Pulaski County, Kentucky Genealogy

United States   Kentucky    Pulaski County

Pulaski County, Kentucky genealogy and family history research page. Guide to Pulaski County (established 1799) genealogy, history, and courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, Revolutionary War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries.

For help in knowing which record type will answer your research question see the Kentucky Record Selection Table.

Pulaski County, Kentucky Online Genealogical Records Summary Chart

Pulaski County Kentucky Courthouse
Pulaski County Courthouse PO Box 724 Somerset, KY 42501-0724 Phone: 606.679.2042

Clerk of the Circuit Court 100 N Main St #302 PO Box 664 Somerset, KY 42502 Estate packets, divorce, orders (debt, slander, stealing, assault, and battery; occasional probate and land certificate orders)

County Clerk 100 N Main St Somerset, KY 42502 Marriage, probate, land records from 1799.

Historic Courthouse Images

Parent County
1798--Pulaski County was created 10 December 1798 from Lincoln and Green Counties. County seat: Somerset

Formation of Pulaski county

1817 - an act was passed "to alter division line between Wayne and Pulaski Counties" throwing a small part of Wayne into Pulaski and a small part of Pulaski in Wayne.



Boundary Changes

 * For animated maps illustrating Kentucky county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Kentucky County Boundary Maps" (1776-1939) on MapofUS (Free). Tip: scroll down for the animated section.


 * John H Long, editor, Kentucky Atlas of Historical County Boundaries (New York, New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, c1995). See WorldCat.

Record Loss
1871--A disaster destroyed some records. For a list of record loss in Kentucky counties see: Kentucky Counties with Burned Courthouses

Timeline

 * 1800, May - "First landing, for loading and unloading merchandise shipped by flatboats on the Cumberland River, was the James Montgomery landing."
 * 1802 - Road from Somerset (Pulaski County) to Danville (Lincoln County) started.
 * 1812 - By 1812 Goose Creek Salt Works was in existence, along with a road from Somerset to it that passed over a bridge at Flat Lick.
 * 1818 - Road from Somerset to the Mount Vernon viewed. (Intersecting a road named Tall Works, in direction of Henry James mill, and passing by Hughes mill.)
 * 1844, March 2 - River port town of Waitsboro was incorporated.

Neighboring Counties

 * Casey
 * Laurel
 * Lincoln
 * McCreary
 * Rockcastle
 * Russell
 * Wayne

Pulaski County Kentucky Genealogy Resources
For help in determining which resource type (or record type) will help you solve your problem see the wiki article Selecting Record Types

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


 * African American Research (US) has more information about the kinds of records
 * Kentucky Minorities has information specific to Kentucky African Americans.

Pulaski county specific resources:


 * "Slaves in Wills and Estates" Lists all slaves mentioned in Will Book I, 1801-1818. And has selected listing after 1818. Abstracted by Valerie J. Davis, (former coordinator for the Pulaski County KYGenWeb site, and creator of the Pulaski County African American Project).
 * Dale Cordner, "Slaves in Court Records: Emancipations/Transfers Found in Deeds," Originally part of the Pulaski County African American Project, now at Pulaski County, Kentucky USGenWeb. This a marvelous resource, however it should be noted that it is a collection of abstracts, rather a compilation of all the emancipations to be found in the Pulaski county deed books.
 * Valerie Davis, "1820 Population &amp; Slave Schedule" (Highlights families that had slaves)
 * At the end of the 1852 Pulaski county, Kentucky Tax List is a list of all free African Americans and their ages. This list includes the childrens name and their ages.
 * [1852-1859] "Slave Births" Pulaski county, Kentucky GenWeb.
 * "Taxpayers, 1866: The First Segregated Tax List", by Valerie J. Davis. Note that free African Americans do show up in the tax lists prior to 1866.
 * "1840 Census, Slave Schedule", plus links to digital image of pages containing "Free Colored Persons"; "1850 Slave Schedule"; "1860 Slave Schedule", abstracts by Valerie J. Davis.
 * "1870 Census and Mortality Schedule, Those Households Containing Persons of Color", abstract by Valerie J. Davis, with an attempt to match the mortality schedule to the census households.
 * "County Clerk's Book of Black Marriages, Vol 2 (1883-1895)" transcription by Valerie J. Davis.
 * African Am./Marriages, 1919-20 (sel.). See Pulaski County Historical Society Newsletter May 1998.
 * There is a picture of the Somerset Negro School in the Goodman-Paxton Photographic Collection, 1934-1942. See Kentuckiana Digital Library.
 * In 2008, Wanda Harper, a Pulaski County Historical Society staff member, was collecting material on the African American families of Pulaski county.

