County of the Month: Letcher County, Kentucky

Letcher County was carved from portions of Perry and Harlan counties in 1842. It is named in honor of Kentucky's Governor Robert P. Letcher. The Cumberland, as well as the North Fork of the Kentucky River and Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River have headwaters in the county. At the time of establishment, Stephen Hiram Hogg donated a courthouse site along the headwaters of the North Fork, about 12 miles from the Virginia state line. This area became known as the county seat, Whitesburg.

Whitesburg was Letcher County's only true town until well into the 20th century. Other towns, such as Jenkins, Fleming, McRoberts and Seco were coal towns, constructed by Consolidation, Elkhorn, and South-East coal companies. The expansion of industry in the area brought Eastern European immigrants and Afro-Americans from the Deep South to the area during 1920's. Although the need for fuel during World War II brought jobs and economic stability to the area, the decline in the production of coal caused companies and a large portion of the population to pull out of Letcher County.

Source: Kentucky Encyclopedia

 

Letcher County Trivia

Local legend says that the town of Whitesburg received its name as a joke when some plats were suveyed on a snowy day late in 1842.

The town is actually named after John Daugherty White, Member of Kentucky state legislature; U.S. Representative from Kentucky, 1875-77, 1881-85; and delegate to Republican National Convention from Kentucky, 1880.

"Whitesburg's Mountain Setting" (C.Frank Dunn Photographic Collection, Kentuckiana Digital Library)

Source: Kentucky Encyclopedia; Political Graveyard: http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/white5.html#R9M0JH90C Kentucky Files: Counties-Letcher

 

 

Family History and Letcher County Research Resources

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

County Clerk records

• Agency history
• Administrator’s bonds books (indexed) – 1866-1913 and 1919-1931
• Guardian’s bonds books (indexed) – 1866-1932 and 1941-1954
• Constable bonds book (indexed) – 1916-1952
• Coroner bonds book – 1922-1946
• Jailer bonds book – 1922-1945
• Public official’s bonds books (indexed) – 1866-1942
• Sheriff’s bonds book (indexed) – 1882-1921
• General cross index to deeds – 1844-1940
• General index to deeds – grantee – 1848-1999
• General index to deeds – grantor – 1848-1999
• Deed books – 1844-2000
• Certificates of election book – 1884-1902
• Register of candidates for nomination in primary election – 1912-1939
• Lunatic inquest books – 1919-1964
• General cross index to marriages – 1842-1996
• Marriage books (indexed) – 1870-1999
• Marriage books “colored” (indexed) – 1922-1962
• Marriage registers – 1842-1856 and 1861-1883
• Mineral lease books – 1917-1999
• General index to mortgages – mortgagee – 1881-1999
• General index to mortgages – mortgagor – 1881-1999
• Mortgage books – 1881-1931 and 1936-2000
• Order books – 1866-1871, 1873-1896, 1904-1917, and 1919-1929
• Road orders books (indexed) – 1878-1887
• Settlement books – 1876-1916 and 1930-1932
• Survey books – 1842-1943
• Tax assessment books – 1843-1977
• General index to wills – 1919-1957
• Will books (indexed) – 1871-1999

Circuit Court records

• Agency history
• Committee bonds books (indexed) – 1889-1943
• General indexes to civil and criminal cases – 1842-1945
• General indexes to civil cases – 1911-1977
• General indexes to civil cases – plaintiff – 1860-1923
• General index to criminal cases – 1968-1978
• Civil case files – 1860-1923 and 1953-1977
• Criminal case files – 1935-1936 and 1968-1978
• Equity case files – 1916-1953
• Ordinary case files – 1923-1953
• Transcripts of appealed cases – 1955, 1957, and 1974-1978
• Grand Jury indictments – 1925-1957, 1959-1963, 1965-1966, 1968, 1970, and 1972-1976
• Idiot inquest books – 1878-1924
• Lunacy inquest books – 1911-1923
• Mental inquest books (indexed) – 1919-1977
• Judgment book (indexed) – 1867-1891
• Criminal judgment book (indexed) – 1924-1952
• Judgment from inferior courts books – 1867-1953
• Naturalization book (indexed) – 1883-1884
• Order books (indexed) – 1852-1860 and 1867-1889
• Civil order books (indexed) – 1889-1977
• Criminal order books (indexed) – 1891-1898 and 1901-1977
• Quarterly Court records
• Order book – 1877-1889
• Civil order books (indexed) – 1901-1975
• Criminal order books – 1918-1950 and 1954-1977
• Magistrate or Justice of the Peace records
• Civil judgment book – 1960-1970
• Criminal judgment books (indexed) – 1964-1969
• Order books (indexed) – 1907-1961

Fiscal Court records

• Order books (indexed) – 1904-1919 and 1921-1933