Mercer County, KentuckyEdit This Page

Parent County

1785--Mercer County was created 17 October 1785 from Lincoln County.
County seat: Harrodsburg ^[2]

Boundary Changes

See an interactive map of Mercer County boundary changes.

Record Loss

Places/Localities

Populated Places

Neighboring Counties

• Anderson
• Boyle
• Garrard
• Jessamine
• Washington
• Woodford

Resources

Kymercer.png

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

Kentucky cemetery records often identify birth, death, relationship, and military information, as well as religious affiliation.

• Bracken 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 web sites. 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 Mercer County and links to the  information for the individuals buried there,
• The Family History Library Catalog lists some records of cemeteries in Mercer County.  Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.
• ePodunk list of Mercer 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.

Individual Cemeteries:

• Spring Hill Cemetery, Harrodsburg BillionGraves

Census

For tips on accessing Mercer County, Kentucky census records online, see: Kentucky Census.

1790 - Lost, but a substitute is available, see Taxation.

• 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
• The Centennial Celebration and Other Interesting Facts Concerning Old Mud-Meeting House near Harrodsburg, Ky., August 25, 1900. Digital version at FamilySearch Books Online - free.

Court

• Abstracts of Early KY Court Cases Abstracts of Early Supreme Court Cases ~ KYGenWeb Special Project
• Kentucky Court of Justice Research & 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]

Bibliography

• [Finley] Finley, Carmen J. "John and Mary Finley of Montgomery (Wythe) County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 34, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1990):243-255. Digital version at American Ancestors ($). FHL Book 975.5 B2vg v. 34 (1990).
• [Finley] Finley, Carmen J. "John Finley of Montgomery/Wythe County, Virginia: Additional Children Identified," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 39, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1995):3-22; Vol. 39, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1995):94-103; Vol. 39, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1995):202-212; Vol. 39, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1995):282-294. Digital version at American Ancestors ($). FHL Book 975.5 B2vg v. 39 (1995).
• [Letcher] 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.
• [McDowell] 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.
• [Maccoun] Smith, Zachary F. and Mary Rogers Clay. The Clay Family. Louisville, Ky.: John P. Morton and Company, 1899. Digital version at Internet Archive - free.
• [Owens] Owens, David Hatfield. Owens Family of Virginia (Richmond, King George, Stafford, Prince William, Fauquier Counties) and Kentucky (Mason, Lewis, Fleming, Bracken, Mercer, Boyle Counties). Ann Arbor, Mich.: D.H. Owens, 1991. FHL Book 929.273 Ow2od 1991
• [Robertson] 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.
• [Rowland] Petersen, Carol Rowland. Descendants of John Rowland, Son of William Rowland: (Botetourt Co., Va.). Belton, Mo.: C.R. Petersen, 1999. Digital version at Family History Archive.
• [Taylor] Dennstedt, Albert Marjorie. "Richard and Ann Taylor's Descendants in Maryland and Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 40, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1996):29-38; Vol. 40, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1996):134-145; Vol. 40, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1996):199-211; Vol. 40, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1996):282-293. Digital version at American Ancestors ($). FHL Book 975.5 B2vg.
• [Timmons] Corum, Frank. Captain George Timmons, Fact and Fiction. Hanson, Ky., 1990. FHL Book 929.273 T484c.
  
• [Warner] Reynolds, Lyman Foster. Peter Warner Born Maryland - Fredrick County: Revolutionary War Soldier (with George Washington in Capture of Trenton) to Lincoln County Kentucky 1780's, Children Settled in Kentucky; Lincoln, Garrard, Boyle, Mercer & Washington Counties; Indiana Putnam County. Louisville, Ky.: L.F. Reynolds, 2007. FHL Book 929.273 W246r

Land

• The KY Land Office

Local Histories

• Rue, A.B. Historical Sketch of Mercer County, Ky. (Illustrated). Harrodsburg, Ky.: Rue, 1904. Digital version at Kentuckiana Digital Library.
• ~ The Archives 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

French and Indian War

• Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at FHL. [Identifies a Mercer County veteran; see William Shepherd, page 242.]

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

• 1786-1923 - Will Books 1 to 19 (1786-1923) have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.

The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Mercer 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: 1786-1795
2. Will Book 2: 1795-1803
3. Will Book 3: 1803-1808
4. Will Book 4: 1808-1813
5. Will Book 5: 1813-1816

School

• Stephenson, Martha. Education in Harrodsburg and Neighborhood Since 1775. Harrodsburg, Ky.: Harrodsburg Herald, n.d. Digital version at Kentuckiana Digital Library.

Taxation

Kandie Adkinson's "Researching Early Kentucky Tax Lists: 1792-1840" is a must read. The beginning tax list researcher will find the second half of her article especially helpful and for the serious researcher, she covers the legislation involved in the tax process. She continues her work to 1880 in the 2011 editions of the periodical Kentucky Ancestors.

• 1787-1790 - Schreiner-Yantis, Netti and Florene Speakman Love. The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Name of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years, the Number of White Males Between 16 & 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 & Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle & Carriages, and Also the Names of All Persons to Whom Ordinary Licenses and Physician's Licenses Were Issued. 3 vols. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987. Available at FHL. [Sources for this publication are: remnants of the 1787 personal property tax list, 1787 tithable lists, 1787-c1790 insolvent and removed lists, 1786 tobacco inspection petition, 1786-1788 tax list substitutes, and the 1789 personal property tax list. Mercer County is included in Vol. 2.]
• 1789 - Heinemann, Charles B. "First Census" of Kentucky 1790. Washington, D.C.: n.p., 1940. 1981 reprint: FHL US/CAN 976.9 X2ph 1981; digital version at Kentucky Kinfolks. ["1 volume of 1789 was used." (p. 2)]
• 1800 - 1800 Tax List of Mercer County, Kentucky is included in Clift's Second Census of Kentucky 1800,^[3] digitized by Ancestry ($).

Vital Records

Birth

• 1852-1859 - Mercer County Birth Index 1852-1859. Batch C517751 at FamilySearch - free.^[4]
• 1874 - Mercer County Birth Index 1874. Batch C517752 at FamilySearch - free.^[4]

Marriage

• 1852-1859 - Mercer County Marriage Index 1852-1859. Batch M517751 at FamilySearch - free.^[4]

Unsorted

• The Kentucky Vital Records Project Transcriptions of and Images of KY Death Certificates - A Work in Progress ~ The KY Vital Records Project
• KY Births & Christenings ~ Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839-1960 Family Search
• KY Deaths & Burials ~ KY Deaths & Burials 1843 - 1970
• KY Marriage Records ~ KY Marriages 1783 - 1979 ~ Family Search
• Searchable KY Vital Records ~ Searchable databases of KY Births, Deaths & 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
• Mercer County, Kentucky Obituary and Death Notices Collection Free from GenealogyBuff.com. From various funeral homes in the Harrodsburg, Burgin, Bondville, Cornishville, and Salvisa areas.

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.
• The USGenWeb project May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
• Family History Library Catalog
• Mercer County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)

References

1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Mercer County, Kentucky page 273, At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
2. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
3. ↑ G. Glenn Clift, Second Census of Kentucky 1800: A Privately Compiled and Published Enumeration of Tax Payers Appearing in the 79 Manuscript Volumes Extant of Tax Lists of the 42 Counties of Kentucky in Existence in 1800 (1954; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2005).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/images/7/75/Igikentuckymz.pdf.

• This page was last modified on 29 March 2013, at 20:14.
• This page has been accessed 4,114 times.
• Privacy policy
• About FamilySearch Wiki
• Disclaimers