Find a Grave Kentucky by Name —
Cemetery & Burial Records Search
From Daniel Boone’s grave in Frankfort to Colonel Sanders at Cave Hill — your complete guide to searching Kentucky cemetery and burial records by name across all 120 counties.
Kentucky’s 120 counties — the most of any US state east of the Mississippi River — hold burial records tracing the full arc of American westward expansion. From the first Long Hunters who followed Daniel Boone’s Wilderness Road through Cumberland Gap in the 1770s, to frontier family cemeteries carved from the bluegrass countryside, to Civil War battlegrounds at Perryville and Mill Springs where neighbors and brothers fought on opposing sides, to the iconic horse-country garden cemeteries of the Lexington Bluegrass region. Kentucky genealogy records are among the deepest in the South, with county court records, church registers, and land grants dating to the 1780s.
🔎 How to Search Kentucky Graves by Name — Micro Step-by-Step
- Go to findgraveusa.org — Kentucky and enter the person’s full name in the search bar.
- Use the county filter to narrow results — Kentucky has 120 counties and common surnames return hundreds of statewide results without county filtering.
- Click any result to open the full burial record: cemetery name, address, plot number, burial date, and headstone photo if available.
- No results? Try surname only first, then search maiden names for married women. Many older Kentucky headstones prominently display the maiden name.
- Visit findagrave.com — Kentucky Cemeteries. No account required to search basic records.
- Use wildcards for uncertain spelling:
?replaces one letter,*replaces multiple. Essential for immigrant surnames and phonetic spelling variants common in Kentucky records. - Click “More Search Options” to filter by birth/death year range and specific Kentucky county.
- No headstone photo? Click “Request Photo” on any memorial — a local Kentucky volunteer typically photographs it within days at no cost.
- For Kentucky’s famous graves: use the “Famous Memorials” filter — Kentucky has 120 notable figures indexed.
- Visit kdla.ky.gov/ — the official Kentucky state archives and primary repository for historical records.
- Search the free online death certificate database and county-level cemetery surveys, church records, and genealogy collections.
- In-person research: 300 Coffee Tree Rd., Frankfort, KY 40602. Phone: (502) 564-8300.
- Many state archives are FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries — free in-person access to restricted digital collections not available online at home.
- Visit billiongraves.com and search by name in Kentucky. Results show GPS-tagged headstone photos with exact grave coordinates.
- Click “View on Map” to see the grave’s precise position within the cemetery — navigate directly to any indexed grave.
- Download the BillionGraves app before visiting a Kentucky cemetery — it provides turn-by-turn navigation to any indexed grave within the grounds.
- Create a free account at familysearch.org — no cost, no subscription ever required.
- Search “Kentucky Deaths” in the Search → Records section to see all available indexed collections for this state.
- Also search county-level collections in Search → Catalog by typing the Kentucky county name plus “cemetery” for microfilmed cemetery records.
- For church burial records predating statewide registration: search “Kentucky church records” in the FamilySearch catalog — Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, and Catholic church registers are often available.
Pro tip: When you find a burial record, immediately cross-reference with FamilySearch census records for the same name and approximate birth year. Census entries reveal parents, siblings, neighbors, and often the county of origin — dramatically expanding your family tree beyond what any headstone alone can provide.
📊 All Kentucky Burial Record Databases — Free vs. Paid
Database | What It Covers | Cost | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
Kentucky cemetery burial records searchable by name and county | Free | First stop for any Kentucky burial search | |
Millions of Kentucky memorials; wildcard search; photo request | Free | Headstone photos, memorial pages, family links | |
GPS-tagged headstone photos; in-cemetery navigation | Free | Finding exact grave location inside large cemeteries | |
Kentucky death records; county microfilm; church registers | Free | Historical death records; pre-registration research | |
Official Kentucky historical records; county records; cemetery surveys | Free | Official records research; state archives access | |
County-organized transcriptions from original cemetery registers | Free | High-accuracy transcriptions from official registers | |
Veterans buried in VA national cemeteries in Kentucky | Free | Military and veteran burial searches | |
Certified Kentucky death certificates | $6 first copy | Legal/official proof of death; parents’ names and details |
🗺️ Search Kentucky Burial Records by County
Kentucky has 120 counties. Click any county below to browse its indexed cemeteries on Find a Grave — all URLs verified working:
Browse all Kentucky counties at Find a Grave Kentucky or use Interment.net Kentucky for county-organized transcriptions from official records.
🪦 Notable Kentucky Cemeteries — History, Location & Search Links
Kentucky’s historic cemeteries are living documents of American history. These are the most significant and most-searched burial grounds in the state — with verified, clickable search links for each.
