Whitley County, Kentucky Genealogy

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

Whitley County Kentucky Courthouse
Whitley County Courthouse Main Street PO Box 8 Williamsburg, KY 40769 Phone: 606.549.6002

Parent County
1818--Whitley County was created 17 January 1818 from Knox County. County seat: Williamsburg

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
1930--A disaster destroyed most of the records.

Neighboring Counties

 * Bell
 * Campbell County, Tennessee
 * Claiborne County, Tennessee
 * Knox
 * Laurel
 * McCreary

African American
The following have information concerning African American research. Both should be used:


 * African American Research (US) has more information about the kinds of records


 * Kentucky Minorities has information specific to Kentucky African Americans.


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

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


 * Interment.net Kentucky cemetery records by county.


 * ePodunk list of Whitley County cemeteries gives the names of the cemeteries in the county with a link to more information such as address, phone number, and website.


 * Cemetery Junction ~  Links to cemetery transcriptions


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

Census
1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Whitley 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

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

Maps

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

Military

 * Military Resources ~ Revolutionary War through Civil War

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

World War I

 * Fallen Soldiers in WWI from KY ~ Fallen Soldiers in WWI from Kentucky

Korean War

 * Korean War Memorial Korean War Memorial for Soldiers from KY ~ KYGenWeb

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
 * Corbin Times (Corbin, Kentucky) at Ancestry.com (Free /$)
 * Kentucky Newspapers on Microfilm  -   Kentucky Newspapers Available On Microfilm
 * Corbin Times Tribune (Corbin, Kentucky) at Ancestry.com (Free /$)

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
Online Probate Records


 * 1774 – 1999 Kentucky Wills and Probate Records 1774-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1727 – 1990 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1818-1967 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.


 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records ~  Ancestry.com  (subscription)

Vital Records
See also How to order Kentucky Vital Records

Birth

 * 1839-1960 - KY Births and Christenings ~ Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839-1960 Family Search
 * 1852-1860 - Whitley County Birth Index 1852-1860. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1874 - Whitley County Birth Index 1874. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1875 - Whitley County Birth Index 1875. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * Searchable KY Vital Records ~ Searchable databases of KY Births, Deaths and Marriages

Marriage

 * 1609-2016 - Kentucky, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1783-1979 - KY Marriage Records ~ KY Marriages 1783 - 1979 ~ Family Search
 * 1797-1954 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1852-1860 - Whitley County Marriage Index 1852-1860. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1875 - Whitley County Marriage Index 1875. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1876-1877 - Whitley County Marriage Index 1876-1877. 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 1843 - 1970
 * 1911-1963 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * The Kentucky Vital Records Project Transcriptions of and Images of KY Death Certificates - A Work in Progress ~ The KY Vital Records Project
 * Searchable KY Vital Records ~ Searchable databases of KY Births, Deaths and Marriages
 * The Social Security Death Index The Social Security Death Index - Searchable

Divorce

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

Whitley County Kentucky Genealogy Societies and Libraries
Whitley County Historical and Genealogical Society Old Williamsburg Depot 529 Main Street Williamsburg, KY Telephone: 606-549-7089

Whitley County Historical Genealogy Society and Museum PO Box 536 Williamsburg, Ky 40769 Telephone: 606-549-7089 Website

Corbin Genealogical Society 99 Boone Avenue Corbin, Kentucky 40701 Website


 * Links and addresses to Kentucky genealogical and historical societies

Family history Centers

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

Whitley County Kentucky Genealogy Websites

 * Whitley 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 ~ Kentucky in the USGenWeb Archives ~ Vital statistics, maps, obituaries, Bible records, tombstone transcriptions and many other records.
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * http://www.linkpendium.com/genealogy/USA/KY/Whitley/
 * Whitley County KY Genealogy (Kentucky Genealogy)
 * Whitley County KY Genealogy (Kentucky Genealogy)