Madison County, Kentucky Genealogy

United States

Kentucky

Madison County

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

County Facts County seat: Richmond Organized: October 17, 1785 Parent County(s): Lincoln Neighboring Counties Clark  • Estill  • Fayette  • Garrard  • Jackson  • Jessamine  • Rockcastle See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption Adopt-a-wiki page This page adopted by: KYGenWeb Project who welcome you to contribute. Adopt a page today

County Information

Description

The County was named for James Madison. The County is located in the central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Madison County Courthouse
101 W Main Street
Richmond, KY 40475-1415
Phone: 859-624-4707
Madison County Website

Madison County, Kentucky Record Dates

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 Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1852	1787	1852	1786	1787	1850	1810
Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1911. General compliance by 1917.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

1785--Madison County was created 17 October 1785 from Lincoln County. County seat: Richmond 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

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:

Cities
Berea	Richmond (county seat)
Unincorporated communities
Arlington Baldwin Bighill Blue Grass Bobtown Boonesborough Brassfield Buggytown Bybee Caleast College Hill Cottonburg Crooksville (hist.) Crow Valley Cuzick Doylesville	Dreyfus Duluth Duncanon Edenton Elliston Farristown Happy Landing Hillcrest Kingston Kirksville Middletown Million Moberly Newby Panola Peytontown	Redhouse Reeds Crossing Rosedale (hist.) Round Hill Ruthton Silver Creek Slate Lick Speedwell Stringtown Terrill Union City Valley View Waco Wallaceton Whites

Resources

Biographies

• KY Biographies, Jeff Murphy's Kentucky Biographies Project

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Madison, Kentucky online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com KYGenWeb KYGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project Kentucky Gravestones Billion Graves
TombstoneTranscriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com Billion Graves Kentucky Cemeteries
See Kentucky Cemeteries for more information

The following web sites have additional information on Madison county cemeteries.

• Interment.net, Kentucky cemetery records by county.
• Cemetery Junction, Links to cemetery transcriptions
• Naming the Forgotten, The Eastern State Hospital Project
• ePodunk list of Madison County cemeteries gives the names of the cemeteries in the county with a link to more information such as address, phone number, and web site.

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1790	5,772	—
1800	10,490	81.7%
1810	15,540	48.1%
1820	15,954	2.7%
1830	18,751	17.5%
1840	16,355	−12.8%
1850	15,727	−3.8%
1860	17,207	9.4%
1870	19,543	13.6%
1880	22,052	12.8%
1890	24,348	10.4%
1900	25,607	5.2%
1910	26,951	5.2%
1920	26,284	−2.5%
1930	27,621	5.1%
1940	28,541	3.3%
1950	31,179	9.2%
1960	33,482	7.4%
1970	42,730	27.6%
1980	53,352	24.9%
1990	57,508	7.8%
2000	70,872	23.2%
2010	82,916	17.0%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

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

• 1790 - Lost, but a substitute is available, see Taxation.
• Kentucky Census Transcriptions 1850-1930, USGenWeb
• Census Images, USGenWeb
• KY Census Online, Links to online census records

Church Records

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

Baptist

• Old Cane Spring. Church minutes (1803-1872, 1897-1995) are available at Eastern Kentucky University: Finding Aid.

Court Records

• Abstracts of Early Kentucky Supreme Court Cases, KYGenWeb
• Kentucky Court of Justice Research & Reference

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

African Americans

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

• African American Research (US) has more information about the kinds of records available
• The African American Griots Project
• Kentucky Minorities has information specific to Kentucky African Americans.
• Sandi Gorin's Tips, Hangings in Kentucky 1792-1900

