Effective family history research requires some understanding of the historical events that affected your family and the records about them. Learning about wars, governments, laws, migrations, and religious trends may help you understand political boundaries, family movements, and settlement patterns. State, county, and town histories often include biographical sketches of local residents, including important genealogical information. This may be one of the best sources of information for some families.

The following important events in the history of Kentucky affected political boundaries, record keeping, and family movements.

1772	Fincastle County was formed from Botetourt County, Virginia. It included all of the present state of Kentucky and small portions of Virginia and West Virginia.
1774	Harrodsburg was established as the first permanent settlement in Kentucky. Settlements at Boonesboro, St. Asaph, and Danville soon followed. Early settlers received land warrants for their participation in the French and Indian War.
1776	Kentucky County was created from Fincastle County, Virginia. It included the eastern part of present-day Kentucky.
1792	The Commonwealth of Kentucky was admitted to the Union as the 15th state. Many pioneers of Kentucky were Revolutionary War veterans who came to claim bounty land.
1803	Migration through Kentucky, as well as settlement there, increased after the Louisiana Purchase.
1812– 1815	The War of 1812 involved many Kentucky soldiers.
1852	Kentucky law required counties to record births, marriages, and deaths.
1815– 1860	Kentucky settlers benefitted from improvements in transportation, including river steamboats, canals, and railroads.
1861– 1865	Kentucky officially supported the Union in the Civil War, but its soldiers served on both sides (120,000 Union and 60,000 Confederate).
1862	The Kentucky law requiring counties to record births, marriages, and deaths was repealed.
1870s	Further attempts were made to record births, marriages, and deaths.
1911	Kentucky again required the registration of births and deaths.
1917	Over 75,000 Kentuckians served in World War I.
1920s	The coal mining industry boomed.
1930s	Many coal miners lost their jobs, and small farms were abandoned as the depression hit Kentucky. Many Kentuckians moved to the cities for better jobs.
1939– 1945	Over 300,000 Kentuckians served in World War II. Coal mines and farms became productive again.
1950– 1970s	Tourism became a major industry as new highways were built. Coal mining and manufacturing continued to grow.