THE BRICK WALL
PROTOCOLGENEALOGY · BEYOND THE SEARCH BOX
BRICK WALL PROTOCOL / FREE GUIDES

Lincoln County:
Hear local recollections before chasing an old place name

The public library provides a route to local oral histories and other genealogy resources.

Sources checked October 26, 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.

Explore Lincoln boundary history →
LINCOLN 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 Lincoln 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.

KDLA inventory entry

Deed books

Listed years: 1781–2007.

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.

KDLA inventory entry

County order books

Listed years: 1781–1987.

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.

KDLA inventory entry

Will books

Listed years: 1781–1985.

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.

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.

Check historical jurisdiction → · Find collections for my years →

STOP 01 / Online catalog / Morehead

Morehead State: Pat Rankin and Shirley Dunn interview

A named Lincoln County oral history provides a focused starting point.

Morehead State catalogs the two-part Pat Rankin and Shirley Dunn interview in the Robert M. Rennick collection under Lincoln County.

Research details & a question to ask

How to begin

Locate the interview through the university catalog. Ask the repository for access using the title if the item link is unavailable.

A question you can ask

Does this interview explain the community name or location in my research?

Keep in mind

The catalog listing is verified; playback was not verified. Recollections need corroboration.

STOP 02 / Stanford / online

Lincoln County Public Library oral history route

Use a remembered place or institution as a search term.

The library’s resources page links its digital oral history collection and genealogy resources.

Research details & a question to ask

How to begin

Follow Oral History from the library page. Record the narrator, interview identifier and timestamp for useful passages.

A question you can ask

Which interview discusses this school, employer or neighborhood?

Keep in mind

The library links the collection, but the destination could not be verified during this review. Ask library staff for current access.

Leave a trail another researcher can follow.

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.

Return to the Kentucky county map · Follow settlement and county changes

Corrections or a useful collection? hello@brickwallprotocol.com

HELP KEEP THIS GUIDE USEFUL

Know a collection we should include?

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.

Suggest a correction or collection

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THE BRICK WALL PROTOCOL ON YOUTUBE

A short video. A new direction.

Watch the Short. Open the protocol. Follow the evidence.