Christian County, Kentucky Genealogy

United States

Kentucky

Christian County

Guide to Christian County, Kentucky ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Kentucky Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Hopkinsville Organized: December 13, 1796 Parent County(s): Logan Neighboring Counties Caldwell  • Hopkins  • Montgomery (TN)  • Muhlenberg  • Stewart (TN)  • Todd  • Trigg See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption Adopt-a-wiki page This page adopted by: KYGenWeb Project who welcome you to contribute. Adopt a page today

County Information

Description

Christian County was named for William Christian. The county is located in the western area of the state.

County Courthouse

Christian County Courthouse
511 S Main Street
Hopkinsville, KY 42240-2300
Phone: 270-887-4105
Christian County Website

Christian County, Kentucky Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1852	1797	1852	1797	1797	1797	1810
*Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1911. General compliance by 1917.

Record Loss

1864--A disaster destroyed most records. For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see: Burned Counties. By Michael John Neill at 24-7 Family History Circle. When the Records are Gone. By Arlene Eakle at Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Blog. Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki. List of counties in the United States with Record Loss

Boundary Changes

1796--Christian County was created 13 December 1796 from Logan County. County seat: Hopkinsville For animated maps illustrating Kentucky county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Kentucky County Boundary Maps" (1776-1939) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Cities
Crofton Hopkinsville	LaFayette Oak Grove	Pembroke
Unincorporated communities
Apex Bainbridge Bakersport Barkers Mill Bennettstown Beverly Binns Mill Bluff Spring Canton Pike Carl Casky Church Hill Dogwood Edgoten	Empire Era Fearsville Fedelio Fruit Hill Garrettsburg Haleys Mill Hawkins Hensleytown Herndon Honey Grove Howel Julien Kelly	Kennedy Mannington Masonville Merrittstown Newstead Ovil Peedee Pleasant Green Hill Pleasant Hill Saint Elmo Sinking Fork Stephenson West Brook
Census-designated places
Fairview	Fort Campbell North	Gracey

Resources

Biographies

• Kentucky Biographies Project
• Christian and Trigg Counties, Kentucky History and Biography at Ancestry ($)
• County of Christian, Kentucky : historical and biographical at Ancestry ($)
• Counties of Todd and Christian, Kentucky : historical and biographical at Ancestry ($)

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Christian, Kentucky online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com KYGenWeb KYGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project Kentucky Gravestones Billion Graves
TombstoneTranscriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com Billion Graves Kentucky Cemeteries FamilySearch Places
See Kentucky Cemeteries for more information

The following web sites have additional information on Christian county cemeteries.

• Interment.net, Kentucky cemetery records by county.
• Cemetery Junction, Links to cemetery transcriptions
• Naming the Forgotten, The Eastern State Hospital Project

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1800	2,318	—
1810	11,020	375.4%
1820	10,459	−5.1%
1830	12,684	21.3%
1840	15,587	22.9%
1850	19,580	25.6%
1860	21,627	10.5%
1870	23,227	7.4%
1880	31,682	36.4%
1890	34,118	7.7%
1900	37,962	11.3%
1910	38,845	2.3%
1920	35,883	−7.6%
1930	34,283	−4.5%
1940	36,129	5.4%
1950	42,359	17.2%
1960	56,904	34.3%
1970	56,224	−1.2%
1980	66,878	18.9%
1990	68,941	3.1%
2000	72,265	4.8%
2010	73,955	2.3%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

• Kentucky Census Transcriptions 1850-1930, USGenWeb
• Census Images, USGenWeb
• KY Census Online, Links to online census records

Some pages in the 1910 Census for Magisterial District 3, ED 13 are missing.

Church Records

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Kentucky denominations, view the Kentucky Church Records wiki page.

• Kentucky Christian Church Directory, ChurchAngel
• Catholic Parishes in the Diocese of Lexington
• Catholic Parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville

Baptist

• West Fork. Church minutes and membership lists (1803-1822) are available online.

