Kentucky Research Tips and Strategies

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Kentucky

Research Tips and Strategies

Purpose of Research Tips and Strategies Wiki Page

The Kentucky Research Tips and Strategies page consists of links to specific research strategies for Kentucky. It also contains general tips and other resources for locating your ancestors in this locality.

Kentucky Research Strategies

Below are links to different research strategy pages to help you locate your ancestors in Kentucky

Kentucky Online Genealogy Records

How to find Kentucky Birth Records

How to find Kentucky Marriage Records

How to find Kentucky Death Records

Kentucky Research Tips

These tips will help you as you research your ancestors in Kentucky.

• Birth information: Statewide registration of births began in 1911 in Kentucky with general compliance by 1917. A helpful substitute record to find birth information is a death record. However, date and place of birth on a death record is considered secondary information, as it was not recorded at the time of the birth event. The birth information should be corroborated with other substitute records to improve accuracy.
• Finding Parents: Statewide registration of deaths began in 1911 in Kentucky with general compliance by 1917. They often will list the parents of the deceased and their birth information. Search Kentucky death records
• Look in all censuses: Always look for your ancestor in every possible census. There are clues regarding immigration, naturalization, and occupation that can lead to other records. Sometimes parents can be found living with their children later in life. Search U.S. Censuses.

Kentucky Record Finder

This Record Finder is designed to help you determine the best record to search for the type of information you are looking for. It is most helpful for post-1850 research.

1. What you are looking for:	2. Try these records first:	3. Other useful records
Birth information	Birth records, Death records, Obituaries, Church records	Cemeteries, Naturalization and Citizenship, Bible records, Military records (pension)
Marriage information	Marriage records, Obituaries, Bible records	Church records, Probate records, Military records
Death information	Death Records, Cemeteries, Obituaries	Probate Records, Church Records, Bible Records
Parents	Birth records, Death records, Obituaries, Census, Church records	Biography, Genealogy
Maiden name	Marriage Records, Obituaries, Probate records	Church Records, Military Records (pension)
Immigration date	Emigration and Immigration, Naturalization and Citizenship, Census	Obituaries, Biography, History
Naturalization	Naturalization and Citizenship, Census, Court Records	Voting Registers, Biography, Periodicals
Physical description	Military Records, Naturalization and Citizenship (after 1906)	Biography, History

To look for more Kentucky records, go here

Further Kentucky Research

For more research on Kentucky, including research at the county level, visit the Kentucky page on the Research Wiki.

Search all of the Kentucky record collections at FamilySearch.

Bettie Cummings. Genealogical Research in Kentucky. National Genealogical Society Quarterly 97 #1 (March 2009): 39-72. FHL 973 B2ng

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

Family History Library (FHL); now called, FamilySearch Library (FSL)