Russell County, Kentucky Genealogy

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

Russell County Kentucky Courthouse
Russell County Courthouse 101 Monument Square PO Box 579 Jamestown, KY 42629-0579 Phone:. 270.343.2125

Parent County
1825--Russell County was created 14 December 1825 from Adair, Cumberland and Wayne Counties. County seat: Jamestown

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
1976 A disaster destroyed some records.

Neighboring Counties

 * Adair
 * Casey
 * Clinton
 * Cumberland
 * Pulaski
 * Wayne

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|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.


 * 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 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 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.
 * ePodunk list of Russell 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.

Census
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.


 * 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

Genealogy

 * [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

 * The KY Land Office

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. Available indexes:


 * 1) Deed Book A: 1825-1829
 * 2) Deed Book B: 1828-1834
 * 3) Deed Book C: 1834-1840

Local Histories

 * ~ 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
 * 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


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

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
 * 1826-1955 - have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.

The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Russell 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:


 * 1) Will Book 1: 1826-1854
 * 2) Will Book 2: 1854-1870

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 - Russell County Birth Index 1852-1860. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1874 - Russell County Birth Index 1874. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1875 - Russell 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
 * 1852-1859 - Russell County Marriage Index 1852-1859. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1875 - Russell County Marriage Index 1875. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1876 - Russell County Marriage Index 1876. 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

Russell County Kentucky Genealogy Societies and Libraries
Russell County Historical Society P.O. Box 544 Jamestown KY 42629 Website


 * Links and addresses to Kentucky genealogical and historical societies

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Russell County Kentucky Genealogy Websites

 * Russell County, KY History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * 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 ~ 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.
 * Russell County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Russell County KY Genealogy (Kentucky Genealogy)
 * Russell County KY Genealogy (Kentucky Genealogy)