Letcher County, Kentucky Genealogy

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

County Courthouse


Letcher County Courthouse 101 W Main St; PO Box 58 Whitesburg, KY 41858-0058 Phone: 606.633.2432

Parent County
1842--Letcher County was created 3 March 1842 from Perry and Harlan Counties. County seat: Whitesburg

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
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Neighboring Counties

 * Dickenson County, Virginia
 * Harlan
 * Knott
 * Perry
 * Pike
 * Wise County, Virginia

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
The following web sites have additional information on Letcher county cemeteries.


 * Interment.net Kentucky cemetery records by county.
 * Cemetery Junction ~  Links to cemetery transcriptions


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


 * Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness Local volunteers may take photographs of headstones found in county cemeteries.


 * ePodunk list of Letcher 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

 * 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

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 -v at FamilySearch — index and images


 * - 13th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Confederate), Companies A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H and I.

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

1871-1905 - has been digitized by FamilySearch - free.

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 - Letcher County Birth Index 1852-1859. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1874-1875 - Letcher County Birth Index 1874-1875. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1875 - Letcher County Birth Index 1875. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Marriage

 * 1783-1979 - KY Marriage Records ~ KY Marriages 1783 - 1979 ~ Family Search
 * 1797-1954 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1852-1859 - Letcher County Marriage Index 1852-1859. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1875 - Letcher County Marriage Index 1875. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1876-1878 - Letcher County Marriage Index 1876-1878. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1973-2000 - Searchable KY Vital Records ~ Searchable databases of KY Births, Deaths &amp; Marriages
 * Kentucky Marriage Records 1973 - 2000  ~ Kentucky Marriage Records - 1973 - 2000

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
 * 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

Societies and Libraries
Letcher County Historical and Genealogical Society P.O. Box 312 Whitesburg KY 41858 Website

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 * Links and addresses to Kentucky genealogical and historical societies

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Websites

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