Bible Records

 * Kentucky Bible Archives - Pulaski USGenWeb
 * [Beatty] "The Beaty Bible of Pulaski co., KY," Kentucky Ancestors Vol 4, No. 4 (April 1969).
 * [Hubble] David Hubble Bible Record.
 * [Gastineau] Bible Record for the Sowder, Sutton and Gastineau Famlies, 1802-1914. Available at New England Historic Genealogical Society.

Business Records

 * Girdler Brothers. Girdler Brother Ledger, 1898-1900. See WorldCat.
 * Pulaski County (Ky) County Clerk. Account Ledger Books of Mercantile Establishments, 1849-1897. Available at Kentucky State Archives.
 * Pulaski County (Ky), County Clerk. General Ledger No 1. (Somerset Deposit Bank), 1866-1869. Available at Kentucky State Archives.
 * Wilson, John Truesdell. History of Banking in Pulaski County, 1818-1970. Somerset, Ky. : First and Farmers National Bank, 1970. Available at Filson Club Library in Louisville, Ky. Call No. 332.1 W749.

Cemeteries
Kentucky cemetery records often identify birth, death, relationship, and military information, as well as religious affiliation.

Sources containing information on more than one cemetery in Pulaski county, Kentucky:


 * 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.
 * Find A Grave also gives a list of cemeteries in Pulaski County and links to the information for the individuals buried there.
 * The United States Geological Survey (USGS) will give you a list of the Pulaski county cemeteries and their GPS cordinates that are found on their maps. Fill in the search boxes with: cemetery, Kentucky and Pulaski.
 * 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
 * Pulaski 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 Catalog/frameset_fhlc.asp FamilySearch Catalog lists . Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.(See World Cat).
 * ePodunk list of Pulaski 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.
 * Pulaski County, Kentucky: A Part of KYGenWeb has list of Pulaski County cemeteries with some linked to data.
 * Young, Asher Leon. Relocated Cemeteries of Russell, Clinton, Wayne and Pulaski Counties, Kentucky. [s.l.] : A. L. Young, 1989. Available at Filson Club Library in Louisville, Ky. Call No. 929.3 Y68r.
 * The Pulaski County Historical Societyhas several published volumes on the cemeteries in Pulaski county, Kentucky. These can be purchased through the society.
 * "Cemeteries Not in Our Books," Pulaski County Historical Society newletter, ca 2008, no vol number given.

Alphabetical Individual Cemetery Reference Page for Pulaski county, Kentucky is designed as a comprehensive listing of existing and demolished cemeteries; with detailed information on each.

Census
1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Pulaski 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.

For a 1890 census substitute see 1890 Pulaski Co, Kentucky Taxpayers and Surviving Soldiers, Sailors and Marines and Widow, etc.

Church
The most comprehensive collection of Pulaski County Church Records is found at the Pulaski County Historical Society. Upon arriving at the Pulaski County Historical Society, request a current "Church" list which will contain a listing of church records and histories and their call numbers. Not all their listings have dates of coverage or location within Pulaski county stated so the reader will do well to be prepared with the known specific locality and dates of the ancestor being researched--and then approach the staff as to which church records on the list might be more likely to serve the ancestors area. Some, but not all of the Pulaski County Historical Society's collection is referenced on the wiki.

