Kentucky Census

Online Resources

 * United States Online Census, 1790-1940
 * U.S. Census Reconstructed Records, 1660-1820, ($), index.
 * Kentucky, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1890, ($), index.
 * — index and images

Online Kentucky indexes and images

 * Kentucky, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1890 at Ancestry.com ($)

Indexes: fiche, film, or book
For a list of microform and book indexes for the population schedules of Kentucky, click here

Microfilm images

 * 1890 Veterans United States. Census Office. 11th Census, 1890. Schedules Enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M0123. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1948. (On 118 Family History Library ). Family History Library Each schedule may contain the following information: the veteran’s name (or if he did not survive, the names of both the widow and her deceased husband); rank; company; regiment or vessel; date of enlistment and discharge; length of service in years, months, and days; post office and address; and disabilities incurred. The schedule also contains remarks necessary for a complete statement of his term of service. Many Confederate veterans were accidentally enumerated.

Indexes: fiche, film, or book
For a list of microform and book indexes for the non-population schedules of Kentucky, click here.

State, territorial, and colonial censuses
Kentucky often took censuses in the years between the federal censuses, the dates are listed below. State census records may have columns that were different or more unusual than those found on federal censuses. The responses and years of coverage may give additional information on the family.


 * 1819-1820 Northern Kentucky town censuses including Boone, Campbell, and Kenton counties

School Censuses


 * 1870-1936 (mostly 1895-1910) school censuses for many Kentucky counties. School censuses, where they exist, may only be available at local boards of education. A few are at the Kentucky State Archives, Kentucky Historical Society, or Family History Library.

Census Substitutes

 * 1787-1811 tax lists
 * 1800 tax lists - Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * 1795 tax lists
 * 1790 tax lists
 * 1787 tax lists In 1787 part of Virginia included what is now Kentucky.

Existing and lost censuses
For a list of available and missing Kentucky censuses, click here.

Why use a census?
A well-indexed census is one of the easiest ways to locate where an ancestor's family lived and when they lived there. You can also use censuses to follow the changes in a family over time, and identify neighbors. These and other clues provided by censuses are important because they help find additional kinds of records about the family.

More about censuses
Click here for additional details about how to use censuses, such as:


 * index searching tips
 * analyzing and using what you find
 * census accuracy
 * historical background
 * contents of various census years and types