| Metro Louisville, Jefferson County Kentucky GenWeb Project |
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Where are the records? County, State and National Holdings |
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| I get many questions asking where to find particular research materials. Ever wondered where you go to find newspaper obituaries? Need a copy of a marriage bond? You'll find listings below of what holdings each institution possesses and what you need to do to access them. If you have any comment or question, please feel free to email your coordinator. |
| A listing of Jefferson County Records |
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FHC: Vital statistics
1859 and 1877 only; County Court orders/Minutes 1870; deeds 1783; Division
Books (land and personal property) 1784-1785; Resident lands sold for
taxes 1846 only; Wills 1784; Tax books 1799-1814, 1817-1831, 1833-1875;
Black Marriage licenses and bonds 1852-1861, 1868-1874, 1888-1891, 1893
on; White marriage licenses & certificates 1853; White marriage licenses
and bonds 1780-1852, 1855--1858, 1861 on; Marriage register 1784;
Louisville births 1898-1910; Louisville deaths 1866-1910. State Archives - Frankfort: Deeds 1783; Wills (originals) 1794; Circuit Court 1783; Circuit Case records 1795, 1805, 1808, 1810, 1813, 1816-25, 1828-1829, 1831 on. Police Court Order Book for Louisville 1856-1863 and 1867 only; Tax Assessment books, L'ville 1834 on. County: Rejected wills 1869; Contested wills 1887-1895; Guardian Bonds 1874; Guardians, Trustee, Receivers & Committee Bonds 1874; Commissioner's Deed Book 1812-1871; Grantor Index of Circuit Court (General index of deeds) 1812-1847, Grantee index of same 1812-1847; Grantee General Index Chancery 1853-1871; Grantor Index same 1853-1871; Unrecorded deeds 1790; Wills that are incomplete - individual's deemed incomplete) 1887; County Clerk Attic: Common Law Circuit Court, Quarterly Sessions and Dismissions 1781-1803; Common Pleas Circuit Court Civil Suits 1803-1893; L'ville Chancery Court with Plaintiff's index to Suits 1835-1877, 1887-1890; L'ville Chancery Court (Defendant's index to suits) 1835-1872, 1887-1890; Current Index to Civil Defendant's suits 1782-1870; Current index to Civil suits - Plaintiff 1782-1875; Settled estates (the originals) 1867-1904. Circuit Clerk: Index to Plaintiff Civil Suits 1880-1890; Same for defendants 1898 on; Declarations of Intention 1893; Naturalization Petitions 1897; Court of Common Pleas (Rule Docket) 1885-1892; Chancery Rule Docket 1835-1892; Chancery Judgements 1874; Court of Quarterly Sessions 1801-1903; Chancery Courts - Equity 1835; Suits 1803-1893; Judgments 1874; Law & Equity Book 1880-1892; Guardian Bonds 1874-1886; Lunacy Inquests 1892; Minute Books 1882. |
| County, State and National Institutions Holding these records |
| The Filson Club, 1310 South 3rd Street, Louisville, KY 40208 |
| http://filsonhistorical.org/ |
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Open Monday-Friday 9-5 and the first Saturday of each month
from 9am-4pm, except for Derby Day (May 5, 2012 and Labor Day September 1,
2012). Site includes online catalog and a research request form for those not close enough to visit themselves. Note: There is a fee for this privately supported historical society. This is one of the premier societies in the country. |
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The Filson Library is a collection of some 50,000 non
circulating titles of local, regional, and national interest, focusing on
the Upper South and the Ohio Valley. Library holdings include a fine
Civil War collection; approximately 1,500 maps, primarily of Kentucky and
other southern states. Some 3,000 reels of microfilm containing Kentucky
census records from 1810-1920 are available with indexes for 1810-1870 in
book form. The indexes for 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 are Soundex indexes
on microfilm. We also have many county abstracts of census in book form. There are tax records, as well as the Draper and Shane collections; over 840 newspaper titles, including one of the largest 19th-century Kentucky newspaper collections in original form; a sheet-music collection of over 3,700 pieces, much of it written or published in Kentucky; over 3,500 family histories; and almost 4,000 genealogy files on Kentucky families. While Kentucky is the focus of the library collection, many titles and files concern other states. Kentucky was a migration route over which thousands of people passed during America's westward expansion, and states such as Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Virginia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania are well represented in our holdings. (excerpted from website) Cemetery & Funeral Records for Maas Funeral Home, Schildt Funeral Home, Pearson Funeral Home 1890-1920, Cave Hill Cemetery 1848, Some Eastern Cemetery in book form, McDaniel Funeral Home, and bits and pieces of several other cemeteries in various sources. Military Service Records Civil War--Compiled Service Records of
