Sources checked October 31, 2026. Based on public institutional descriptions and collection catalogs; no staff confirmation or onsite inspection. Confirm access before visiting.
Start with one connection.
Bring a person, a place, approximate years, and one question. A township, congregation, school, or employer may reveal records a surname search misses. The custodian can be outside the county.
Check the county for your research year.
A place may have belonged to a parent county before this county existed.
Lexington Public Library Fayette County Directories Collection
Search school and organizational directories, not only city listings.
The digital collection includes residential, street, school and organizational directories. Hamilton Female College catalogs name students, faculty and graduates.
Research details & a question to ask
How to begin
Choose a directory appropriate to the person’s role and year, then inspect the scanned pages and publication details.
A question you can ask
Is there a school or organization directory for this year, and does another edition confirm the identity?
Keep in mind
Directories omit people and may reflect an earlier compilation date. Attendance is not proof of graduation.
STOP 02 / Online
University of Kentucky: Digital Access Project research guide
Follow a county-record route for research on enslavement.
UK’s guide identifies the Digital Access Project partnership involving the Fayette County Clerk and Black-history organizations.
Research details & a question to ask
How to begin
Use the guide to reach the project and record original document references for relevant entries.
A question you can ask
Which original clerk’s record supports this entry?
Keep in mind
Names and relationships must be checked in the document context; project coverage is not every county record.
STOP 03 / Lexington Public Library Digital Archives
Dunbar High School: yearbooks and a graduating-class composite
Follow a specific collection to the original evidence.
The library identifies the 1932 and 1934 Dunbar Echo yearbooks and a composite of the 1948 graduating class. These are useful named school records to inspect for pupils, teachers and school organizations, rather than assuming a general county directory contains everyone. The library's heading gives the school's 1923–1967 period, but that is not the digitized yearbook coverage.
Research details & a question to ask
How to begin
Start with the official Dunbar collection link from the library's 250Lex page. Open the individual yearbook or class image and record its title, year, page and item link. The library describes its digital archives as open access; its Kentucky Room at Central Library holds additional physical material for reference.
A question you can ask
Which item, volume or file covers my person, place and research years, and how can I consult or request it?
Keep in mind
Only the two yearbooks and one class composite above are specifically confirmed here. Search failure does not establish nonattendance. A group photograph without an individual key should not be used to assign identities.
STOP 04 / Lexington Public Library, materials from St. Paul Catholic Church's archive
Historic St. Paul Catholic Church: sacramental ledgers
Follow a specific collection to the original evidence.
The library specifically identifies baptismal, marriage and other church ledgers dating back to 1854. The collection description also identifies subjects including first communion, deaths, funerals and church organizations. This creates a church-based route for a family whose civil record search has stalled, while keeping the actual volume and event type central to the search.
Research details & a question to ask
How to begin
Use the library's Historic St. Paul collection page, then View Collection. Select the relevant ledger and check its own title and dates before browsing the images. Record the volume, event date, page and digital item link. Ask the Kentucky Room about access or an unreadable entry if the online material does not resolve the question.
A question you can ask
Which item, volume or file covers my person, place and research years, and how can I consult or request it?
Keep in mind
The 1854 starting point is not a promise of uninterrupted coverage for every sacrament. The digital archive represents only selected material. Check each item's reuse statement before republishing images, and preserve original spellings and uncertain readings.
STOP 05 / Lexington Public Library Digital Archives
Black Community News: search social notices beyond an obituary
Follow a specific collection to the original evidence.
This collection assembles searchable newspaper articles and advertisements concerning Black community events, schools, churches, social gatherings, marriages and obituaries. The library's detailed page explicitly lists The Leader for 1898 and 1899 as available years. Its longer history of newspaper columns explains the context, not a complete digitized run through the twentieth century.
Research details & a question to ask
How to begin
Begin with the named collection page and follow View Collection. Search a surname, then a church, school or event associated with the family. Read the page image and nearby notices rather than copying a search snippet alone. Capture the newspaper title, date, page and item URL so a reader can return to the evidence.
A question you can ask
Which item, volume or file covers my person, place and research years, and how can I consult or request it?
Keep in mind
The library has both an older detailed landing page and a newer collection portal. Verify additional years inside the selected collection before claiming them. Historical headings contain outdated racial terminology; explain that context without treating it as modern descriptive language.
FAYETTE COUNTY / SELECTED RECORDS COVERAGE
Which collections cover your years?
Use these dated holdings to choose a next search. This is a selection of cataloged collections, not a complete inventory of Fayette County records.
A range is a lead, not a guarantee. Bars show the dates stated by the cited catalog or inventory. They do not establish uninterrupted coverage, complete reporting or online image access. Unmarked years mean not represented in this selection, not that records were destroyed. Indexes and abstracts still need to be followed to the underlying record.
Sources reviewed October 26, 2026. Blue shows cataloged holdings; rust identifies indexes or compiled publications where the source specifies them. Read the format label and access notes for each row.
1750180018501900195020002026
KDLA inventory entry
Deed books
Listed years: 1794–1959, 1970–1990, 1993–2005.
Source, access and coverage limits
Use KDLA’s record-request instructions and identify the county, record series, exact years and any book or page reference. Ask about indexes and the current custodian before ordering.
Keep in mind: These are selected inventory dates, not proof of complete or uninterrupted coverage or online images. Confirm the specific volume and any earlier jurisdiction; a range endpoint is not necessarily the first or last year of recordkeeping. Probate papers may be filed separately from will books.
Use KDLA’s record-request instructions and identify the county, record series, exact years and any book or page reference. Ask about indexes and the current custodian before ordering.
Keep in mind: These are selected inventory dates, not proof of complete or uninterrupted coverage or online images. Confirm the specific volume and any earlier jurisdiction; a range endpoint is not necessarily the first or last year of recordkeeping. Probate papers may be filed separately from will books.
Confirm the historical jurisdiction as well as the date. A record may be held outside today’s county, and an inventory’s ending year does not mean recordkeeping stopped.
Save the repository, collection title, dates, volume, page or item identifier, link, and the date you consulted it. Follow an index to the original record when possible. Keep uncertain names and inferred relationships visibly separate from what the source states.
Suggest a correction, an overlooked collection or an updated access detail. An official link or source helps us check it before making a change. Please leave out private family documents and sensitive personal information.