Bourbon County, Kentucky Genealogy

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

Description
Bourbon County was named for House of Bourbon. The county is located in the northeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Bourbon County Courthouse 310 Main Street Paris, KY 40361 Phone: 859.987.2142 Bourbon 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

 * Bourbon County Bible Records at Access Genealogy - Kentucky
 * Bourbon County Bibles at USGenWeb Archives Project - Kentucky
 * Bourbon County Family Bibles at Kentucky Genealogy Trails
 * Kentucky Bible Records at Frontier Folk
 * Kentucky Bible Records at Kentucky Genealogy

Biographies

 * Bourbon County Kentucky Biographies
 * Kentucky Biographies Project

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

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

1790 - Lost, but a substitute is available, see Taxation.

1800 - Lost, but a substitute is available:


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

Church Records
1801-- Cane Ridge, Bourbon County, Kentucky. Home to a large camp meeting that drew thousands of people and had a lasting influence as one of the landmark events of the Second Great Awakening. The event was led by eighteen Presbyterian ministers, but numerous Methodist and Baptist preachers also spoke and assisted. The Second Great Awakening introduced new thoughts and opinions on religion.

Baptist
 * Baptist History Homepage, Transcriptions of a large number of church annual meeting minutes, Baptist newspapers, etc.
 * Bourbon County Baptist Notes, Silas Run Church Register
 * History of Kentucky Baptists p. 276-277, Flat Lick - Mt. Dependence Baptist Church.

Presbyterian List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Shane, John Dabney and Presbyterian Historical Society. Shane Manuscript Collection. Original records, Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, Penn..
 * Kentucky Christian Church Directory, ChurchAngel
 * Catholic Parishes in the Diocese of Lexington
 * Catholic Parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1780-1880 (*); County Clerk at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1785-1880 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1785-1977 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1786-1866 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1793-1802 (*); Court of Quarter Sessions at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1794-1800 (*); Court of Quarter Sessions at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1796-1802 (*); District Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1803-1823 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1803-1923 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1870-1922 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1874-1892 (*); Court of Common Pleas 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

Emigration and Immigration

 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. Includes will of a resident of Bourbon County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.

African Americans

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

Genealogies

 * [Duncan] The Duncans of Bourbon County, Kentucky at Ancestry ($)
 * [McCune] Some of the descendants of Robert and Jane McCune of Bourbon and Nicholas County, Kentucky at Ancestry ($)
 * [Miller] The Millers of Millersburg, Kentucky at Ancestry ($)
 * Bourbon County, Kentucky Genealogy, list of more than 100 genealogies published about Bourbon County families.

Land and Property Records
Land Grants and Patents


 * Virginia Land Office. Commonwealth's Grants or Patents 1779-1794, 1801 (Now in Kentucky). Original records, Virginia State Land Office, Richmond, Va. Index. Some of the land was situated in Bourbon County.
 * Kentucky Land Office - land patents
 * Bourbon County Land Records- Surveys before 1800
 * Bourbon County Property Records links to Deed Books 1786-1902

Local Histories

 * History of Bourbon, Scott, Harrison and Nicholas Counties, Kentucky. 1882. Edited by William Henry Perrin. Cincinnati, Ohio : Art Guild Reprints. Online at: Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($);.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * 1877 Atlas of Bourbon County
 * 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

 * Bourbon County Military

French and Indian War
 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at . Online at: Ancestry ($). Identifies a Bourbon County veteran; see place name index.

Revolutionary War

 * Bell, Annie W.B. Record of Pension Abstracts Pertaining to Soldiers of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Indian Wars: Who Settled in Bourbon County, Kentucky. 1934..

War of 1812

 * Bell, Annie W.B. Record of Pension Abstracts Pertaining to Soldiers of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Indian Wars: Who Settled in Bourbon County, Kentucky. 1934..

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


 * - 7th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Companies A, B, E, G, H, K and M.
 * - 11th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Company G.
 * - 18th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Company A, B, D and E.
 * - 40th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Company E.

World War II

 * Bourbon County Woman's Club (Paris, Ky.). Bourbon County Men and Women Who Served in World War Two. Digital version at University of Kentucky.

