African American Resources for Kentucky
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Introduction
Resources for African American research fall into two periods: pre- and post-Civil War. Post-Civil War research consists of consulting the same record types as non-African Americans. Some sets of records such as school censuses and marriages and tax records are segregated by race. Pre-Civil War records consist of importation declarations of enslaved persons, plantation records, emancipation records, apprenticeship bonds for Freedmen, Kentucky hiring practices, census records, slaveholder records, church and cemetery records, military records, vital records, and numerous Kentucky court records. Enslaved persons were gradually emancipated by Kentucky law, beginning in 1865.
Enslaved persons are sometimes mentioned in deeds (see Kentucky Land and Property), wills (see Kentucky Probate Records), tax records (see Kentucky Taxation), and court order books (see Kentucky Court Records). A few parish registers (see Kentucky Church Records) list enslaved persons who attended church with their slaveholders.
Online Resources
Research Strategy
A source for African American research in Kentucky can be found in:
- Hogan, Roseann Reinemuth. Kentucky Ancestry—A Guide to Genealogical and Historical Research. Salt Lake City, Utah: Ancestry, 1992. (FamilySearch Library book 976.9 A3ho.) This is a guide to African American records located in Kentucky. Pages 140 to 153, African-American Genealogy and Records in Kentucky, and Appendix 4, pages 369 to 372, African-American Bibliography for Kentucky, provide important information for the African American researcher.
History
For a history of African Americans in Kentucky, see:
- Lucas, Marion Brunson and George C. Wright. A History of Blacks in Kentucky. 2 vols. Frankfort, KY: Kentucky Historical Society, 1992. (FamilySearch Library book 976.9 F2L.) This history of African Americans from 1760 to 1980 contains an index and a bibliography of sources.
For records and histories of ethnic, racial, and religious groups in Kentucky do a Place Search on the FamilySearch Catalog under:
- KENTUCKY- MINORITIES
- KENTUCKY, [COUNTY]- MINORITIES
- KENTUCKY, [COUNTY], [TOWN]- MINORITIES
Resources
Biographies
Notable Kentucky African Americans Database seeks to record stories of all notable African Americans in Kentucky, along with a brief description of pertinent names, places, and events and a list of sources to find additional information.
Cemeteries
Kentucky African Americans in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were generally buried in race-specific cemeteries.
Census Records
The first Kentucky census to list formerly enslaved persons by name was taken in 1870. In 1850 and 1860, slave schedules identified the numbers, ages, and genders of enslaved persons, but census takers were not instructed to record their names.
Church Records
Kentucky African Americans in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries typically had separate churches, apart from white congregations. A few parish registers (see Kentucky Church Records) list enslaved persons who attended church with their slaveholders.
Emancipation Records
Funeral Homes
- CAAGS Obituary and Funeral Home Collection at California African American Genealogical Society - index & images
Genealogies
Land and Property
Enslaved persons are sometimes mentioned in deeds (see Kentucky Land and Property).
Plantation
Law and Legislation
Obituaries
- CAAGS Obituary and Funeral Home Collection at California African American Genealogical Society - index & images
Oral Histories
Other Records
Naturalization Records
- Kentucky, Naturalization Records, 1906-1991 - information may include name, gender, age, birth date and place, arrival date and place, petition or certificate date and place, and spouse
Military Records
Newspapers
Probate Records
Enslaved persons are sometimes mentioned in wills (see Kentucky Probate Records).
Garrett-Nelson, LaBrenda. Gleaning Information about Enslaved Ancestors from Probate Files NGS Magazine 48 #2 (April-June 2022): 23 –27. FS Library 973 D25ngs
Reconstruction Records
Freedman’s Bank
An excellent source is the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company (visit the African American Freedman's Savings and Trust Company Records page to learn more). This company was created to assist African American soldiers of the Civil War and Freedmen. Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company signature cards or registers from 3 March 1865 to 25 July 1874 may list the name of the depositor, date of entry, age, birthplace, residence, complexion, name of employer or occupation, wife or husband’s name, death information, children’s names, name of father and mother, brothers’ and sisters’ names, remarks, and signature. Early books sometimes contained the name of the former slaveholder and the name of the plantation. Copies of death certificates were sometimes attached to the entries. The collection is organized alphabetically by state, then city where the bank was located, then date the account was established, then account number.
