Harrison County, Kentucky Genealogy

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

County Facts
County seat: Cynthiana
Organized: December 21, 1793
Parent County(s): Bourbon, Scott[1]
Neighboring Counties
BourbonBrackenGrantNicholasPendletonRobertsonScott
See County Maps
Courthouse
Harrison County, Kentucky Courthouse.JPG
Location Map
Harrison County svg.png

County Information[edit | edit source]

Description[edit | edit source]

Harrison County was named for Benjamin Harrison. The county is located in the northeastern area of the state.[2]

County Courthouse[edit | edit source]

Harrison County Courthouse
315 Oddville Avenue
Cynthiana, KY 31031
Phone: 859-234-7130[3]
Harrison County Website

Harrison County, Kentucky Record Dates[edit | edit source]

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Government County Records[4]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1852 1794 1852 1794 1794 1794 1810
*Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1911. General compliance by 1917.

Record Loss[edit | edit source]

1851, 1997--Courthouse disasters destroyed some records.

For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see:

Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]

Populated Places[edit | edit source]

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[6]

Cities
Unincorporated communities


History Timeline[edit | edit source]

Resources[edit | edit source]

Bible Records[edit | edit source]

Biographies[edit | edit source]

Business, Commerce, and Occupations[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries of Harrison, Kentucky online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)
List of Cemeteries in the County
See Kentucky Cemeteries for more information

Census Records[edit | edit source]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1800 4,350
1810 7,752 78.2%
1820 12,278 58.4%
1830 13,234 7.8%
1840 12,472 −5.8%
1850 13,064 4.7%
1860 13,779 5.5%
1870 12,993 −5.7%
1880 16,504 27.0%
1890 16,914 2.5%
1900 18,570 9.8%
1910 16,873 −9.1%
1920 15,798 −6.4%
1930 14,859 −5.9%
1940 15,124 1.8%
1950 13,736 −9.2%
1960 13,704 −0.2%
1970 14,158 3.3%
1980 15,166 7.1%
1990 16,248 7.1%
2000 17,983 10.7%
2010 18,846 4.8%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

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

Church Records[edit | edit source]

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Kentucky denominations, view the Kentucky Church Records wiki page.

Baptist[edit | edit source]
  • Old Mill Creek. Church minutes (1801-1836) are available at the Kentucky Historical Society: Description.


List of Churches and Church Parishes

Court Records[edit | edit source]

Directories[edit | edit source]

Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups[edit | edit source]

African Americans[edit | edit source]

More information about African American resources in Kentucky can be found on the Kentucky African Americans and the United States African Americans Wiki pages.

Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]

Genealogies[edit | edit source]

  • [Asbury] Holtzclaw, B.C. "Asbury of Westmoreland County, Virginia," Virginia Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Jul. 1967):55-65; Vol. 5, No. 4 (Oct. 1967):77-87; Vol. 6, No. 1 (Jan. 1968):10-26. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Guardianship[edit | edit source]

Land and Property Records[edit | edit source]

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Kentucky Land and Property for additional information about early Kentucky land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Online Land Indexes and Records


Local Histories[edit | edit source]

Local histories are available for Harrison County, Kentucky Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories see the wiki page section Kentucky Local Histories.

Maps and Gazetteers[edit | edit source]

Grant CountyPendleton CountyBracken CountyRobertson CountyNicholas CountyBourbon CountyScott CountyOwen CountyKY HARRISON.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Migration[edit | edit source]

Military Records[edit | edit source]

Civil War[edit | edit source]

Online Records

Regiments. Men in Harrison County served in various regiments and companies. Those listed below were specifically formed in this county:

- 3rd Battalion, Kentucky Mounted Rifles (Confederate). Company A.
- 6th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Confederate). Company H.
- 9th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Confederate). Company H.
- 18th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Companies H, I and K

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War battle was fought in Harrison County:[7]

World War I[edit | edit source]

Korean War[edit | edit source]

Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Harrison County, Kentucky Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:

Obituaries[edit | edit source]

Other Records[edit | edit source]

Periodicals[edit | edit source]

Probate Records[edit | edit source]

Probate records are held by the Harrison County, Kentucky Genealogy Clerk of Court and are housed at the Harrison County, Kentucky Genealogy Courthouse. Microfilmed records can be found online at Kentucky, Probate Records, 1792-1977 for Caldwell, Henry, Hickman, Russell and Trimble counties. See the wiki page Kentucky Probate Records for information about how to use probate records.

Content: Probate Records may give the decedent's date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence.

Record types: Wills, estates, guardianships, naturalizations, and adoptions.

Online Probate Indexes and Records


School Records[edit | edit source]

Social Security Records[edit | edit source]

Tax Records[edit | edit source]

Taxes were levied on free white males over 21 and slaves aged 21 to 60. These persons are referred to as "polls." Tax listings, or digests, of a county generally list the taxable landowners and other polls and the amount of tax. The records for each county are divided by militia district. For more background information and state-wide resources see the wiki page Kentucky Taxation.

Vital Records[edit | edit source]

Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Although Kentucky enacted a statute in 1852-1862 requiring registration of births and deaths,many counties did not comply. A second law was written in 1874-1879, and 1892-1910 but, again, was not always followed. By 1911, the law was more clearly defined and kept by 1920. Any existing births 1852-1960 and death records 1852-1953 can be accessed online. See How to Find Kentucky Birth Records and How to Find Kentucky Death Records for links to indexes and images.

Original marriage records are held at the office of the Harrison County Clerk, with divorce records 1849-1958 located with the Harrison County Circuit Court. For more information see How to Find Kentucky Marriage Records. For Kentucky divorce records see the wiki page Kentucky Vital Records.

Birth[edit | edit source]

Marriage[edit | edit source]

Death[edit | edit source]

Divorce[edit | edit source]

Research Facilities[edit | edit source]

Archives[edit | edit source]

Listed below are archives in Harrison County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Kentucky Archives and Libraries.

Archives of Appalachia
East Tennessee State University
Sherrod Library, Room 422
344 J L Seehorn Rd
Johnson City, TN 37614
Phone: 423-439-4338
Email: archives@etsu.edu
Facebook
Website

FamilySearch Centers[edit | edit source]

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

  • FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
  • FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Libraries[edit | edit source]

Listed below are libraries in Harrison County. For state-wide library facilities, see Kentucky Archives and Libraries.

Museums[edit | edit source]

Societies[edit | edit source]

Listed below are societies in Harrison County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Kentucky Societies.

Harrison County Historical Society
112 S Walnut St
PO Box 411
Cynthiana, KY 41031
Facebook
Website

Websites[edit | edit source]

Research Guides[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Kentucky. At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  2. Wikipedia contributors, "Harrison County, Kentucky" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_County,_Kentucky."
  3. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Harrison County, Kentucky page 271, At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  4. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Harrison County, Kentucky. Page 268-276 At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 251-254.
  5. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Kentucky. At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  6. Wikipedia contributors, "Harrison County, Kentucky," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_County,_Kentucky, accessed 14 August 2018.
  7. National Park Service, Civil War Battles. Filter by state or battle name.
  8. 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).
  9. Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at FamilySearch.