Genealogies

• [Ballance] Pierce, Alycon Trubey. "The Ballance Family of Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 38, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1994):3-20; Vol. 38, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1994):105-114. Digital version at American Ancestors ($). FHL Book 975.5 B2vg v. 38 (1994).
• [Bates] Dorman, John Frederick. Adventurers of Purse and Person, Virginia, 1607-1624/5. 3 vols. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004-2007. Volume 1. FHL Book 975.5 H2j v. 1.
• [Boone] Bryan, J.C. The Boone-Bryan History. Frankfort, Ky.: The Kentucky State Historical Society, 1913. Digital version at Internet Archive - free.
• [Collins] Collins, Gerald E. William Collins (176*-1848): of North Carolina, Madison County, Kentucky, Shelby County, Indiana and Some of His Descendants. No publication info. FHL 727107
• [Crooke] Crooke, B.F. Genealogy of the Crooke and Proctor Families. 1908. FHL 133683
• [Crooke] Ingalls, Osie Alice McDowell. Crooke Family: Account Book of Miss Crooke of Science Hill, Madison County, Kentucky. MSS., National Library, D.A.R. Copy: FHL 133683
• [Embry] Miller, William Harris. The Embry Family of Madison County, Ky. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.: n.p., 1954. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
• [Finley] Finley, Carmen J. "John and Mary Finley of Montgomery (Wythe) County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 34, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1990):243-255. Digital version at American Ancestors ($). FHL Book 975.5 B2vg v. 34 (1990).
• [Francis] Francis: Family Genealogical Data, 1794-1927, Madison County, Kentucky. Typescript. Microfilmed 1982. FHL Collection.
• [Gates] Ross, Janet Morgan and Hester Gates Morgan. "Gates Families of the Colonial Virginia Counties of Henrico and Chesterfield," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 46, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 2002):137-150; Vol. 46, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 2002):183-189. Digital version at American Ancestors ($); FHL Book 975.5 B2vg v. 46 (2002).
• [Hill] Hill, L. Henry. Genealogy of the Hill Family of Garrard and Madison Counties, Kentucky. Evansville, Ind.: Unigraphic, 1978. FHL 166763
• [Jett] Jett, C. Otis. The Genealogy of the Breathitt, Clay and Madison County, Kentucky Branch of the Jett Family. Georgetown, Ky.: I.L. Jett, 1988. FHL 470135
• [Park] Gum, Nell Marshall Park. Park of Kentucky, 1747-1929: Biographical Sketches and Genealogy of the Descendants of Ebenezer Park, Pioneer of Madison County, Kentucky. Frankfort, Ky.: Gum, 1929. FHL 1715; digital version at Ancestry. ($)
• [Park] Park, Evelyn Potter and Warren R. Park. Allen Park, 1745-1805, of Rowan County, North Carolina and Madison County, Kentucky: Including Some of His Descentants and Allied Families. Chandler, Okla.: n.p., 1970. FHL 1796; 1977 supplement: FHL 1813
• [Pursley] Winchester, Warren. Benjamin Pursley (Pursell): of Loudoun County, Virginia, Bedford County, Pennsylvania, Madison County, Kentucky. Middletown, Ky.: W. Winchester, 1995. FHL 751739
• [Robertson] Ross, Janet Morgan and Hester Gates Morgan. "Gates Families of the Colonial Virginia Counties of Henrico and Chesterfield," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 46, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 2002):137-150; Vol. 46, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 2002):183-189. Digital version at American Ancestors ($); FHL Book 975.5 B2vg v. 46 (2002).
• [Shearer] Shearer, Oliver F. In Search of my Shearer Heritage in Madison and Rock Castle Countys [sic ] in Kentucky. [Winchester, Ky.]: O.F. Shearer, [199?]. FHL 711990
• [Turner] Sargent, Samuel S. Genealogy of the Turner Family (Especially of Madison County, Kentucky & Illinois), ca. 1700-1955. MSS., 1955. FHL 321518

Land and Property Records

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.

• The KY Land Office

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Madison 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
• A glimpse at historic Madison County and Richmond, Kentucky at Ancestry ($)

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Kentucky (1776-1939)
• KYGenWeb compiled list of maps
• Click on the county to go to the KYGenWeb site

Military Records

• Military Resources, Revolutionary War through Civil War

Civil War

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

- 11th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Confederate). Companies A, B, E, F, G, and H.

- Jesse's Battalion, Kentucky Mounted Riflemen (Confederate), Company C

- 12th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Confederate), Company G

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War battle was fought in Madison County:

• August 29-30, 1862 - Richmond

• Map showing Civil War battles in Kentucky.