Newspapers

 * Kentucky News, Newspaper Index with links
 * Another Kentucky Newspaper Index with links
 * Kentucky Newspapers on Microfilm
 * Kentucky Pioneers ($) Deaths, Obituaries, Marriages from The Bourbon News, Millersburg, Kentucky for 1882

Obituaries

 * KY Footsteps Archives, KYGenWeb
 * KY Obituary Sources,KYGenWeb


 * Browning Genealogy Database, Compiled by Charles Browning.
 * 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 (Ancestry)
 * Nashville Christian Advocate Death Abstracts
 * Kentucky Pioneers ($) Deaths, Obituaries, Marriages from The Bourbon News, Millersburg, Kentucky for 1882

Other Records

 * KY Postcards, USGenWeb

Probate Records
'''Online Probate Records


 * 1774–1999 Kentucky Wills and Probate Records 1774-1999 at Ancestry ($) — index and images
 * 1786-1795 Will Book A: 1786-1795 - Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Bourbon County probate records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee.
 * 1786-1871  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1798-1943  at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection
 * 1786-1799 Images of Wills, Inventories, Estates, Book A, 1786-1799 Kentucky Pioneers, ($)
 * 1795-1805 Will Book B: 1795-1805 - Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Bourbon County probate records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee.
 * Bourbon County Wills and Estates

London Court


 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. Includes will of a resident of Bourbon County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.

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.

Tax Records

 * 1787 - Schreiner-Yantis, Netti and Florene Speakman Love. The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Name of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years, the Number of White Males Between 16 &amp; 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 &amp; Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle &amp; Carriages, and Also the Names of All Persons to Whom Ordinary Licenses and Physician's Licenses Were Issued. 3 vols. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987. . The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Bourbon County is included in Vol. 1.
 * 1790-1791 - Heinemann, Charles B. "First Census" of Kentucky 1790. Washington, D.C.: n.p., 1940. 1981 reprint: ; digital version at Kentucky Kinfolks. ("8 pages of 1790 were used and 3 volumes of 1791. There is some duplication of names.")
 * 1800 - 1800 Tax List of Bourbon County, Kentucky Genealogy is included in Clift's Second Census of Kentucky 1800, digitized by Ancestry ($).

Birth

 * 1839-1960 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1852-1859 - Bourbon County Birth Index 1852-1859. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1874 - Bourbon County Birth Index 1874. Batch at FamilySearch
 * Searchable KY Vital Records, Searchable databases of KY Births, Deaths and Marriages
 * 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
 * 1786-1800 Bourbon County Marriages- marriage bonds 1786 - 1798; marriages 1786 - 1800, etc.
 * 1786-1800 Bourbon County, Kentucky Marriage Records, 1786-1800 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1797-1954 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1853-1860 - Bourbon County Marriage Index 1853-1860. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1876-1879 - Bourbon County Marriage Index 1876-1879. Batch at FamilySearch
 * Kentucky Marriage Records, from the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society at Ancestry ($);.
 * Shane, John Dabney and Presbyterian Historical Society. Shane Manuscript Collection. Original records, Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, Penn..
 * Marriage records for Bourbon County, Kentucky at Ancestry ($)
 * 1960-1993 Kentucky Marriages, 1960-1993 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death
Kentucky Death Records
 * 1843-1970 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1911-1965 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1900-1999 Kentucky Deaths, 1900-1999 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * The Kentucky Vital Records Project, Transcriptions of and Images of Kentucky Death Certificates
 * Searchable Kentucky Vital Records, Searchable databases of Kentucky Births, Deaths and Marriages
 * - How to Use this Collection

Archives
Archives of Appalachia East Tennessee State University Website

Family History Centers

 * Lexington Kentucky Family History Center
 * Owingsville Kentucky Family History Center
 * The Kentucky Historical Society Library - an affiliate library.
 * Lexington Public Library - an affiliate library.

Societies
Bourbon County Kentucky Genealogical Society P.O. Box 951 Paris, KY 40362 Website

Websites

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