The Pulaski County Historical Society is not the only repository of church records. Many additional and/or original records still exist in the respective churches located in Pulaski county and in other repositories including denominational regional libraries and the Kentucky Historical Society, etc.

For more information see one of the following wiki pages:


 * Pulaski County, Kentucky Baptist Church Records
 * Pulaski County, Kentucky Catholic Church Records
 * Pulaski County, Kentucky Christian Church Records
 * Pulaski County, Kentucky Church of Christ Church Records
 * Pulaski County, Kentucky Methodist Church Records
 * Pulaski County, Kentucky Presbyterian Church Records

Collections: Manuscripts/Papers/Misc

 * Draper Manuscript Collection contains some information on Pulaski County, Kentucky residents. Search by surname or locality in various extent calendars, especially:
 * Mabel Clare Weaks, Calendar of the Kentucky Papers of the Draper Collection of Manuscripts (Madison, Wisc.: Wisconsin Historical Society, 1925) Indexed on Ancestry.com; Digital copy online; ; . Includes index.


 * Mitchell, Bernice. Bernice Mitchell Papers, 1941-1988. See Filson Library.
 * Jillson, Willard Rouse. Willard Rouse Jillson Papers, 1918-1963.See University of Kentucky Library.
 * John Brazillia Lewis Papers, 1927-1978. Farm life in 1880s. See University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
 * Owens, Joseph M. Papers : Letters and documents, 1849-1914. Available at Filson Club Library Special Collections.
 * Tibbals, Alma Owens. Alma Owens Tibbals papers, 1806-1940. See University of Kentucky. Alma Owens Tibbals served as regent for the Somerset, Ky. chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in the 1930s.

Court
A variety of courts serve Pulaski county, Kentucky. Court types include: Chancery Court, Circuit Court, County Court, Court of Common Pleas, and Quarterly Court. Each of these courts have some common record types such as Order Books and Judgements; but some have records unique to their court such as the deeds and wills found in the County Court. Hence, for Deeds see Land Records and for wills, guardianship, and inventories see Probate Records.


 * Pulaski County, Kentucky Circuit Court Records (including divorce records and Chancery sittings of the Circuit Court)
 * Pulaski County, Kentucky County Court Records (minus deeds and probate)

Directories

 * [1903] "Somerset telephone directory, 1903," Pulaski County Historical Society Newsletter May 2005.
 * [1934] "Southern Continental Telephone Company new subscribers list, Oct 11, 1934," Pulaski County Historical Society Newsletter Nov 2006.
 * [1958, 1965, 1972-1977] Somerset City Directory (incl some surrounding areas). Available at the University of Kentucky Library in Lexington.
 * [1979-1997] Somerset City Directory (incl some surrounding areas). Available at the University of Kentucky Library in Lexington.
 * [1995-1998] Somerset City Directory (incl some surrounding areas). See Pulaski County Public Library catalog.
 * [1999-2001] Somerset City Directory (incl some surrounding areas). Available at the University of Kentucky Library in Lexington.
 * [2001-2005] Somerset City Directory (incl some surrounding areas). See Pulaski County Public Library catalog.
 * [2010] Somerset City Directory (incl some surrounding areas). See Pulaski County Public Library catalog.

Genealogy
The internet is perhaps the easiest starting point for compiled genealogies. Many sites have user pedigrees and there are people who have put their family history on their own genealogical websites. Pedigrees found on user sites are often lacking in documentation. Individual websites tend to do a bit better with documentation. For search strategies of compiled genealogy internet sites see Genealogy Search Tips &amp; Strategiesor watch the video Finding Your Ancestors Online: Search Engine Tips and Tricks.