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places
  

Court Records

• Abstracts of Early Kentucky Supreme Court Cases, KYGenWeb
• Kentucky Court of Justice Research & Reference

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

African Americans

More information about African American resources in Kentucky can be found on the African American Resources for Kentucky and the United States African Americans Wiki pages.

• The KY African American Griots Project
• Kentucky Cultural Groups has information specific to Kentucky African Americans.
• Sandi Gorin's Tips, Hangings in Kentucky 1792-1900

Genealogies

• [Adams] Maloney, James Hallett. "Drury Hatcher of Cumberland County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 49, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 2005):243-256; Vol. 50, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 2006):51-59. Digital version at American Ancestors ($).
• [Baker] Chapman, Peggy Brown. Bakers of Logan, Christian, Muhlenberg, Livingston, Henderson, Hopkins, Caldwell, Union, Todd, Trigg, Crittenden, Lyon, McLean and Webster Counties & Jackson Purchase, Kentucky. Lubbock, Texas: P.B. Chapman, 1995. FHL Book 929.273 B171cp.
• [Cocke] Hart, Lyndon H. "The Cocke Family in Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 44, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 2000):41-61; Vol. 44, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 2000):146-156; Vol. 44, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 2000):203-215; Vol. 44, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 2000):309-315; Vol. 45, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 2001):23-36; Vol. 45, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 2001):132-148; Vol. 45, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 2001):208-219; Vol. 45, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 2001):278-288; Vol. 46, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 2002):42-46. Digital version at American Ancestors ($). FHL Book 975.5 B2vg.
• [de Graffenried] de Graffenried, Thomas Pritchett. History of the de Graffenried Family from 1191 A.D. to 1925. Binghampton, N.Y.: Vail-Ballou Press, 1925. Digital version at Internet Archive - free; FHL Book 929.273 G758g.
• [Finley] Finley, Carmen J. "John Finley of Montgomery/Wythe County, Virginia: Additional Children Identified," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 39, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1995):3-22; Vol. 39, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1995):94-103; Vol. 39, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1995):202-212; Vol. 39, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1995):282-294. Digital version at American Ancestors ($). FHL Book 975.5 B2vg v. 39 (1995).
• [Henry] Rivers, Flournoy. "The Flournoy Family," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Jul. 1894):81-90; Vol. 2, No. 2 (Oct. 1894):190-213; Vol. 2, No. 3 (Jan. 1895):318-327; Vol. 2, No. 4 (Apr. 1895):437-447; Vol. 3, No. 1 (Jul. 1895):67-79; Vol. 3, No. 4 (Apr. 1896):414-416; Vol. 4, No. 1 (Jul. 1896):97-101. Digitized by JSTOR - free.
• [Lindsey] Shinn, Josiah Hazen. Pioneers and Makers of Arkansas. Little Rock, Ark.: Democrat Printing and Lithographing Co., 1908. Digital version at Internet Archive - free.
• [Sassin] Allen, Cameron. "Francois Sasin/Sassin of Manakin Town: The First Six Generations of the Sassin/Sasseen Family in America," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 37, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1993):3-17; Vol. 37, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1993):99-116; Vol. 37, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1993):193-205; Vol. 37, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1993):259-271. Digital version at American Ancestors ($). FHL Book 975.5 B2vg v. 37 (1993).
• [Shipp] Sanders, Walter R. The Shipp Genealogy from Essex, Caroline, Fa[u]quier Counties, Virginia, to Green, Taylor, Woodford, Jefferson, Fayette, Christian, Bourbon, Scott, Owen, Counties, Kentucky, and Johnson Counties, Indiana. Typescript. Microfilmed 1971. FHL Book 929.273 Sh64s; FHL Film 875372 Item 5

Land and Property Records

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Kentucky Land and Property for additional information about early Kentucky land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.

• The KY Land Office
• The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Christian County land records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee. Available indexes:

1. Deed Book B: 1797-1815
2. Deed Book C: 1810-1816

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Christian County, Kentucky Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories see the wiki page section Kentucky Local Histories.

