Franklin County, Kentucky Genealogy

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

Description
Franklin County was named for Benjamin Franklin. The county is located in the northern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Franklin County Courthouse PO Box 338 219 St Clair Street Frankfort, KY 40602-0338 Phone: 502-875-8702 Franklin 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:

Bible Records

 * Franklin County Bible Records at Roots Web
 * Frankln County, Kentucky Family Bible Records at Access Genealogy

Biographies

 * Kentucky Biographies Project

Cemeteries

 * Interment.net, Kentucky cemetery records by county.
 * Naming the Forgotten, The Eastern State Hospital Project

Census Records

 * 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
 * A history of the First Presbyterian Church, Frankfort, Kentucky : together with the churches in Franklin County, in connection at Ancestry ($)
 * Darnell, Ermina Jett. Forks of Elkhorn Church. Louisville, Kentucky : Standard Printing Co., 1946. A good resource for information concerning people living in the Forks of the Elkhorn area.
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1795-1867 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * John Hardin Heirs, Bluegrass Roots, Vol. 2. By Kentucky Genealogical Society (Frankfort, Kentucky). Frankfort, Kentucky : Kentucky Genealogical Society, Inc. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * 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

 * Bellardo, Lewis J. "Frankfort, Kentucky, Census of Free Blacks, 1842," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 63, No. 4 (Dec. 1975):272-275. Digital version at NGS website ($);
 * African American Research (US) has more information about the kinds of records available
 * The African American Griots Project
 * Kentucky Minorities has information specific to Kentucky African Americans.
 * Sandi Gorin's Tips, Hangings in Kentucky 1792-1900

Funeral Homes

 * Clark Legacy Center in Frankfort.
 * Harrod Brothers Funeral Home in Frankfort.
 * LeCompte-Johnson-Taylor Funeral Home in Frankfort.
 * Rogers Funeral Home in Frankfort.

Genealogies

 * [Brown] Buchanan, Paul C. and Susie M. Owens. "Henry Long and Some Descendants of Colonial Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1994):115-126; Vol. 38, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1994):190-200; Vol. 38, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1994):263-273; Vol. 39, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1995):27-31. Digital version at American Ancestors ($)..
 * [Catlett] Peters, Norman R. "Benjamin Robinson of Caroline County, VA. But Not the Clerk!" The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 48, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 2004):57-75; Vol. 48, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 2004):120-139. Digital version at American Ancestors ($).
 * [Clarke] Buford, Marcus Bainbridge. A Genealogy of the Buford Family in America, With Records of a Number of Allied Families. San Francisco, Calif., 1903. Digital version at Internet Archive - free.
 * [de Graffenried] de Graffenried, Thomas Pritchett. History of the de Graffenried Family from 1191 A.D. to 1925. Binghampton, N.Y.: Vail-Ballou Press, 1925. Digital version at Internet Archive - free;.
 * [Head] Buchanan, Paul C. and Susie M. Owens. "Henry Long and Some Descendants of Colonial Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1994):115-126; Vol. 38, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1994):190-200; Vol. 38, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1994):263-273; Vol. 39, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1995):27-31. Digital version at American Ancestors ($)..
 * [Julian] Buford, Marcus Bainbridge. A Genealogy of the Buford Family in America, With Records of a Number of Allied Families. San Francisco, Calif., 1903. Digital version at Internet Archive - free.
 * [Long] Buchanan, Paul C. and Susie M. Owens. "Henry Long and Some Descendants of Colonial Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1994):115-126; Vol. 38, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1994):190-200; Vol. 38, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1994):263-273; Vol. 39, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1995):27-31. Digital version at American Ancestors ($)..
 * [McAndre] Buchanan, Paul C. and Susie M. Owens. "Henry Long and Some Descendants of Colonial Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1994):115-126; Vol. 38, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1994):190-200; Vol. 38, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1994):263-273; Vol. 39, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1995):27-31. Digital version at American Ancestors ($)..
 * [Major] Harper, Lillie DuPuy VanCulin. Colonial Men and Times: Containing the Journal of Col. Daniel Trabue, Some Account of His Ancestry, Life and Travels in Virginia and the Present State of Kentucky During the Revolutionary Period; the Huguenots, Genealogy, with Brief Sketches of the Allied Families. Philadelphia, Pa.: Innes &amp; Sons, 1916. Digital version at Internet Archive;.
 * [Patteson] Smith, Ethel Marion. An Informal History of Virginia-Kentucky Pattesons in Illinois, Their Forbears and Their Kin Including the Lewises of Llangollen. Washington, 1948. Available at.

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * The KY Land Office
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

Local Histories

 * The History of Franklin County, Kentucky. 1912. By L.F. Johnson. Frankfort, Ky. : Roberts Print. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive;.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * 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


 * - 7th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Companies B, C, G and K.
 * - 22nd Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Companies A and F.
 * - 24th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Company H.
 * - 30th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Companies A, B, E, F and G.
 * - 32nd Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Company B.

World War I

 * Fallen Soldiers in WWI from KY
 * Hattie Marshall Scott. Names and home addresses of Franklin County's men and women serving their country.

Korean War

 * Korean War Memorial, 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
 * The Kentucky Historical Society, in Frankfort, Kentucky, has a great newspaper collection.

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
 * Nashville Christian Advocate Death Abstracts

Other Records

 * Kentucky Postcards, USGenWeb

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1774-1989 Kentucky, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1774-1989 at Ancestry ($) — index and images
 * 1785-1880 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1795-1880 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1812-1872 Kentucky Genealogy and Images of Old Wills, Estates, Inventories, Annual Returns, Marriages at Kentucky Pioneers
 * 1824-1877 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1828-1851 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1855-1880 (*); at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * (*); at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 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

 * 1801 - 1801 Tax List of Franklin County, Kentucky Genealogy is included in Clift's Second Census of Kentucky 1800, digitized by Ancestry ($).
 * Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records, Ancestry ($)

Vital Records
To order vital records from Franklin County, you may order online at: Franklin County Vital Records

Birth

 * 1839-1960 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection;
 * 1852-1861 - Franklin County Birth Index 1852-1861. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1874 - Franklin County Birth Index 1874. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1875 - Franklin 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
 * 1790-1815 Franklin County, Kentucky Marriage Records, 1790-1815, Volume I at Ancestry ($)
 * 1797-1954 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1852-1861 - Franklin County Marriage Index 1852-1861. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1875 - Franklin County Marriage Index 1875. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1876-1878 - Franklin County Marriage Index 1876-1878. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1973-2000 Searchable KY Marriage Records
 * 1973-2000 Kentucky Marriage Records 1973-2000
 * 1960-1993 Kentucky Marriages, 1960-1993 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

 * 1843-1970 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1911-1965 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1911-2000 Searchable KY Death Index
 * 1900-1999 Kentucky Deaths, 1900-1999 at MyHeritage ($) — 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

 * Lexington Kentucky FamilySearch Center
 * Louisville Kentucky FamilySearch Center
 * The Kentucky Historical Society Library - an affiliate library.
 * Lexington Public Library - an affiliate library.

Libraries
Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives 300 Coffee Tree Rd PO Box 537 Frankfort, KY 40601 Phone: 502-564-8300 Website Paul Sawyier Library 319 Wapping St Frankfort, KY 40601 Phone: 502-352-2665 Email: [mailto:jean.ruark@pspl.org jean.ruark@pspl.org] Website

Websites

 * 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.
 * Franklin County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Franklin 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