Two major sources of compiled genealogies specific to Pulaski county, Kentucky are the FamilySearch wiki page Pulaski County, Kentucky Genealogy - Bibliography of Surname Books and the surname vertical file material at the Pulaski County Historical Society and the Kentucky Historical Society (KHS).

The Pulaski County Historical Society maintains vertical files on each Pulaski county surname. Often there will be several files for one surname. On the outside of the vertical file surname folders are references to any books found in the Pulaski County Historical Society's collection that are about that surname---most of which are not presently represented in the wiki. The Pulaski County Historical Society will search the vertical file and surname books for $5 per family.

The material in the vertical files is often the source material (although not cited) that was used for the compiled genealogies you will find on the internet in public trees of various companies and institutions; and in private individuals websites. This came about for two reasons. First, because the society was collecting genealogies long before the internet came into being. Second, because the average lay genealogist was (and often still is) uneducated as to the great importance of context and documentation.

If you find a compiled tree on the internet of your ancestors and the compiler is not able to provide you with documentation, nor are you able to find primary source documents to prove the tree, consider reviewing the vertical material at the Pulaski County Historical Society and Kentucky State Historical Society. There you may find the documents of a distant cousin, now deceased, who in his submission to the society included information gathered from his personal family records and/or family interviews. It is also possible that you may find a submission of work (old or recent) pertaining to your ancestor that is not published anywhere else---not everyone is internet savy. Both societies have taken great care to preserve the submitters name on his material. It will be the researchers job to carefully document, not only the ancestor and submitter, but also to credit the society from which the information was obtained.

Message Boards

 * Pulaski County, Kentucky Genealogy Forum, courtesy: GenForum.
 * Pulaski County, Kentucky - Family History &amp; Genealogy Message Board, courtesy: Ancestry.

Migration
In early days, migration into Pulaski county was via the Wilderness Road and Zanes Trace. Early settlers typically came from North Carolina and Virginia. The county seat of Somerset was settled by folks from Somerset, New Jersey. In the early 1800s, the Flat Lick area had many settlers from Caswell, North Carolina.

By 1818 and formation of the National Road many left Pulaski county for the west (Indiana, Ohio, Missouri).

In the mid to late 1830s there was a migration pattern out of Pulaski to Indiana; and later there was a quite a bit of migration to Missouri. There is an 1836 diary of a lady who went from Virginia via Mt Vernon and on to Indiana and Missouri. Map of her journey.

Land
Land Record Resources for Pulaski county, Kentucky.

Local History

 * Ramey, Clarice Payne. History of Pulaski County. (Lexington, Ky. : s.n., 1935). This thesis is available at University of Kentucky Library.
 * Tibbals, Alma. A History of Pulaski County Kentucky. Bagdad, Ky. : G. O. Moore, 1952. FHL US/CAN Book 976.963 H2t. Also at Filson Club Library.
 * Jillson, Willard Rouse, A Bibliography of Pulaski County, Kentucky: Citations of Printed and Manuscript Sources Touching upon its History. Frankfort, Ky. : Roberts Print. Co., 1954. Available at Filson Historical Society in Louiseville, Ky.
 * Davenport, Lawrence C. Local Historical Research by a Class in Local Historical Research. Somerset, Ky. : Somerset Community College, 1966. Available at Filson Historical Society in Louiseville, Ky. Call No. 976.973 D247.

Maps

 * Maps of Kentucky (1776-1939)
 * Kentucky County Formation Maps (click on 1799 to see Pulaski when it was created)
 * Sanborn Maps of Burnside and Somerset
 * Kentucky Atlas &amp; Gazetteer - Pulaski co.
 * Historical State of Kentucky Maps
 * William Taylor papers : land transactions, 1787-1835. This collection is available at the Kentucky Historical Society and contains maps of Pulaski county, Kentucky.

