Russell County, Kentucky Genealogy

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

Description
Russell County was named for William Russell. The county is located in the south-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Russell County Courthouse 101 Monument Square PO Box 579 Jamestown, KY 42629-0579 Phone: 270-343-2125 Russell 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

 * Kentucky Biographies Project

Cemeteries

 * Russell 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 Russell County and links to the information for the individuals buried there,
 * The FamilySearch Catalog lists . Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.

Census Records
1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Russell 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.


 * 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

 * 1826-1945 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1894-1935 (*); 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

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

 * Bernard Funeral Home in Russell Springs.
 * Wilson Funeral Home in Russell Springs.

Genealogies

 * [Warriner] Mireles, Dana Ann. "Jacob Warriner, Sr., of Buckingham County, Virginia: His Children and His Parents," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1994):83-93. Digital version at American Ancestors ($).

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * The KY Land Office
 * 1825-1829 Deed Book A: 1825-1829 - The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Russell County land records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee.
 * 1828-1834 Deed Book B: 1828-1834 - The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Russell County land records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee.
 * 1834-1840 Deed Book C: 1834-1840 - The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Russell County land records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee.
 * 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
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * Military Resources, Revolutionary War through Civil War

Civil War
'''Online Records
 * 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


 * - 1st Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Companies A and C.
 * - 1st Regiment, Kentucky Veteran Cavalry (Wolford's Cavalry) (Union), Company C.

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
 * 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

 * Kentucky Postcards, USGenWeb

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1727-1990 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection images
 * 1774-1989 Kentucky, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1774-1989 at Ancestry ($) — index and images
 * 1798-1943 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1799-1872 Kentucky Genealogy and Images of Old Wills, Estates, Inventories, Annual Returns, Marriages at Kentucky Pioneers ($)
 * 1826-1855 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1827-1854 Abstracts from Russell County Will Book 1, 1827-1854; The Kentucky Genealogist - V. 23, No. 4 (Oct./Dec. 1981). By Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck. Louisville, Kentucky : James R. Bentley, 1981. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
 * 1830-1979 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * Kentucky Will Index, Volume 2. By Russell County, Kentucky. Chillicothe, Missouri : E.P. Ellsberry, n.d. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; Also at: 
 * 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 ($)

Birth

 * 1839-1960 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1852-1860 - Russell County Birth Index 1852-1860. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1874 - Russell County Birth Index 1874. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1875 - Russell County Birth Index 1875. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1911-1912 Searchable KY Birth Index
 * 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
 * 1852-1859 - Russell County Marriage Index 1852-1859. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1875 - Russell County Marriage Index 1875. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1876 - Russell County Marriage Index 1876. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1973-2000 Searchable KY Marriage Records
 * 1973-2000 Kentucky Marriage Records 1973-2000
 * 1960-1993 Kentucky Marriages, 1960-1993 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

 * 1843-1970 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 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

 * Sulphur Well Kentucky FamilySearch Center
 * Tompkinsville Kentucky FamilySearch Center
 * Green County Public Library - an affiliate library.

Societies
Russell County Historical Society PO Box 544 Jamestown, KY 42629 Email: [mailto:RussellCoGirl@hotmail.com RussellCoGirl@hotmail.com] Website

Websites

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