Kentucky Vital Records

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Kentucky

Vital Records

Vital Records Reference Dates Kentucky's civil records start the following years: Birth Marriage Death Earliest 1852 1785 1852 Statewide Registration 1911 1958 1911 General Compliance 1920 From county inception date  1920

Introduction to Vital Records

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Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. United States Vital Records has additional research guidance on researching and using vital records. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services - Department of Public Health or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred. See also Kentucky Statewide Indexes and Collections at the Family History Library.

• Kentucky Historical Records Survey.Service Division. Works Project Administration. Guide to Public Vital Records in Kentucky. Louisville, Kentucky: HIstorical Records Survey, 1942. FHL Digital Images

Kentucky Birth, Marriage and Death Records Online

The following is a list of online resources useful for locating Kentucky Vital Records which consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths. Most online resources for Kentucky Vital Records are indexes. After locating a person in an index always consult the original record to confirm the information in the index.

• Kentucky Vital Records Index Death index 1911-1992; Marriage index 1973-1993; Divorce index 1973-1993 - Free
• Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839-1960 Index to birth records. Not all records are complete for early years.
• Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979 Index to marriage records. Not all records are complete for early years.
• Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954 Index and images to Kentucky County marriages. This collection is incomplete, but as more records are indexed, they will be added. –Free
• Kentucky Death Records, 1852-1953. Includes index and images. $
• Kentucky Deaths, 1900 - 1999 - Index ($).
• Kentucky, Death Records, 1911-1955 Index to death records. -Free
• Kentucky Births, 1911 - 1999 - Index ($).
• Kentucky Marriages, 1960 - 1993 - Index ($).
• Kentucky Deaths and Burials, 1843-1970 Index to death records. Not all records are complete for early years. -Free
• Search the Kentucky Birth, Marriage & Death Records at Ancestry.com - $ includes images of all of known existing births and deaths, and many marriages records.
• Order Kentucky Certificates online - $ Birth and death records from 1911 to the present. Marriage and divorce records from June 1958
  
• Kentucky Death Records & Indexes (deathindexes.com)

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

Kentucky Births and Christenings - FamilySearch Historical Records

Birth and Death Records

Birth and Death Records Prior to 1852

No births or deaths were recorded by civil authorities before 1852. You may find some information on pre-1852 births and deaths in genealogies, histories, church and Bible records, and collections of personal papers.

There are many collections, books, etc. that have been created to fill this gap in the civil records. One such book is "Kentucky Obituaries 1787-1854"

Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1852–1910

Kentucky law required counties to record births, marriages, and deaths as early as 1852. Unfortunately, this law was repealed in 1862. Registration was again attempted from 1874 to 1879 and sporadically from 1892 to 1910. Although compliance with the early registration laws was inconsistent, the records which do exist are a good resource for genealogists.

The Department for Libraries and Archives has the records for 1852 to 1910. The Family History Library, Kentucky Historical Society, Filson Club, and other Kentucky repositories have copies of many of these records. Some of these have been extracted, and the names appear on the FamilySearch™ International Genealogical Index. Records at the Family History Library include:

• 1852-1910 - Kentucky Death Records, 1852-1953. ($) Includes index and images.

• 1852–1914 Kentucky Vital Records: 1852–1914. The records are arranged alphabetically by county.

• 1874–1910 Kentucky Vital Records. This includes Kentucky Births 1874-1878, 1907–1910; Marriages 1874–1878, 1906–1914; Deaths 1874–1876, 1905–1910.

• 1852–1878 The Kentucky Historical Society has an incomplete index to the 1852-1878 records. This index is printed in The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society FHL Book 976.9 B2k in volumes 38-41 and 43-63. To find a descripton of the time periods and records covered by this index consult PERSI.

• 1852–1910 Kentucky Birth Records 1852-1910 ($) Ancestry has indexed records with images.

