Mercer County, Kentucky Genealogy

United States Kentucky  Mercer County

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

County Courthouse
Mercer County Courthouse 235 S Main Street PO Box 426 Harrodsburg, KY 40330-1696 Phone: 859.734.6310

Parent County
1785--Mercer County was created 17 October 1785 from Lincoln County. County seat: Harrodsburg

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
1928 A disaster destroyed some records.

Neighboring Counties

 * Anderson
 * Boyle
 * Garrard
 * Jessamine
 * Washington
 * Woodford

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


 * 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
 * Kentucky Minorities has information specific to Kentucky African Americans.

Biographies

 * KY Biographies ~ Jeff Murphy's Kentucky Biographies Project

Cemeteries
Kentucky cemetery records often identify birth, death, relationship, and military information, as well as religious affiliation.


 * Bracken 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 KY Historical Society’s Cemetery Database
 * African American Cemeteries Online Partial index/transcriptions of African American cemeteries
 * Cemetery Junction ~ Links to cemetery transcriptions
 * Naming the Forgotten ~ Naming the Forgotten - The Eastern State Hospital Project
 * Kentucky Cemeteries lists the national cemeteries in Kentucky with links to their web sites. 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 Mercer 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.
 * 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.

Individual Cemeteries:


 * Spring Hill Cemetery, Harrodsburg BillionGraves

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

 * 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.

Court

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

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

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

 * 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

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 ~ Fallen Soldiers in WWI from Kentucky

Korean War

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

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
Online Probate Records


 * 1774 – 1999 Kentucky Wills and Probate Records 1774-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1727 – 1990 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1786-1923 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.

The organization 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. Available indexes:
 * Mercer County, Kentucky Wills 1818-1826 at Ancestry.com (Free /$)


 * 1) Will Book 1: 1786-1795
 * 2) Will Book 2: 1795-1803
 * 3) Will Book 3: 1803-1808
 * 4) Will Book 4: 1808-1813
 * 5) Will Book 5: 1813-1816

School

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

Taxation
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 is included in Clift's Second Census of Kentucky 1800, digitized by Ancestry ($).

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
 * 1852-1859 - Mercer County Birth Index 1852-1859. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1874 - Mercer County Birth Index 1874. 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
 * 1786-1800 - Mercer County, Kentucky: Marriages (1786-1800) and Wills (1786-1801) at Ancestry.com (Free /$)
 * 1797-1954 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1800-1830 - Mercer County, Kentucky Marriage Records, 1800-1830 Vol. II-III at Ancestry.com (Free /$)
 * 1852-1859 - Mercer County Marriage Index 1852-1859. 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
 * 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
 * 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 - KY Divorces 1973 - 1993 ~ Kentucky Divorce Records 1973 - 1993 ~ University of Kentucky Vital Records Databases

Societies and Libraries
The Harrodsburg Historical Society 220 South Chiles St. PO Box 316 Harrodsburg, Ky. 40330 Phone:859-734-5985 Website Website


 * Links and addresses to Kentucky genealogical and historical societies

Web Sites

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