Until 1780 Kentucky was a province of Virginia.
In that year, Kentucky County was established. It was then divided into three counties, Jefferson, which was named for the governor; Fayette, in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette;
and Lincoln, for General Benjamin Lincoln, a Revolutionary War hero.
In 1799, Fort Jefferson was established near the mouth of the Ohio River.
In 1780, the towns of Louisville and Lexington were established.
Following the Revolution, the roads swarmed with immigrants from East of the mountains, largly from Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the Carolinas. The pioneers came over the Wilderness Road which led from present day Gate City Va on the Virginai Tennessee border; northwestward to Cumberland Gap, then on to Boonsboro, Harriodsburg,
Danville, Lexington and the Ohio.
Many came by flatboat and landed at Limestone Creek,(Maysville), at the mouths of Licking Creek and the Kentucky River.
From 1775 to 1784, in what was then a wilderness, population increased from 100 to almost 30,000. By 1790 during the first US Census, the population of Kentucky was
73,677; by 1800, the population had risen to 220,955; and in the 1810 census it had reached
406,511.
Likewise, as the population grew, so did the counties as sufficient numbers of people increased in geographic areas. The necessity to form new counties was largly dictated
by this population growth. As was the case in other states, as the formation of counties began, areas within the boundaries of the new state which were referred to as "Indian Lands"
began to shrink as treaties were signed and the new state opened up more territory for settlement. This movement into newly acquired lands from the Indians began peacefully enough,
but as more settlers came, hunting grounds became the source for many a dispute between white and Indian. Many resulting in bloodshed, reprisals from both sides were swift, and deadly.
Hydrography:
There are approximately 3000 miles of navigable streams in Kentucky. The most important river is the Ohio, which flows along the northern border of the state from Catlettsburg at the mouth of the Big Sandy, to just above Wickliff, where it joins the Mississippi. When Virginia ceded its territory north of the Ohio to the U.S. government in 1784, it retained ownership of the river. Title passed to Kentucky when the state
separated from Virginia in 1792. Ref. Americana Encyclopedia Vol. 16, p365.
When searching for your ancestors, and you know the present day county your ancestor lived in; it is a good idea to search the formation of counties within the state to determine which counties it was fromed from. This will give you a search location for the parents of that individual. Records of births and marriages, land transactions etc. are recorded in the county in which they occurred on that date, but an earlier record, before the county was formed would be recorded in the parent county, not necessarily in the present day one.
1776
Kentucky County Virginia was formed, it contained all the lands in present day Kentucky, except the southwestern corner, which remained in the hands of the
Chickasaw Indian Nation.
1780
Fayette, Jefferson and Lincoln Counties Virginia were formed from Kentucky County VA. The southern border was liad out as 36 degrees 36 minutes North Latitude, and was referred to as the "Walker Line" so named for the surveyor. This border between Kentucky and Tennessee remained in dispute until settled in 1820, those lands then becomming a part of
Kentucky.
1785
Nelson Co., formed from Jefferson
1786
Bourbon Co., formed from Fayette
Madison Co., formed from Lincoln
Mercer Co., formed from Lincoln
1789
Mason Co., formed from Bourbon
Woodford Co., formed from Fayette
1792
Kentucky separated from Virginia and became a state.
Logan Co., formed from Lincoln
Scott Co., formed from Woodford
Shelby Co., formed from Jefferson
1793
Clark Co., formed from Bourbon
Green Co., formed from Lincoln
Hardin Co., formed from Nelson
1794
Harrison Co., formed from Bourbon
1795
Campbell Co., formed from Harrison
Franklin Co., formed from Woodford
1797
Bracken Co., formed from Campbell
Bullitt Co., formed from Jefferson and Nelson
Christian Co., formed from Logan
Garrard Co., formed from Madison, Lincoln and Mercer
Montgomery Co., formed from Clark
Warren Co., formed from Logan
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