
- Whitley County - Some records were lost in a courthouse disaster in 1930.
- Wolfe County - Records were lost in courthouse fires in 1886 and 1913.
- Woodford County - A fire destroyed many records on 11 Oct 1965.
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