• 1852-1910 Kentucky, Birth Records, 1852-1910 at Ancestry.com ($)

Birth and Death Records, 1911–Present

Beginning 1 January 1911, Kentucky again required the registration of births and deaths. Registration was generally complied with by 1917. The Family History Library has birth and death indexes and death records covering this period:

• 1911-1965 - Kentucky Death Records, 1911-1965 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1911–1995 - Birth Index The index lists the child’s name, birth date and county, and mother’s maiden name.
• 1911-1953 - Kentucky Death Records, 1852-1953. Includes index and images.
• 1911–1992 - Kentucky Death Index for 1911-1986 and 1987-1992. Indexes to selected Kentucky vital records from data acquired from Kentucky's state Office of Vital Statistics
• 1911-1999 - Kentucky, Birth Index, 1911-1999 at Ancestry.com ($)

Application forms and instructions for birth, death, and marriage certificates can be acquired from the Office of Vital Statistics.

Kentucky death certificates are also on microfilm at the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives, beginning with 1911. Another resource for researching Kentucky birth and death indexes from 1911 to 1988 can be found at the Kentucky Room of the Lexington Central Public Library, the Louisville Free Public Library, the Kenton County Public Library, and many other libraries across Kentucky. See Kentucky Archives and Libraries for their addresses. The Kentucky Room contains 130 bound volumes of birth and death indexes for 1911 to 1969 which were created by the Office of Vital Statistics. Microfiche is available for 1911 to 1988 (only to 1986 for deaths). The births are indexed by name of the child and name of the mother.

Additonal copies of Kentucky vital records indexes:

• 1911–1953 Kentucky Birth, Marriage, and Death Records 1911-1953 index with images. ($)
• 1911–1999 Kentucky Birth Index 1911-1999($)
  
  

Birth and Death Records Kept by Cities before 1911

Before 1911, several major cities kept separate records of births and deaths. The most complete collection of pre-1911 city births is at the Office of Vital Statistics. It has records for the following cities. Records for Louisville FHL Film 209687 (first of 23) and Newport FHL Film 1844128 are also at the Family History Library.

Kentucky Cities with Early Birth and Death Records

City	Birth	Death
Louisville	1898-1911	1866-1911
Lexington	1906-1911	1898-1911
Covington	1896-1911	1880-1911
Newport	1890-1911	1884-1911
Bellvue	1896	1899

The Department of Archives and Libraries and the Kentucky Historical Society have copies of some of these city records. The Lexington Public Library also has copies of the Lexington records. The Filson Club and the Family History Library have copies of the Louisville and Newport records.

Marriage Records

County marriage records are the earliest and most complete vital records for Kentucky. The records that have survived usually begin within a few years of each county’s organization. Lincoln, Fayette, and Jefferson Counties have marriage records dating from the 1780s. Marriages prior to 1798 were under Virginia law.

Marriage records from the earliest dates to the present are kept by the county clerk for each county. Since 1958, duplicates have been sent to the Office of Vital Statistics.

The most complete collection of early marriage record is in the Department of Libraries and Archives. Major archives such as the University of Kentucky Library have microfilm copies of marriage records for many Kentucky counties. The Family History Library has microfilm copies of most of the existing county marriage records from the beginning dates to about 1925. Many of these have been extracted and appear on the International Genealogical Index (IGI). The IGI records are available at:

• 1785-1979 Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979 Index to state-wide marriages. - Free Online Index
• 1795-1850 Northern Kentucky Marriages, 1795-1850 at Ancestry.com ($)
• 1797-1954 Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1797-1865 Kentucky Marriages, 1797-1865 at Ancestry.com ($)

Many published marriage records which are available include:

• Early to 1800 Kentucky Marriages, Early to 1800: A Research Tool. The names are arranged in alphabetical order.
• 1609-2016 United States Marriages – Kentucky, 1609-2016 ($) index and images
• 1783-1965 Kentucky, County Marriages, 1783-1965 at Ancestry.com ($)
• 1797-1865 Kentucky Marriages, 1797–1865.
• 1802-1850 Kentucky Marriages, 1802-1850 at Ancestry.com ($)
• 1851-1900 Kentucky Marriages, 1851-1900 at Ancestry.com ($)
• 1851-1900 Kentucky, 1851–1900. This does not circulate to Family History Centers. These are images of the original records. It contains approximately 318,000 names. It is also indexed in FamilyFinder Index and Viewer (see the "Census" page).
• 1852-1914 Kentucky, Marriage Records, 1852-1914 at Ancestry.com ($)
• 1973-1999 Kentucky, Marriage Index, 1973-1999 at Ancestry.com ($)
• Kentucky Marriage Records. An index is included with this record.
• Kentucky Marriage Records - by county at Ancestry.com ($)

