Bourbon County, Kentucky Genealogy

United States   Kentucky    Bourbon County

Parent County
1785--Bourbon County was created 17 October 1785 from Fayette County. County seat: Paris

Boundary Changes
Chronological Changes Map for Bourbon County

Record Loss
1872--A disaster caused the loss of some records.


 * Lost censuses: 1790, 1800

Neighboring Counties

 * Bath
 * Clark
 * Fayette
 * Harrison
 * Montgomery
 * Nicholas
 * Scott

African American
The following have information concerning African American research. Both should be used:


 * African American Research (US) has more information about the kinds of records


 * Kentucky Minorities has information specific to Kentucky African Americans.

Biographies

 * Bourbon County Kentucky Biographies

Cemeteries
Kentucky cemetery records often identify birth, death, relationship, and military information, as well as religious affiliation. Local volunteers through Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness may take photographs of headstones found in county cemeteries.


 * Kentucky Historical Society Cemetery Search can be searched by name, place and/or date. This database has hundreds of thousands of names transcribed from gravestones across Kentucky.


 * 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 Bourbon County and links to the information for the individuals buried there,


 * Kentucky Cemeteries lists the national cemeteries in Kentucky with links to their web sites. The first link under Online Kentucky Cemeteries goes to the Kentucky section of Interment.net
 * Bourbon 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 Family History Library Catalog lists some records of cemeteries in Bourbon County. Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.


 * ePodunk list of Bourbon County cemeteries gives the names of the cemeteries in the county with a link to more information such as address, phone number, and web site.

Census
1790 - Lost, but a substitute is available, see Taxation.

1800 - Lost, but a substitute is available:

Church
Presbyterian


 * Shane, John Dabney and Presbyterian Historical Society. Shane Manuscript Collection. Original records, Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, Penn. FHL US/CAN Film 948631.

Genealogy
More than 100 genealogies have been published about Bourbon County families. To view a list, visit Bourbon County, Kentucky Genealogy.

Immigration

 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes will of a resident of Bourbon County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]

Land
Land Grants and Patents


 * Virginia Land Office. [Index], Commonwealth's Grants or Patents [1779-1794, 1801 Now in Kentucky]. Original records, Virginia State Land Office, Richmond, Va. FHL US/CAN Film 7811 Item 1. [Some of the land was situated in Bourbon County.]

Local Histories

 * Everman, H.E. The History of Bourbon County, 1785-1865. n.p.: Bourbon Press, 1977. FHL US/CAN Book 976.9423 H2e.

Military
French and Indian War


 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at FHL. [Identifies a Bourbon County veteran; see place name index.]

Revolutionary War


 * Bell, Annie W.B. Record of Pension Abstracts Pertaining to Soldiers of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Indian Wars: Who Settled in Bourbon County, Kentucky. 1934. FHL US/CAN Book 976.942 M23b.

War of 1812


 * Bell, Annie W.B. Record of Pension Abstracts Pertaining to Soldiers of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Indian Wars: Who Settled in Bourbon County, Kentucky. 1934. FHL US/CAN Book 976.942 M23b.

Probate
Local Court

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


 * 1) Will Book A: 1786-1795
 * 2) Will Book B: 1795-1805

London Court


 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes will of a resident of Bourbon County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]

Taxation

 * [1787] Schreiner-Yantis, Netti and Florene Speakman Love. The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Name of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years, the Number of White Males Between 16 &amp; 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 &amp; Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle &amp; Carriages, and Also the Names of All Persons to Whom Ordinary Licenses and Physician's Licenses Were Issued. 3 vols. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987. Available at FHL. [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Bourbon County is included in Vol. 1.]
 * [1790-1791] Heinemann, Charles B. "First Census" of Kentucky 1790. Washington, D.C.: n.p., 1940. 1981 reprint: FHL US/CAN 976.9 X2ph 1981; digital version at Kentucky Kinfolks. ["8 pages of 1790 were used and 3 volumes of 1791. There is some duplication of names."]

Vital Records
Marriage


 * Kentucky Marriage Records, from the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1983. FHL US/CAN Book 976.9 V2km. [Includes marriages from Bourbon County.]
 * Shane, John Dabney and Presbyterian Historical Society. Shane Manuscript Collection. Original records, Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, Penn. FHL US/CAN Film 948631.

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Family History Library Catalog
 * Bourbon County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)