Kentucky Gazetteers

Online Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places
 * Kentucky State Digital Archives
 * Kentucky Cemeteries
 * Kentucky places and people : R. L. Polk & Co.'s Kentucky state gazetteer and business directory for 1895-96 R L Polk & Co. Kentucky Places and People : R. L. Polk & Co.'s Kentucky State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1895-96. Digital Publisher FamilySearch International
 * Kentucky Names Places Robert M Rennick, Kentucky Name Places. Digital Publisher FamilySearch International
 * Kentucky Gazetteer Kentucky Gazetteer. Digital Publisher FamilySearch International
 * Adam's directory of points and landings on rivers and bayous in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin Louis A Adams. Adam's directory of points and landings on rivers and bayous in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin. New Orleans : W. L. Murray
 * Kentucky state gazetteer and business directory for 1876-1877 R L Polk & Co. Kentucky State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1876-1877. Detroit, R.L. Polk & Co.
 * Kentucky : a pioneer commonwealth N S Shaler. Kentucky : A Pioneer Commonwealth. Boston ; Houghton, Mifflin, and company, 1885
 * Kentucky : Notes on the territory of the Southern railway and Mobile & Ohio railroad Kentucky : Notes on the Territory of the Southern Railway and Mobile & Ohio Railroad. [Washington, D.C., 1900?]
 * Kentucky in the War of 1812 Anderson Chenault Quisenberry. Kentucky in the War of 1812. Frankfort, Ky. : Kentucky State Historical Society, 1915..
 * 1881-1882 Kentucky State Gazetteer And Business Directory, 1881 - 1882 at MyHeritage — images ($)

Print Only Gazetteers

 * George W. Hawes' Kentucky state gazetteer : and business directory for 1859 and 1860 George W Hawes. George W. Hawes' Kentucky State Gazetteer : and Business Directory for 1859 and 1860. Vine Grove, Kentucky : Ancestral Trails Historical Society, 2006
 * The Kentucky Encyclopedia John E. Kleber. The Kentucky Encyclopedia. Frankfort, Kentucky : Kentucky Historical Society, [1902]
 * The Kentucky Locator Joan Colbert Gioe. The Kentucky Locator. Indianapolis, Indiana : Researchers, c1980
 * Kentucky state gazetteer and business directory : 1895 R L Polk & Co. Kentucky State Gazetteer and Business Directory : 1895. Vine Grove, Kentucky : Ancestral Trails Historical Society, 2006
 * Kentucky : atlas of historical county boundaries John H Long. Kentucky : Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. New York, New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, c1995
 * Historic Maps of Kentucky Thomas D Clark. Historic Maps of Kentucky. Lexington, Kentucky : University Press of Kentucky, c1979
 * German family names in Kentucky place names John Leighly. German Family Names in Kentucky Place Names. New York, New York : American Name Society, 1983

Why Use Gazetteers
A gazetteer is a dictionary of place-names. Gazetteers list or describe towns and villages, parishes, states, populations, rivers and mountains, and other geographical features. They usually include only the names of places that existed at the time the gazetteer was published. Within a specific geographical area, the place-names are listed in alphabetical order, similar to a dictionary. You can use a gazetteer to locate the places where your family lived and to determine the civil and religious jurisdictions over those places.

There are many places within a state with similar or identical place-names. You will need to use a gazetteer to identify the specific town where your ancestor lived, the state the town was or is in, and the jurisdictions where records about the person was kept.

Gazetteer Contents
Gazetteers may also provide additional information about towns, such as:


 * Different religious denominations
 * Schools, colleges, and universities
 * Major manufacturers, canals, docks, and railroad stations
 * The population size.
 * Boundaries of civil jurisdiction.
 * Ecclesiastical jurisdiction(s)
 * Longitude and latitude.
 * Distances and direction from other from cities.
 * Schools, colleges, and universities.
 * Denominations and number of churches.
 * Historical and biographical information on some individuals (usually high-ranking or famous individuals)