Muhlenberg County, Kentucky Genealogy

United States   Kentucky    Muhlenberg County

Guide to Muhlenberg County Kentucky genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records. Located in the Western Coal Fields region.

Muhlenberg County Kentucky Courthouse
Muhlenberg County Courthouse 100 S Main Street PO Box 525 Greenville, KY 42345-0525 Phone: 270.338.1441

Parent County
1798--Muhlenberg County was created 14 December 1798 from Logan and Christian Counties. County seat: Greenville

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Kentucky county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Kentucky County Boundary Maps" (1776-1939) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

County Pronunciation

 * Hear it spoken

Variant Spellings

 * Muhlenbergh
 * Muhlenburg
 * Muhlenburgh

Record Loss
For a list of record loss in Kentucky counties see: Kentucky Counties with Burned Courthouses

Neighboring Counties

 * Butler
 * Christian
 * Hopkins
 * Logan
 * McLean
 * Ohio
 * Todd

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


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

Biographies

 * KY Biographies ~ Jeff Murphy's Kentucky Biographies Project

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


 * Muhlenberg 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 ~ Naming the Forgotten - The Eastern State Hospital Project
 * 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
 * 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 Muhlenberg County and links to the information for the individuals buried there,
 * The Family History Library Catalog lists . Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.
 * ePodunk list of Muhlengerg 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.
 * Marion Hammers published a 4-volume comprehensive survey of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky cemeteries in the 1970s: , Vols. 1-4.

Census

 * USGenWeb Census Project ~ Kentucky Census Transcriptions 1850 - 1930
 * The USGenWeb Census Images ~ The USGenWeb Census Images Project
 * Kentucky Census Transcriptions ~ The USGenWeb Census Project
 * Census Online ~ Census Online

Church

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

Court
Records of several courts are available at the Muhlenberg County Courthouse. Some of these records have been microfilmed and are available through the Family History Library, while others have been published.

County Court Orders

A transcription of Volume 1 of the Court Order Books is online at U.S. Genweb. Click here.

Brenda Collier Doss has published and indexed the first two County Court Order Books: and. Marion Hammers' genealogical abstracts of county court orders appear as serial articles in the Muhlenberg County, Kentucky Genealogical Society's journal. Journal volumes are individually indexed.

Circuit Court Orders

Brenda Collier Doss has published and indexed the first Circuit Court Order Book:.


 * Abstracts of Early KY Court Cases Abstracts of Early Supreme Court Cases ~ KYGenWeb Special Project
 * Kentucky Court of Justice Research & Reference

Genealogy
It is anticipated that this bibliography will eventually identify all known family histories published about residents of this county. Use this list to:


 * Locate publications about direct ancestors
 * Find the most updated accounts of an ancestor's family
 * Identify publications, to quote Elizabeth Shown Mills, about an ancestor's "FAN Club" [Friends, Associates, and Neighbors]

General
Muhlenberg County Libraries Local History Annex   in Greenville, Kentucky ph# 270-338-5388 has many published histories of local families. In addition, a unique collection of family files regarding local families (arranged by surname), is available for public searches.

Many genealogies appear in the footnotes of Otto Rothert's A History of Muhlenberg County, see Local Histories.

The following books cover many Muhlenberg County families:


 * Jaggers, Michael and Melinda Jaggers. A New Country: Lewis, Tipton, Bruce, Lee, Williams, Walker and Associated Families Berry, Duvall, Earle, Gardner, Gill, Highley, Kincheloe, Oates, Randolph, Shank, Thompson, Wickliffe and Many Others. n.p.: M. Jaggers, 1990s.
 * Muhlenberg County Genealogical Society. Muhlenberg County, Kentucky History and Families, 1799-1996. Paducah, Ky.: Turner, 1996.
 * Murphy, Nathan W. Early Families of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky: Vincent, Wright, McElwain, Wilkins and Jarvis; Historical Information and Sources for More than 2,000 Descendants of Charles Vincent, William Wright, George McElwain, John Wilkins, and John Jarvis, Whose Numerous Progenitors [Descendants] Make Up a Large Portion of the Present Population of Muhlenberg County. Hanson, Ky.: David W. Murphy & Associates, 1999.
 * Young, Laurie M. Family Notes on Keith, Lott, Sketoe, Donahoo and Arnold of Muhlenberg: Lear and Sheffield of Christian, Todd and Muhlenberg County, Kentucky; Smith and Beck, Spencer County, Indiana; Moffitt, Randolph County, North Carolina, Perry, Hickman and Humphries Co., Tn. Boise, Idaho: L.M. Young, 1990..

Land
The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Muhlenberg County land records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee. Available indexes:


 * 1) Deed Book 1: 1799-1807
 * 2) Deed Book 2: 1807-1814
 * 3) Deed Book 3: 1809-1813
 * 4) Deed Book 4: 1813-1817
 * 5) Deed Book 5: 1817-1823
 * 6) Deed Book 6: 1823-1828
 * 7) Deed Book 7: 1828-1832

Brenda Collier Doss has published abstracts of.


 * The KY Land Office

Local Histories
Otto Rothert's 1913 A History of Muhlenberg County is available online. The volume is indexed and can be keyword searched using Google Books search.