Online collections of Freedman's Bank records:
- United States, Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874
- U.S., Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1871 ($)
- Registers of signatures of depositors in branches of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1865-1874 - these films are alphabetical by state, then by city. In each city depositors are in order by account number. Films 928581–2 contain the records for Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky.
Kentucky had two branches of this bank at:
- Lexington, Kentucky 1870–1874
- Louisville, Kentucky 1865–1874
Freedmen's Bureau
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was created by the US government in 1865 until 1872 to assist formerly enslaved persons in the southern United States. The Bureau created a wide variety of records extremely valuable to genealogists. Such documents include censuses, marriage records, and medical records. These records often include full names, former slaveholders and plantations, and current residences.[1] For 1865 and 1866, the section on abandoned and confiscated lands includes the names of the owners of the plantations or homes that were abandoned, confiscated, or leased. It gives the county and location, a description of the house, the number of acres owned, and the number of cabins of enslaved persons. These films do not appear to contain the names of the enslaved.
To find Freedmen's Bureau records:
- DiscoverFreedmen - the search on this site will utilize all of the Freedmen's Bureau records on FamilySearch, including:
- 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Claim Records,1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Hospital and Medical Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Labor Contracts, Indenture and Apprenticeship Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1861-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Ration Records,1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Records of Persons and Articles Hired, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Freedmen's Court Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Land and Property Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen's Complaints, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1865-1972 United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Superintendent of Education and of the Division of Education, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
Other FamilySearch collections not included:
- 1865-1872 United States Freedmen's Bureau Miscellaneous Records,1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1865-1872 United States Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images. These reports primarily contain statistical and historical information.
- More collections are available in the FamilySearch Catalog. Search for "FREEDMEN - KENTUCKY" in the Subjects search bar to find.
Visit the African American Freedmen's Bureau Records page to learn more about utilizing these records.
School Records
Slavery Records
Vital Records
It is not uncommon to find separate "colored" marriage registers in Kentucky courthouses. For a few years after the Civil War, many African Americans had their marriages legally recognized and recorded in "declaration" books. Couples could go before the judge and declare that they were husband and wife and how long they had been together. Few of these non-white registers were microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah.
Birth
- Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839-1960 - information may include name, gender, birth date and place, race, and parents and their birthplaces
- Kentucky, Vital Record Indexes, 1911-1999 - information may include name, event date and place, residence, age, race, and parents
Marriage
- Kentucky, Vital Record Indexes, 1911-1999 - information may include name, event date and place, residence, age, race, and parents
The Freedmen's Bureau (1865-1872) was created by the US government to assist formerly enslaved persons in the southern United States. One of their responsibilities was to record the marriages (past and present) of formerly enslaved couples. These records can be found in the collections below and include the lists of marriages that occurred previously, marriage certificates, and marriage licenses. The information contained on the records may include the name of the husband and wife/groom and bride, age, occupation, residence, year or date of marriage, by whom, number of children, and remarks.
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872
- U.S., Freedmen’s Bureau Marriage Records, 1846-1867
Death
- Kentucky, Death Records, 1852-1965 ($) - information may include name, gender, race, age, birth date and place, residence, death date and place, parents and their birthplaces, and burial date and place
- Kentucky Death Records, 1911-1965 - lists name, death place, residence, gender, race, marital status, death date, birth date, age, cause of death, parents and their birthplaces, and burial date and place
- Kentucky, Vital Record Indexes, 1911-1999 - information may include name, event date and place, residence, age, race, and parents
Divorce
Voting Records
Archives and Libraries
Societies
African American Genealogy Group of Kentucky
P.O. Box 1211
Frankfort, KY 40602
Phone: 502-422-4457
Email: aaggky@yahoo.com
References
- ↑ "African American Records: Freedmen's Bureau," "African American Heritage," National Archives, accessed 11 May 2018.
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