The Kentucke Gazette of 1787 was the first newspaper west of the Allegheny Mountains. Many of Kentucky’s historic papers are now free to search through the University of Kentucky’s ExploreUK site.
Kentucky obituaries in historic newspapers
John Bradford printed the first issue of the Kentucke Gazette in Lexington in 1787, five years before statehood. Early Kentucky papers reported deaths of settlers, Revolutionary War veterans and travelers on the Ohio River. Around 5,000 obituary notices from six early Kentucky newspapers, covering 1787 to 1854, were extracted and published by the Kentucky Historical Society and are available in book form.
Louisville became the state’s largest newspaper city in the 1800s, home to the Louisville Journal and later the Courier-Journal, along with a German-language press. Each county seat supported weekly papers, and in eastern Kentucky these are often the only printed record of deaths in coal camps and mountain communities.
The Kentucky Digital Newspaper Program at the University of Kentucky Libraries has digitized papers from across the state for ExploreUK and Chronicling America.
Where to find Kentucky obituaries
Digitized Kentucky newspapers
- ExploreUK, University of Kentucky Libraries — Free digitized Kentucky newspapers from the Kentucky Digital Newspaper Program.
Archives and libraries
- Kentucky Historical Society — Research library in Frankfort with Kentucky newspapers, family files and genealogy collections.
- Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives — State archives and records, including vital records guidance.
- Kentucky Newspapers, FamilySearch Research Wiki — Volunteer-maintained guide to Kentucky newspaper archives, indexes and microfilm, with county-by-county links.
Nationwide newspaper archives
- Chronicling America, Library of Congress — Free digitized newspapers from every state. Narrow a search to Kentucky and the years you need.
- Google News Archive — Free scans of hundreds of older newspapers, browsable by title and date.
- Internet Archive newspapers — Free digitized newspapers and microfilm uploaded by libraries.
- FamilySearch — Free obituary indexes, death records and the Social Security Death Index (free account).
- Find a Grave — Volunteer-built cemetery memorials, many with transcribed obituaries.
- Newspapers.com — Large subscription archive of U.S. papers. Many public libraries offer free access.
- GenealogyBank — Subscription archive of historic newspapers and modern obituaries.
- Legacy.com — Obituaries published since about 2000 in most U.S. daily newspapers.
Tips for finding an obituary in Kentucky
- Pin down the date and place first. A death index or death certificate gives the exact date and county, and then you only need to search the local papers for the following week or two.
- Search more than one town. Obituaries often ran in the paper where the person was born or had lived before, not just where they died. Small-town weeklies sometimes published a notice weeks later.
- Look beyond the word “obituary.” Older papers reported deaths under headings like “Died,” “Deaths,” local news and personals columns, funeral notices and cards of thanks. See death notices vs. obituaries.
- Try every spelling. Search initials, nicknames and misspellings, and for married women in older papers, search the husband’s name (“Mrs. John Smith”). Digitized text often misreads old type.
- Ask a librarian. Many public libraries and state archives will look up an obituary for free or a small fee, and newspaper microfilm can often be borrowed through interlibrary loan.