Christian County, Kentucky Genealogy

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

County Facts
County seat: Hopkinsville
Organized: December 13, 1796
Parent County(s): Logan[1]
Neighboring Counties
Caldwell  • Hopkins  • Montgomery (TN)  • Muhlenberg  • Stewart (TN)  • Todd  • Trigg
See County Maps
Courthouse
Christian County Courthouse, Hopkinsville, KY
Location Map
Christian County svg.png
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County Information[edit | edit source]

Description[edit | edit source]

Christian County was named for William Christian. The county is located in the western area of the state.[2]

County Courthouse[edit | edit source]

Christian County Courthouse
511 S Main Street
Hopkinsville, KY 42240-2300
Phone: 270-887-4105[3]
Christian County Website

Christian County, Kentucky Record Dates[edit | edit source]

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[4]
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[edit | edit source]

1864--A disaster destroyed most records.

For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see:

Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]

  • 1796--Christian County was created 13 December 1796 from Logan County.
  • County seat: Hopkinsville[5]

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[edit | edit source]

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:[6]

Cities
Unincorporated communities
  • Apex
  • Bainbridge
  • Bakersport
  • Barkers Mill
  • Bennettstown
  • Beverly
  • Binns Mill
  • Bluff Spring
  • Canton Pike
  • Carl
  • Casky
  • Church Hill
  • Dogwood
  • Edgoten
  • Kennedy
  • Mannington
  • Masonville
  • Merrittstown
  • Newstead
  • Ovil
  • Peedee
  • Pleasant Green Hill
  • Pleasant Hill
  • Saint Elmo
  • Sinking Fork
  • Stephenson
  • West Brook
Census-designated places


History Timeline[edit | edit source]

Resources[edit | edit source]

Bible Records[edit | edit source]

Biographies[edit | edit source]

Business, Commerce, and Occupations[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries of Christian, Kentucky online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online
TombstoneTranscriptions in Print (Often more complete)
List of Cemeteries in the County
See Kentucky Cemeteries for more information

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

Census Records[edit | edit source]

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".

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

Church Records[edit | edit source]

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.

Baptist[edit | edit source]
  • West Fork. Church minutes and membership lists (1803-1822) are available online.


List of Churches and Church Parishes

Court Records[edit | edit source]

Abstracts of Early Kentucky Supreme Court Cases
Contact information for all Kentucky County Court Clerks. Scroll down or use index at top of page to find desired county.
  • County Court Order Book "B" Part 1 for Christian County, Kentucky for the Years 14 October 1805-12 September 1809 : For a County Court Held at Town of Hopkinsville. 1987. By Bostick, Lon Arneld and Harrington, Elizabeth. Hopkinsville, Kentucky : Christian County Family and History Research Society. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
  • County Court Order Book "B" Part 2 for Christian County, Kentucky for the Years, Nov. 1809-6 June 1814 for a County Court Held at Town of Hopkinsville. 1987. By Killebrew, James Taylor. Hopkinsville, Kentucky : Christian County Family and History Research Society. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
  • County Court Order Book, Christian County Kentucky; Book B. By Willhite, A. B. Christian County, Kentucky : Christian County, Kentucky. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
  • County Court Order Book, Christian County Kentucky; Book C. By Willhite, A. B. Christian County, Kentucky : Christian County, Kentucky. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
  • County Court Order Book "F", Tree Builders, v.21. 2000. By Christian County Genealogical Society (Hopkinsville, Kentucky). Hopkinsville, Kentucky : Tree Builders Christian County Genealogical Society. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
  • Kentucky Court of Justice at KYCourts.gov

Directories[edit | edit source]

Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups[edit | edit source]

African Americans[edit | edit source]

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.

Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]

Genealogies[edit | edit source]

  • [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

Guardianship[edit | edit source]

Land and Property Records[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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.

Maps and Gazetteers[edit | edit source]

Caldwell CountyHopkins CountyMuhlenberg CountyTodd CountyTrigg CountyStewart CountyMontgomery CountyKY CHRISTIAN.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Migration[edit | edit source]

Military Records[edit | edit source]

Latham Confederate Monument

Civil War[edit | edit source]

Online Records

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[edit | edit source]

Korean War[edit | edit source]

Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

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

Obituaries[edit | edit source]

Other Records[edit | edit source]

Periodicals[edit | edit source]

Probate Records[edit | edit source]

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

School Records[edit | edit source]

Social Security Records[edit | edit source]

Tax Records[edit | edit source]

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,[7] digitized by Ancestry ($).
  • Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records, Ancestry ($)

Vital Records[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

Marriage[edit | edit source]

Death[edit | edit source]

Divorce[edit | edit source]

Research Facilities[edit | edit source]

Archives[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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

Libraries[edit | edit source]

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

Museums[edit | edit source]

Societies[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

Research Guides[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Kentucky. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  2. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Christian County, Kentucky" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_County,_Kentucky."
  3. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Kentucky. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  4. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Christian County, Kentucky. Page 268-276 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 251-254.
  5. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Kentucky. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  6. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Christian County, Kentucky," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_County,_Kentucky, accessed 8 August 2018.
  7. ↑ G. Glenn Clift, Second Census of Kentucky 1800: A Privately Compiled and Published Enumeration of Tax Payers Appearing in the 79 Manuscript Volumes Extant of Tax Lists of the 42 Counties of Kentucky in Existence in 1800 (1954; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2005).
  8. ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/f/f1/Igikentuckyaf.pdf.



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