Franklin County, Kentucky Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for Benjamin Franklin. The County has Frankfort as its seat and the County was created May 10, 1795. The County is located in the north area of the state.

County Courthouse
Franklin County Courthouse PO Box 338 219 St Clair Street Frankfort, KY 40602-0338 Phone: 502-875-8702 Franklin 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:

Biographies

 * KY Biographies, Biographies Project

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


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

Census Records

 * Kentucky Census Transcriptions 1850-1930, USGenWeb
 * Census Images, USGenWeb
 * KY Census Online, Links to online census records

Church Records

 * Kentucky Christian Church Directory, ChurchAngel
 * Catholic Parishes in the Diocese of Lexington
 * Catholic Parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville
 * Darnell, Ermina Jett. Forks of Elkhorn Church. Louisville, Kentucky : Standard Printing Co., 1946. A good resource for information concerning people living in the Forks of the Elkhorn area.

Court Records

 * Abstracts of Early Kentucky Supreme Court Cases, KYGenWeb
 * Kentucky Court of Justice Research &amp; Reference

African Americans

 * Bellardo, Lewis J. "Frankfort, Kentucky, Census of Free Blacks, 1842," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 63, No. 4 (Dec. 1975):272-275. Digital version at NGS website ($);
 * African American Research (US) has more information about the kinds of records available
 * The African American Griots Project
 * Kentucky Minorities has information specific to Kentucky African Americans.
 * Sandi Gorin's Tips, Hangings in Kentucky 1792-1900

Genealogies

 * [Brown] Buchanan, Paul C. and Susie M. Owens. "Henry Long and Some Descendants of Colonial Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1994):115-126; Vol. 38, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1994):190-200; Vol. 38, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1994):263-273; Vol. 39, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1995):27-31. Digital version at American Ancestors ($)..
 * [Catlett] Peters, Norman R. "Benjamin Robinson of Caroline County, VA. But Not the Clerk!" The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 48, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 2004):57-75; Vol. 48, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 2004):120-139. Digital version at American Ancestors ($).
 * [Clarke] Buford, Marcus Bainbridge. A Genealogy of the Buford Family in America, With Records of a Number of Allied Families. San Francisco, Calif., 1903. Digital version at Internet Archive - free.
 * [de Graffenried] de Graffenried, Thomas Pritchett. History of the de Graffenried Family from 1191 A.D. to 1925. Binghampton, N.Y.: Vail-Ballou Press, 1925. Digital version at Internet Archive - free;.
 * [Head] Buchanan, Paul C. and Susie M. Owens. "Henry Long and Some Descendants of Colonial Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1994):115-126; Vol. 38, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1994):190-200; Vol. 38, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1994):263-273; Vol. 39, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1995):27-31. Digital version at American Ancestors ($)..
 * [Julian] Buford, Marcus Bainbridge. A Genealogy of the Buford Family in America, With Records of a Number of Allied Families. San Francisco, Calif., 1903. Digital version at Internet Archive - free.
 * [Long] Buchanan, Paul C. and Susie M. Owens. "Henry Long and Some Descendants of Colonial Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1994):115-126; Vol. 38, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1994):190-200; Vol. 38, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1994):263-273; Vol. 39, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1995):27-31. Digital version at American Ancestors ($)..
 * [McAndre] Buchanan, Paul C. and Susie M. Owens. "Henry Long and Some Descendants of Colonial Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1994):115-126; Vol. 38, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1994):190-200; Vol. 38, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1994):263-273; Vol. 39, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1995):27-31. Digital version at American Ancestors ($)..
 * [Major] Harper, Lillie DuPuy VanCulin. Colonial Men and Times: Containing the Journal of Col. Daniel Trabue, Some Account of His Ancestry, Life and Travels in Virginia and the Present State of Kentucky During the Revolutionary Period; the Huguenots, Genealogy, with Brief Sketches of the Allied Families. Philadelphia, Pa.: Innes &amp; Sons, 1916. Digital version at Internet Archive;.
 * [Patteson] Smith, Ethel Marion. An Informal History of Virginia-Kentucky Pattesons in Illinois, Their Forbears and Their Kin Including the Lewises of Llangollen. Washington, 1948. Available at.

