Rockcastle County, Kentucky Genealogy
Guide to Rockcastle County, Kentucky ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
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Contents
- 1 County Information
- 2 Resources
- 2.1 Bible Records
- 2.2 Biographies
- 2.3 Business, Commerce, and Occupations
- 2.4 Cemeteries
- 2.5 Census Records
- 2.6 Church Records
- 2.7 Court Records
- 2.8 Directories
- 2.9 Emigration and Immigration
- 2.10 Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
- 2.11 Funeral Homes
- 2.12 Genealogies
- 2.13 Guardianship
- 2.14 Land and Property Records
- 2.15 Local Histories
- 2.16 Maps and Gazetteers
- 2.17 Migration
- 2.18 Military Records
- 2.19 Naturalization and Citizenship
- 2.20 Newspapers
- 2.21 Obituaries
- 2.22 Other Records
- 2.23 Periodicals
- 2.24 Probate Records
- 2.25 School Records
- 2.26 Tax Records
- 2.27 Vital Records
- 3 Research Facilities
- 4 Societies
- 5 Websites
- 6 Research Guides
- 7 References
County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
The County was named for Rockcastle River. The County is located in the central area of the state.[2]
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Rockcastle County Courthouse
205 W Main Street Street
Mount Vernon, KY 40456-0365
Phone: 606-256-2831[3]
Rockcastle County Website
Rockcastle 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.
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1852 | 1873 | 1852 | 1873 | 1873 | 1855 | 1810 |
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
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1871, 1874--Courthouse disasters destroyed many of the records.
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Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
For animated maps illustrating Kentucky county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Kentucky County Boundary Maps" (1776-1939) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website. |
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 | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
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History Timeline[edit | edit source]
Resources[edit | edit source]
Bible Records[edit | edit source]
Biographies[edit | edit source]
- KY Biographies, Jeff Murphy's Kentucky Biographies Project
Business, Commerce, and Occupations[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
The following web sites have additional information on Rockcastle county cemeteries.
- Interment.net, Kentucky cemetery records by county.
- Cemetery Junction, Links to cemetery transcriptions
- Naming the Forgotten, The Eastern State Hospital Project
Census Records[edit | edit source]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1810 | 1,731 | — |
| 1820 | 2,249 | 29.9% |
| 1830 | 2,865 | 27.4% |
| 1840 | 3,409 | 19.0% |
| 1850 | 4,697 | 37.8% |
| 1860 | 5,343 | 13.8% |
| 1870 | 7,145 | 33.7% |
| 1880 | 9,670 | 35.3% |
| 1890 | 9,841 | 1.8% |
| 1900 | 12,416 | 26.2% |
| 1910 | 14,473 | 16.6% |
| 1920 | 15,406 | 6.4% |
| 1930 | 15,149 | −1.7% |
| 1940 | 17,165 | 13.3% |
| 1950 | 13,925 | −18.9% |
| 1960 | 12,334 | −11.4% |
| 1970 | 12,305 | −0.2% |
| 1980 | 13,973 | 13.6% |
| 1990 | 14,803 | 5.9% |
| 2000 | 16,582 | 12.0% |
| 2010 | 17,056 | 2.9% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Rockcastle County are available online. For tips on accessing census records online, see Kentucky Census. If you're having trouble finding your ancestors in online indexes, try checking printed indexes. Created by local experts familiar with the area's families, these indexes are often transcribed more accurately than online nationwide indexes.
See Kentucky Population Schedule Indexes: Fiche, Film, or Book for more information about statewide printed indexes.
- Kentucky Census Transcriptions 1850-1930, USGenWeb
- Census Images, USGenWeb
- KY Census Online, Links to online census records
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.
- Kentucky Christian Church Directory, ChurchAngel
- Catholic Parishes in the Diocese of Lexington
- Catholic Parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville
List of Churches and Church Parishes
Court Records[edit | edit source]
- Abstracts of Early Kentucky Supreme Court Cases, KYGenWeb
- Kentucky Court of Justice Research & Reference
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.
- The KY African American Griots Project
- African American Research (US) has more information about the kinds of records available
- Kentucky Minorities has information specific to Kentucky African Americans.
