It is wise to acquaint yourself with any repository which you might visit by writing to the appropriate archive or library in advance. Every repository has published materials that introduce its collections and research policy. State archives and historical agencies also have Internet sites that provide the same information. Some even have downloadable databases for some or parts of their collections. A valuable research tool is Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives' The Guide to Kentucky Archival and Manuscript Repositories (Frankfort, Ky.: Public Records Division, 1986). Copyrighted by the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, this compilation is based on data gathered by the Kentucky Guide Project. It contains an overview of 285 Kentucky repositories and their holdings.
Kentucky Department for Libraries & Archives 300 Coffee Tree Road, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601; (502) 564-8300 Also has birth and death records for the cities of Louisville, Lexington, Covington, and Newport, which were established under city ordinance prior to 1911.
"Genealogists are generally positive and energetic, and most are ready to share their findings or research experience with anyone they can help. There are hundreds of genealogical societies at the grass-roots level. Knowledge of the genealogical community will place you in the midst of much activity, increase your productivity, and alert you to the importance of research standards and etiquette." Sandra Hargreaves Luebking,
Editor of FGS Forum, Co-editor of The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy
Because family history research relies greatly upon records found at the county level, many local societies represent counties. Organizations also form around shared interests. Ethnic or religious origins account for many groups, such as the Polish Genealogical Society of America and P.O.I.N.T. (Pursuing Our Italian Names Together). Societies also form around common locales of origin for members’ ancestors; hence, the Palatines to America and Germans from Russia societies. To locate these and other societies, consult Juliana Szucs Smith’s The Ancestry Family Historian’s Address Book. It lists addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and Internet addresses of thousands of organizations throughout the United States.
For almost every state there is a state genealogical society, a state genealogical council, or both. In addition to their own work, state-level groups sometimes help coordinate the efforts of local societies within the state. Their publications, newsletters and quarterlies, supplement those produced by the local societies.
Several statewide, regional, and local genealogical publications are available for Kentucky. Most can be found at either the Kentucky Historical Society, the University of Kentucky Library, the Filson Club Library, regional libraries, or the FHL. Some local libraries maintain copies pertaining to their area. Many genealogical publications are maintained in the Kentucky Genealogical Society's collection housed at the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives.
Statewide or regional publications include the following: [ see specific county page for individual county list ]
The Bull (1968–present)West-Central Kentucky Family Research Association
Bluegrass (1973–present)Kentucky Genealogical Society
Tree Shaker. (1982–present) Ashland, Ky: Eastern Kentucky Genealogical Society.
The East Kentuckian: Journal of Genealogy and History. (1965–present)
Lexington, Ky.: published privately by Clayton R. Cox
Filson Club Historical Quarterly. (1926–present)Louisville, Ky.: Filson Club
Kentucky Ancestors. (1965–present)Frankfort, Ky.: Kentucky Historical Society
Kentucky Family Records. (1969–present)West-Central Kentucky Family Research Association
The Kentucky Genealogist.(1959–present) James R. Bentley, ed.
Kentucky Pioneer Genealogy and Records. (1979–present) Cook and McDowell Publications.
The Register of the Kentucky Historical(1903–present) Kentucky Historical Society
South Central Kentucky Historical and Genealogical Society Quarterly. (1974–present)
South Central Kentucky Historical and Genealogical Society. Changed name to Traces in 1982.
Western Kentucky Journal, PO Box 325, Newburgh, IN; Covers the following counties:Henderson, Union, Webster, Trigg, Caldwell, Crittenden, Livingston, Lyon, Hopkins
The University of Kentucky Library is the major state repository for newspapers for the state. It participates in the United States newspaper project with holdings available from an on-line data base. The Kentucky Union List of 14,000 titles of early Kentucky papers that have been identified by a recent project is presently being microfilmed. When complete, all titles will be available through interlibrary loan.
The Kentucky Gazette, a Lexington newspaper, published news for most early Kentucky counties. Microfilm copies are available at many libraries in and out of the state and at the University of Kentucky Library in Lexington.
The Louisville Courier has been indexed for the years 1917 to 1977.
Some original and microfilmed newspapers are also available at the Kentucky Historical Society, the Filson Club Library, and the Lexington Public Library. The FHL and some regional libraries also have copies on microfilm. Other helpful sources include:
Clift, G. Glenn, comp., ed. Kentucky Obituaries, 1787-1854. Reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1984. Compiled from publications of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, from newspapers housed in the Lexington Public Library, from The Kentucky Gazette, aand from The Reporter. Chronologically arranged.
Green, Karen Mauer. The Kentucky Gazette: Genealogical and Historical Abstracts. 2 vols. Baltimore, Md.: Gateway Press, 1983-85. Volume 1 covers 1787-1800; Volume 2 covers 1801-200. These volumes are extracts of names, events, and dates from The Kentucky Gazette and include entries for people from may Kentucky counties. Volumes are individually indexed; each ahve separate indexes for persons and places.
While records of birth, marriage, and death are the most commonly sought and the most consistently helpful records, only the genealogist’s imagination and resourcefulness limit newspapers’ usefulness in supplying clues about historical events, local history, probate court and legal notices, real estate transactions, political biographies, announcements, notices of new and terminated partnerships, business advertisements, and notices for settling debts.
Newspapers can provide at least a partial substitute for nonexistent civil records. For example, a person’s obituary may have appeared in a newspaper even when civil death records for that person do not exist. And newspapers are an important source of marriage records, particularly in those states where civil recording of marriages was essentially nonexistent until the twentieth century.
Unlike official records, newspapers are not limited to a particular geographical area. They often include reports of the weddings of local citizens (even those that occurred in a neighboring county or another state), and they sometimes report visits of geographically distant relatives or the visits of former local residents. They often published death notices of individuals who had left the area long before but who still had local family or friends as well. In each case the newspaper account can identify the date and place of an event, thus opening the possibility of turning up additional documentation in other sources.
The first step in searching a newspaper is to identify those which served the area of interest and which have survived. The three most necessary tools are bibliographies (What was published?), inventories of library and depository holdings (Where is it?), and indexes (How do I find what I want in it?).
(Frankfort, Ky.: Public Records Division, 1986). Copyrighted by the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, this compilation is based on data gathered by the Kentucky Guide Project. It contains an overview of 285 Kentucky repositories and their holdings.
