CENSUS RECORDS

Federal census records for Kentucky are available from 1810 through 1920, except 1890 census which was destroyed. All are indexed in at least one format. Though the 1790 and 1800 censuses were destroyed, they have been partially reconstructed with the use of tax lists. These reconstructions are available wherever copies of the censuses are also found.
There are no official state censuses for Kentucky, and inhabitants prior to 1790 were often included with Virginia records. Tax lists for Kentucky are some of the best found in the U.S., and can substitute as a census of mature male inhabitants for almost any early year. Kentucky infrequently enumerated public school students beginning in 1888. Scattered records are at the office of the respective county Board of Health or Board of Education. Some are maintained by the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives and the Kentucky Historical Society.

Kentucky Research Sources

Filson, John. The Discovery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucky. Wilmington, DE: James Adams, 1784.
Schweitzer, George K. Kentucky Genealogical Research. Knoxville: the author, 1983. (Contains a good discussion of Kentucky military records in addition to helpful information for statewide research. Also includes partial county inventories.)
Coleman, John Winston. A Bibliography of Kentucky History. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1949. (Kentucky histories written prior to 1949 are listed in this bibliography.)
Hogan, Roseann Reinemuth. Kentucky Ancestry: A Guide to Genealogical and Historical Research. Salt Lake City: Ancestry Incorporated, 1992.

Archives, Libraries and Societies.
Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives
Public Records Division
300 Coffee Tree Road
P.O. Box 537
Frankfort, KY 40602-0537
http://www.kdla.state.ky.us/arch/

Filson Club Library
1310 S. Third Street
Louisville, KY 40208

See also: Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. The Guide to Kentucky Archival and Manuscript Repositories. Frankfort: Public Records Division, 1986.