Bourbon County, Kentucky Genealogy

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

Bourbon County Kentucky Courthouse


Bourbon County Courthouse 310 Main Street Paris, KY 40361 Phone: 859.987.2142

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

Boundary Changes

 * Chronological Changes Map for Bourbon County

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.

Record Loss
1872, 1901--Courthouse disasters caused the loss of some records.


 * Lost censuses: 1790, 1800

Significant Events

1801-- Cane Ridge, Bourbon County, Kentucky. Home to a large camp meeting that drew thousands of people and had a lasting influence as one of the landmark events of the Second Great Awakening. The event was led by eighteen Presbyterian ministers, but numerous Methodist and Baptist preachers also spoke and assisted. The Second Great Awakening introduced new thoughts and opinions on religion.

Neighboring Counties

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

African Americans
United States African Americans Kentucky African Americans


 * Kentucky African American Griots - more resources or specific Bourbon Co. info
 * Sandi Gorin's Tips ~ Hangings in Kentucky 1792 - 1900

Biographies

 * Bourbon County Kentucky Biographies

Cemeteries
The following web sites have additional information on Bourbon county cemeteries.


 * 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


 * 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
1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Bourbon 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.

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

1800 - Lost, but a substitute is available:


 * USGenWeb Census Project ~ Kentucky Census Transcriptions 1850 - 1930
 * The USGenWeb Census Images ~ The USGenWeb Census Images Project
 * Kentucky Census Transcriptions ~ The USGenWeb Census Project
 * Census Online ~ Census Online

Churches
•  Baptist History Homepage- transcriptions of a large number of church annual meeting      minutes, Baptist newspapers, etc.


 * Bourbon County Baptist Notes- Silas Run Church Register


 * Flat Lick - Mt. Dependence Baptist Church: see History of Kentucky Baptists p. 276-277.

Presbyterian

 * Shane, John Dabney and Presbyterian Historical Society. Shane Manuscript Collection. Original records, Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, Penn..
 * Kentucky Christian Church Directory ~ ChurchAngel
 * Catholic Parishes in the Diocese of Lexington
 * Catholic Parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville

Court

 * Abstracts of Early KY Court Cases Abstracts of Early Supreme Court Cases ~ KYGenWeb Special Project
 * Kentucky Court of Justice Research &amp; Reference

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


 * Some of the descendants of Robert and Jane McCune of Bourbon and Nicholas County, Kentucky at Ancestry.com (Free /$)

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. [Some of the land was situated in Bourbon County.]
 * Kentucky Land Office - land patents
 * Bourbon County Land Records- Surveys before 1800 (accessed 17 May 2014)
 * Bourbon County Property Records links to Deed Books 1786-1902 (accessed 17 May 2014)

Local Histories

 * Everman, H.E. The History of Bourbon County, 1785-1865. n.p.: Bourbon Press, 1977.
 * The Archives of Appalachia
 * The Archives of Appalachia


 * Bourbon, Harrison, Nicholas, and Scott Counties, Kentucky History at Ancestry.com (Free /$)
 * The Millers of Millersburg, Kentucky at Ancestry.com (Free /$)
 * The Duncans of Bourbon County, Kentucky at Ancestry.com (Free /$)
 * Some of the descendants of Robert and Jane McCune of Bourbon and Nicholas County, Kentucky at Ancestry.com (Free /$)

Maps

 * 1877 Atlas of Bourbon County- mape &amp; names of property owners in towns, country
 * KYGenWeb compiled list of maps
 * Click on the county to go to the KYGenWeb site

Military

 * Bourbon County Militarywebsites and information

French and Indian War

 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at . [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..

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..

Civil War
Online Records
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — 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 - at FamilySearch — index and images


 * - 7th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Companies A, B, E, G, H, K and M.
 * - 11th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Company G.
 * - 18th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Company A, B, D and E.
 * - 40th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Company E.

World War II

 * Bourbon County Woman's Club (Paris, Ky.). Bourbon County Men and Women Who Served in World War Two. Digital version at Kentuckiana Digital Library.

Miscellaneous

 * KY Postcards Kentucky Postcards ~ The USGenWeb Archives Penny Postcard Project
 * The KYGenWeb Footsteps ~ The Kentucky Footsteps Archives ~ KYGenWeb Special Project

Newspapers

 * Kentucky News -  Kentucky Newspaper Index with links
 * Another Kentucky Newspaper Index with links
 * Kentucky Newspapers on Microfilm  -   Kentucky Newspapers Available On Microfilm

Obituaries

 * KY Footsteps Archives ~ KY Footsteps List Archives - thousands of obituaries here ~ KYGenWeb Project
 * KY Obituary Sources ~ Kentucky Obituary Sources ~ Compiled by the KYGenWeb Project
 * Links to research and locate obituaries
 * Browning Genealogy Database ~ The Browning Genealogy Database - A Collection of Obituaries Compiled by Charles Browning.
 * USGenWeb Archives Obituary Project ~  Kentucky Obituary Project
 * 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 Advocate ~ Death Abstracts from the Nashville Christian Advocate

Probate

 * 1786-1871 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.

Bourbon County Wills and Estates- a variety of wills and related materials

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

Images of Wills, Inventories, Estates, Book A, 1786-1799 Kentucky Pioneers ($)

Online Probate Records


 * 1774 – 1999 Kentucky Wills and Probate Records 1774-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1727 – 1990 at FamilySearch — images

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. Online at FamilySearch - free; . [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: ; digital version at Kentucky Kinfolks. ["8 pages of 1790 were used and 3 volumes of 1791. There is some duplication of names."]
 * 1800 - 1800 Tax List of is included in Clift's Second Census of Kentucky 1800, digitized by Ancestry ($).

Vital Records

 * How to order Kentucky Vital Records

Birth

 * 1852-1859 - Bourbon County Birth Index 1852-1859. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1874 - Bourbon County Birth Index 1874. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Marriage

 * 1786-1800 - Bourbon County Marriages- marriage bonds 1786 - 1798; marriages 1786 - 1800, etc.
 * 1797-1954 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1853-1860 - Bourbon County Marriage Index 1853-1860. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1876-1879 - Bourbon County Marriage Index 1876-1879. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * Kentucky Marriage Records, from the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1983. . [Includes marriages from Bourbon County.]
 * Shane, John Dabney and Presbyterian Historical Society. Shane Manuscript Collection. Original records, Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, Penn..
 * 1786-1800 - Bourbon County, Kentucky Marriage Records, 1786-1800 at Ancestry.com (Free /$)
 * Marriage records for Bourbon County, Kentucky at Ancestry.com (Free /$)

Death
Kentucky Death Records

Bourbon County Kentucky Genealogy Societies and Libraries
Bourbon County Kentucky Genealogical Society PO Box 951 Paris, Kentucky 40362 E-mail:[mailto:BourbonCountian@aol.com BourbonCountian@aol.com] Website


 * Bourbon County Resources Historical Society
 * Links and addresses to Kentucky genealogical and historical societies

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Bourbon County Kentucky Genealogy Websites

 * Bourbon County, KY History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * Bourbon County KYGenWeb project. Maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
 * KYGenWeb project. Has maps, name indexes, history or other information for each county. Select the county.
 * State of Kencucky Website
 * USGenWeb Kentucky Archives ~ Kentucky in the USGenWeb Archives ~ Vital statistics, maps, obituaries, Bible records, tombstone transcriptions and many other records.
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Boone County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Bourbon County KY Genealogy (Kentucky Genealogy)
 * Bourbon County KY Genealogy (Kentucky Genealogy)