Clay County, Kentucky Genealogy

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



Description
Clay County was named for Green Clay. The county is located in the southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Clay County Courthouse 316 Main Street, Suite 143 Manchester, KY 40962 Phone: 606-598-2544 Clay 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:

Bible Records

 * Clay County Kentucky Bible Records at Access Genealogy

Biographies

 * Kentucky Biographies Project
 * John Jay Dickey Autobiography and Diary

Cemeteries

 * Interment.net Kentucky cemetery records by county.
 * Naming the Forgotten, The Eastern State Hospital Project

Census Records

 * 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
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1807-1933 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1809-1886 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1852-1989 (*); Clerk of the County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1855-1886 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1893-1993 (*); Clerk of the County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1896-1936 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1912-1940 (*); Clerk of the County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1915-1975 (*); 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

 * The KY African American Griots Project
 * Kentucky Minorities has information specific to Kentucky African Americans.
 * Sandi Gorin's Tips, Hangings in Kentucky 1792-1900

Funeral Homes

 * Britton Funeral Home in Manchester.
 * Rominger Funeral Home in Manchester.

Genealogies

 * [Bond] Bond, Arthur. Bond, McWhorter, York, Andrew, Miller and Willson, 1748-1984: of Kentucky counties: Casey, Lincoln, Clay, Owsley, Rockcastle, Laurel, Jackson; and Ohio counties of: Butler, Hamilton. Typescript. Microfilmed 1984.
 * [Jett] Jett, C. Otis. The Genealogy of the Breathitt, Clay and Madison County, Kentucky Branch of the Jett Family. Georgetown, Ky.: I.L. Jett, 1988.

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * The KY Land Office
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

Maps and Gazetteers

 * 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 — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 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 - How to Use this Collection

World War I

 * Fallen Soldiers in WWI from KY

Korea War

 * Korean War Memorial, 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 Daily Times, Citations to over 15,000,000 obituaries (Ancestry)
 * 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
 * 1807-1977 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1830-1965 (*); Clerk of the County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1830-1965 digitized by FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1852-1977 (*); Clerk of the County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1894-1977 (*); Clerk of the County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images

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.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records

 * [1808] Stephens, Mrs. Bruce. "Clay County, Kentucky Tax List, 1808," The Mountain Empire Genealogical Quarterly, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Winter 1984):235-237..
 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records, Ancestry ($)

Birth

 * 1839-1960 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1852-1861 - Clay County Birth Index 1852-1861. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1874 - Clay County Birth Index 1874. 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 — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1852-1861 - Clay County Marriage Index 1852-1861. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1876-1878 - Clay County Marriage Index 1876-1878. 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
 * 1911-1965 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1911-2000 Searchable KY Death Index
 * 1900-1999 Kentucky Deaths, 1900-1999 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * - How to Use this Collection
 * The Kentucky Vital Records Project, Transcriptions of and Images of Kentucky Death Certificates

Divorce

 * 1962-2005 Kentucky, U.S., Divorce Records, 1962-2005 at Ancestry - index ($)

Archives
Archives of Appalachia East Tennessee State University Sherrod Library, Room 422 344 J L Seehorn Rd Johnson City, TN 37614 Phone: 423-439-4338 Email: [mailto:archives@etsu.edu archives@etsu.edu] Facebook Website

FamilySearch Centers

 * Beattyville Kentucky FamilySearch Center
 * Corbin Kentucky FamilySearch Center
 * Breathitt County Library - an affiliate library.

Societies
Clay County Genealogical and Historical Society 202 Main St Manchester, KY 40962 Phone: 606-598-5507 Email: [mailto:ccgnhs@gmail.com ccgnhs@gmail.com] Facebook Website

Websites

 * Clay 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
 * USGenWeb USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Clay 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