World War I

• Fallen Soldiers in WWI from KY

Korean War

• [hhttp://sites.rootsweb.com/~kybath/korea.htm Korean War Memorial for Soldiers from KY], KYGenWeb

Newspapers

• 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 Madison County, Kentucky Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• Do a Madison County, Kentucky Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

Obituaries

• 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

• Kentucky Postcards, USGenWeb

Probate Records

Probate records are held by the Madison County, Kentucky Genealogy Clerk of Court and are housed at the Madison 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

• 1727-1990 - Kentucky Probate Records 1727-1990 at FamilySearch — images
• 1774-1999 - Kentucky Wills and Probate Records 1774-1999 at Ancestry ($) — index and images
• 1787-1939 - Madison County Kentucky list of will book testators SAMPUBCO - Browsable index of testators of wills. - free
• 1787-1813 - Will Books A-A1: 1787-1813 - Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Madison County probate records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee. Available indexes.
• Images of Wills, Estates, Guardianships, Inventories, Sales: Book A1, 1786-1806; Book A2, 1806-1813; Book B, 1814-19; Book C, 1819-24; Book D 1824-29. Kentucky Pioneers ($)

School Records

• Berea College Yearbooks - approximately 40 years of yearbooks digitized and available full-text online via the Internet Archive. Years include approximately 1929-1970 (not fully inclusive).
• Three Decades of Progress at Eastern Kentucky University (1936) - a history of the school written by the faculty. 

Tax Records

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.

• 1787 - Schreiner-Yantis, Netti and Florene Speakman Love. The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Name of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years, the Number of White Males Between 16 & 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 & Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle & Carriages, and Also the Names of All Persons to Whom Ordinary Licenses and Physician's Licenses Were Issued. 3 vols. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987. Online at FamilySearch - free; [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Madison County is included in Vol. 1.]
• 1788 Court and Tax Records. GenealogyTrails.
• 1789 - Heinemann, Charles B. "First Census" of Kentucky 1790. Washington, D.C.: n.p., 1940. 1981 reprint: FHL 446696; digital version at Kentucky Kinfolks. ["3 volumes of 1789 were used, with some duplication of names." (p. 2)]
• 1800 - 1800 Tax List of Madison County, Kentucky Genealogy is included in Clift's Second Census of Kentucky 1800, digitized by Ancestry ($).
• 1815 - The 1815 list is the first list (at least since 1808) in which we can build geographical clusters despite the alphabetizing of the first letter of surnames. This is done by using the regiment and company information. See FHL US/CAN Film 8,127. These alphabetical by surname lists were prepared by the Madison County clerk from records in his office.
• Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records, Ancestry ($)

Vital Records

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 Madison County Clerk, with divorce records 1849-1958 located with the Madison 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

• 1839-1960 – Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839-1960 at FamilySearch
• 1852-1859 - Madison County Birth Index 1852-1859. Batch C517691 at FamilySearch - free.
• 1874 - Madison County Birth Index 1874. Batch C517692 at FamilySearch - free.
• 1875 - Madison County Birth Index 1875. Batch C517693 at FamilySearch - free.
• 1911-1912 - Searchable KY Birth Index

Marriage

• 1609-2016 - Kentucky, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
• 1785-1851 - Record of Marriages in Madison County, Kentucky for the Period of Years 1785 to 1851 Inclusive. Digital version at FamilySearch Books Online - free.
• 1785-1979 – Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979 at FamilySearch
• 1790-1843 - Madison County, Kentucky Marriage Records, 1790-1843 at Ancestry ($)
• 1797-1954 - Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1852-1859 - Madison County Marriage Index 1852-1859. Batch M517691 at FamilySearch - free.
• 1875 - Madison County Marriage Index 1875. Batch M517694 at FamilySearch - free.
• 1875 - Madison County Marriage Index 1875. Batch M517696 at FamilySearch - free.
• 1876-1878 - Madison County Marriage Index 1876-1878. Batch M517695 at FamilySearch - free.
• 1973-2000 - Searchable KY Marriage Records
• 1973-2000 - Kentucky Marriage Records  1973 - 2000 - Kentucky Marriage Records - 1973 - 2000

Death

• 1843-1970 – Kentucky Deaths and Burials, 1843-1970 at FamilySearch
• 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 KY Death Certificates

Divorce

• 1973-1993 - Kentucky Divorce Records 1973-1993, University of Kentucky Vital Records Databases

Research Facilities

Family History Centers

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

Societies

• Madison County Historical Society
  PO Box 397
  Richmond, KY 40476
  E-mail: tjbiii@aol.com
  Website
  
• Society of Boonesborough
  PO Box 226
  Richmond Kentucky 40476-0226
  
• Links and addresses to Kentucky genealogical and historical societies

Websites

• Madison County, KY History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• http://www.kykinfolk.org/madison/ Madison County KYGenWeb]
• 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.
• Madison County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
• Madison 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

Family History Library