Land and Property Records

 * The KY Land Office

Local Histories

 * The Archives of Appalachia
 * A history of the First Presbyterian Church, Frankfort, Kentucky : together with the churches in Franklin County, in connection at Ancestry ($)

Maps and Gazetteers

 * KYGenWeb compiled list of maps
 * Click on the county to go to the KYGenWeb site

Military Records

 * Military Resources, Revolutionary War through Civil War

Civil War
'''Online Records
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — 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 — index and images


 * - 7th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Companies B, C, G and K.
 * - 22nd Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Companies A and F.
 * - 24th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Company H.
 * - 30th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Companies A, B, E, F and G.
 * - 32nd Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Company B.

World War I

 * Fallen Soldiers in WWI from KY

Korean 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
 * The Kentucky Historical Society, in Frankfort, Kentucky, has a great newspaper collection.

Obituaries

 * Kentucky Footsteps Archives, KYGenWeb
 * Kentucky Obituary Sources, KYGenWeb
 * Links to research and locate obituaries
 * 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
 * Nashville Christian Advocate Death Abstracts

Other Records

 * Kentucky Postcards, USGenWeb

Probate Records

 * 1785-1880 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.

'''Online Probate Records


 * 1774-1999 Kentucky Wills and Probate Records 1774-1999 at Ancestry ($) — index and images
 * 1795-1823; 1824-1854 - Images of Wills, Appraisals, Inventories. Kentucky Pioneers ($)

Tax Records

 * 1801 - 1801 Tax List of Franklin County, Kentucky Genealogy is included in Clift's Second Census of Kentucky 1800, digitized by Ancestry ($).
 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records, Ancestry ($)

Vital Records
To order vital records from Franklin County, you may order online at: Franklin County Vital Records

Birth

 * 1839-1960 - Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839-1960 at FamilySearch
 * 1852-1861 - Franklin County Birth Index 1852-1861. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1874 - Franklin County Birth Index 1874. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1875 - Franklin County Birth Index 1875. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1911-1912 - Searchable KY Birth Index

Marriage

 * 1609-2016 - Kentucky, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1785-1979 - Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979 at FamilySearch
 * 1790-1815 - Franklin County, Kentucky Marriage Records, 1790-1815, Volume I at Ancestry ($)
 * 1797-1954 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1852-1861 - Franklin County Marriage Index 1852-1861. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1875 - Franklin County Marriage Index 1875. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1876-1878 - Franklin County Marriage Index 1876-1878. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1973-2000 - Searchable KY Marriage Records
 * 1973-2000 - Kentucky Marriage Records 1973-2000

Death

 * 1843-1970 - Kentucky Deaths and Burials, 1843-1970 at FamilySearch
 * 1911-1965 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1911-2000 - Searchable KY Death Index
 * The Social Security Death Index - Searchable
 * The Kentucky Vital Records Project, Transcriptions and Images of Kentucky Death Certificates

Divorce

 * 1973-1993 - Kentucky Divorces 1973-1993, University of Kentucky Vital Records Databases

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers

Libraries

 * Paul Sawyier Library (Frankfort)
 * Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (Frankfort)
 * Bald Knob
 * Bridgeport
 * Forks of the Elkhorn
 * Frankfort City
 * Peaks Mill

Societies
[http://history.ky.gov/ http://history.ky.gov/ Website
 * Kentucky Historical Society (Frankfort)


 * Links and addresses to Kentucky genealogical and historical societies

Websites

 * Franklin County, KY History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * KYGenWeb project. Has maps, name indexes, history or other information for each county. Select the county.
 * State of Kentucky Website
 * USGenWeb Kentucky Archives
 * The USGenWeb project May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Franklin County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Franklin 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