My Valentine gift to you is a list of marriages in Kentucky from the earliest days to the year 1800.  We are interested in marriages records of all years, but those very early marriages seem to be prized most.  Twenty Kentucky counties are included in this list:

• Fayette County – formed May 1, 1780, an original Kentucky county. Most records before January 31, 1803, were destroyed by fire.  A second fire on May 14, 1897, also destroyed some early records.
• Jefferson County – formed May 1, 1780, an original Kentucky county.
• Nelson County – formed October 18, 1784, from Jefferson.
• Bourbon County – formed October 17, 1785, from Fayette. Some records were lost in a fire on May 8, 1872.
• Mercer County – formed October 17, 1785, from Lincoln. A courthouse fire occurred on May 15, 1928.
• Woodford County – formed November 12, 1788, from Fayette. A fire destroyed many records on October 11, 1965.
• Scott County – formed June 22, 1792, from Woodford. Many records were destroyed on August 9, 1837 and again in 1876.
• Washington County – formed June 22, 1792, from Nelson. Two fires, one in 1795, and the second in 1814 destroyed courthouses, though some records were saved.
• Shelby County – formed June 23, 1792, from Jefferson.
• Harrison County – formed December 21, 1793, from Bourbon County and Scott. A fire on January 24, 1851, destroyed some records.
• Franklin County – formed December 7, 1794, from Woodford, Mercer and Shelby.
• Campbell County – formed December 17, 1794, from Harrison, Mason and Scott.
• Bullitt County – formed December 13, 1796, from Jefferson and Nelson.
• Bracken County – formed December 14, 1796, from Campbell and Mason. Some records were lost in a fire on April 20, 1848.
• Boone County – formed December 13, 1798, from Campbell. Some records may have been destroyed in the late 1880’s due to a fire.
• Gallatin County – formed December 14, 1798, from Franklin.
• Henry County – formed December 14, 1798, from Shelby. A loss of some records occurred due to a fire in 1804.
• Jessamine County – formed December 19, 1798, from Fayette.
• Pendleton County – formed December 4, 1798, from Bracken and Campbell.
• Nicholas County – formed December 18, 1799, from Bourbon and Mason.

If a marriage was performed before the county was formed, look in the parent county or counties.

This is volume one, including the above counties which are north-central portion of the state.  Volume two is a work in progress and will include the counties of Barren, Breathitt, Breckinridge, Christian, Clark, Cumberland, Fleming, Floyd, Garrard, Green, Hardin, Henderson, Lincoln, Livingston, Logan, Madison, Mason, Montgomery, Ohio, Pulaski, Warren and Wayne.

Early KY Marriages Vol. 1