I want to share with you today one of my favorite places – the Mercer County Clerk’s Office in Harrodsburg (about ten minutes away from my home – a little more if you are caught by the train)!  I could spend hours and hours in here – there is just that much history!  The picture above shows the older records in one section of the very large room.

A few years ago our old courthouse was torn down to build a new one – and most of the offices (circuit clerk, sheriff, judicial, etc.) were transferred to what used to be the old Gateway building, a former grocery store.   The County Clerk was housed in what was known as the Court House Annex, across the street from the original court house.  Once the new building was completed the Judicial Courts and the Circuit Clerk moved into the new court house, and the County Clerk was moved to the Gateway building.

This room is filled with old records!

Marriage bonds, court orders, wills, deeds, guardianship bonds, minutes – numerous records from about the 1780’s!

This drawer holds the oldest marriage bonds and parental consents.

Inside it looks like a jumble of old papers – but what information those papers hold.  I would like to organize this one day – perhaps the clerk will allow me!  These precious pieces of paper must be handled very carefully!

This is the marriage license for Don C. Dixon and Mary J. Allin – Mary Jouett Allin, who is the daughter of the man issuing the license – Thomas Allin, County Clerk – first clerk of Mercer County – and who continued until June of 1833 due to his death during the cholera epidemic.

This is a marriage return by Jesse Head, minister.  Some were excellent about turning in their marriages, some not so good!

This is a little later marriage license and certificate – 1866.  It was printed on very thin paper, almost like tissue paper.

One of my goals for this day was to copy of the will of Lewis Rose.  If you remember he was included in a blog I wrote about Memorial Acre at Fort Harrod.

As you can imagine this will be a future blog!

Always remember that the county clerk’s office is a valuable source for genealogy research.  In almost every county the clerk has been very helpful to me – and will be to you!  They realize that some of us have been at this a long time – and some are brand new to genealogy research!  Which County Clerk’s offices have you visited?