Mercer County, Kentucky Genealogy

Guide to Mercer 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 Hugh Mercer. The County has Harrodsburg as its seat and the County was created 1785. The County is located in the central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Mercer County Courthouse 235 S Main Street PO Box 426 Harrodsburg, KY 40330-1696 Phone: 859-734-6310 Mercer 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, Jeff Murphy's Kentucky Biographies Project

Cemeteries
The following web sites have additional information on Mercer 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 Mercer 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

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


 * 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
 * The Centennial Celebration and Other Interesting Facts Concerning Old Mud-Meeting House near Harrodsburg, Ky., August 25, 1900. Digital version at - free.

Baptist

 * Shawnee Run. Minutes 1799-1907 are available online.

Court Records

 * Abstracts of Early Kentucky Supreme Court Cases, KYGenWeb
 * Kentucky Court of Justice Research &amp; Reference
 * Mercer County, Kentucky: Marriages (1786-1800) & Wills (1786-1801) at Ancestry ($)
 * Abstracts of Sharp deeds from Mercer County, Kentucky at Ancestry ($)

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

Genealogies

 * [Finley] Finley, Carmen J. "John and Mary Finley of Montgomery (Wythe) County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 34, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1990):243-255. Digital version at American Ancestors ($)..
 * [Finley] Finley, Carmen J. "John Finley of Montgomery/Wythe County, Virginia: Additional Children Identified," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 39, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1995):3-22; Vol. 39, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1995):94-103; Vol. 39, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1995):202-212; Vol. 39, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1995):282-294. Digital version at American Ancestors ($)..
 * [Letcher] 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.
 * [McDowell] 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.
 * [Maccoun] Smith, Zachary F. and Mary Rogers Clay. The Clay Family. Louisville, Ky.: John P. Morton and Company, 1899. Digital version at Internet Archive - free.
 * [Owens] Owens, David Hatfield. Owens Family of Virginia (Richmond, King George, Stafford, Prince William, Fauquier Counties) and Kentucky (Mason, Lewis, Fleming, Bracken, Mercer, Boyle Counties). Ann Arbor, Mich.: D.H. Owens, 1991.
 * [Robertson] 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.
 * [Rowland] Petersen, Carol Rowland. Descendants of John Rowland, Son of William Rowland: (Botetourt Co., Va.). Belton, Mo.: C.R. Petersen, 1999. Digital version at.
 * [Taylor] 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;.
 * [Taylor] Dennstedt, Albert Marjorie. "Richard and Ann Taylor's Descendants in Maryland and Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 40, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1996):29-38; Vol. 40, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1996):134-145; Vol. 40, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1996):199-211; Vol. 40, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1996):282-293. Digital version at American Ancestors ($)..
 * [Timmons] Corum, Frank. Captain George Timmons, Fact and Fiction. Hanson, Ky., 1990..
 * [Warner] Reynolds, Lyman Foster. Peter Warner Born Maryland - Fredrick County: Revolutionary War Soldier (with George Washington in Capture of Trenton) to Lincoln County Kentucky 1780's, Children Settled in Kentucky; Lincoln, Garrard, Boyle, Mercer &amp; Washington Counties; Indiana Putnam County. Louisville, Ky.: L.F. Reynolds, 2007.

Land and Property Records

 * The KY Land Office

Local Histories

 * Rue, A.B. Historical Sketch of Mercer County, Ky. (Illustrated). Harrodsburg, Ky.: Rue, 1904. Digital version at Kentuckiana Digital Library.
 * The Archives of Appalachia

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Kentucky (1776-1939)
 * KYGenWeb compiled list of maps
 * Click on the county to go to the KYGenWeb site

Military Records

 * Military Resources, Revolutionary War through Civil War

French and Indian War
 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at . [Identifies a Mercer County veteran; see William Shepherd, page 242.]

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


 * - 19th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Companies A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I and K.