- Sandi Gorin's Tips, Hangings in Kentucky 1792-1900
Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]
Genealogies[edit | edit source]
- [Clark] Clark, Lily May McLemore. Wallis Clark, Sr. of Rockcastle County, Kentucky. Mount Vernon, Ky.: Rockcastle County Historical Society, 1990. FHL Book 929.273 C547cLL
- [Cummins] Funk, Frances. Cummins Ancient, Cummins New: A History of the Cummins Family of Rockcastle County, Kentucky. Washington, D.C.: McGregor and Werner, 1978. FHL Book 929.273 C912a
- [Harper] Harper, Joseph Doyle. The Harper's of Pulaski and Rockcastle Counties, Kentucky:A Genealogical and Historical Narrative. Livingston, Montana: The Shields' Valley Publishing Co., 1990. FHL Book 929.273 H231hh
- [Hasty] Hasty, Warren H. Archibald Hasty and Descendants: of Pulaski & Rockcastle County, Kentucky. Minneapolis, Minn.: W.H. Hasty, 2004. FHL Book 929.273 H279hwa
- [Johnson] Yates, William Allen. Johnson Genealogy: Descendants of George W. Johnson of Scott County, Virginia and Rockcastle County, Kentucky and Descendants of Benjamin Johnson of Smyth County, Virginia. Stevensville, Montana: W.A. Yates, 1992. FHL Book 929.273 J632y
- [Owen] Owens, Charles Sterling. David Owen, Revolutionary War Soldier, and His Descendants Wilkes County, North Carolina to Rockcastle County, Kentucky. Knoxville, Tenn.: C.S. Owens, 1991. FHL Book 929.273 Ow2owc
- [Rogers] Irwin, Lyndon N. The Rogers Family of Paint Lick and Crab Orchard: Ancestry and Descendants Joseph and Ellen Steward Rogers of Garrard, Rockcastle, and Lincoln Counties in Kentucky. Bois D'Arc, Missouri: L. Irwin, 1994. FHL Book 929.273 R632i
- [Wallins] Heflin, Donald L. The Wanderin' Wallins from Henry County, Virginia, to Rockcastle County, Kentucky. Georgetown, Ky.: D.L. Heflin, 1994. FHL Book 929.273 W158h
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.
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
Local histories are available for Rockcastle 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.
- The Archives of Appalachia
- Rockcastle Recollections, by John Lair
Maps and Gazetteers[edit | edit source]
for more resources
- Maps of Kentucky (1776-1939)
- KYGenWeb compiled list of maps
- Click on the county to go to the KYGenWeb site
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
Migration[edit | edit source]
Military Records[edit | edit source]
- Military Resources, Revolutionary War through Civil War
Civil War[edit | edit source]
Online Records
- 1861-1865 - Kentucky Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
- 1861-1865 - Kentucky Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
- 1861-1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
- 1861-1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry— index (free)
- 1912-1950 - Kentucky Confederate Pension Applications 1912-1950 at FamilySearch — index and images
Regiments. Men in Rockcastle County served in various regiments and companies. Those listed below were specifically formed in this county:
- - 2nd Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Union), Companies A, B, C, D, E, F, G, I and J.
- - 2nd Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Companies A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I and J.
- - 2nd Regiment, Kentucky Veteran Cavalry (Union), Companies A, B, and C.
World War I[edit | edit source]
Korean War[edit | edit source]
- Korean War Memorial for Soldiers from KY, KYGenWeb
Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
- USNPL, Kentucky, Kentucky newspaper index with links
- World-Newspapers, Kentucky, Kentucky newspaper index with links
- Kentucky Newspapers on Microfilm
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Rockcastle County, Kentucky Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Rockcastle County, Kentucky Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).
Obituaries[edit | edit source]
- Kentucky Footsteps Archives, KYGenWeb
- Kentucky Obituary Sources, KYGenWeb
- Links to research and locate obituaries
- Browning Genealogy Database, Compiled by Charles Browning.
- Kentucky Obituaries, USGenWeb
- 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 Christian Advocate Death Abstracts
Other Records[edit | edit source]
- Kentucky Postcards, USGenWeb
Periodicals[edit | edit source]
Probate Records[edit | edit source]
Probate records are held by the Rockcastle County, Kentucky Genealogy Clerk of Court and are housed at the Rockcastle 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 Records
- 1774-1999 Kentucky Wills and Probate Records 1774-1999 at Ancestry ($) — index and images
- 1855-1959 Will Books (1855-1959) have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.
