Fayette County, Kentucky Genealogy

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

Fayette County Kentucky Courthouse


Fayette County Courthouse 162 E Main Street Lexington, KY 40507-1363 Phone: 859.253.3344

In 1803 the courthouse burned, along with "most of the records of the Court of Quarter Sessions and the County Court" that were kept and Levi Todd's house. "It was believed that the fire was deliberately set in order to destroy land claims." The next Courthouse was built 1806. Then the next in 1884. This one burned in 1897. The "present day Courthouse was begun on September 5, 1898, on the same site as the previous three."



Fayette County Kentucky History


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

Parent County
1780--Fayette County was created on 1 May 1780 as a Virginia county when Kentucky County (Virginia) was abolished to form Fayette, Jefferson and Lincoln counties. See County Formations Database (Kentucky Land Office)

County seat: Lexington

Early Years: During the early years 1780 -1840, Kentucky was growing to be much more than a backwoods farming state. To emigrants, Lexington was considered the “Athens of the West”. It was known first to be a place with ample fertile farmland and then a place with a rich culture. Horse racing became a major event, universities were founded and the opera performed, the social and cultural life of Lexington was becoming truly Antebellum during this time period.

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
1803--A disaster resulted in some 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 Research
Garrison, Gwendolyn. Black Marriage Bonds of Fayette County, Kentucky. 11866-1876. - Lexington, Ky.:Kentucky Tree-Search. 1985. - 59 p. FHL 976.947 V2g. F457.F2 G37 1985

The following have information concerning African American research.


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

Biographies

 * KY Biographies ~ Jeff Murphy's Kentucky Biographies Project

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


 * Interment.net Kentucky cemetery records by county.


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


 * Cemetery Junction ~  Links to cemetery transcriptions


 * Naming the Forgotten ~ Naming the Forgotten - The Eastern State Hospital Project


 * 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.


 * Lexington, Kentucky, Lexington National Cemetery, 1868-2010 at Ancestry.com (Free /$)

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


 * 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

 * Available online: The Old Union Church Cemetery inscriptions and images for Fayette County.
 * Kentucky Christian Church Directory ~ ChurchAngel
 * Catholic Parishes in the Diocese of Lexington
 * Catholic Parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville

Court

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

Directories

 * Polk's Lexington (Kentucky) city directory, 1931-32 : vol. XVI : containing an alphabetical directory of business concerns and at Ancestry.com (Free /$)
 * Inventory of the county archives of Kentucky: Fayette County at Ancestry.com (Free /$)

Genealogy
It is anticipated that this bibliography will eventually identify all known family histories published about residents of this county. Use this list to:


 * Locate publications about direct ancestors
 * Find the most updated accounts of an ancestor's family
 * Identify publications, to quote Elizabeth Shown Mills, about an ancestor's "FAN Club" [Friends, Associates, and Neighbors]

Land

 * The KY Land Office
 * 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

It is of note that Fayette County has County Court Deed Books AND District and Circuit Court Deed Books. "The recording period of the Fayette District Court began in 1794, and continued until in 1802. The District Court was abolished, and replaced by the Fayette Circuit Court."


 * Michael L. Cook, C.G. and Bettie A. Cumming Cook, C.G., Fayette County Kentucky Records Vol 2 (Evansville, Indiana : Cook Publications, 1985) FHL US/CAN Book 976.947 P2c. District Court Deed Book from 1803 to 1807.

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
 * Revolutionary War pensions of soldiers who settled in Fayette County, Kentucky at Ancestry.com (Free /$)
 * 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

Confederate Soldiers
 * - 6th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry. Companies A, C, E, and G.
 * - 9th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry. Companies A, C, E, and G.

Union Soldiers
 * - 23rd Regiment, Kentucky Infantry, Companies A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I and K.
 * - 27th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Company G.
 * - 16th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Company F.
 * - 10th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Companies B and C.
 * - 11th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Companies B and C.
 * - 12th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Company G.
 * - 13th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Companies A and L.
 * - 14th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Companies F, G, H, I, K, L and M.
 * - 1st Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Companies B, C, H and I.
 * - 24th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Companies A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H and I.
 * - 30th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Company K.
 * - 37th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Company K.
 * - 40th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Company C and K.
 * - 4th Regiment, Kentucky Mounted Infantry (Union), Companies B, D and I.
 * - 53rd Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Companies G and H.
 * - 6th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Company A.
 * - 7th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Company D.

Miscellaneous

 * 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

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

 * 1819-1824, 1881-1894 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.
 * Fayette County, Kentucky Wills 1794-1818 at Ancestry.com (Free /$)

Online Probate Records


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

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. Online at FamilySearch - free; . [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. Online at FamilySearch - free; . [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 . [Only part of the list was published.]
 * 1789 - Heinemann, Charles B. "First Census" of Kentucky 1790. Washington, D.C.: n.p., 1940. 1981 reprint: ; digital version at Kentucky Kinfolks. [Includes "5 volumes of 1789, with some duplication of names."]
 * 1800 - 1800 Tax List of is included in Clift's Second Census of Kentucky 1800, digitized by Ancestry ($).

Vital Records

 * How to order Kentucky Vital Records

Birth

 * 1839-1960 - KY Births and Christenings ~ Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839-1960 Family Search
 * 1852-1861 - Fayette County Birth Index 1852-1861. 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
 * 1803-14 - Fayette County, Kentucky Marriage Records, 1803-14 at Ancestry.com (Free /$)
 * 1854-1861 - Fayette County Marriage Index 1854-1861. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1973-2000 - Kentucky Marriage Records 1973 - 2000  ~ Kentucky Marriage Records - 1973 - 2000
 * Searchable KY Vital Records ~ Searchable databases of KY Births, Deaths and Marriages

Death

 * 1843 - 1970 - KY Deaths and Burials ~ KY Deaths and Burials
 * The Kentucky Vital Records Project Transcriptions of and Images of KY Death Certificates - A Work in Progress ~ The KY Vital Records Project
 * 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

Fayette County Kentucky Genealogy Societies and Libraries
Fayette County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 8113 Lexington 40533-8113 Website


 * Links and addresses to Kentucky genealogical and historical societies

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Lexington Kentucky Family History Center

Fayette County Kentucky Genealogy Websites

 * Fayette County, KY History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Fayette County KYGenWeb
 * Fayette County USGenWeb Archives
 * 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.
 * The USGenWeb project May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Fayette County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History(Linkpendium)
 * Fayett County Photos
 * Fayette County KY Genealogy (Kentucky Genealogy)
 * Fayette County KY Genealogy (Kentucky Genealogy)