Union County, Kentucky Genealogy

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

Description
Union County is located in the northwestern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Union County Courthouse PO Box 119 Morganfield, KY 42437 Phone: 270-389-1334 Union County Website

County Pronunciation

 * Hear it spoken

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

 * Kentucky Biographies Project

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


 * Interment.net, Kentucky cemetery records by county.
 * Cemetery Junction, Links to cemetery transcriptions
 * Naming the Forgotten, The Eastern State Hospital Project

Census Records
1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Union 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
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Kentucky Christian Church Directory, ChurchAngel
 * Catholic Parishes in the Diocese of Lexington
 * Catholic Parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville
 * USGS GNIS search results for Union County, Kentucky churches. Requires password
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1783-1985 (*); Supreme Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1823-1923 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1895-1975 (*); Fiscal Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * Cases Heard Before the Supreme Court for the District of Kentucky 1785-1792 at KYKinFolk.com
 * Abstracts of Early Kentucky Supreme Court Cases


 * Commonwealth of Kentucky, State Board of Elections at KY.gov
 * Contact information for all Kentucky County Court Clerks. Scroll down or use index at top of page to find desired county.


 * Kentucky Court of Justice at KYCourts.gov

African Americans

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

Funeral Homes

 * Whitsell Funeral Home in Morganfield.

Genealogies

 * [Baker] Chapman, Peggy Brown. Bakers of Logan, Christian, Muhlenberg, Livingston, Henderson, Hopkins, Caldwell, Union, Todd, Trigg, Crittenden, Lyon, McLean and Webster Counties &amp; Jackson Purchase, Kentucky. Lubbock, Texas: P.B. Chapman, 1995.
 * [Blackwell] Hardy, Stella Pickett. Colonial Families of the Southern States of America. New York: Tobias A. Wright, 1911. Digital version at Google Books - free.
 * [Chapman] "A Brief History of the Chapman Family of Frederick County," Frederick Findings, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Winter 1988):42-43..
 * [Gilkey] Gilkey, Kenneth Edward. Gilkeys of Early Kentucky 1780-2000: This Book Focuses Primarily on William Gilkey of Caldwell Co., Ky. and His Descendants and His Brothers, David Gilkey of Union County, Ky. and John Gilkey of Nelson Co. Ky. and Their Descendants. Newburgh, Ind.: K.E. Gilkey, 2000.

Land and Property Records

 * The KY Land Office

Local Histories

 * History of Union County, Kentucky. 1886. Evansville, Ind. : Courier.  Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Ancestry ($); . Index: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * Union County, Kentucky Past and Present. 1941. Louisville, Ky. : Schuhmann Print. Co. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust; . Also titled Union County, Past and Present.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Kentucky (1776-1939)
 * KYGenWeb compiled list of maps
 * Click on the county to go to the KYGenWeb site
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * Military Resources, Revolutionary War through Civil War

Civil War
'''Online Records
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; 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 - How to Use this Collection; index and images


 * - 10th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Confederate). Companies C, D, F, and H.
 * - 10th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Diamond's) (Confederate). Companies C, D, F, and H.
 * - 10th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Johnson's) (Confederate). Companies C, D, F, and H.

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
 * 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


 * 1774-1989 Kentucky, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1774-1989 at Ancestry ($) — index and images
 * 1798-1943 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1811-1941 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1848-1919 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1864-1977 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1904-1940 (*); Clerk of the County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * Wills, Probates, Land, Tax and Criminal at Ancestry ($)

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records

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

Birth

 * 1839-1960 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1852-1859 - Union County Birth Index 1852-1859. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1874 - Union County Birth Index 1874. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1875 - Union County Birth Index 1875. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1911-1912 Searchable KY Birth Index
 * 1911-1999 Kentucky Births, 1911-1999 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Marriage

 * 1609-2016 Kentucky, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
 * 1785-1979 at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection
 * 1797-1954 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1854-1862 - Union County Marriage Index 1854-1862. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1875-1876 - Union County Marriage Index 1875-1876. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1878 - Union County Marriage Index 1878. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1973-2000 Searchable KY Marriage Records
 * 1973-2000 Kentucky Marriage Records 1973-2000
 * 1960-1993 Kentucky Marriages, 1960-1993 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

 * 1843-1970 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1900-1999 Kentucky Deaths, 1900-1999 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 1911-1965 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1911-2000 Searchable KY Death Index
 * - How to Use this Collection
 * 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

Archives
Archives of Appalachia East Tennessee State University Website

Family History Centers

 * Madisonville Kentucky Family History Center
 * Owensboro Kentucky Family History Center
 * Daviess County Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Henderson County Kentucky Public Library - an affiliate library.

Libraries
Union County Library 126 S Morgan Street Morganfield, KY 42437 Phone: 270-389-1696 Website

Museums
Camp Breckinridge Museum 1116 N. Village Road Morganfield, KY 42437 Phone: 270-389-4420 Email: [mailto:campbreckinridge@gmail.com campbreckinridge@gmail.com] Website

Societies
Union County Historical Society c/o Camp Breckinridge Museum 1116 N. Village Road Morganfield, KY 42437 Website

Websites

 * Union County KYGenWeb
 * KYGenWeb project. Has maps, name indexes, history or other information for each county. Select the county.
 * State of Kentucky Website
 * USGenWeb Kentucky Archives
 * Union County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Union 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