Ballard County, Kentucky Genealogy

United States   Kentucky    Ballard County

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

Ballard County Kentucky Courthouse


Ballard County Courthouse 424 Court Street PO Box 145 Wickliffe, KY 42087-0145 Phone: 270.335.5168 Courthouse burned in 1880 County Clerk has marriage and land records from 1880. Clerk Circuit Court has divorce and probate records.

Parent County
1842--Ballard County was created 15 February 1842 from Hickman and McCracken Counties. Ballard County lies in the Jackson Purchase region of far western Kentucky. County seat: Wickliffe

Boundary Changes
Carlisle County was created entirely from Ballard County on May 3, 1886,

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
1880--A fire destroyed most records, but many land documents were re-entered into the court files in the next several years. See extracts from many of those files on land records at KYGenWeb Project, Ballard County, Kentucky

For a list of record loss in Kentucky counties see: Kentucky Counties with Burned Courthouses

Neighboring Counties

 * Alexander County, Illinois
 * Carlisle
 * Graves
 * Massac County, Illinois
 * McCracken
 * Mississippi County, Missouri
 * Pulaski County, Illinois

African Americans
United States African Americans Kentucky African Americans


 * Kentucky African American Griotshas more information about the kinds of records

Biography

 * All of the family biographies from the 1885 History of Ballard County, Kentucky by Battle, Perrin, and Kniffin are available free online on My Genealogy Hound

Cemeteries
Kentucky cemetery records often identify birth, death, relationship, and military information, as well as religious affiliation. Lookup volunteers who own books listing cemetery burials through Ballard County KYGenWeb will look up information.


 * Ballard Co. KYGenWeb Cemeteries Page has a list of the county cemeteries and recent photos of many, as well as some grave listings.
 * 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.
 * 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
 * Ballard 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 of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.
 * ePodunk list of Ballard 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
1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Ballard 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.

Church
♦ Ballard Co. KYGenweb Church Recordsincludes Bible records and some church histories.

♦ Baptist Roots at Rootsweb has many records.

♦ Ballard Co., KY Genweb "A Few Ballard County Churches" contains numbers on church affiliations and some photos of Ballard County churches.

♦ Baptist History Homepage - lots of transcribed Baptist documents

♦ Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives - a fine research resource

♦ Access Genealogy "Kentucky Bible Records"

Court - contact the County Clerk for actual records
Ballard County Court Clerk

Ballard County Courthouse 132 North 4th Street Wickliffe, KY 42087 (270) 335-5168

Land
♦  Ballard Co., KYGenWeb Indexes to Deeds: After the courthouse fire in 1880, many land transactions were re-recorded. Many are indexed and extracted here.

Local Histories
♦ Ballard County, KY: medical account book of Dr. W.A. Moffitt of Kevil, KY     Author Don Simmons    Publisher Simmons Historical Publications, 1993    Length 87 pages

♦ Ballard/Carlisle Counties Genealogical Society (see link below)

♦ Ballard County KYGenWeb Lookupsin local history books

Maps
♦  Ballard County KYGenWeb 1880 Map with post offices (includes Carlisle Co.)

Military
♦ Ballard County KYGenWeb Military Records &amp; Sources - list of sources

♦ Kentucky Casualties in Korean Conflict NARA - see what National Archives holds

♦ Kentucky Casualty/MIA/POW Vietnam NARA - see what National Archives holds

Civil War

 * - 12th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Confederate), Company D


 * 1912-1950 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers
♦ The Advance Yeoman -

♦ Ballard Weekly

Probate
♦ Ballard County KYGenWeb Extraction of Wills(1880 - 1918 complete)

♦ 1879-1924 - has been digitized by FamilySearch - free.

♦ - listings of books and microfilm

Online Probate Records


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

Taxation
♦ Ballard County KYGenWebOngoing transcription of tax records (1843 &amp; 1848 complete)

Vital Records

 * How to order Kentucky Vital Records

Birth

 * 1852-1859 - Ballard County Birth Index 1852-1859. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1874 - Ballard County Birth Index 1874. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1875 - Ballard County Birth Index 1875. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Marriage

 * 1797-1954 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1853-1859 - Ballard County Marriage Index 1853-1859. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1875 - Ballard County Marriage Index 1875. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1876-1878 - Ballard County Marriage Index 1876-1878. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Death

 * 1852-1953 - KY Deaths from 1852-1953- actual copies of death certs or records (pay site)
 * 1911-2000 - KY Death Records - Index to Kentucky deaths(free)
 * Social Security Death Index - modern death record dates (free)

Ballard County Kentucky Genealogy Societies and Libraries
♦ Ballard/Carlisle Counties Genealogical Society

Family History Center

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Paducah Kentucky 320 Birch St Paducah, McCracken, Kentucky, United States Phone: 270-443-8381 (call first, hours may change) Hours: T 10am-3pm; Th 9:30am-2pm; Sat: 10am-4pm

♦ Ballard County Library

Ballard/Carlisle/Livingston Public Library System 132 North Fourth Street Wickliffe, KY 42087 Phone: 270-335-5059 Contact: Mainord, Sonya Mailing Address P.O. Box 428 Bardwell, KY 42023-0428

Ballard County Kentucky Genealogy Websites

 * Ballard County, KY History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * Ballard County KYGenWeb project. Pages of photos, maps, family research, links.
 * Ballard County KY Kindred Trails. No information but lots of links
 * BallardCounty, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History(Linkpendium)
 * BallardCounty, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History(Linkpendium)

Ballard County Kentucky Genealogy References
♦ Kentucky Explorer Magazine

♦ Kentucky Genealogical Society Bluegrass Roots(back issues)

♦ PERSI (largest index of genealogical periodicals

♦ Local History and Genealogy Reading Room from the National Government