Russell County, Kentucky Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for William Russell. The County has Jamestown as its seat and the County was created December 14, 1825. The County is located in the south central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Russell County Courthouse 101 Monument Square PO Box 579 Jamestown, KY 42629-0579 Phone: 270-343-2125 Russell County 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:

Biographies

 * KY Biographies, Jeff Murphy's Kentucky Biographies Project

Cemeteries

 * Russell 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 KY Historical Society’s Cemetery Database
 * African American Cemeteries Online, Partial index/transcriptions of African American cemeteries
 * Cemetery Junction, Links to cemetery transcriptions
 * Naming the Forgotten, The Eastern State Hospital Project
 * 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
 * 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 Russell County and links to the information for the individuals buried there,
 * The FamilySearch Catalog lists . Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.
 * ePodunk list of Russell 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
1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Russell 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

 * Kentucky Christian Church Directory, ChurchAngel
 * Catholic Parishes in the Diocese of Lexington
 * Catholic Parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville

Court Records

 * Abstracts of Early Kentucky Supreme Court Cases, KYGenWeb
 * Kentucky Court of Justice Research &amp; Reference

African Americans

 * 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

 * [Warriner] Mireles, Dana Ann. "Jacob Warriner, Sr., of Buckingham County, Virginia: His Children and His Parents," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1994):83-93. Digital version at American Ancestors ($).

Land and Property Records

 * The KY Land Office
 * 1825-1829 Deed Book A: 1825-1829 - The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Russell County land records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee.
 * 1828-1834 Deed Book B: 1828-1834 - The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Russell County land records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee.
 * 1834-1840 Deed Book C: 1834-1840 - The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Russell County land records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee.

Local Histories

 * The Archives of Appalachia

Maps and Gazetteers

 * 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 - 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


 * - 1st Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Companies A and C.
 * - 1st Regiment, Kentucky Veteran Cavalry (Wolford's Cavalry) (Union), Company C.

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

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

Other Records

 * Kentucky Postcards, USGenWeb

Probate Records
'''Online Probate Records


 * 1727-1990 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1774-1999 Kentucky Wills and Probate Records 1774-1999 at Ancestry ($) — index and images
 * 1826-1955 have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.
 * 1826-1854 Will Book 1: 1826-1854 - Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Russell County probate records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee.
 * 1854-1870 Will Book 2: 1854-1870 - Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Russell County probate records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee.
 * Index to Will Bk A Kentucky Pioneers ($)

Tax Records

 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records, Ancestry ($)

Birth

 * 1839-1960 - at FamilySearch
 * 1852-1860 - Russell County Birth Index 1852-1860. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1874 - Russell County Birth Index 1874. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1875 - Russell County Birth Index 1875. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1911-1912 - Searchable KY Birth Index

Marriage

 * 1609-2016 - Kentucky, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1785-1979 - at FamilySearch
 * 1797-1954 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1852-1859 - Russell County Marriage Index 1852-1859. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1875 - Russell County Marriage Index 1875. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1876 - Russell County Marriage Index 1876. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1973-2000 - Searchable KY Marriage Records
 * 1973-2000 - Kentucky Marriage Records 1973-2000

Death

 * 1843-1970 - at FamilySearch - index
 * 1911-1965 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1911-2000 - Searchable KY 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

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers

Societies

 * Russell County Historical Society P.O. Box 544 Jamestown KY 42629 Website
 * Links and addresses to Kentucky genealogical and historical societies

Websites

 * Russell County, KY History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Russell County KYGenWeb
 * Russell County USGenWeb Archives
 * 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.
 * Russell County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Russell County KY Genealogy (Kentucky Genealogy)
 * . 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