Rowan County, Kentucky Genealogy

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

Description
Rowan County was named for John Rowan. The county is located in the northeastern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Rowan County Courthouse 627 E Main Street Morehead, KY 40351 Phone: 606-784-5212 Rowan 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

 * Kentucky Bible Archives at USGenWeb Archives
 * Kentucky Bible Records at Kentucky Genealogy

Biographies

 * Kentucky Biographies Project

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


 * Rowan 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 Kentucky Historical Society Cemetery Database
 * Naming the Forgotten, The Eastern State Hospital Project
 * Kentucky Cemeteries lists the national cemeteries in Kentucky with links to their websites. 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 Rowan County and links to the information for the individuals buried there,
 * Access Genealogy-Rowan County Kentucky Cemeteries
 * KYGenWeb Archives Project-Rowan County Cemetery Records
 * Linkpendium-Rowan Co., Cemeteries
 * Rowan County Cemeteries

Census Records
1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Rowan 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.


 * Linkpendium Census Records &amp; Indexes- Rowan County Kentucky
 * Rowan County Census Records 1860 and 1870
 * Rowan County Genealogy Trails-1870 Census Index
 * Kentucky Census Transcriptions 1850-1930, USGenWeb
 * Census Images, USGenWeb
 * KY Census Online, Links to online census records

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Kentucky Christian Church Directory, ChurchAngel
 * Catholic Parishes in the Diocese of Lexington
 * Catholic Parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1880-1903 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1880-1932 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1894-1953 (*); Fiscal Court 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
 * Rowan County Militia in 1863; Bluegrass Roots, Vol. 16, No 2. 1989. By Kentucky Genealogical Society (Frankfort, Kentucky). Frankfurt, Kentucky : Kentucky Genealogical Society. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.

African Americans

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

Funeral Homes

 * Michael R. Gray Funeral Home in Morehead.
 * Northcutt and Son Home for Funerals, Inc. in Morehead.

Genealogies

 * Rowan County Family Pages
 * Relatives of Truby Petitt &amp; Florence Hall of Rowan County, Kentucky
 * Sorted by Name, Rowan County, Kentucky

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * The KY Land Office
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Kentucky (1776-1939)
 * KYGenWeb compiled list of maps
 * Click on the county to go to the KYGenWeb site
 * 1895 U.S. Atlas- Rowan County Kentucky 1895
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * Military Resources, Revolutionary War through Civil War
 * USGenWeb Archives Project-Rowan County Kentucky Military Records

Revolutionary War

 * List of Revolutionary War Pensioners

Civil War

 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; 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 - How to Use this Collection; index and images

World War I

 * Fallen Soldiers in WWI from KY

Korean War

 * Korean War Memorial for Soldiers from KY, KYGenWeb

Vietnam War

 * Rowan County Genealogy Trails Vietnam War Casualties

Newspapers

 * The Morehead News
 * Rowan County Bulletin
 * USNPL, Kentucky, Kentucky newspaper index with links
 * World-Newspapers, Kentucky, Kentucky newspaper index with links
 * Kentucky Newspapers on Microfilm

Obituaries

 * Kentucky Footsteps Archives, KYGenWeb
 * Kentucky Obituary Sources, KYGenWeb
 * 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 Daily Times, Citations to over 15,000,000 obituaries including interactive search function
 * Nashville Christian Advocate Death Abstracts

Other Records

 * Rowan County Kentucky History Records
 * Kentucky Postcards, USGenWeb

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1774-1989 Kentucky, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1774-1989 at Ancestry ($) — index and images
 * 1798-1943 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1853-1947 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1880-1932 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1880-1987 (*); Clerk of the County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1883-1946 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1883-1971 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1886-1952 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

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.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records

 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records, Ancestry ($)

Vital Records
KYGenWeb Archives Project-Rowan County Vital Records

Birth

 * 1839-1960 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1856-1861 - Rowan County Birth Index 1856-1861. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1874-1875 - Rowan County Birth Index 1874-1875. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1875-1876 - Rowan County Birth Index 1875-1876. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1911-1912 Searchable KY Birth Index
 * 1856-1859, 1861, 1893 Rowan County Births
 * 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
 * 1797-1954 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1856-1859 - Rowan County Marriage Index 1856-1859. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1875 - Rowan County Marriage Index 1875. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1876-1878 - Rowan County Marriage Index 1876-1878. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1973-2000 Searchable KY Marriage Records
 * 1973-2000 Kentucky Marriage Records 1973-2000
 * Kentucky Marriage Project-Rowan County
 * Rowan County Marriages 1856-1859, 1874-1878, 1881-1912, plus selected 1913-1920
 * 1960-1993 Kentucky Marriages, 1960-1993 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

 * 1843-1970 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1856-1859, 1861, 1893 Rowan County Deaths
 * 1900-1999 Kentucky Deaths, 1900-1999 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 1911-1965 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1911-2000 Searchable KY Death Index
 * - How to Use this Collection
 * The Kentucky Vital Records Project, Transcriptions and Images of Kentucky Death Certificates

Divorce

 * 1962-2005 Kentucky, U.S., Divorce Records, 1962-2005 at Ancestry - index ($)

Archives
Archives of Appalachia East Tennessee State University Sherrod Library, Room 422 344 J L Seehorn Rd Johnson City, TN 37614 Phone: 423-439-4338 Email: [mailto:archives@etsu.edu archives@etsu.edu] Facebook Website

FamilySearch Centers

 * Beattyville Kentucky FamilySearch Center
 * Lexington Kentucky FamilySearch Center
 * Martin Kentucky FamilySearch Center
 * Owingsville Kentucky FamilySearch Center
 * Breathitt County Library - an affiliate library.
 * Lexington Public Library - an affiliate library.

Libraries
Rowan County Public Library 175 Beacon Hill Rd Morehead, KY 40351 Phone: 606-784-7137 Website

Societies
Rowan County Historical Society PO Box 60 Morehead, KY 40351 Phone: 606-784-6341 Email: [mailto:glewis@windstream.net glewis@windstream.net] Facebook Website

Websites

 * Rowan County KYGenWeb
 * KYGenWeb Archives-Rowan County
 * 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.
 * KYGenWeb-Rowan County
 * Rowan County KY Genealogy Forum
 * Rowan County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Rowan 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