History Mystery: “Tacky Party”

Years ago, when KHS staff was traveling through the Ohio Valley to scan personal family items for our Ohio River Portrait Project, we were not prepared for the wonderfully fun items that would come our way. We’re used to the stoic studio portraits, and the pleasant landscapes/cityscapes, but catching a glimpse of …

Using the Draper Manuscripts to Find Early Settlers

By: Cheri Daniels, KAO Editor & KHS Head of Reference Services One of the most underutilized resources we have here in the library is the Draper Manuscripts Collection on Microfilm. The primary strength of the Draper Collection lies in its early settlement information, specifically on the individual level. When Lyman Copeland Draper …

Book Notes – Committed to Victory: The Kentucky Home Front During World War II

Committed to Victory: The Kentucky Home Front During World War II. By Richard E. Holl. (2015. Pp. 396. $45.00. Hardcover. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. 663 South Limestone Street, Lexington KY 40508-4008. www.kentuckypress.com) ISBN: 978-0-8131-6563-9. Often when we think of World War II, we think of those serving on the front …

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 …

Book Notes – The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia

The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia. Edited by: Gerald L. Smith, Karen Cotton McDaniel, and John A. Hardin. (2015. Pp. 596. $49.95. Hardcover. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. 663 South Limestone Street, Lexington KY 40508-4008. www.kentuckypress.com) ISBN: 978-0-8131-6065-8. The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia is the first encyclopedia to record the history of …

Josephine E. Williams: Uncovering the Story of a Nineteenth Century Teacher, Diarist, Poetry Lover

By: H. Scott Hankla Introduction In my paternal grandfather’s[i] [i]old cherry desk was a worn, dusty portfolio made of heavy black cardboard, and on its cover and back were engravings of a building with the words “New York Crystal Palace for the Exhibition of All Nations.”[ii]  Inside the portfolio was a …

Collections Corner: Chinn Family Genealogy Collection

Hazel Chinn Besserer compiled this Chinn family research collection between 1970 and 1985, and contributed to published information on the Chinn family.  As part of her research, she traced her line back through Kentucky to Cabell Breckinridge Chinn (1823-1862), named after one of his father’s legal clients, Joseph Cabell Breckinridge …