Military
''In deciding if your ancestor might have served in a war, keep in mind his age and place of residence at the date of a given war. And also his place of residence when war pensions were filed. ''


 * Triller, Gayle, coordinator. "Pulaski County Military Heritage", "Pulaski County, Kentucky: A Part of KyGenWeb," USGenWeb, 2009.
 * a free digital collection from FamilySearch

The FamilySearch wiki has the following Pulaski county, Kentucky military record pages:


 * [1776-1781] Pulaski County, Kentucky Revolutionary War Records
 * Pulaski County, Kentucky Indian War Records
 * [1812] Pulaski County, Kentucky War of 1812 Records
 * [1861-1865] Pulaski County, Kentucky Civil War Records
 * 1912-1950 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * [1898] Pulaski County, Kentucky Spanish American War Records
 * [1899-1902] Pulaski County, Kentucky Philippine Insurrection Records
 * [1914-1918] Pulaski County, Kentucky WWI Records
 * [1939-1945] Pulaski County, Kentucky WWII Records
 * [1950-1953] Pulaski County, Kentucky Korean War Records
 * [1961-1975] Pulaski County, Kentucky Vietnam War Records
 * [1991] Pulaski County, Kentucky Persian Gulf War Records
 * [1991] Pulaski County, Kentucky Persian Gulf War Records

Native American

 * "Resource list, Cherokee research," Pulaski County HIstorical Society Newsletter May 2002.
 * Cherokee Research

Newspapers
Newspapers are used in geneology to find obituaries, community news items (such as the visit of someone's relatives), legal notices and to provide historical content that document and enrich family history.

Pulaski county, Kentucky Newspaper Resources details sources available. Some sources have been microfilmed and/or digitized and are available at various repositories or on-line. Still others are in their original form at various repositories.

See also obituaries.

Obituaries

 * The Pulaski County Historical Society has several excellent collections of obituaries in various binders from the earlier Pulaski County newspapers, and is the most comprehensive place to start for obituaries in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
 * Pulaski County Historical Society Newsletter. ca 2008. Death records 1887+.
 * Somerset Ky Obits (Feb 2001-present)
 * The Commonwealth-Journal (8/5/2008-current) is available through GenealogyBank.

Probate
Online Probate Records


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

As there is variation among counties in how probate records are organized, the reader will find it helpful to know that in Pulaski county the early will books include wills, administrations, inventories, bills of sale, and settlements; but by 1864 these things started being kept in separate books.

Index and Abstract Resources

There are several sources available to make your search of Pulaski County probate records easier. No single source is all inclusive. Each offers it own help that the others don't.

The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Pulaski 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:


 * Will Book 1: 1801-1816
 * Will Book 2: 1817-1829
 * Will Book 3: 1829-1838

Pulaski County Kentucky Index to Wills 1800 to 1950 (FHL US/CAN Book 976.963 P22p) was published by the Pulaski County Historical Society in 1991 and replaces it 1977 edition (FHL US/CAN Book 976.963 P22pu). In creating the index, the compilers searched the original will books at the Somerset Courthouse, the courthouse's 1935 typed index and microfilms. The powerful index found in the 1991 edition contains two sections. The first is an index to the wills, inventories and appraisements, settlements, sale of land, dower allotment, etc. The second is an index to the loose original wills that exist. Page 79 states, "the Pulaski County Historical Society has zerox [sic] copied all early original documents from the will files at the Pulaski County Courthouse. These documents are in the actual hand writing of the person who prepared the document. This list also includes some wills that were rejected by the court and were not recorded in the will books."

Abstracts of wills in Pulaski County, Kentucky, vol. 1 (FHL US/CAN Book 976.963 P2b) compiled by Annie Walker Burns doesn't give the will book volume and page number of the wills abstacted, but it's index does include executors and witnesses, which is something Pulaski County Kentucky Index to Wills 1800 to 1950 does not. Abstracts of wills in Pulaski County, Kentucky, vol. 1 only covers 1803-1850.