Volunteer Union/Confederate Soldiers from Kentucky for some
units. INCOMPLETE County Records Histories of many of Kentucky's major cities and 120 counties. Some include biographical sketches. Compilations of transcribed county records for most counties. These include records of wills, marriages, court proceedings, and cemeteries. Draper Manuscripts: Kentucky Adjutant General Reports Maps and atlases Newspapers Vital Records Special Indexes and Vertical Files Other Resources: |
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Family History and Jefferson
County Research Resources Available at Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives in Frankfort |
| http://kdla.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspx |
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Site
includes ordering forms for birth, marriage, divorce, death, military,
tax, civil, and estate records seen listed at right, along with
interlibrary loan. There is a small fee associated with these orders. Notice: Some years do exist and are available for Louisville which are prior to the 1911 date most associated with modern record keeping in Kentucky. Louisville Birth Index: 1898 -1910 Louisville Births: 1898 -1910 Louisville Death Index: 1866 -1910 Louisville Register of Deaths: 1866 -1910 |
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County Clerk Records, General cross indexes to deeds 1783
-1932, General indexes to deeds - grantee 1783 -1892, General indexes to
deeds - grantor 1783 - 1869, Deeds (loose) 1783 - 1892, deed books 1783 -
1965, Reports of commissioner's of division of land 1797 - 1916, Record of
the board of election commissioners 1921 - 1984, General index to
inventories and settlements 1800 - 1910, Circuit Court Records, Civil
Case files 1795 - 1949, Marriage books 1780 - 1931, Marriage licenses 1930
-1984, Marriage registers 1784 - 1911, Order books 1780 - 1901, General
indexes to wills 1784 - 1972, Wills (loose) 1901 - 1977, Will books 1784 -
1966. Confederate Pension Applications - Passed by the Kentucky General Assembly on 04 Mar 1912, the Confederate Pension Act provided aid to indigent and disabled Confederate veterans and their widows. In some cases, the application and supporting documents are the only surviving records of a soldier's service. Generally, each application contains the veteran's date and place of birth, his unit designation, and terms of service. Some files may also contain marriage and death records. The Index of Confederate Pension Applications, published by KDLA in 1978, provides access to this material. The Kentucky Confederate Home - The Confederate Veteran's Home was located at Pewee Valley in Oldham County, was established by an Act of the Kentucky General Assembly in 1902. This collection of material remains largely unprocessed. A list of inmates dated 1912 is among the records available to researchers on microfilm. Unprocessed material includes applications for admission by Confederate veterans on microfiche as well as Reference Book B, and a roster of applicants dated 1903 - 1909. Louisville City Directories Louisville Suburban Directories, 1957 to the present. PAPER Tax Records |
| National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Washington, D. C. |
| http://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy/ |
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Louisville Military Prison Registers The Louisville Military Prison was Kentucky's primary facility for the confinement of prisoners-of-war. It served as a major shipping point for prisoners bound for the prison camps of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Obtained from the National Archives, these microfilmed records cover the period from 1862 to 1865. The register for civilian prisoners contains references to those Kentuckians charged with treason, spying or engaging in guerrilla warfare. MILITARY RECORDS - WHAT
DO THEY CONTAIN AND HOW TO ORDER IS FOUND ON THIS SITE DISCHARGE CERTIFICATES FORM 180 - MILITARY
RECORDS - WORLD WAR I AND AFTER |
| Jefferson County Clerk (Deed Room), 527 W. Jefferson Street, Louisville, KY 40202 |
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Military Service Records Miscellaneous Books-Jefferson County, 1912-present, hard copy and microfilm, Jefferson County Clerk-Legal Records (Deed Room); (Military discharge papers, when put to the record here in Jefferson County, KY, are recorded by the County Clerk in the Miscellaneous Books) Land Ownership and
