Union County, Kentucky Genealogy

United States   Kentucky    Union County Kentucky county in the Western Coal Fields region.

Quick Dates
Union County's civil records start the following years:

*Many years between 1852 and 1911 are missing

County Courthouse
The Union County county seat is located in Morganfield. The county courthouse is located downtown and maintains records dating from the county's founding in 1811.

Parent County
1811--Union County was created 15 January 1811 from Henderson County. County seat: Morganfield

Boundary Changes
Webster county was formed in 1860. Some portions were taken from Union County.

Records from before 1860 in areas that became part of Webster county are still maintained at the Union County courthouse in Morganfield.

County Pronunciation

 * Hear it spoken

Neighboring Counties

 * Crittenden
 * Gallatin County, Illinois
 * Hardin County, Illinois
 * Henderson
 * Posey County, Indiana
 * Webster

African American Research
The following have information concerning African American research.


 * African American Research (US)
 * 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

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.


 * Kentucky Historical Society Cemetery Search can be searched by name, place and/or date. This database has hundreds of thousands of names transcribed from gravestones across Kentucky.
 * 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 Union County and links to the information for the individuals buried there,
 * 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
 * Union 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 Family History Library Catalog lists . Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.
 * ePodunk list of Union 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.
 * USGS GNIS search results for Union County, Kentucky cemeteries
 * Tombstone Transcription Project ~ Partial transcription of cemetery tombstones ~ USGenWeb
 * 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

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

Church
USGS GNIS search results for Union County, Kentucky churches

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

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

 * Archives of Appalachia ~ Preserving the history of the people of Appalachia.

Maps

 * 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

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
 * 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

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

Vital Records

 * The Kentucky Vital Records Project Transcriptions of and Images of KY Death Certificates - A Work in Progress ~ The KY Vital Records Project
 * KY Births &amp; Christenings ~ Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839-1960 Family Search
 * KY Deaths &amp; Burials ~ KY Deaths &amp; Burials 1843 - 1970
 * KY Marriage Records ~ KY Marriages 1783 - 1979 ~ Family Search
 * Searchable KY Vital Records ~ Searchable databases of KY Births, Deaths &amp; Marriages
 * Kentucky Marriage Records 1973 - 2000  ~ Kentucky Marriage Records - 1973 - 2000
 * KY Divorces 1973 - 1993 ~ Kentucky Divorce Records 1973 - 1993 ~ University of Kentucky Vital Records Databases
 * The Social Security Death Index The Social Security Death Index - Searchable

Societies and Libraries

 * Links and addresses to Kentucky genealogical and historical societies

Web Sites

 * KYGenWeb project. Has maps, name indexes, history or other information for each county. Select the county.
 * State of Kencucky Website
 * USGenWeb Kentucky Archives ~ Kentucky in the USGenWeb Archives ~ Vital statistics, maps, obituaries, Bible records, tombstone transcriptions and many other records.
 * Family History Library catalog for Union County:
 * Union County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)