Abstract of will book one of Pulaski County, Kentucky prepared by Margaret Dunn Frye is available at the Martin F Schmidt Research Library in Frankfort. (976.902 P981f) This work created a devisee index to Will Book 1 in addition to the abstracts, thus making it one of the most powerful resources to be found for early Pulaski county research.

Pulaski County, Kentucky Will Book Number Two (1817-1829) compiled by Margaret Dunn Frye includes an index to "deceased persons and their heirs". So she has created a devisee index for us, which again is something "Pulaski County Kentucky Index to Wills" didn't do. Additionally, in her typescript abstracts she includes the names of buyers, executors, commr, etc. Although these buyers are not indexed, her book (FHL US/CAN Film 855,033 item 4) is only 37 pages of typescript and so it is a relatively easy read if you want to know if your ancestor was a buyer in an estate sale during this time period.

The General Index made by the county court is also available. (FHL US/CAN FILM 1,912,828)

Some of the microfilms may be available at the state archives and also at the state and county historical societies. Most have already been discussed in this wiki section, however, new and/or additional resources may be found there.

Will Books


 * 1801-1929 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.

Bonds, Inventories, Appraisements, Settlement


 * [1864-1902] Administrators bonds. See FamilySearch Catalog.
 * [1864-1871] Inventory, Appraisement and Settlement Book at Kentucky State Archives.
 * [1870-1909] Inventories, Appraisements and Sale Bills on microform at Kentucky State Archives.
 * [1871-1909] Inventories, appraisements. See FamilySearch Catalog.
 * [1870-1907] Settlements, v 8-12. See FHL catalog.
 * [1865-1901] Guardian Bonds. Available at KDLA on microfilm.
 * [1865-1901] See FamilySearch Catalog.

Probate Files [aka Estate Packets]


 * [1800-1850] Are not extant according to the Pulaski County Historical Society. County Clerk says these records would be found in the Circuit Clerks Office. Clerk of the Circuit Court does not think they exist. Loose original wills do exist. See content under wills.
 * [1993-present] Contact Pulaski County Clerk of the Circuit Court, 100 N Main St #302, PO Box 664, Somerset, KY 42502
 * Misc
 * [1922-1925] Pulaski County, County Clerk. Probate Order Stub Book. Available at Kentucky State Archive.

Additional Probate Record Thoughts

Some of the microfilms may be available at the state archives and also at the state and county historical societies. Most, if not all, have already been discussed in this wiki section, but some new sources may be there.

Taxation
Tax records for Pulaski exist for most years from 1799-1966. Three main ways to access these records:


 * The 1799-1875 Pulaski county Tax Lists are also available for purchase as digital images in PDF format on CD from Genealogical Resources. When the PDF files are viewed in a program such as Acrobat Pro you can bookmark pages/images with year changes, ancestors names, etc. You can also drag an image/page out of Acrobat Pro and throw it into Photoshop to enhance viewing or you can just save that extracted page/image to be used as an attachment to your ancestor in whatever Record Manager (ie: Family Tree Maker, FamilyTree, Legacy, Reunion, RootsMagic, etc) program you use.
 * Tax List films can be purchased from the Kentucky Department for Libraries &amp; Archives.Go to the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, click KDLA catalog, type in pulaski and tax.
 * FHL films can be rented from FHL for local Family History Center viewing.

Additional tax resources for Pulaski County, Kentucky:


 * [1800] 1800 Tax List of  is included in Clift's Second Census of Kentucky 1800, digitized by Ancestry ($).
 * [1799-1829] Pulaski County Historical Society. Pulaski County, Kentucky Tax List Index 1799-1829. (Somerset, Ky. : Pulaski County Historical Society, 1982). See WorldCat.
 * [1800-1803] Line Creek Tax Lists
 * [1882-1884] Kentucky Treasury Dept. Withdrawl Reports: Tax Bills, 1882-1884. Description of this archival material located at the Kentucky Historical Society in Frankfort can be found on WorldCat. Taxation for whiskey.
 * [1888-1916] Pulaski County, County Clerk. List of Non-Residents' Land, 1888-1916. See Kentucky State Archives.
 * [1888-1934] Pulaski County, County Clerk. Record of Land Sold for Taxes, 1888-1934. See Kentucky State Archives.
 * [1900-1934] Pulaski County, County Clerk. Supervisors' Revised Tax Assessment Lists. See Kentucky State Archives.

