Fayette County, Kentucky Genealogy

United States &gt; Kentucky &gt; Fayette County

County Courthouse




History


The county is named after Revolutionary War hero, the Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834).

Parent County
1780--Fayette County was created 1 May 1780 from Kentucky County (Virginia).This county was abolished in 1780. County seat: Lexington

Record Loss
1897--Fayette County Courthouse destroyed by fire on May 14, 1897. Records were either carried out of the burning building or stored in a fireproof safe.

Neighboring Counties

 * Bourbon
 * Clark
 * Jessamine
 * Madison
 * Scott
 * Woodford

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


 * African American Research (US) has more information about the kinds of records


 * Kentucky Minorities has information specific to Kentucky African Americans.

Cemeteries
Kentucky cemetery records often identify birth, death, relationship, and military information, as well as religious affiliation. Local volunteers through Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness may take photographs of headstones found in county cemeteries.


 * Kentucky Historical Society Cemetery Search can be searched by name, place and/or date. This database has hundreds of thousands of names transcribed from gravestones across Kentucky.
 * 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 Fayette County and links to the information for the individuals buried there,


 * 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
 * Fayette 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 Family History Library Catalog lists some records of cemeteries in Fayette County. Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.


 * ePodunk list of Fayette 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.


 * Available online: The Old Union Church Cemetery inscriptions and images for Fayette County.

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

Church
Available online: The Old Union Church Cemetery inscriptions and images for Fayette County.

Land
The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Fayette 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) Record Book 1: 1794-1796

Taxation

 * [1787] Fothergill, Augusta B. and John Mark Naugle. Virginia Tax Payers, 1782-87, Other Than Those Published by the United States Census Bureau. 1940; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1978. Available at FHL. [1787 personal property tax list of Fayette County.]
 * [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. Available at FHL. [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Fayette County is included in Vol. 1.]
 * [1788] Stewart, Robert Armistead. "Personal Tax List of Fayette County (Kentucky), 1788," The Researcher: A Magazine of History and Genealogical Exchange, Vol. 1, No. 4 (Jul. 1927):239-241. Available at FHL. [Only part of the list was published.]
 * [1789] Heinemann, Charles B. "First Census" of Kentucky 1790. Washington, D.C.: n.p., 1940. 1981 reprint: FHL US/CAN 976.9 X2ph 1981; digital version at Kentucky Kinfolks. [Includes "5 volumes of 1789, with some duplication of names."]

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Family History Library Catalog
 * Fayette County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History(Linkpendium)