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  1. The Sour Mash Whiskey Recipe of Catherine Carpenter

    The Sour Mash Whiskey Recipe of Catherine Carpenter

    By: Cheri Daniels, KAO Editor/KHS Head of Reference Services & Deana Thomas, KHS Archivist In 1995, the Carpenter Family Papers were donated to the Kentucky Historical Society (KHS). The scope of the collection runs from 1788 to 1928, and includes documents from several members of this family as well as...

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  2. The Boyer Ferry and it’s role in America’s westward expansion

    The Boyer Ferry and it’s role in America’s westward expansion

    By: Louise Jones, KHS Director of Research Experience Editor’s Note: The following report comes to us through the research that was conducted for the first Kentucky Ancestors Town Hall event in 2017.  As we get deeper into our family histories, it is not uncommon to find an ancestor or related...

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  3. “Dead Men Don’t Talk” – How General May, along with Old Huldy, ended with Old Sparky

    “Dead Men Don’t Talk” – How General May, along with Old Huldy, ended with Old Sparky

    By: Linda Colston, KHS Library Technician and Genealogist Editor’s Note: The following report comes to us through the research that was conducted for the first Kentucky Ancestors Town Hall event in 2017.  The information the family had indicated that General May had been a Deputy Sheriff in Laurel County, Kentucky...

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  4. The Untraveled History of the Wilderness Road

    The Untraveled History of the Wilderness Road

    By: Mildred Leedy Armao Daniel Boone is iconized as the man who blazed the trail across the Cumberland Mountains from Virginia to Kentucky. This important route, then, opened the door for tens of thousands of pioneers to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains. Initially, the trace was simply that; a...

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  5. The John Meaux Property Division

    The John Meaux Property Division

    Editor’s Note: The research presented in this report was featured in a recent episode of Finding Your Roots on PBS as it followed the ancestry of actress Maya Rudolph. By Kandie Adkinson, Administrative Specialist, Land Office Division, Office of the Secretary of State As Researched by The Harrodsburg-Mercer County Oral...

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  6. Colonel James Smith’s Death Verified

    Colonel James Smith’s Death Verified

    By: Martha Ann Atkins, Ph.D Col. James Smith (1737-1813) was a frontiersman, pioneer, explorer, Indian captive, ‘Indian fighter’, Revolutionary War soldier, Pennsylvania State Assemblyman, Kentucky State Assemblyman, Presbyterian preacher, published author and my 4th Great Grandfather. The major events of his life are well-known.  However, the date and location of his...

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  7. Dragging Fact from Fiction: Harlan’s Station, “The Old Stone House” and The Elijah Harlan House

    Dragging Fact from Fiction: Harlan’s Station, “The Old Stone House” and The Elijah Harlan House

    By: Michael J. Denis and Kelli Weaver-Miner Often in history, places play a secondary role to the people who are associated with that place.  Harlan’s Station, “The Old Stone House” and the Elijah Harlan house may well be an exception.  These three historic sites, located about 5 miles west of...

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  8. Dennis and Diadamia Doram: A View of the American Dream

    Dennis and Diadamia Doram: A View of the American Dream

    By: Julie Maio Kemper, Curator, Museum Collections & Exhibitions, Kentucky Historical Society Around a corner in the Kentucky Historical Society’s permanent exhibit, “A Kentucky Journey,” two portraits sit enclosed in a large glass case. These are the images of Dennis and Diadamia Doram, dated 1839.  Like many prosperous 19th century Kentuckians, the Dorams...

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