The following is what is have learned about the political divisional separations in Kentucky. It is necessary to know what county your ancestor lived in, to locate him or her in government documents. Obviously, census records are provided by county reports. Marriage and tax lists were also kept by the county, usually at the courthouse.

In 1790, two years prior to Kentucky statehood, Eastern and Southeastern Kentucky included just four counties, Mason, Bourbon, Madison and Lincoln. Somewhere in this web-site, there is a report about Joseph Hall of Lincoln County. When he lived there, the county extended from present day Jenkins, in Letcher County, westward to the Ohio River, near Paducah. To find a trace of him in county records one would have to search over 30 counties, each of which were once a part of Lincoln County.

My interest is primarily Eastern and Southeastern Kentucky so the information here mainly pertains to those counties.

Floyd County was formed in 1800, from parts of Fleming, Mason and Montgomery Counties. There was rapid political geographic separation of this county. In 1806, part of Floyd was lopped off to form part of Clay County. Harlan County, in 1819 was carved out of Floyd and Knox County. Pike County was formed in 1821, from land previously entirely part of Floyd County. Perry County was formed in 1821, from parts of Floyd and Clay County At that time, Perry County then included parts of present day Breathett, Leslie, Harlan, Perry, Letcher and Knott County. Lawrence County was formed in 1821 from part of Floyd County. Morgan County, formed in 1822, was once included in the Floyd County geo-political division. Letcher County, which was born in 1842, was taken from Perry County. Rowan County, the birthplace of my paternal grandfather was formed in 1856 from parts of Fleming and Morgan County. Knott County, in which many of my present day distant cousins resided, was formed in the 1880s, in part from the northern tip of Letcher County.

My 3rd great-grandfather, James Hall, at the time of different censuses, lived in Floyd, Perry, and Letcher County. It is possiblle that he never moved, but was placed within different county borders by the politic changes.

Some authors have criticized the state for the apparent eagerness to subdivided county, virtually at the drop of a hat. Those critics, claim that politic motives were often the primary motivating factor in such actions. The geography of the area, known well by those who live there, suggests the logical motive, reasonable access to the county seat, where necessary interaction with local government took place. Without the redistricting, as it took place, a trip to the county seat would have taken days for some remotely located residents, because of the mountainous terrain, the lack of roads, and the primative modes of travel available. There wasn't a railroad in this area until sometime around the close of the Civil War.

Floyd County formed 1800, county seat Prestonburg

Perry County formed 1821, county seat Hazard

Pike County formed 1821, county seat Pikesville

Letcher County formed 1842, county seat Whitesburg

Knox County formed 1800, county seat Barbourville