Shelby County, Kentucky Genealogy

United States

Kentucky

Shelby County

Guide to Shelby 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: Shelbyville Organized: June 23, 1792 Parent County(s): Jefferson Neighboring Counties Anderson  • Franklin  • Henry  • Jefferson  • Oldham  • Spencer  • Bullitt  • Owen 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

Isaac Shelby

County Information

Description

Shelby County was named for Isaac Shelby. The county is located in the north-central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Shelby County Courthouse
501 Main Street
Shelbyville, KY 40065-1133
Phone: 502-663-4410
Shelby County Website

Shelby 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
1911	1792	1852	1804	1792	1794	1810
*Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1911. General compliance by 1917.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

1792--Shelby County was created 23 June 1792 from Jefferson County. County seat: Shelbyville 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
Pleasureville Shelbyville (county seat)	Simpsonville
Unincorporated communities
Bagdad Chestnut Grove Christianburg Clay Village Colletts (hist.) Conner Consolation Cropper Defoe Elmburg Figgs Finchville Flat Rock (hist.)	Graefenburg Harrisonville Hatton Hemp Ridge Hooper Jacksonville Joyes Junte L S Park Lincoln Ridge Middletown Heights Montclair Mulberry	North Benson Hills (hist.) Old Christianburg Olive Branch Peytona Raymond Hill Southville Sunnyside (hist.) Todds Point Veachland Veech Veechdale Waddy

History Timeline

Additional Information
The county is named after Kentucky's First Governor Isaac Shelby (1750-1826).

Resources

Biographies

• Kentucky Biographies Project

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Rockcastle, Kentucky online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com KYGenWeb KYGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project 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

• Find A Grave can be searched by the name of a person or family to find where a person is buried.  Usually gives birth and death dates often with a picture of the tombstone.  May give obituaries, names of family members and links to their information in Find A Grave.
• Find A Grave also gives a list of cemeteries in Shelby County and links to the  information for the individuals buried there,
• Kentucky Cemeteries lists the national cemeteries in Kentucky with links to their websites. The first link under Online Kentucky Cemeteries goes to the Kentucky section of Interment.net
• Shelby Co. KY USGenWeb Tombstone Project usually gives the names of the deceased in alphabetical order by last name with birth and death dates plus any remarks. 
• The FamilySearch Catalog lists some records of cemeteries in Shelby County.  Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.
• Tombstone Transcription Project, Partial transcription of cemetery tombstones, USGenWeb
• The Kentucky Historical Society Cemetery Database
• Cemetery Junction, Links to cemetery transcriptions
• Naming the Forgotten, The Eastern State Hospital Project

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1800	8,191	—
1810	14,877	81.6%
1820	21,047	41.5%
1830	19,030	−9.6%
1840	17,768	−6.6%
1850	17,095	−3.8%
1860	16,433	−3.9%
1870	15,733	−4.3%
1880	16,813	6.9%
1890	16,521	−1.7%
1900	18,340	11.0%
1910	18,041	−1.6%
1920	18,532	2.7%
1930	17,679	−4.6%
1940	17,759	0.5%
1950	17,912	0.9%
1960	18,493	3.2%
1970	18,999	2.7%
1980	23,328	22.8%
1990	24,824	6.4%
2000	33,337	34.3%
2010	42,074	26.2%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Shelby County are available online. For tips on accessing census records online, see Kentucky Census. If you're having trouble finding your ancestors in online indexes, try checking printed indexes. Created by local experts familiar with the area's families, these indexes are often transcribed more accurately than online nationwide indexes.

See Kentucky Population Schedule Indexes: Fiche, Film, or Book for more information about statewide printed indexes.

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

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.

• Baptist Church Records
• Catholic Parishes in the Diocese of Lexington
• Catholic Parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville
• Kentucky Christian Church Directory

Baptist

• Brashear's Creek. Typescript of church minutes (1807-1818) available at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
• Buffalo Lick. Church minutes and membership rolls (1805-1838) are available at the Filson Historical Society, Louisville: Description.
• Burks Branch. Church minutes (1801-1872) available at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
• Pigeon Fork. Church minutes (1825-1920) 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.

• African American Genealogy (US) has more information about the kinds of records available
• 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

