Montgomery County, Kentucky Genealogy

United States

Kentucky

Montgomery County

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

County Facts County seat: Mount Sterling Organized: December 14, 1796 Parent County(s): Clark Neighboring Counties Bath  • Bourbon  • Clark  • Menifee  • Powell 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

The County was named for Richard Montgomery. The County has Mount Sterling as its seat and the County was created 1796. The County is located in the east central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Montgomery County Courthouse
1 Court Street
PO Box 414;
Mount Sterling, KY 40353
Phone: 859-498-8700
Montgomery County Website

Montgomery 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	1864	1852	1841	1797	1797	1810
Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1911. General compliance by 1917.

Record Loss

1851, 1863 Fires in 1851 and the burning down of the Courthouse in Mount Sterling by Confederate forces in 1863 destroyed many records, including marriage records and circuit court records. County clerk records were in a different location and were saved. Some marriage records have been reconstructed based on other records. For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see: Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki. Arlene Eakle, When the Records are Gone in the Tennessee Genealogy Blog. Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle.

Boundary Changes

1796--Montgomery County, the twenty-second county in order of formation was created 14 December 1796 from Clark County.   County seat: Mount Sterling The original County included some or all of the present Counties of Montgomery, Bath, Powell, Estill, Lee, Breathitt, Perry, Leslie, Harlan, Letcher, Pike, Floyd, Knott, Magoffin, Wolfe, Morgan, and Menifee. In 1800 part of the County was lost to Madison and part was lost to the creation of Floyd. In 1811 part of the County was lost to the creation of Bath. In 1816 land was lost to Estill. In 1818 land was lost to Floyd. In 1852 part of the County was lost to the creation of Powell. In 1869 part of the County was lost to the creation of Menifee 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.

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
Camargo Jeffersonville	Mount Sterling (county seat)
Unincorporated communities
Aarons Run (hist.) Antioch Church (hist.) Bogy-Chenault Calk Camp Branch Ewingtons Grassy Lick Hope Howards Mill	Judy Klondike Levee Lower Spencer Lucky Stop Magowan Pine Hill Plum Lick Prewitt	Reid Village Sideview Smithville (hist.) Stepstone Stoops Trimble (hist.) Upper Spencer Walkers Crossing (hist.) Willoughby Nation (hist.)

Resources

Biographies

• KY Biographies, Jeff Murphy's Kentucky Biographies Project

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Montgomery, 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
See Kentucky Cemeteries for more information

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

• Interment.net, Kentucky cemetery records by county.
• Cemetery Junction, Links to cemetery transcriptions
• Naming the Forgotten, The Eastern State Hospital Project
• Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness, Local volunteers may take photographs of headstones found in county cemeteries.
• ePodunk list of Montgomery 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 Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1800	7,082	—
1810	12,975	83.2%
1820	9,587	−26.1%
1830	10,240	6.8%
1840	9,332	−8.9%
1850	9,903	6.1%
1860	7,859	−20.6%
1870	7,557	−3.8%
1880	10,566	39.8%
1890	12,367	17.0%
1900	12,834	3.8%
1910	12,868	0.3%
1920	12,245	−4.8%
1930	11,660	−4.8%
1940	12,280	5.3%
1950	13,025	6.1%
1960	13,461	3.3%
1970	15,364	14.1%
1980	20,046	30.5%
1990	19,561	−2.4%
2000	22,554	15.3%
2010	26,499	17.5%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

For tips on accessing Montgomery County, Kentucky Genealogy census records online, see: Kentucky Census.

• 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.

• The First Presbyterian Church of Mount Sterling, Kentucky 1795 – 1955. Published by church, 1955. “160th anniversary of local organization.”
  Available at Mount Sterling, Kentucky, Main branch library. Call No: 270 FIRS c.1.
• History of St. Patrick Church, Mt. Sterling Kentucky. Edited by Anne C. Hickey. Published 1982.
  Available at Mount Sterling, Kentucky, Main branch library. Call No:G282 HICK.

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 Kentucky African Americans and the United States African Americans Wiki pages.

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

• African American Research (US) has more information about the kinds of records available
• The KY African American Griots Project
• Kentucky Minorities has information specific to Kentucky African Americans.
• Sandi Gorin's Tips, Hangings in Kentucky 1792-1900

Genealogies

• [Cheatham] Dennstedt, Alberta Marjorie. "The Cheatham Family of Colonial Virginia," in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1983):163-173; Vol. 27, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1983):273-279; Vol. 28, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1984):38-43; Vol. 28, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1984):102-112; Vol. 28, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1984):209-216; Vol. 28, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1984):293-297; Vol. 29, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1985):32-40; Vol. 29, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1985):123-127; Vol. 29, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1985):179-185; Vol. 29, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1985):262-265; Vol. 30, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1986):17-23; Vol. 30, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1986):99-104. Digital version at American Ancestors ($). FHL Book 975.5 B2vg v. 27 (1983)-v. 30 (1986).
• [Finley] Finley, Carmen J. "The John Finleys of Augusta County, Virginia: Correcting the Record," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 46, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 2002):3-13; Vol. 46, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 2002):98-113; Vol. 46, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 2002):171-178; Vol. 46, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 2002):268-281. Digital version at American Ancestors ($). FHL Book 975.5 B2vg v. 46 (2002).
• [Hawley] Mack, Ann H. "Hawley/Halley in Seventeenth Century Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 28, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1984):3-7; Vol. 28, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1984):121-125; Vol. 28, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1984):197-203; Vol. 28, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1984):281-292; Vol. 29, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1985):21-28. Digital version at American Ancestors ($). FHL Book 975.5 B2vg v. 28 (1984)-v. 29 (1985).
• [Jameson] Bourne, James M. "The Jameson Family," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 3, No. 3 (Jan. 1895):199-201; . Digitized by JSTOR - free.
• [Kirk] Mosher, Merrill Hill. "Origin of the John, Mathew & Robert Kirk Families of Lancaster County, South Carolina," The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Spring 1995):74-79. FHL Book 975.7 B2sc v. 23
• [McClure] Ancestry of the children of Andrew McClure of Montgomery County, Kentucky at Ancestry ($)
• [Pritchett] Jones, Thomas W. "Logic Reveals the Parents of Philip Pritchett of Virginia and Kentucky," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 97 (March 2009):29-38. FHL Book 973 B2ng v. 97 (2009).
• [Sanders] Helmer, Richard Bryan and Mark L. Lehman. James & Alvin Sanders, Livestock Journalists of the Midwest. Bryn Mawr, Pa., 1985. FHL Book 921.73 Sa56h.
• [Spratt] Pompey, Sherman L. The Moses Spratt Family of Platte, Missouri. Pasadena, Calif., 1965.

