Kentucky Probate Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Kentucky

What is in the Collection?
The collection consists of an index of probate records from 1727 to 1990, created in Kentucky county courts. Probate records include wills, bonds, inventories of estates and other records.

Some probate records were recorded in books which may have carried many titles, such as:


 * Accounts
 * Administrations
 * Appraisals
 * Minutes
 * Petitions
 * Guardianships
 * Inventories
 * Settlements

The following is what has been indexed by county.

Each county began keeping probate records from the time the county was created. Wills are often placed or transcribed into a bound volume.

Coverage Map
To see a coverage map of holdings to probate and will records, click here.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Probate records may include: petitions, inventories, accounts, decrees, and other court documents. Information found in this collection may include:


 * Name of testator or deceased
 * Names of heirs such as spouse, children, and other relatives or friends
 * Name of executor, administrator, or guardian
 * Names of witnesses
 * Residence of testator
 * Document and recording dates (Used to approximate event dates i.e. A will was usually written near time of death.)

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * The name of the deceased.
 * The approximate date of death.
 * The approximate date of probate.
 * The place where your ancestor lived.
 * The names of family members or associates who may be named in the probate record.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select "County" ⇒Select "Volume Title and Year" which takes you to the images

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s probate record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use probate records to identify heirs and relatives.
 * You may be able to use the probate record to learn about adoptions or guardianship of any minor children and dependents.
 * Use the document (such as the will) or the recording dates to approximate a death date.
 * Use the information in the probate record to substitute for civil birth and death records, since the probates exist for an earlier time period.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the residence or place of birth of the deceased to locate census, church, and land records.
 * Use the occupations listed to find other types of records such as employment or military records.
 * Probate record may include informatio about land transactions.
 * Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname as the deceased; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have died in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Wills are more likely to be found in rural communities than in larger cities and industrial areas.
 * The information in the records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the deceased or the testator.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1900.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another record.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking or, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry): Image Citation: Top of Page