School Records[edit | edit source]
Tax Records[edit | edit source]
Taxes were levied on free white males over 21 and slaves aged 21 to 60. These persons are referred to as "polls." Tax listings, or digests, of a county generally list the taxable landowners and other polls and the amount of tax. The records for each county are divided by militia district. For more background information and state-wide resources see the wiki page Kentucky Taxation.
Rockcastle County Tax Lists, 1811-1875, are available for purchase as digital images in PDF format on CD from Jeff Renner's Genealogical Resources. When the PDF files are viewed in a program such as Acrobat Pro you can bookmark pages/images with year changes, ancestors names, etc. You can also drag an image/page out of Acrobat Pro and throw it into Photoshop to enhance viewing or you can just save that extracted page/image to be used as an attachment to your ancestor in whatever Record Manager (ie: Legacy, RootsMagic, etc) program you use.
- Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records, Ancestry ($)
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 Rockcastle County Clerk, with divorce records 1849-1958 located with the Rockcastle 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]
- 1839-1960 - Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839-1960 at FamilySearch
- 1852-1860 - Rockcastle County Birth Index 1852-1860. Batch C517921 at FamilySearch - free.[7]
- 1874 - Rockcastle County Birth Index 1874. Batch C517922 at FamilySearch - free.
- 1875 - Rockcastle County Birth Index 1875. Batch C517923 at FamilySearch - free.
- 1911-1912 - Searchable KY Birth Index
- 1911-1999 Kentucky Births, 1911-1999 at MyHeritage ($) — index
Marriage[edit | edit source]
- 1609-2016 - Kentucky, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
- 1785-1979 - Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979 at FamilySearch
- 1797-1954 - Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1852-1860 - Rockcastle County Marriage Index 1852-1860. Batch M517921 at FamilySearch - free.
- 1875 - Rockcastle County Marriage Index 1875. Batch M517924 at FamilySearch - free.
- 1876-1878 - Rockcastle County Marriage Index 1876-1878. Batch M517925 at FamilySearch - free.
- 1973-2000 - Searchable KY Marriage Records
- 1973-2000 - Kentucky Marriage Records 1973-2000
- 1960-1993 Kentucky Marriages, 1960-1993 at MyHeritage ($) — index
Death[edit | edit source]
- 1843-1970 - Kentucky Deaths and Burials, 1843-1970 at FamilySearch - index
- 1900-1999 Kentucky Deaths, 1900-1999 at MyHeritage ($) — index
- 1911-1965 - Kentucky Death Records, 1911-1965 at FamilySearch — index
- 1911-2000 - Searchable KY Death Index
- The Social Security Death Index - Searchable
- The Kentucky Vital Records Project, Transcriptions and Images of Kentucky Death Certificates
Divorce[edit | edit source]
- 1973-1993 - Kentucky Divorce Records 1973-1993, University of Kentucky Vital Records Databases
Research Facilities[edit | edit source]
Archives[edit | edit source]
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes.
- For current information about a center near you, go to the Family History Center Map
Libraries[edit | edit source]
Museums[edit | edit source]
Societies[edit | edit source]
- Rockcastle County Historical Society
RTEC Garage Building
85 Spring Street
Box 930
Mt. Vernon, KY 40456
Website - Links and addresses to Kentucky genealogical and historical societies
Websites[edit | edit source]
- Rockcastle County, KY History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
- Rockcastle KYGenWeb
- Rockcastle County USGenWeb Archives
- KYGenWeb project. Has maps, name indexes, history or other information for each county. Select the county.
- State of Kentucky Website
- USGenWeb Kentucky Archives
- The USGenWeb project May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
- Rockcastle County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
- Rockcastle County KY Genealogy (Kentucky Genealogy)
- FamilySearch Catalog . Free - The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection. Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records
Research Guides[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Kentucky. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Rockcastle County, Kentucky" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockcastle_County,_Kentucky."
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Rockcastle County, Kentucky page 274, At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Rockcastle County, Kentucky. Page 268-276 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL 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.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Kentucky. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Rockcastle County, Kentucky," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockcastle_County,_Kentucky, accessed 10 September 2018.
- ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/7/75/Igikentuckymz.pdf.
