Bell County, Kentucky Genealogy

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

Bell County Kentucky Courthouse


Bell County Courthouse Courthouse Square Floor FL 1 PO Box 156 Pineville, KY 40977 Phone: 606.337.6143

Parent County
1867--Bell County was created 28 February 1867 from Harlan and Knox counties. County seat: Pineville

Boundary changes
For animated maps illustrating Kentucky county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Kentucky County Boundary Maps" (1776-1939) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
1914, 1918, 1944, 1976--Disasters caused the loss of some records.

Neighboring Counties

 * Claiborne County, Tennessee
 * Clay
 * Harlan
 * Knox
 * Lee County, Virginia
 * Leslie
 * Whitley

African Americans
United States African Americans Kentucky African Americans


 * the KY African American Griots Project ~ The Kentucky African American Griots Project
 * Sandi Gorin's Tips ~ Hangings in Kentucky 1792 - 1900

Biographies

 * KY Biographies ~ Jeff Murphy's Kentucky Biographies Project

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


 * Cemeteries in Kentucky database gives directions to cemeteries in Bell county.


 * Cemetery Junction   Links to cemetery transcriptions
 * Naming the Forgotten ~Naming the Forgotten - The Eastern State Hospital Project
 * ePodunk list of Bell County cemeteriesgives the names of the cemeteries in the county with a link to more information such as address, phone number, and web site.

Census
1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Bell 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.


 * USGenWeb Census Project ~ Kentucky Census Transcriptions 1850 - 1930
 * The USGenWeb Census Images ~ The USGenWeb Census Images Project
 * Kentucky Census Transcriptions ~ The USGenWeb Census Project
 * Census Online ~ Census Online

Church

 * Kentucky Christian Church Directory ~ ChurchAngel
 * Catholic Parishes in the Diocese of Lexington
 * Catholic Parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville
 * History of the Bell County Association of Baptists: Over a Quarter of a Century of Growth, 1896-1922

Court

 * Abstracts of Early KY Court Cases Abstracts of Early Supreme Court Cases ~ KYGenWeb Special Project
 * Kentucky Court of Justice Research &amp; Reference

Land

 * The KY Land Office

Local Histories

 * The Archives of Appalachia

Maps

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

Military

 * Military Resources ~ Revolutionary War through Civil War
 * Korean War Memorial Korean War Memorial for Soliders from KY ~ KYGenWeb
 * Fallen Soldiers in WWI from KY ~ Fallen Soldiers in WWI from Kentucky

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
 * - 1st Battalion, Kentucky Mounted Rifles (Confederate). Company E.
 * - Fields' Company, Kentucky Partisan Rangers (Confederate), Company E

Miscellaneous

 * KY Postcards Kentucky Postcards ~ The USGenWeb Archives Penny Postcard Project
 * The KYGenWeb Footsteps ~ The Kentucky Footsteps Archives ~ KYGenWeb Special Project

Newspapers

 * Kentucky News -  Kentucky Newspaper Index with links
 * Another Kentucky Newspaper Index with links
 * Kentucky Newspapers on Microfilm  -   Kentucky Newspapers Available On Microfilm
 * Middlesboro Daily News (Middlesboro, Kentucky) at Ancestry.com (Free /$)

Obituaries

 * KY Footsteps Archives ~ KY Footsteps List Archives - thousands of obituaries here ~ KYGenWeb Project
 * KY Obituary Sources ~ Kentucky Obituary Sources ~ Compiled by the KYGenWeb Project
 * Links to research and locate obituaries
 * Browning Genealogy Database ~ The Browning Genealogy Database - A Collection of Obituaries Compiled by Charles Browning.
 * USGenWeb Archives Obituary Project ~  Kentucky Obituary Project
 * 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 including interactive search function
 * Nashville Advocate ~ Death Abstracts from the Nashville Christian Advocate

Probate

 * 1869-1920 - has been digitized by FamilySearch - free.
 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records ~  Ancestry.com  (subscription)

Online Probate Records


 * 1774 – 1999 Kentucky Wills and Probate Records 1774-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1727 – 1990 at FamilySearch — images

Vital Records

 * How to order Kentucky Vital Records

Birth

 * 1839-1960 - KY Births and Christenings ~ Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839-1960 Family Search
 * 1874 - Bell County Birth Index 1874. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1875 - Bell County Birth Index 1875. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * Searchable KY Vital Records ~ Searchable databases of KY Births, Deaths and Marriages

Marriage

 * 1783-1979 - KY Marriage Records ~ KY Marriages 1783 - 1979 ~ Family Search
 * 1797-1954 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1875 - Bell County Marriage Index 1875. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1876-1878 - Bell County Marriage Index 1876-1878. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * Searchable KY Vital Records ~ Searchable databases of KY Births, Deaths and Marriages
 * 1973-2000 - Kentucky Marriage Records 1973 - 2000  ~ Kentucky Marriage Records - 1973 - 2000

Death

 * The Kentucky Vital Records Project Transcriptions of and Images of KY Death Certificates - A Work in Progress ~ The KY Vital Records Project
 * 1843-1970 - KY Deaths and Burials ~ KY Deaths and Burials 1843 - 1970
 * 1911-1963 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * The Social Security Death Index The Social Security Death Index - Searchable
 * Searchable KY Vital Records ~ Searchable databases of KY Births, Deaths and Marriages

Divorce

 * 1973-1993 - KY Divorces 1973 - 1993 ~ Kentucky Divorce Records 1973 - 1993 ~ University of Kentucky Vital Records Databases

Bell County Kentucky Genealogy Societies and Libraries
Bell County Historical Society 207 North 20th Street Middlesboro, KY 40965 Telephone: 606-242-0005 Website


 * Links and addresses to Kentucky genealogical and historical societies

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Bell County Kentucky Genealogy Websites

 * Bell County, KY History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * KYGenWeb project. Has maps, name indexes, history or other information for each county. Select the county.
 * State of Kentucky Website
 * USGenWeb Kentucky Archives ~ Kentucky in the USGenWeb Archives ~ Vital statistics, maps, obituaries, Bible records, tombstone transcriptions and many other records.
 * Bell County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History(Linkpendium)
 * Bell County KY Genealogy (Kentucky Genealogy)
 * Bell County KY Genealogy (Kentucky Genealogy)