PERRY COUNTY, KY HISTORY AND LOOKUP

County History

*None Listed

Perry County, Kentucky: A Genealogical Overview

Located in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains in southeastern Kentucky, Perry County is a core part of the Eastern Kentucky Coalfield. Its history and culture are deeply intertwined with the rugged landscape, the North Fork of the Kentucky River which flows through it, and the coal mining industry that shaped its development. Its story is one of hardy pioneers, strong family bonds, and the boom-and-bust cycles of a resource-based economy.

I. County Formation and Evolution

Understanding Perry County’s formation from larger parent counties and its own role as a “mother county” to several others is absolutely essential for tracing family lines in this mountainous region.

  • 1820: County Formed: Perry County was established by an act of the Kentucky General Assembly on November 2, 1820. It was the 66th county formed in the state.
  • Parent County: It was created from the southern portion of Floyd County and the eastern portion of Clay County. Records for ancestors living in this area prior to 1820 would be located in the records of those two parent counties.
  • Subsequent County Formations: Perry County originally covered a much larger territory and is a significant “mother county.” Portions of Perry were used to create Breathitt County (1839), Letcher County (1842), Leslie County (1878), and Knott County (1884). Researchers must be vigilant about these boundary changes, as a family could find themselves living in a different county without ever having moved.
  • Name Origin: The county was named in honor of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, a naval hero of the War of 1812 famous for his victory at the Battle of Lake Erie.
  • County Seat History: The county seat was established in 1821 at a location that would be named Hazard, also in honor of Commodore Perry. Hazard has remained the county seat throughout the county’s history.

II. Settlement and Early History

  • Early Inhabitants: The mountainous terrain of what is now Perry County was primarily used as hunting grounds by Native American tribes, particularly the Shawnee and Cherokee. There were few, if any, permanent indigenous settlements in the immediate area at the time of European arrival.
  • Pioneer Settlement and Economy: The first significant settlement by European-Americans began in the late 1790s and early 1800s. These early pioneers, largely of Scots-Irish, English, and German descent, migrated from Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. They established isolated, self-sufficient farmsteads in the narrow creek valleys or “hollers.” The early economy was based on subsistence farming, hunting, logging, and ginseng harvesting. This changed dramatically with the arrival of the railroad in the early 1900s, which ushered in the coal boom and transformed the county into a major center of coal production, attracting new workers and creating company towns.

III. Genealogical Records and Resources

This section provides practical information for locating ancestral records specific to Perry County.

  • Courthouse: Perry County Courthouse: 481 Main St, Hazard, KY 41701. The County Clerk holds land records (deeds), marriage licenses, and fiscal court records. The Circuit Court Clerk holds probate records (wills and estates), divorce decrees, and civil and criminal court cases.
  • Vital Records:
    • Birth and Death Records: Statewide registration in Kentucky began in 1911. Records from that date forward are held by the Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics in Frankfort. Records of births and deaths prior to 1911 are extremely rare; researchers must rely on alternative sources such as church records, family Bibles, cemetery inscriptions, and newspapers.
    • Marriage Records: Marriage records from the county’s formation (circa 1821) to the present are held by the Perry County Clerk.
  • Libraries with Genealogy Collections:
    • Perry County Public Library: Located at 101 Success Dr, Hazard, KY 41701. The library has a local history and genealogy collection with resources for Perry County and the surrounding region.
    • Hazard-Perry County Genealogical Society: A crucial resource for local family information, publications, and connecting with other researchers.
    • Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives & Kentucky Historical Society: Both located in Frankfort, KY, these are the primary statewide repositories for Kentucky genealogical research, holding microfilm copies of county records, state archives, military records, and more.
  • Bordering Jurisdictions:
    • Breathitt County, KY
    • Knott County, KY
    • Letcher County, KY
    • Leslie County, KY
    • Clay County, KY
    • Owsley County, KY

Please share any resources you have and will do lookups or links to resources you are aware of. Thanks