Todd County, Kentucky Genealogy

United States

Kentucky

Todd County

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

County Facts County seat: Elkton Organized: December 30, 1819 Parent County(s): Christian, Logan Neighboring Counties Christian  • Logan  • Montgomery (TN)  • Muhlenberg  • Robertson (TN) 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

Old Todd County Courthouse, Elkton, KY

County Information

The county is named after Revolutionary War hero Col. John Todd (1750-1782).

Description

The County was named for Colonel John Todd. The County is located in the south west area of the state.

County Courthouse

Todd County Courthouse
PO Box 307
Elkton, KY 42220-0157
Phone: 270-265-2363
Todd County Website

Todd 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	1820	1852	1820	1820	1820	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

1819--Todd County was created 30 December 1819 from Christian and Logan Counties. County seat: Elkton 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.

County Pronunciation

• Hear it spoken

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
Elkton (county seat) Guthrie	Trenton
Unincorporated communities
Allegre Allensville Anderson Bradshaw Britmart Cedar Grove Claymour Clifty	Darnell Daysville Hadensville Hermon Jason Kirkmansville Liberty Mount Tabor	Pinchem Sharon Grove Tabernacle Tiny Town Tress Shop Tyewhoppety Wilhelmina Zion
Census-designated places
Fairview

History Timeline

Todd County, Kentucky Courthouse Marker

Resources

Biographies

• KY Biographies, Jeff Murphy's Kentucky Biographies Project
• All of the family biographies from the County of Todd, Kentucky, Historical and Biographical edited by William Henry Perrin and published by F. A. Battey Publishing Co. in 1884 are available free online at My Genealogy Hound.
• Counties of Todd and Christian, Kentucky : historical and biographical at Ancestry ($)
• Kimbrough Genealogy The history, biographies, and genealogies of the Kimbrough plantation.

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Todd, 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 Todd county cemeteries.

• Interment.net, Kentucky cemetery records by county.
• ePodunk list of Todd 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.
• Cemetery Junction, Links to cemetery transcriptions
• Naming the Forgotten, The Eastern State Hospital Project

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1820	5,089	—
1830	8,680	70.6%
1840	9,991	15.1%
1850	12,268	22.8%
1860	11,575	−5.6%
1870	12,612	9.0%
1880	15,994	26.8%
1890	16,814	5.1%
1900	17,371	3.3%
1910	16,488	−5.1%
1920	15,694	−4.8%
1930	13,520	−13.9%
1940	14,234	5.3%
1950	12,890	−9.4%
1960	11,364	−11.8%
1970	10,823	−4.8%
1980	11,874	9.7%
1990	10,940	−7.9%
2000	11,971	9.4%
2010	12,460	4.1%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Todd 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

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

• Trenton. Church minutes (1823-1944) are available online.

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 KY African American Griots Project
• Kentucky Minorities has information specific to Kentucky African Americans.
• Sandi Gorin's Tips, Hangings in Kentucky 1792-1900

Genealogies

• [Baker] Chapman, Peggy Brown. Bakers of Logan, Christian, Muhlenberg, Livingston, Henderson, Hopkins, Caldwell, Union, Todd, Trigg, Crittenden, Lyon, McLean and Webster Counties & Jackson Purchase, Kentucky. Lubbock, Texas: P.B. Chapman, 1995. FHL Book 929.273 B171cp.
• [Kennedy] Smith, Ruth Hightower and Urban Ewing Kennedy. The Early Settlements of Todd County, Kentucky: Sketches by Urban Ewing Kennedy and the Kennedy Family History. Murray, Ky.: M.H. Smith, 1991. FHL Book 976.977 H2s.
• [Kimbrough] Kimbrough Genealogy The history, biographies, and genealogies of the Kimbrough plantation.
• [Page] Page, Richard Channing Moore. Genealogy of the Page Family in Virginia. Also a Condensed Account of the Nelson, Walker, Pendleton and Randolph Families, With References to the Bland, Burwell, Byrd, Carter, Cary, Duke, Gilmer, Harrison, Rives, Thornton, Wellford, Washington, and Other Distinguished Families in Virginia. New York: Press of the Publishers' Printing Co., 1893. Available at FHL; digital version at Google Books (full-view).
• [Sassin] Allen, Cameron. "Francois Sasin/Sassin of Manakin Town: The First Six Generations of the Sassin/Sasseen Family in America," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 37, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1993):3-17; Vol. 37, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1993):99-116; Vol. 37, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1993):193-205; Vol. 37, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1993):259-271. Digital version at American Ancestors ($). FHL Book 975.5 B2vg v. 37 (1993).
• [Taliaferro] Amundson, Margaret R. "Who Did Elizabeth Taliaferro, Daughter of Margaret French and Robert Taliaferro, Mary?" The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 41, No. 3 (Jan.-Mar. 1997):3-14. Digital version at American Ancestors ($). FHL Book 975.5 B2vg.

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 Todd 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.

• Archives of Appalachia
• Counties of Todd and Christian, Kentucky : historical and biographical 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 Todd County served in various regiments and companies. Those listed below were specifically formed in this county:

- 2nd Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Woodward's) - CSA - Company D.

World War I

• Fallen Soldiers in WWI from KY

Korean War

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

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• Do a Todd 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 Todd County, Kentucky Genealogy Clerk of Court and are housed at the Todd 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 ($) — index and images
• 1820–1915 - Will Books A to M (1820-1915) have been digitized by FamilySearch - free.
• Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records at Ancestry ($)

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.

• Search Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills Records at 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 Todd County Clerk, with divorce records 1849-1958 located with the Todd 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
• 1852-1861 - Todd County Birth Index 1852-1861. Batch C518001 at FamilySearch - free.
• 1874 - Todd County Birth Index 1874. Batch C518002 at FamilySearch - free.
• 1875 - Todd County Birth Index 1875. Batch C518003 at FamilySearch - free.
• 1911-1912 - Searchable KY Birth Index

Marriage

• 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
• 1852-1862 - Todd County Marriage Index 1852-1862. Batch M518001 at FamilySearch - free.
• 1875 - Todd County Marriage Index 1875. Batch M518004 at FamilySearch - free.
• 1876-1878 - Todd County Marriage Index 1876-1878. Batch M518005 at FamilySearch - free.
• 1973-2000 - Searchable KY Marriage Records
• 1973-2000 - Kentucky Marriage Records 1973-2000

Death

• 1843-1970 - Kentucky Deaths and Burials, 1843-1970 at FamilySearch - 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

• 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

• Todd County Historical Society
  PO Box 155
  Elkton, KY 42220
• Links and addresses to Kentucky genealogical and historical societies

Websites

• Todd County, KY History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Todd 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
• Todd County, Kentucky Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
• Todd 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