• A History of Christian County, Kentucky. 1930. By Charles Mayfield Meacham. Nashville, Tennessee : Marshall & Bruce Co. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; At various libraries (WorldCat).
• Counties of Christian and Trigg, Kentucky : Historical and Biographical. 1884. Edited by William Henry Perrin. Chicago, Illinois : F.A. Battey Pub. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($); At various libraries (WorldCat).

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• KYGenWeb compiled list of maps
• Click on the county to go to the KYGenWeb site
• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

Latham Confederate Monument

• Military Resources, Revolutionary War through Civil War

Civil War

Online Records

• 1861-1865 Kentucky Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
• 1861-1865 Kentucky Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
• 1861-1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
• 1861-1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry— index (free)
• 1912-1950 Kentucky Confederate Pension Applications 1912-1950 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection

Regiments. Men in Christian County served in various regiments and companies. Those listed below were specifically formed in this county:

- 3rd Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Companies A, B, C, I, K and M.

World War I

• Fallen Soldiers in WWI from KY, Fallen Soldiers in WWI from Kentucky

Korean War

• Korean War Memorial, Korean War Memorial for Soldiers from KY, KYGenWeb

Newspapers

• 1874-2008 - Kentucky New Era (Hopkinsville, Ky.) at Google News - free.
• 1887-1912 - Weekly Kentucky New Era (Hopkinsville, Ky.) at Google News - free.
• USNPL, Kentucky, Kentucky newspaper index with links
• World-Newspapers, Kentucky, Kentucky newspaper index with links
• Kentucky Newspapers on Microfilm
• Kentucky New Era (Hopkinsville, Kentucky) at Ancestry ($)

Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Christian County, Kentucky Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• Do a Christian County, Kentucky Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Places Search).

Obituaries

• Kentucky Footsteps Archives, KYGenWeb
• Kentucky Obituary Sources, KYGenWeb

• Browning Genealogy Database, Compiled by Charles Browning.
• Kentucky Obituaries, USGenWeb
• Afrigeneas, African American death notices, obituaries and funeral programs compiled by users from current newspapers and historical sources
• Obituary Depot, Kentucky Newspaper Citations
• Obituary Daily Times, Citations to over 15,000,000 obituaries
• Nashville Christian Advocate Death Abstracts

Other Records

• Kentucky Postcards, USGenWeb

Probate Records

Probate records are held by the Christian County, Kentucky Genealogy Clerk of Court and are housed at the Christian County, Kentucky Genealogy Courthouse. Microfilmed records can be found online at Kentucky, Probate Records, 1792-1977 for Caldwell, Henry, Hickman, Russell and Trimble counties. See the wiki page Kentucky Probate Records for information about how to use probate records.

Content: Probate Records may give the decedent's date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence.

Record types: Wills, estates, guardianships, naturalizations, and adoptions.

Online Probate Records

• 1774–1999 Kentucky Wills and Probate Records 1774-1999 at Ancestry ($) — index and images
• 1797-1811 Kentucky Pioneers ($) Images of Will Bk A
• 1797-1921 Will Books (1797-1921) at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1798-1943 Will Books 1 to 8 (1798-1943) at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1812-1816 Kentucky Pioneers ($) Images of Will Bk B
• 1823-1826 Kentucky Pioneers ($) Images of Will Bk C
• 1823-1826 Kentucky Pioneers ($) Images of Will Bk D

• Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records, Ancestry ($)

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
• 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records

Taxes were levied on free white males over 21 and slaves aged 21 to 60. These persons are referred to as "polls." Tax listings, or digests, of a county generally list the taxable landowners and other polls and the amount of tax. The records for each county are divided by militia district. For more background information and state-wide resources see the wiki page Kentucky Taxation.

