The state of Kentucky is known as “the Bluegrass State”. Genealogists who are seeking information about their ancestors quickly learn that it helps if you can search through records that are specific to the state that the ancestor lived in. Here are some helpful Kentucky Genealogy resources to start with.
KYGenWeb is a great resource to start with. The website has tons of links to online resources that are specific to Kentucky. Use a drop down box to “jump” to a specific county. Or, click on links to “Obituaries”, “Cemeteries”, or “Newspapers on Microfilm” (from the University of Kentucky interlibrary loan). The most disturbing link on the page is one called “Hangings”. Personally, I wouldn’t be comfortable digging into that particular collection.
FamilySearch has a Wiki page that has information about the state of Kentucky. There are links that will take you to the Wiki pages of each of the counties in Kentucky. Scroll down to find a short list of research tools that are on websites outside of FamilySearch. Keep scrolling down to find a list of links to more FamilySearch Wiki pages about Kentucky.
Ancestry.com has a page of links that will take you to each of their individual collections of records that relate to Kentucky. To access these records, you need to have an Ancestry.com membership. Sometimes, they will offer some records for free. Return to this page often. Ancestry.com does a good job of letting you know when a collection of records is new, has been updated, or is currently available for free.
Interment.net has cemetery records online. Start by clicking on a link to a particular county in Kentucky. This will bring up more information about the records of the cemeteries located in that county. Not every county has information attached to it. Or, you can put your ancestor’s first and last name into the search engine at the top of their page.
GeneaLinks has an easy to find search engine at the top of their page. Put in the first and last name of your ancestor. Choose from the following record types: vital, birth, death, marriage, divorce, or “Genealogy”.
GeneaLinks also has helpful information for those who are new to Kentucky genealogy. Did you know that Kentucky doesn’t have any privacy restrictions in place for old records? That should make your search a little easier!
Cyndi’s List is the most comprehensive collection of online genealogy resources. They have a page called “United States – Kentucky”. Start by selecting a category. Some include: “Birth, Marriage, Death”, “Census”, “Counties”, “Military”, and “Newspapers”.
Image by Gage Skidmore on Flickr