• Kentucky Records: Early Wills and Marriages Copied from Court House Records by Regents, Historians and the State Historian, Old Bible Records and Tombstone Inscriptions, Records from Barren, Bath, Bourbon, Clark, Daviess, Fayette, Harrison, Jessamine, Lincoln, Madison, Mason, Montgomery, Nelson, Nicholas, Ohio, Scott, and Shelby Counties. 1926, 1932. An index is included with this record.
• Marriage Records. This does not circulate to Family History Centers. It contains marriage records for many Kentucky counties from the late 1700s to the early 1900s as well as marriage records from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Tennessee. Dates vary with the county. It is also indexed in FamilyFinder Index and Viewer (see Kentucky Census).

Beginning in 1958, Kentucky again required statewide registration of marriages. These records have been indexed and are found at the Office of Vital Statistics. The Family History Library does not have copies of these records. They do, however, have an statewide index to marriages covering 1973 to 1995 in Kentucky.

• 1973–1995 Marriage Indexes, 1973–1995. This record has separate bride and groom indexes.

Wiki articles describing online collecitons are found at:

• Kentucky, County Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records
  
• Kentucky Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records
  

Gretna Greens. Many eloping couples went to Maysville, Mason County and Pike County, Kentucky to be married avoiding the waiting period between the time of issuing a license and the performance of the marriage. Others may have crossed the Ohio River and gone to places like Aberdeen or Cincinnati in Ohio, or even to Evansville, Indiana.

Death Records

Because much of the information about the availability of death records in Kentucky is similar to birth records, see the discussion about these records under the heading Births and Deaths.

• 1787-1854 Kentucky Obituaries, 1787-1854 at Ancestry.com (Free/$)
• 1843–1970 Kentucky Deaths and Burials, 1843-1970is an index to many of these records. Not all records are complete for early years.
• 1852-1953 - Kentucky, Death Records, 1852-1953 at Ancestry.com ($)
• 1852–1859, 1874–1878 - The Kentucky Historical Society has an incomplete index to the 1852 to 1859 and 1874 to 1878 death records. An index to these recordes is found in the FHL film 169079 (first of 28 films) Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, volumes 39-41 and 43-63. To see an index to the titles in these volumes consult PERSI.
• 1852-1910 - Kentucky Death Records, 1852-1953. ($) Includes index and images.
• 1850, 1860, 1870 - For an index to deaths occurring during the 1850, 1860, and 1870 census years, see: Index, Kentucky Mortality Records, for the Year ending June, 1850, 1860, 1870. These records are arranged by year and list the name of the deceased and the page number in the original records.
• 1911–1947 - Kentucky Death Certificates, 1911–1947. The death certificates are arranged by year, by month, and then alphabetically by county. The certificate numbers are continuous for each year.
  
• 1911-1965 - Kentucky Death Records, 1911-1965 at FamilySearch — index
• 1911-1995 - Kentucky Death Index, 1911–1995. The index contains the deceased’s name, death date and place, age, and place of residence as well as the volume and certificate number.
• 1911-2000 - Kentucky Death Index, 1911-2000 at Ancestry.com ($)

Wiki articles describing online collections are found at:

• Kentucky Deaths and Burials - FamilySearch Historical Records
  
• Kentucky Death Records - FamilySearch Historical Records
  

Divorce Records

In most cases, divorces from 1792 to 1849 were only granted by the Kentucky state legislature.  For short time in January 1809, circuit courts had the power to grant divorces.  A published list of divorces from 1792 to 1849 can be found in the periodical Blue Grass Roots (FHL 976.9 B2b) beginning with the Spring 1980 issue.  These articles are indexed in the Periodical Source Index.  They are not indexed by surname, only by the title of the article. Some divorce records may be found in the Acts of Kentucky prior to 1850.