Division Plat and Subdivision Books and Indexes, c.1900-present, hard copy and microfilm. Name Change Records Name Change Order Books, #1-current volume, 1978-present, microfiche and hard copy, Jefferson County Clerk-Probate Department. Probate Records Vital Records Marriage registers and Indexes, 1784-present. 1784-present, hard copy, Marriage Bonds, 1916-present, hard copy, Jefferson County Clerk-Marriage License. |
| Jefferson County Department for Historic Preservation and Archives |
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Adoption and Apprenticeship Records Adoption and Apprenticeship books-Religious Institutions and Index, c.1879-1945, (Louisville Baptist Orphans Home, Christian Church Widows and Orphans Home, Methodist Episcopal Church South Widows and Orphans Home, German Baptist Orphans Home), hard copy. Adoption papers filed in the Criminal Division of the Circuit Court, 1875-1904, and Index, hard copy, Adoption Case Files-Jefferson County
Court, and index, #1-#580, 1940-1946, hard copy. (restricted). Citizenship Records Index to Naturalizations, 1811-1913, hard
copy. Coroner's Records Inquest Books, 1878-1914, #1-#8, hard
copy Land Ownership and Division Entry Books, 1779-1835, hard copy. Indexed in Willard Rouse Jillson, Old Kentucky Entries and Deeds, Ch. IV, "Jefferson Entries." Name Change Records Pension Records Old Age Pension Applications-Jefferson County Court, 1930-1932, A-G only, hard copy, not indexed. Confederate Soldiers Pension Applications-Commonwealth of Kentucky and Index, 1912-1920, hard copy. Probate Records Probate Records Tax Records Vital Records Other Resources: |
| Fiscal Court, Fiscal Court Building, 527 W. Jefferson Street, Louisville, KY 40202 |
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Land Ownership and Division Grantee Index to Deeds, hard copy, basement, Fiscal Court Building. |
| Louisville Free Public Library, 301 W. York Street, Louisville, KY 40202, 502-574-1611 |
| http://www.lfpl.org/research/ |
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All available census schedules for
Kentucky 1810-1920. MICROFILM Census indexes. Louisville City Directories, 1832 to the
present. MICROFILM AND/OR PAPER. Lexington city directories. Louisville (Ky.): Executive budget, 1956 to present. General ordinances of the city of Louisville, 1869 to present, some years. Annual communication of the mayor and reports of departments of the city of Louisville, 1866 Department of Finance City of Louisville Annual Report, 1868-1916. Louisville Water Co. Annual Report. 1862-1900, some years. 1901-1989. Annual reports for various city agencies such as Parks, Health Department, Civil Service Board etc. Military Service Records County Records Draper Manuscripts: There is an index, "Guide to the Draper
Manuscripts." PAPER Histories of Kentucky counties and cities. Kentucky Adjutant General Reports Manuscripts (other than literary) Maps and atlases County and city atlases:
Sanborn Maps of Louisville, 1975 - 1988. Paper. Newspapers
Other miscellaneous Louisville newspapers The Library also has these Lexington and Cincinnati newspapers on microfilm:
School Records Vital Records Special Indexes and Vertical Files Other Resources: |
| Property Valuation Administration, 5th floor, Fiscal Court Building. |
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Land Ownership and Division Tax Maps-Property Valuation Administrator, c.1930s-present, hard copy. |
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University Archives and Records Center, University
of Louisville, Ekstrom Library Louisville, KY 40292, 502-852-6674 |
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Louisville city directories 1832-1990
(PAPER) Institutional Archives Manuscripts (other than literary) Finding aids available on U of L gopher, gopher.louisville.edu, U of L Archives menu choice. Newspapers
Oral History Home of the University of Louisville's Oral History Center, preserving over 1,000 taped recollections of university personnel and students, community leaders, members of ethnic communities, workers, and business executives, collected since the late 1970s. Transcripts are available for part of the collection. (AUDIOTAPES and PAPER) Vital Records |
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Media and Microforms, Ekstrom Library,
University of Louisville, Ekstrom Library Louisville, KY 40292, 502-852-6302 |
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Louisville city directories 1871-1927 (FILM) Maps and atlases Newspapers
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Reference Department, Ekstrom Library,
University of Louisville, Ekstrom Library, Louisville, KY 40292, 502-852-6747 |
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Newspapers LOUISVILLE COURIER-JOURNAL 1992-1994 (CD-ROM) |