• [Boswell] Hasskarl, Eula Richardson. The Boswells of Shelby County, Kentucky. Ada, Okla., 1970. FHL Collection.
• [Bush] Skelley, Mildred. The John Bush Family of Washington County, Indiana. 1976. FHL Book 929.273 B963sm.
• [Cottrell] Edgeworth, M.J. Some Descendants of Rev. Reuben Cottrell, Shelby and Daviess Counties, Kentucky. Microfilmed 1968: FHL Film 564126 Item 10.
• [Figg] Figg, Edward Clarence. Sketches of the Figg Family From 1719 to 1921. Press of Moll & Company, 120 South First Street, Louisville, KY, 1921. Archives.org - free.
• [Flournoy] 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.
• [Gilliland] Weedman, H.N. The Robert and Adam Gilliland Families of Shelby County, Kentucky. St. Louis, Mo.: H.N. Weedman, 1988, 1990. FHL Book 929.273 G415w.
• [Graves] Erickson, Emma Louise Graves. Richard and Cynthia Goggins Graves Descendants, Shelby Co., Kentucky, Pulaski Co., Arkansas, Northern California: Side Line of Abraham and John Blue of Nelson Co., Ky., Washington Co., Miss., Chicot Co., Ark. Corvallis, Ore.: E.L. Erickson, 1982. FHL Collection.
• [Gregg] Roberts, Gary Boyd. Ancestors of American Presidents. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009. FHL Book 973 D2r 2009; online bookstore.
• [Hickman] Fay, Mary Smith. "The Three James Hickmans: Identifying Revolutionary War Veterans," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 41, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1997):52-54. Digital version at American Ancestors ($). FHL Book 975.5 B2vg.
• [Hollingsworth] Stewart, J. Adger. Descendants of Valentine Hollingsworth, Sr. Louisville, Ky.: John P. Morton and Co., 1925. Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library.
• [Holmes] Roberts, Gary Boyd. Ancestors of American Presidents. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009. FHL Book 973 D2r 2009; online bookstore.
• [Lane] Quackenbush, Nancy. "Some Northern Neck Lanes," Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Nov. 1986):3-22. Digital version at Ancestry ($); FHL Book 975.5 B2vs.
• [Lee] Scott, Hattie Marshall. Miscellaneous Records on the Lee Family of Shelby, Kentucky, 1798-1871. 2006. Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library.
• [Miles] Miles, Samuel Robert. Record of Samuel and Sarah James Miles, about 1740, and Their Descendants. Typescript. Microfilmed 1967: FHL Films 481084-481085.
• [Snider] Franklin, James O. Descendants of Jonas Snider and Anna Hostutler Snider, Shelby and Spencer Counties, Kentucky. 1950; reprint 1990s.
• [Truman] Roberts, Gary Boyd. Ancestors of American Presidents. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009. FHL Book 973 D2r 2009; online bookstore.
• [Young] Davis, Elsie Jean Spry. Descendants of Jacob Young of Shelby County, Kentucky: Including President Harry S. Truman. Coronado, Calif.: E.S. Davis, 1980.
• [Young] Roberts, Gary Boyd. Ancestors of American Presidents. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009. FHL Book 973 D2r 2009; online bookstore.

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

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Shelby 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.

• History of Shelby County, Kentucky. 1929. By George L. Willis. [Louisville, Kentucky] : Shelby County Genealogical-Historical Society. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Ancestry ($); At various libraries (WorldCat).
• Some Old Time History of Shelbyville and Shelby County. 1984. By Ed. D. Shinnick. Shelbyville, Kentucky : Shelby County Historical Society (Kentucky). Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; At various libraries (WorldCat).

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Kentucky (1776-1939)
• KYGenWeb compiled list of maps
• Click on the county to go to the KYGenWeb site
• Kentucky.gov for Current and Historical Maps
• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

• 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 - How to Use this Collection; index
• 1861-1865 - Kentucky Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
• 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 - How to Use this Collection; index and images

World War I

• Fallen Soldiers in WWI from KY

Korean War

• Korean War Memorial for Soldiers from KY, KYGenWeb

Newspapers

• USNPL, Kentucky, Kentucky newspaper index with links
• World-Newspapers, Kentucky, Kentucky newspaper index with links
• Kentucky Newspapers on Microfilm

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

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• Do a Shelby 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 including interactive search function
• Nashville Christian Advocate Death Abstracts

Other Records

• Kentucky Postcards, USGenWeb

Probate Records

Probate records are held by the Shelby County, Kentucky Genealogy Clerk of Court and are housed at the Shelby 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 ($) — index and images
• 1794-1817 Shelby County, Kentucky Wills: 1794-1817, Ancestry ($)
• 1798-1943 - Will Books 1 to 8 (1798-1943) at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1796-1804 Kentucky Pioneers ($) Images of Wills, Estates, Distributions, Inventories, Guardianships, Bk 1
• 1804-1811 Kentucky Pioneers ($) Images of Wills, Estates, Distributions, Inventories, Guardianships, Bk 2
• 1812-1817 Kentucky Pioneers ($) Images of Wills, Estates, Distributions, Inventories, Guardianships, Bk 3
• Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records, Ancestry ($)

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.

• 1800 - 1800 Tax List of Shelby 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 Shelby County Clerk, with divorce records 1849-1958 located with the Shelby 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 - Shelby County Birth Index 1852-1862. Batch C517961 at FamilySearch
• 1869, 1874-1875 - Shelby County Birth Index 1869, 1874-1875. Batch C517962 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
• 1795-1878 - Shelby County Marriage Index 1795-1878. Included on several batches at FamilySearch
• 1792-1800 - Shelby County, Kentucky Marriage Bonds: 1792-1800 at Ancestry ($)
• 1797-1954 - Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
• 1973-2000 - Searchable KY Marriage Records
• 1973-2000 - Kentucky Marriage Records 1973-2000
• 1960-1993 Kentucky Marriages, 1960-1993 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

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

Divorce

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

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Shelby 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

• Louisville Kentucky Family History Center
• Shawnee Kentucky Family History Center
• The Kentucky Historical Society Library - an affiliate library.
• National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution - an affiliate library.

Libraries

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

Shelby County Public Library
309 8th Street
Shelbyville, KY 40065
Phone: 502-633-3803
Website

Societies

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

Shelby County Historical Society
627 Main Street
P.O. Box 444
Shelbyville, KY 40066
Phone: 502-513-5555
Email: director@shelbykyhistory.org
Website
Facebook

Websites

• KYGenWeb project. Has maps, name indexes, history or other information for each county. Select the county.
• State of Kentucky Website
• USGenWeb Kentucky Archives
• Shelby County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
• Shelby County KY Genealogy (Kentucky Genealogy)
• Kentucky Genealogy - Guide to Ancestry and Family Tree Records
• 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.