In 1849, authority was given to county circuit courts to grant divorces.  These records can be requested from the Clerk of the County Court.  Some Circuit Clerk offices may have records as early as 1802. The Family History Library has divorce records from some Kentucky counties. These records may be found under court records or vital records of the individual county.   Since 1958 divorce records have been filed in Frankfort on a state-wide basis. Send for these records to the Office of Vital Statistics. By 1972, the word divorce was replaced with the term "dissolution of marriage".

Additional Helps

Tips

• Information listed on vital records is given by an informant.  Learn the relationship of the informant to the subject(s) of the record.  The closer the relationship of the informant to the subject(s) and whether or not the informant was present at the time of the event can help determine the accuracy of the information found on the record.
• If you are unable to locate vital records recorded by governments, search for church records of christening, marriage, death or burial,  A family Bible may have been used to record births, marriages and deaths.
• Records for African American may be recorded in separate files with separate indexes.
• Privacy laws may restrict your access to some vital records.  Copies of some vital records recorded in the last 100 years may be unavailable to anyone except a direct relative.
• Search for Vital Records in the FamilySearch Catalog by using a Place Search and then choosing Vital Records.  Search for Kentucky to locate records filed by the State and then search the name of the county to locate records kept by the county.

Research Guides

You can learn more about Kentucky vital records in:

• A Guide to Kentucky Birth, Marriage and Death Records, 1852–1910 This book shows the birth, marriage, and death records available for each county and the years they were recorded.

See United States Vital Records for more detailed information on the value and content of vital records. For divorce records, see the "Divorce Records" section.

To find vital records, consult the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:

KENTUCKY- VITAL RECORDS

KENTUCKY, [COUNTY]- VITAL RECORDS

KENTUCKY, [COUNTY], [TOWN]- VITAL RECORDS

Burned, Lost or Missing Records

Kentucky Counties with Burned Courthouses

See the heading "Record Loss" in each individual county.
For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:

• Arlene Eakle, When the Records are Gone in Tennessee Genealogy Blog
• Burned Counties Research in FamilySearch Wiki
• Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle

Substitute Records

These links will take you to wiki pages describing alternate sources for birth, marriage and death records.

• Church Records: Depending on the denomination, church records may contain information about birth, marriage and death.

• Cemetery Records: Cemetery records are a rich source of birth and death information.  These records may also reveal family relationships.

• Census Records: Census records are a valuable source for birth and marriage information. You may also determine approximate time of death when the individual disappear from the census. This is a good place to begin a search.

• Newspapers: Besides obituaries, local newspapers may contain birth and marriage announcements and death notices.  Also check newspaper social columns for additional information. 

• Periodicals: Local genealogical and historical societies often publish periodicals which may contain abstracted early birth, marriage and death information.

• Military Records:  Military pension records can give birth, marriage and death information,  In addtion, soldiers' homes records can included this same information.

• Probate Records: If no death record exists, probate records may be helpful in estimating when an individual has died. Probate records in the 20th Century often contain the exact death date.

• History:  Local histories, family histories and biographies can all be sources of birth, marriage and death information. Often this information is found in county-level records or in surname searches of the FamilySearch Catalog.

More Online Links

• USGenWeb.org Kentucky Site - Free
• Kentucky Databases Rootsweb Free
• The Vital Records Search and Information Directory for Kentucky - Free/$
• German Roots Links for Kentucky Birth & Marriage and Death Records - Free/$ This includes all vital records, not just those of German descent.
• Kentucky Vital Records Project - Free Death Records-Includes images.

Wiki articles describing online collections are found at:

• Kentucky Births and Christenings - FamilySearch Historical Records
• Kentucky, County Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records
• Kentucky Deaths and Burials - FamilySearch Historical Records
  
• Kentucky Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records
• Kentucky Satewide Deaths - FamilySearch Historical Records

Family History Library Vital Records Collections

This is a collection of Family History Library records which are abstracted, indexed and titled the Kentucky Vital Records Index. For over 30 years, volunteer indexers extracted this information from microfilm copies of the original records. In 1998, a few of the entries were published on 7 CDs by the Family History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the "North America Vital Records Index." This index is an index of the births, marriages, and deaths throughout Kentucky. The index is not necessarily complete for any particular place or region.

These records are available online for free at FamilySearch.org.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access.

International Genealogical Index (FamilySearch) - free

Family History Library