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You can access parts of Kentucky’s family history records for free through the University of Kentucky website. Including among other sources are the Kentucky Death Index from 1911 to 1986 and from 1987 to 1992, the Kentucky Marriage Index from 1973-1993, as well as the Kentucky Divorce Index from 1973 to 1993).
In both the US and the UK there are volunteer based initiatives to digitize and index Birth, marriage and death records for family history purposes. In the US you can refine your family history search by county, state and names. In the UK you can access the index of births, marriages, and deaths from England and Wales from 1837 to 1983. The free BMD database includes over 68 million family history records.
Giving is receiving, and family history is a great opportunity to share. Sharing is great but most other family historians want to at least verify the source of the family history information that you’ve shared. Credit should be given when you receive data from someone and then pass it on. It’s only fair that there is an accolade for the sweat and effort that went in to collecting the valuable family history data that you are about to share with someone else.
Family history interviews are a key skill for the amateur family historians. A good place to start is with your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins in your close family. Another opportunity exists with friends of the family. Letting know that you are researching your family history can help you make rapid progress . Find out what they know about birth and death dates and places, marriage dates and places and the circumstances surrounding these events. It’s usually more productive to begin with the current year and work backwards. When you run into a family history dead-end move on to the next line or investigate the brothers or sisters of your ancestor. A lot of useful information can be found by researching the brother or sister of my direct line of ancestry. It’s a good idea to ask them if they mind checking their homes for information they might have on ancestors, family member, family history or family heirloom.
