Home Archives: Genealogy
  1. Tracking Olive Tinsley: Documenting a Female in 1830s Kentucky

    Tracking Olive Tinsley: Documenting a Female in 1830s Kentucky

    By: Anissa Penn Davis, Kentucky State Historian: The General Society of Mayflower Descendants It is well-known that finding a female ancestor can be a daunting task.  A researcher counts himself/herself lucky if a maiden name is found in a will.  However, what do researchers do for those females who don’t leave...

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  2. Book Notes – Sustainable Genealogy: Separating Fact From Fiction in Family Legends

    Book Notes – Sustainable Genealogy: Separating Fact From Fiction in Family Legends

    Sustainable Genealogy: Separating Fact From Fiction in Family Legends. By Richard Hite. (2013. Pp. 126. $18.95. Softcover. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 3600 Clipper Mill Road, Suite 260, Baltimore MD 21211-1953. www.genealogical.com) ISBN: 978-0-8063-1982-7. Richard Hite has penned a dense treatise on the pitfalls and obstacles we hit when relying...

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  3. The George Blackburn Family of Leaders

    The George Blackburn Family of Leaders

    By: Elizabeth Rouse Fielder The George Blackburn Family Major George Blackburn Sr. (b. 16 January 1745, d. 9 September 1817) was one of the early settlers of Augusta County, Virginia.  He married Prudence Berry (b. 5 November 1754, d. 14 June 1836) in Virginia on the 12th of October 1771...

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  4. Collections Corner: Elder John “Raccoon” Smith Marriage Records

    Collections Corner: Elder John “Raccoon” Smith Marriage Records

    The early Kentucky landscape was often painted as a wild frontier, full of colorful characters that had enough eccentricity and determination to successfully settle this new land. While record keeping might have taken a back seat, or even been overlooked as a necessity in this “wilderness”, the ultimate goal of...

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  5. Collections Corner: New Book Donations from KGS!

    Collections Corner: New Book Donations from KGS!

    Thank You, Kentucky Genealogical Society (KGS)! The Kentucky Genealogical Society recently gave a donation of $1500 to the KHS Martin F. Schmidt Research Library for the purchase of library books, particularly focusing on county publications.  With budget cuts in recent years, the library’s acquisitions have mainly been donations of books and...

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  6. Repository Roundup: Western Kentucky University

    Repository Roundup: Western Kentucky University

    Editor’s note: This article marks the beginning of a new How-to series for KAO – Repository Roundup. Kentucky has a great reputation for being ‘Records Rich’ – but we want to know WHERE the records are located throughout the state. We hope to feature libraries and collections throughout Kentucky that will...

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  7. #RootsTechKY: Report from the RootsTech Family History Fair!

    #RootsTechKY: Report from the RootsTech Family History Fair!

    By: Cheri Daniels, KAO Editor and KHS Head of Reference Services Our first RootsTech Family History Fair is now a colorful and fun filled chapter of our programming history! As a very different type of Second Saturday*, the Kentucky Genealogical Society (KGS) and the Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) took on a new...

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  8. Collections Corner: A Woodford County Family Collection

    Collections Corner: A Woodford County Family Collection

    Let me introduce you to Martinette (Nettie) Viley Witherspoon of Woodford County. Mrs. Witherspoon left behind a wonderful collection that not only gives us a glimpse into her world during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but also provides us with an exemplary representation of family history research in...

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