Kandie Adkinson's "Researching Early Kentucky Tax Lists: 1792-1840" is a must read. The beginning tax list researcher will find the second half of her article especially helpful and for the serious researcher she covers the legislation involved in the tax process in the first part of her article. She continues her work to 1880 in the 2011 editions of the periodical Kentucky Ancestors.

Vital Records
See also How to order Kentucky Vital Records

If you can't find your ancestor in the collections referenced above, consider locating, from the list below, abstracted sources created prior to the microfilming or digitalizing dates of the respective collections. Sometimes original records were lost between the time of an early abstractor's compilaton and the date of the first microfilming or digitialization of the original records. It is also of note that variation in indexing quality exists among collections. Lastly, the sources listed below identify extant dates, scope and alternative resources for missing dates.

Births

 * [1852-1861] - Pulaski County Birth Index 1852-1861. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * [1852-1859, 1861, 1874-1878] "Kentucky Birth Records, 1852-1910" Ancestry $ (index, images) This is a digitalization of KDLA microfilm of the county goverment records.
 * [1852-1859, 1861,1874-1878] Pulaski County Historical Society. Pulaski County, Kentucky Vital Statistics: Births 1852-1859, 1861, 1874-1878; Deaths 1852-1859, 1861, 1874-1875-1876-1878 (Somerset, Ky. : Pulaski County Historical Society, 1983). See WorldCat. This is NOT available at FHL.
 * [1852-1920] Gayle Triller, coordinator, KYGenWeb Team, "Birth Index in Pulaski County", Pulaski County, Kentucky: A part of KYGenWeb. This sites data comes from a variety of sources. Year range is not complete--in part because of non-extant county government birth records.
 * [1874] - Pulaski County Birth Index 1874. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * [1875] - Pulaski County Birth Index 1875. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * [1839-1960] "Kentucky, Births and Christenings, 1839-1960"FamilySearch. Free. Year range is not complete.
 * [1911-1999] "Kentucky, Birth Index, 1911-1999"Ancestry $. Index only.

Marriages
''The scope of some of the following collections have not been throughly identified. However, the top two recommended sources at this time are Ancestry's "Kentucky, Marriage Records, 1852-1914" and Mary Weddle Kaurish's Pulaski County, Kentucky Marriage Records. ''


