Browse by County
Explore biographies connected with each Kentucky county.
About this Collection
This collection brings together biographical sketches from nineteenth and early twentieth century Kentucky history books. These entries were originally typed and contributed by KYGenWeb volunteers beginning in 1995. Today they serve as a reference archive for family history researchers and anyone interested in Kentucky's past.
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Featured Biographies
Col. William H. Caperton
Born in 1798 in Madison County, Caperton rose from frontier beginnings to become one of Kentucky’s most formidable lawyers, known for his devastating courtroom oratory and success in major criminal trials. A veteran of Jackson’s Creek campaign and later U.S. district attorney, he was equally famous for his love of wilderness hunting trips, where he camped with prominent Kentuckians and relished the solitude of the mountains
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Edward Callahan Strong
Born in 1823 near Lost Creek, Strong grew up hearing first-generation stories from settlers who carved homesteads from wilderness and clashed in the region's earliest feuds. His 1898 interview captures everything from pioneer hunts, the “Cattle War,” and salt-making camps to the families who shaped the North Fork. His vivid recollections remain one of the richest firsthand windows into the county&apos.s earliest days.
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Barton W. Stone
Arriving in Bourbon County in the late 1790s, Stone quickly became a beloved young pastor whose preaching helped ignite the great revivals sweeping Kentucky and Tennessee. His commitment to preaching directly from Scripture—often against established Calvinistic doctrine—led to separation from the Presbyterian Synod, the formation of new congregations, and ultimately a powerful movement that reshaped frontier religion. Known for integrity, courage, and deep study, he guided churches through controversy, resisted Shaker influence, and became a central figure in the early Restoration movement.
Kentucky Biographies Project Beginnings
The Kentucky Biographies Project began in the mid 1990s as a volunteer effort to transcribe biographies from major Kentucky history books. The resulting collection is now preserved here as part of KYGenWeb.
Historical Sources Used in This Collection
- Kentucky: A History of the State Battle, Perrin, and Kniffin, 1880–1890. Multi-volume county and biographical sketches.
- Biographical Cyclopedia of the Commonwealth of Kentucky J. M. Gresham Co., 1896. Profiles of prominent Kentuckians.
- History of Kentucky Lewis Collins. J. A. and U. P. James, 1847. Early county and state history.
- Lawyers and Lawmakers of Kentucky H. Levin, 1897. Biographical sketches of legal and legislative figures.
- Historic Families of Kentucky Thomas Marshall Green, 1889. Genealogies of early Kentucky families.