County of the Month: Christian

Christian County is part of the Pennyroyal region in southwest Kentucky. It was the 21st county to be formed (1797). It is the second largest county in the state at 722 square miles. Originally, the county encompassed all land between Logan and Calloway Counties, but eventually this area was divided to create five new counties: Livingston, Muhlenberg, Henderson, Trigg and Todd.

The first settlement in Christian County was near Montgomery Creek in 1748. Although the area had abundant fresh water, wild game and timber, poor road conditions caused the area to be isolated, and growth was minimal. Counter to that was the topography of the southern region: prairie grass in rich clay soil with a foundation of limestone. This region attracted tobacco farmers, and the area slowly began to grow.

The General Assembly organized the county in 1797, naming it in memory of Col. William Christian, a veteran of the American Revolution and Indian fighter. Hopkinsville, named for General Samuel Hopkins who was another veteran of the Revolutionary War, eventually became the county seat.

During the removal of the Cherokee Nation from Georgia in the late 1830's, more than 13,000 Indians passed through Christian County on their way to Oklahoma. Hundreds, including two chiefs, died while passing through the area. This became known as the "Trail of Tears."

Source: Kentucky Encyclopedia

Christian County Trivia

In 1903, an archaeology dig in central Christian County revealed a prehistoric burying ground of a race of "giants." The skeletal remains of 150 bodies well over six feet tall were found among ancient pieces of pottery and flint weapons. The largest skeleton was measured at six feet eight inches tall. A few miles from the burying ground, a flint quarry was discovered near Bennetsville. Authorities determined that the skeletons were those of a race of mound builders, who lived in the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys c.100 B.C.–A.D. 400.

Sources: Kentucky Explorer, March 1998; Kentucky Files: Counties, Christian

 

 

Family History and Christian County Research Resources

Below are some resources available at KDLA for genealogists and researchers interested in the Christian County area.

County Clerk records

• Agency history
• Administrator’s bonds books (indexed) – 1855-1867, 1872-1884
• Guardian’s bonds books (indexed) – 1827-1912
• List of guardians, executors, and administrators books (indexed) – 1902-1942
• Coffee house bonds books (indexed) – 1881-1894
• Constable bonds books (indexed) – 1855-1925
• Miscellaneous bonds book – 1884-1924
• Public official’s bonds book (indexed) – 1897-1939
• Sheriff’s bonds book – 1892-1897
• Tavern keepers bonds book – 1893-1902
• General cross index to deeds – 1797-1945
• Deed books – 1797-1989
• General index to land entries – 1798-1856
• Land entries books (indexed) – 1798-1939
• Land grant book – 1802-1805
• Land surveys books (indexed) – 1797-1956
• Land warrant book (indexed) – 1837-1852
• General index to marriages (groom) – 1818-1970
• General index to marriages (groom) “colored” – 1859-1970
• Marriage bond books (indexed) – 1859-1904
• Marriage bond books “colored” (indexed) – 1866-1876
• Marriage books (indexed) – 1797-1957, 1959-1991
• Marriage books “colored” (indexed) – 1914-1971
• Marriage certificates (indexed) – 1818-1857
• Marriage certificates “colored” (indexed) – 1876-1882
• Marriage registers (indexed) – 1857-1925
• Marriage registers “colored” (indexed) – 1866-1875, 1882-1914
• Freedmen’s declaration of marriage – 1866-1887
• General cross indexes to mortgages – 1873-1963
• Mortgage books – 1873-1949
• Order books – 1835-1915
• General index to real estate conveyances – grantee – 1940-1984
• General index to real estate conveyances – grantor – 1940-1984
• Settlement books (indexed) – 1875-1917
• List of slaves imported into the Commonwealth of Kentucky (indexed) – 1856-1866
• Tax assessment books – 1797-1969
• Veteran’s discharge books (indexed) – 1919-1974
• General index to wills – 1797-1912
• Will books – 1797-1989

Circuit Court records

• Agency history
• General index to civil cases – defendant – 1874-1887
• General index to civil cases – plaintiff – 1874-1887
• General indexes to civil cases – 1888-1977
• General index to criminal cases – 1922-1956
• Civil case files – 1802-1812, 1814-1850, 1948-1977
• Common law case files – 1885-1887, 1889-1905, 1907-1912, 1914-1940, 1944-1948
• Equity case files – 1850-1969
• Criminal case files – 1957-1977
• Grand Jury indictments – 1893-1957
• Complete records books – 1816-1825
• Coroner’s inquests – 1938-1949
• Civil judgment books – 1854-1898, 1910-1915
• Criminal judgment book – 1858-1885
• Judgment by default books – 1871-1892
• Judgment from inferior courts books – 1871-1944
• Naturalization book – 1906-1929
• Order books – 1807-1826, 1828-1829, 1832-1840, 1842-1886
• Civil order books (indexed) – 1880-1977
• Criminal order books (indexed) – 1876-1977

Court of Common Pleas records

• Order books (indexed) – 1888-1892

Quarterly Court records

• Criminal order book – 1854-1887