World War I

 * Fallen Soldiers in WWI from KY

Korean War

 * 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

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 including interactive search function
 * Nashville Christian Advocate Death Abstracts

Other Records

 * Kentucky Postcards, USGenWeb

Probate Records
'''Online Probate Records


 * 1774-1999 Kentucky Wills and Probate Records 1774-1999 at Ancestry ($) — index and images
 * 1786-1795 Will Book 1: 1786-1795 - Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Mercer County probate records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee.
 * 1786-1923 have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.
 * 1795-1803 Will Book 2: 1795-1803 - Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Mercer County probate records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee.
 * 1803-1808 Will Book 3: 1803-1808 - Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Mercer County probate records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee.
 * 1808-1813 Will Book 4: 1808-1813 - Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Mercer County probate records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee.
 * 1813-1816 Will Book 5: 1813-1816 - Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Mercer County probate records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee.
 * 1818-1826 Mercer County, Kentucky Wills 1818-1826 at Ancestry ($)
 * Images of Wills, Estates, Guardianships, Inventories, Appraisements: Book 1, 1786-95; Book 2, 1795-1803; Book 3, 1803-08; Book 4, 1808-13; Book 5, 1813-16; Book 6, 1816-21; Book 7 1821-24. Kentucky Pioneers ($)

School Records

 * Stephenson, Martha. Education in Harrodsburg and Neighborhood Since 1775. Harrodsburg, Ky.: Harrodsburg Herald, n.d. Digital version at Kentuckiana Digital Library.

Tax Records
Kandie Adkinson's "Researching Early Kentucky Tax Lists: 1792-1840" is a must read. The beginning tax list researcher will find the second half of her article especially helpful and for the serious researcher, she covers the legislation involved in the tax process. She continues her work to 1880 in the 2011 editions of the periodical Kentucky Ancestors.


 * 1787-1790 - 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. Online at FamilySearch - free; . [Sources for this publication are: remnants of the 1787 personal property tax list, 1787 tithable lists, 1787-c1790 insolvent and removed lists, 1786 tobacco inspection petition, 1786-1788 tax list substitutes, and the 1789 personal property tax list. Mercer County is included in Vol. 2.]
 * 1789 - Heinemann, Charles B. "First Census" of Kentucky 1790. Washington, D.C.: n.p., 1940. 1981 reprint: ; digital version at Kentucky Kinfolks. ["1 volume of 1789 was used." (p. 2)]
 * 1800 - 1800 Tax List of Mercer County, Kentucky Genealogy is included in Clift's Second Census of Kentucky 1800, digitized by Ancestry ($).
 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records, Ancestry ($)

Birth

 * 1839-1960 – at FamilySearch
 * 1852-1859 - Mercer County Birth Index 1852-1859. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1874 - Mercer County Birth Index 1874. Batch at FamilySearch - free
 * 1911-1912 - Searchable KY Birth Index

Marriage

 * 1609-2016 - Kentucky, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1785-1979 – at FamilySearch
 * 1786-1800 - Mercer County, Kentucky: Marriages (1786-1800) and Wills (1786-1801) at Ancestry ($)
 * 1797-1954 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1800-1830 - Mercer County, Kentucky Marriage Records, 1800-1830 Vol. II-III at Ancestry ($)
 * 1852-1859 - Mercer County Marriage Index 1852-1859. Batch at FamilySearch - free
 * 1973-2000 - Searchable KY Marriage Records
 * 1973-2000 - Kentucky Marriage Records 1973-2000

Death

 * 1843-1970 – at FamilySearch
 * 1911-1965 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1911-2000 - Searchable KY Death Index
 * - Searchable
 * The Kentucky Vital Records Project, Transcriptions and Images of Kentucky Death Certificates
 * Mercer County, Kentucky Obituary and Death Notices Collection Free from GenealogyBuff.com. From various funeral homes in the Harrodsburg, Burgin, Bondville, Cornishville, and Salvisa areas.

Divorce

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

Societies

 * The Harrodsburg Historical Society 220 South Chiles Street PO Box 316 Harrodsburg, KY 40330 Phone: 859-734-5985 Website
 * Links and addresses to Kentucky genealogical and historical societies

Websites

 * Mercer 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.
 * Mercer County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Mercer 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