• 1797 - "Christian County Tax List 1797," Tree Builders, Christian County Genealogical Society, Vol. 28, No. 1 (Spring 2007):5-10. Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library.
• 1798 - "Christian County Tax List 1798," Tree Builders, Christian County Genealogical Society, Vol. 28, No. 1 (Spring 2007):5-13. Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library.
• 1800 - 1800 Tax List of Christian County, Kentucky Genealogy is included in Clift's Second Census of Kentucky 1800, digitized by Ancestry ($).
• Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records, Ancestry ($)

Vital Records

Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Although Kentucky enacted a statute in 1852-1862 requiring registration of births and deaths,many counties did not comply. A second law was written in 1874-1879, and 1892-1910 but, again, was not always followed. By 1911, the law was more clearly defined and kept by 1920. Any existing births 1852-1960 and death records 1852-1953 can be accessed online. See How to Find Kentucky Birth Records and How to Find Kentucky Death Records for links to indexes and images.

Original marriage records are held at the office of the Christian County Clerk, with divorce records 1849-1958 located with the Christian County Circuit Court. For more information see How to Find Kentucky Marriage Records. For Kentucky divorce records see the wiki page Kentucky Vital Records.

Birth

• 1839-1960 Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839-1960 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1852-1862 - Christian County Birth Index 1852-1862. Batch C517221 at FamilySearch
• 1874-1875 - Christian County Birth Index 1874-1875. Batch C517222 at FamilySearch
• 1911-1912 - Searchable KY Birth Index
• 1911-1999 Kentucky Births, 1911-1999 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Marriage

• 1609-2016 - Kentucky, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
• 1785-1979 Kentucky Marriages 1785-1979 at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection
• 1797-1954 Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
• 1852-1860 - Christian County Marriage Index 1852-1860. Batch M517221 at FamilySearch
• 1852-1861 - Christian County Marriage Index 1852-1861. Batch M517225 at FamilySearch
• 1874-1875 - Christian County Marriage Index 1874-1875. Batch M517223 at FamilySearch
• 1876-1878 - Christian County Marriage Index 1876-1878. Batch M517224 at FamilySearch
• 1973-2000 - Searchable KY Marriage Records
• 1973-2000 - Kentucky Marriage Records 1973-2000
• "Christian Co., KY Marriage Bonds through 1820," published in Tree Builders, Christian County Genealogical Society, Vol. 22 (2001), beginning on page 44. Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library.
• 1960-1993 Kentucky Marriages, 1960-1993 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

• 1843-1970 Kentucky Deaths and Burials 1843-1970 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1911-1965 Kentucky Death Records, 1911-1965 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
• 1911-2000 - Searchable KY Death Index
• 1900-1999 Kentucky Deaths, 1900-1999 at MyHeritage ($) — index
• United States Social Security Death Index - How to Use this Collection
• The Kentucky Vital Records Project, Transcriptions of and Images of Kentucky Death Certificates

Divorce

• 1973-1993 - Kentucky Divorces 1973-1993, University of Kentucky Vital Records Databases

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Christian County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Kentucky Archives and Libraries.

Archives of Appalachia
East Tennessee State University
Website

Family History Centers

Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local Family History Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
• FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• Bowling Green Kentucky Family History Center
• Hopkinsville Kentucky Family History Center
• Madisonville Kentucky Family History Center
• Graves County Public Library - an affiliate library.
• Tennessee State Library and Archives - Nashville, TN - an affiliate library.

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Christian County. For state-wide library facilities, see Kentucky Archives and Libraries.

Societies

Listed below are societies in Christian County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Kentucky Societies.

Christian County Historical Society
306 East 9th St.
Hopkinsville, KY 42240
Website

Websites

• KYGenWeb project. Has maps, name indexes, history or other information for each county. Select the county.
• State of Kentucky Website
• USGenWeb Kentucky Archives
• USGenWeb USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
• Christian County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
• Christian County KY Genealogy (Kentucky Genealogy)
• FamilySearch Catalog . Free - The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records

This website requires a paid subscription for full access.

FamilySearch affiliate libraries may have access to center-only databases, but do not always have all services normally provided by a family history center.