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 Montgomery 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.

• The Archives of Appalachia
• A history of Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, 1792 – 1918. By Carl B. Boyd Jr. and Hazel Mason Boyd. Published 1984. Available at Mount Sterling, Kentucky, Main branch library. Call no: K976.955 Boyd.

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

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 — index
• 1861-1865 - Kentucky Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 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 - Kentucky Confederate Pension Applications 1912-1950 at FamilySearch — index and images

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

- 1st Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Company J.

- 3rd Battalion, Kentucky Mounted Rifles (Confederate). Companies A, B, and D.

- 3rd Battalion, Kentucky Mounted Rifles (Confederate), Companies A, B and D.

- 6th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Company E.

- 10th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Confederate), Companies B and G.

- 11th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Confederate). Company H.

- 11th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Companies B, D, E and H.

- 12th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Companies B, C, D, F and K.

- 14th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Companies A, B, C and D.

- 45th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Companies D, H and I.

World War I

• Fallen Soldiers in WWI from KY

Korean War

• Korean War Memorial for Soldiers from KY, KYGenWeb

Newspapers

• Mount Sterling, Kentucky Library (main branch), The Mt. Sterling Advocate on microfilm. Call No: KFILM MOUN.
• 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 Montgomery County, Kentucky Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:

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

Obituaries

• Kentucky Footsteps Archives, KYGenWeb
• Kentucky Obituary Sources, KYGenWeb
• Links to research and locate obituaries
• 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
• Mount Sterling, Kentucky Library (main branch), Mt. Sterling Advocate, published since 1890. Mt. Sterling Advocate Obituary Index, compiled by Paula Kelley, pub. 2004. Call No: KG929.3747 KELL.

Other Records

• Kentucky Postcards, USGenWeb

Probate Records

Probate records are held by the Montgomery County, Kentucky Genealogy Clerk of Court and are housed at the Montgomery 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 ($) — index and images
• 1797-1874 Will Books A to F (1797-1874) have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.
• Will Book A: 1797-1812
• Montgomery County, Kentucky Wills: 1796-1821 at Ancestry ($)
• Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Montgomery 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.
• Images of Wills, Estates, Inventories, Guardians, Book A, 1797-1812; Book B, 1813-1822; Book C, 1823-1828. Kentucky Pioneers ($)

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 Montgomery 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 Montgomery County Clerk, with divorce records 1849-1958 located with the Montgomery 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
• 1852-1861 - Montgomery County Birth Index 1852-1861. Batch C517781 at FamilySearch - free.
• 1874 - Montgomery County Birth Index 1874. Batch C517782 at FamilySearch - free
• 1875 - Montgomery County Birth Index 1875. Batch C517783 at FamilySearch - free
• 1911-1912 - Searchable KY Birth Index

Marriage

• 1609-2016 - Kentucky, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
• 1785-1979 – Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979 at FamilySearch
• 1797-1954 - Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1817-50 - Montgomery County, Kentucky Marriage Records, 1817-50 at Ancestry ($)
• 1852-1861 - Montgomery County Marriage Index 1852-1861. Batch M517781 at FamilySearch - free
• 1875 - Montgomery County Marriage Index 1875. Batch M517784 at FamilySearch - free
• 1876-1878 - Montgomery County Marriage Index 1876-1878. Batch M517785 at FamilySearch - free
• 1894 - Montgomery County Marriage Index 1894. Batch M517781 at FamilySearch - free
• 1973-2000 - Searchable KY Marriage Records
• 1973-2000 - Kentucky Marriage Records 1973-2000

Death

• 1843-1970 – Kentucky Deaths and Burials, 1843-1970 at FamilySearch
• 1911-1965 - Kentucky Death Records, 1911-1965 at FamilySearch — index
• 1911-2000 - Searchable KY Death Index
• The Social Security Death Index - Searchable
• 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

Family History Centers

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes.

• Introduction to Family History Centers

Libraries

• Mt. Sterling - Montgomery County Library
  241 West Locust St.
  Mt. Sterling, KY 40353
  Phone: 859-498-2404
  Fax: 859-498-7477

Societies

• Montgomery County Historical Society
  30 East Main St
  PO Box 861
  Mt. Sterling, KY 40353
  Telephone: 606-498-1413
• Links and addresses to Kentucky genealogical and historical societies

Websites

• Montgomery County, KY History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Montgomery County KYGenWeb Project.
• KYGenWeb project. Has maps, name indexes, history or other information for each county. Select the county.
• State of Kentucky Website
• USGenWeb Kentucky Archives
• The USGenWeb project May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
• Montgomery County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
• Montgomery 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