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Rare Books and Special
Collections, University of Louisville, Ekstrom Library, Louisville, KY 40292, 502-852-6752, fax 502-852-8734, e-mail: dsbuie@louisville.edu |
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City of Louisville Charter 1780 charter for the City of Louisville signed by Thomas Jefferson while governor of Virginia. Literary Manuscripts
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Photographic Archives, University of
Louisville, Ekstrom Library, Louisville, KY 40292 |
| self-explanatory |
| City of Louisville Records |
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Architectural drawings (original) of several buildings
owned by the City of Louisville, 1871 - present; Sanborn maps, with
updates- from 1905 - 1978 Annual Budgets (Operating and Capital): incomplete run c. 1955-present Annual Financial Reports: incomplete run c. 1900 - present Fire Department run logs: late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century Legislative records of the City of Louisville - originals and attachments, bonds and contracts. Convenience copies of the microfilmed minutes, ordinances, and resolutions of the legislatures of the City of Louisville, 1781 - 1985. Recent resolutions, ordinances and attachments (originals), through 1990. Mayor's office files. The collections include contemporaneous accounts of many events of local interest, especially during the Broaddus (1953- 1957), Hoblitzell (1957-1961), Smead (1965-1969), Burke (1969-1973), Sloane (first term; 1973-1977), Stansbury (1977-1981), Sloane (second term; 1981-1985), Abramson (first term; 1986-1990, second term; 1990-1994). Police and Fire Departments personnel records; mid-late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Tax records, real estate and personal property: 1950 - 1974 Urban Renewal Agency records, processed, 1962 - 1980. Approximately 270 cubic feet; approximately 1,000 maps. Records detail 10 urban renewal projects and two neighborhood development projects entailing approximately 2,200 acres of land in Louisville and Jefferson County. Ephemera: Historical buildings and structures in the center city (secondary sources, not limited to City-owned structures), biographical sketches of all mayors who have ever served the City of Louisville, lists and some biographical sketches of members of the Board of Aldermen. Copies of the charters of the City of Louisville, and copies of several published histories of the City (manuscripts, pamphlets, and books) are also available. Publications library: approximately 300 cubic feet of material published by the City of Louisville, covering a wide variety of topics and services offered by the City. A card catalogue by creating agency and publication title is the finding aid. The material largely dates from the 1940's through the present. |
| Kentucky State Court Records |
| http://courts.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspx |
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In 1975, the passage of the Judicial Amendment to the KY
Constitution greatly change the structure of the state court system. The new system of organization took effect on 01 January 1978. This inventory, however, only describes records created by the judicial system before 1978. The below-listed courts generated case papers, dockets, order books, judgment books and indexes which may be of interest to the researchers. The original records have been sent to the State Archives in Frankfort, KY. However, the plaintiff and defendant indexes are available on microfilm at the Jefferson County Clerk-Micrographics Department. To examine an original case file, the record must be brought to Louisville from Frankfort by the Circuit Court Clerk.
For a history of the early court system in Kentucky, see Richardson, William C. An Administrative History of Kentucky Courts to 1850. Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives: Frankfort, 1983. For a detailed outline of the Court system and its records prepared just a few years before the change in the judicial system, see Thomas, Samuel W. "An Inventory of Jefferson County Records." The Filson Club Historical Quarterly, Vol.44, No. 4, October 1970. The Filson Club: Louisville, Kentucky. |
| Kentucky Historical Society |
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The Kentucky Historical Society microfilm collections include:
The Kentucky Historical Society collection of published works include:
The Kentucky Historical Society Library vertical files include:
The Kentucky Historical Society Library also houses a unique card file of vital records information compiled by the Works Progress Administration, covering 1852 to 1861, and existing statistics for the 1890s and early 1900s. |
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