WINTER 2023 ANNOUNCEMENTS
Historical and Genealogical Happenings In and Around
Bracken County
[from April 2020]: The Bracken County Historical Society is asking for help tracking down pictures of schools that were once located in Bracken County. If you have pictures you can share, click here, to read the full article with contact information for the BCHS.
[from January 2020]: "The Bracken County Historical Society is asking for the public's assistance to find a picture of Mayme Connelly. She was instrumental in public affairs in Bracken County for several decades.
The picture can be copied at The Bracken County News office Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm or at the Historical Society office in the old jail on the courthouse square on Fridays from 10 am-4pm."
We are grateful for research leads forwarded by our KyGenWeb volunteers and website visitors. Links to these new leads will be added to the appropriate pages on this Bracken County KyGenWeb website.
Jim Deaton announces the publication of a new eBook on Pendleton County history. No Place Like Home: A History of the Cities of Pendleton County, a history of current and former settlements/towns in Pendleton County is now available. How many current and former towns would you guess are/were in Pendleton County? 30? Maybe 40? How about almost a hundred?
The new eBook is written by Jim Deaton and edited by Fran Carr, both graduates of Pendleton County High School. Previous histories of Pendleton County, unlike this one, were not sourced. At the very least, you'll know for sure where each one is/was on a map.
Here is a link for the eBook's webpage: No Place Like Home
Natalie Kelly of Forever Curious has offered a list of quality genealogical resources for family historians. See Natalie's recommendations on this website's updated Web Resource page. Forever Curious is a group of librarians and educators who are curating and creating the best educational resources for kids on the web.
Brian Caudill, Letcher County Coordinator, writes: "Family Search has several Kentucky County marriage records online now (ie. digital images of
their microfilm). So far, the counties included are Adair, Harrison, Madison, Magoffin, Marion, Martin, Mason, Meade, Menifee, Mercer, Monroe, Muhlenberg and Nelson. Some counties have a lot of records, while others only have a few." Brian has provided the direct links to both the Digital Folders page, and to the Search Page. The Digital Folder Number for the Mason County records is 000281846 (LDS Microfilm Number 281846).
Our Bracken County Connections page (aka "Mug Book") has been updated with a new contribution from Keith Selke. Click to view the biography of William Richard Norris of Shelby County, Indiana, and others, found in the pages of county history books from around the country. Thank you to Keith for this contribution.
Please consider transcribing and contributing any biographies you come across in your research in the old county history books.
A big "thank you" to Philip Merrill for adding the Civil War record of his ancestor, John W. Merrill to the Bracken County Civil War Roster, posted on this website.
The original roster was compiled and contributed years ago by Bonnie Snow, my predecessor as Bracken County KYGenWeb host. I am certain that Bonnie would be delighted to invite additions by contributors, as Philip has done. If you have a Bracken County ancestor with an official Civil War service record that is not included on Bonnie's roster, please feel free to share it here on the Bracken County KYGenWeb. Your contribution will be acknowledged as part of the posted record.
The 1890 U.S. Census of Civil War soldiers (also on this website) did not record those who died during the war or before the 1890 census. Also, many surviving veterans moved away from their home county and state, so finding them can be a challenge. Your contributions are always a valuable addition to the body of knowledge about our Bracken County ancestors.
The KYGenWeb is built from contributions by researchers like you.
Thanks to Martha Richards, who has transcribed and contributed several announcements and articles gleaned from out-of-area newspapers. Click HERE to go directly to the transcriptions.
Bev Graver has again answered the request for references to individuals with Bracken County roots found in old out-of-area newspapers and county history books. A big "thank you" to Bev for abstracting and contributing three old obituaries that could help break through a researcher's brick wall. Click HERE to view them.
If your research in these books for any state and county reveals a family background in Bracken County, please consider transcribing and submitting it to help me develop the Bracken County Connections page on this website.
Kurt Inscoe Hahn has recently updated his Insko/Inscoe Descendant Report, and also contributed his Galbraith Descendant Reports. The reports record through many collateral lines the descendants of two early pioneers of Bracken County, Joseph "Big Joe" Insko and John Galbraith. Many thanks to Kurt for these valuable research tools.
A genealogist's dream! The 1940 U.S. Census is on-line FREE at the National Archives website. Note that these images are currently browseable only. Rest assured that volunteers around the country are working hard to build an index database. In the meantime, here are some ideas for finding your family: 1) Locate them in the indexed 1930 census and make a note of the location and enumeration district. In many cases, families did not relocate between 1930 and 1940. The enumeration districts did not vary much, it will narrow the browsing time. 2) Even if your family moved, it may be possible to find them in another source for 1940, such as a community telephone directory. From that, you may be able to narrow their location to a few enumeration districts, which will reduce your browsing time. That's how I found my missing uncle!
Mary Ann Ashworth, our terrific lookup volunteer, has added a new book to her list of books for doing lookups. The book title is Veterans of Bracken County, and is a joint effort of the Bracken County Property Valuation Administration and the Bracken County Historical Society. The volume contains images of men and women who have served in the military and includes information about the Revolutionary War; War of 1812: Mexican-American War; Civil War; Spanish American War: World Wars l and 2; Korean War; Vietnam War, Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. The book is also available for purchase from the Bracken County Historical Society; details below.
Mary Ann recently returned from a trip home and provided some information on new eateries in Bracken County. These changes have been updated on this website's Roadtrip page. Thanks, Mary Ann!
Old KY records surface in Fayette County! The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that a group of previously unknown records from the late 1700s to the 1900s have been found in Fayette County. The records, consisting of Kentucky land, census and marriages are being prepared for public inspection. According to the article, the old records are so fragile that working copies must be created for use. The original records will not be made available. They are currently being microfilmed at KDLA in Frankfort and should be available in a few weeks. Among the records is a document called the "Doomsday Book," that includes the names of many of the commonwealth's earliest settlers, while Kentucky was still part of Virginia. The records promise to become a critical source for researchers whose ancestors arrived in Kentucky before counties were well established and their records organized.
Two new publications are now available from the Bracken County Historical Society. The first book, by society member Caroline Miller and entitled Grapevine Dispatch, contains maps, illustrations, and photos with stories of anti-slavery men and women who lived in Bracken County and other Civil War "borderlands" counties along the Ohio River. The second book, Veterans of Bracken County, is a joint project of the Bracken County Property Valuation Administration and the Bracken County Historical Society. It is a yearbook with photos of Bracken County's local heroes who honored their country with their military service in America's wars. Contact the BCHS for purchase information.
The Bracken County Historical Society has a great looking new web address and a new newsletter coordinator named Bobbi Apking. Why not visit the website now to see all the resources available from the Bracken County Historical Society?
Attention webmasters of family association websites and genealogy websites devoted to serious research in specific Bracken County surname(s). Contact me if you would like to add a link to your website on the Bracken County KYGenWeb Surname Registry page. Visit the Bracken County Surname Registry page to review the general rules for submitting a link.
Regular features of this website are updated monthly. Many additional name references have been added to the "Tabitha's Tidbits" index, recent obituaries, old obituaries "From Our Files" and articles of interest from the Bracken County News.
A special "thank you" to Ken Dunlap, who has transcribed and contributed the Bracken County Marriage Register entries from the important microfilmed "Kentucky Birth, Marriage and Death Records (1852-1910)." These records were compiled years ago for the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. Many of the filmed images are faint and hard to read. Ken has given Bracken County researchers a big assist by undertaking this transcription project. Thanks again, Ken!
Last Updated
Copyright 2024
Passed W3C link-check on January 11, 2023.
This site is not responsible for URL changes by managers of external websites.
|