 * [1798-1910] Kaurish, Mary Weddle. Pulaski County, Kentucky Marriage Records (Somerset, Kentucky : Pulaski County Historical Society, 1974). FHL US/CAN Book 976.963 V2p bk 1-4. Also note that the Pulaski County Historical Society will provide duplicated and certified photo copies of original marriage bonds and consent forms for the years 1799-1871 for a small fee.
 * [1787-1860] Slevin, Ruth M. and Barbara Jordan. Marriage Bonds of Pulaski County, Kentucky, 1787-1860: with additional notes as obtained from the "consents". (Indianapolis, Ind., 1956). See Indiana State Library.
 * [1799-1850] Masley, Betty, et al. Pulaski County, Kentucky Records #1: Marriages, 1799-1850. (Indianpolis, IN : Researchers, 1997). See WorldCat.
 * [1799-1848] "Minister returns, marriages, 1799-1848," Pulaski County Historical Society Newsletter May 2007.
 * [1799-1850] Gloe, Joan Gilbert. Pulaski County, Kentucky Marriages, 1799-1850. (Indianapolis, Ind. : Researchers, 1991). See WorldCat.
 * Kentucky Marriages, 1802-1850 $ Completeness of this Ancestry.com collection is unknown, but Pulaski is picked up. Index appears to be made from county government records.
 * [1852-1861] - Pulaski County Marriage Index 1852-1861. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * [1852-1859] Birth, marriages, deaths, 1852-1859. Microfilm of original records. (FHL US/CAN Film 216838 item 5)
 * [1852-1855, 1857, 1874-1878] Kentucky, Marriage Records, 1852-1914 $ This Ancestry collection contain index to and images of the county goverment marriage register. Only dates given in bold are found in collection. In the 1850s both parties were asked for the county and state of birth. In the 1870s, the birth place was dropped, but both parties were asked for their father and mother names.
 * [1864-1924] County Clerk, Pulaski county, Kentucky, Marriage Books 2-65. Available on microfilm at Kentucky State Libraries and Archives in Frankfort.
 * [1875] - Pulaski County Marriage Index 1875. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * [1876-1878] - Pulaski County Marriage Index 1876-1878. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * Gayle Triller, coordinator, KYGenWeb Team, "Pulaski County Marriages," Pulaski County, Kentucky: A part of KYGenWeb. Information from a variety of sources.
 * Bell, Annie Walker Burns. Marriage Records of Pulaski County, Kentucky Typescript written in 1936. Filmed in 1973. FHL US/CAN Film 928,021 items 3-4. See also WorldCat.

''Note: the FamilySearch digital collection (as of 20 Dec 2012) returns no hits for Pulaski county residents, but this collection still has parts being added. Free.''

Deaths

 * [1852-1859, 1861, 1874-1876, 1878] Pulaski County Historical Society. Pulaski County, Kentucky Vital Statistics: Births 1852-1859, 1861, 1874-1878; Deaths 1852-1859, 1861, 1874-1875-1876-1878 (Somerset, Ky. : Pulaski County Historical Society, 1983). See WorldCat.
 * [1854+] Gayle Triller, coordinator, KYGenWeb Team, "Death Certificates and Notices" Pulaski County, Kentucky: A part of KYGenWeb. Includes some Pulaski county related deaths published in the Nashville Christian Advocate.
 * [1870] County and state government death records not extant. For death information, see "1870 Mortality Index" Pulaski County Genealogy Trails. Ancestry has images.
 * [1911-1929?] Kentucky Vital Records Project has index and images of state issued death certificates. Free.
 * [1911-1955] "Kentucky, Death Records, 1911-1955" FamilySearch. Free. Index.
 * [Limited 1849-1947] "Kentucky, Deaths and Burials, 1843-1870" FamilySearch. Free. Collection contains no records from 1843-1848, 1864-1866, 1868-1870, 1872-1874, 1876-1878, 1880-1883, 1885, 1887-1889, 1892, 1893-1895, 1898-1899, 1902-1906, 1912, 1914-1925, 1927-1935, ...., 1948-1970 that cite death location as Pulaski county. Years that DO contain death information, do NOT cover all known extant Pulaski county and state government records.
 * [1852-1859] Birth, marriages, deaths, 1852-1859 (FHL US/CAN Film 216838 item 5)
 * [1875] Deaths, 1875. Microfilm of original records. (FHL US/CAN Film 974666 item 8)

Pulaski County Kentucky Genealogy Societies and Libraries
Pulaski County Historical Society

PO Box 36 Somerset, KY 42502-0036

606 679-8401

Hours: M-Sat 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Offices are in basement of Pulaski County Public Library, 304 South Main St, Somerset, KY 42502-0036

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Pulaski County Kentucky Genealogy Websites

 * Pulaski County, KY History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Pulaski County, Kentucky: A Part of KYGenWeb USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Pulaski County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History  (Linkpendium)
 * Cyndi's List - United States - Kentucky - Counties - Pulaski
 * Learning How to Edit our Wiki Sites
 * Learning How to Edit our Wiki Sites