 * ~ The Archives of Appalachia

Maps

 * Maps of Kentucky (1776-1939)
 * KYGenWeb compiled list of maps
 * Click on the county to go to the KYGenWeb site

Military

 * Military Resources ~ Revolutionary War through Civil War
 * Korean War Memorial Korean War Memorial for Soliders from KY ~ KYGenWeb
 * Fallen Soldiers in WWI from KY ~ Fallen Soldiers in WWI from Kentucky

Revolutionary War
Two genealogical abstracts of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky Revolutionary War Pensions have been published:

1. , Vol. 1 (1978).

2. Annie W.B. Bell,  (n.p.: n.p., n.d.).

Civil War
Regiments. Service men in Muhlenberg County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in or near their county. Muhlenberg men served in:


 * - 11th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Companies B, H, I, and K
 * - 3rd Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Companies D, F
 * - 17th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union)
 * - 26th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union)
 * - 48th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union)

Less than 150 Muhlenberg County citizens joined the Confederate Army.

Miscellaneous

 * Kentucky Postcards ~ The USGenWeb Archives Penny Postcard Project
 * The KYGenWeb Footsteps ~ The Kentucky Footsteps Archives ~ KYGenWeb Special Project

Newspapers

 * Kentucky News -  Kentucky Newspaper Index with links
 * Another Kentucky Newspaper Index with links
 * Kentucky Newspapers on Microfilm  -   Kentucky Newspapers Available On Microfilm

Obituaries

 * KY Footsteps Archives ~ KY Footsteps List Archives - thousands of obituaries here ~ KYGenWeb Project
 * KY Obituary Sources ~ Kentucky Obituary Sources ~ Compiled by the KYGenWeb Project
 * Links to research and locate obituaries
 * Browning Genealogy Database ~ The Browning Genealogy Database - A Collection of Obituaries Compiled by Charles Browning.
 * USGenWeb Archives Obituary Project ~  Kentucky Obituary Project
 * 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 Advocate ~ Death Abstracts from the Nashville Christian Advocate

Will Indexes and Abstracts
The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Muhlenberg 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:


 * 1) Will Book 1: 1801-1814
 * 2) Will Book 2: 1814-1829
 * 3) Will Book 3: 1831-1877

Marion Hammers' Muhlenberg County, Kentucky Abstracts of Wills and Administrations (1799-1877) covers probate records found in will books. Available at.

Online Wills and Administrations
Wills Books 1 to 9 (1801-1968) have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.

Administrator Settlement Books 1 to 8 (1834-1918) have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.

Administrations Abstracts
Marion Hammers' serial articles of genealogical abstracts of county court orders in the Muhlenberg County, Kentucky Genealogical Society's journal  cover hundreds of probate administrations not found in will books. The journal volumes are individually indexed.

Taxation

 * 1800 - 1800 Tax List of is included in Clift's Second Census of Kentucky 1800, digitized by Ancestry ($).

Vital Records
See also How to order Kentucky Vital Records

Birth

 * 1852-1862 - Muhlenberg County Birth Index 1852-1862. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1874 - Muhlenberg County Birth Index 1874. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1875 - Muhlenberg County Birth Index 1875. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Marriage

 * 1852-1862 - Muhlenberg County Marriage Index 1852-1862. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1875 - Muhlenberg County Marriage Index 1875. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1876-1878 - Muhlenberg County Marriage Index 1876-1878. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Unsorted

 * The Kentucky Vital Records Project Transcriptions of and Images of KY Death Certificates - A Work in Progress ~ The KY Vital Records Project
 * KY Births & Christenings ~ Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839-1960 Family Search
 * KY Deaths & Burials ~ KY Deaths & Burials 1843 - 1970
 * KY Marriage Records ~ KY Marriages 1783 - 1979 ~ Family Search
 * Searchable KY Vital Records ~ Searchable databases of KY Births, Deaths & Marriages
 * Kentucky Marriage Records 1973 - 2000  ~ Kentucky Marriage Records - 1973 - 2000
 * KY Divorces 1973 - 1993 ~ Kentucky Divorce Records 1973 - 1993 ~ University of Kentucky Vital Records Databases
 * The Social Security Death Index The Social Security Death Index - Searchable

Ancestry.com a subscription web site has Kentucky Birth, Marriage and Death Records 1852-1953 indexed with images. Death records are complete for Muhlenberg County for the years 1911-1953 and many earlier years also survive.

Muhlenberg County Libraries Local History Annex  Greenville, Kentucky ph# 270-338-5388 has access to many Kentucky birth and death records as well as Muhlenberg marriages. Also much more. Library workers are glad to do look-ups for a fee. I can also do look-ups free but am not as competent as the workers. my e-mail address is: sandralatham@hotmail.com

Muhlenberg County Kentucky Genealogy Societies and Libraries

 * List of Kentucky Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies
 * Links and addresses to Kentucky genealogical and historical societies

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Muhlenberg County Kentucky Genealogy Websites

 * Muhlenberg County, KY History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Muhlenberg County KYGenweb
 * KYGenWeb project. Has maps, name indexes, history or other information for each county. Select the county.
 * State of Kencucky Website
 * USGenWeb Kentucky Archives ~ Kentucky in the USGenWeb Archives ~ Vital statistics, maps, obituaries, Bible records, tombstone transcriptions and many other records.
 * The USGenWeb project May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Muhlenberg County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Muhlenberg County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)