- Daniel Boone’s famous grave — most visited historic site in Frankfort
- Kentucky governors, senators, and legendary frontier figures buried here
- Panoramic views of the Kentucky River from the cemetery grounds
- Address: 215 E. Main St., Frankfort, KY 40601 · (502) 227-2403
- Free to visit daily; one of the most beautifully situated cemeteries in America
- Established 1848 — Louisville’s magnificent 300-acre garden cemetery
- Colonel Harland Sanders (KFC founder) buried here
- George Rogers Clark, Henry Watterson, and Louisville’s founding families
- Address: 701 Baxter Ave, Louisville, KY 40204 · (502) 451-5630
- National Historic Landmark; guided tours available through the cemetery
- Established 1848 on 170 acres — Kentucky’s most refined garden cemetery
- Henry Clay’s monument and tomb is the centerpiece of the cemetery
- John C. Breckinridge, Vice President and Confederate general buried here
- Address: 833 W. Main St., Lexington, KY 40508 · (859) 255-5522
- Online grave locator at lexcem.com — one of the best cemetery websites in KY
- Significant USCT (United States Colored Troops) burial site — Civil War
- Camp Nelson was a major recruitment center for African American soldiers
- Now a National Monument; visitor center opened 2022
- Address: 6980 Danville Rd, Nicholasville, KY 40356
- Searchable free via VA Nationwide Gravesite Locator
📜 Official Kentucky Death Certificates — How to Get Them
An official Kentucky death certificate provides legally certified cause of death, attending physician, parents’ names and birthplaces (on most modern certificates), and informant details not found on headstones — invaluable for genealogy research and legal matters.
Access Restriction: Kentucky death certificates are confidential for 50 years. KDLA provides free online access to death certificates 1911–1955. After 50 years, anyone may request a certified copy at $6 per copy.
- Visit any local county health department in Kentucky during business hours, Mon–Fri 8AM–5PM.
- Bring valid government-issued photo ID and proof of qualifying relationship if the record is under the confidentiality period.
- Pay $6 for the first certified copy. Most offices issue while you wait.
- Download the application form from chfs.ky.gov/agencies/dph/dehp/vsb/Pages/default.aspx.
- Make a check or money order payable to “Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics” for $6 per copy. Never send cash.
- Mail the completed form and payment to: Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics, 275 E. Main St., Frankfort, KY 40621.
- Visit vitalchek.com or call 1-888-279-9888 (24 hours/day). VitalChek adds a convenience fee beyond the standard $6 state fee.
- Rush processing and overnight delivery options available for additional fees.
📚 Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (KDLA) — Official State Records
Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (KDLA) at kdla.ky.gov/ is the official Kentucky state archives and the most authoritative source for historical records. Located at 300 Coffee Tree Rd., Frankfort, KY 40602. Phone: (502) 564-8300. It holds historical death records, county court records, cemetery surveys, church burial registers, and genealogy collections covering all 120 counties in Kentucky.
Many state archives serve as FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries — providing free in-person access to restricted FamilySearch digital collections not available online at home. Contact the archives to confirm affiliate status and plan your research visit accordingly.
🎖️ Kentucky Veteran & Military Grave Search
- VA Nationwide Gravesite Locator: Search gravelocator.cem.va.gov for veterans buried in any VA national cemetery in Kentucky. Covers all conflicts from the Civil War through the present day.
- Find a Grave Military Filter: On Find a Grave, use “More Search Options” → check “Has Military” to filter results to veteran memorials only in Kentucky.
- FamilySearch Veterans: Search “U.S. Veterans Gravesites, 1775–2006” free on FamilySearch for veteran burial location records from Kentucky.
- Civil War Records: Use Fold3.com (accessible free at state archive terminals) for pension records and burial details of Kentucky Civil War veterans — both Union and Confederate.
- State Veterans Cemetery: Many states maintain a veterans cemetery directory — search “Kentucky veterans cemeteries” at the state Department of Veterans Affairs website for state-operated burial sites not in the VA national system.
🌿 Insider Tips — Kentucky-Specific Genealogy Tricks
120 Counties — Most East of Mississippi
Kentucky has 120 counties — more than any other state east of the Mississippi River. This makes county-level searching essential. Knowing your ancestor’s county before searching saves enormous time. Eastern Kentucky Appalachian counties (Pike, Harlan, Knott) have very different record patterns than the Bluegrass (Fayette, Bourbon, Scott) or the Purchase Region (McCracken, Graves, Calloway).
$6 Death Certs — Tied for Lowest in Nation
At $6 per certified copy, Kentucky ties with a handful of states for the lowest death certificate fee in the nation. Death certificates from 1911 include parents’ names and birthplaces — for just $6 you can potentially identify your ancestor’s entire family origin. Apply at chfs.ky.gov.
KDLA Has Free Online Death Certs 1911–1955
The Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (KDLA) at kdla.ky.gov provides a free online death certificate database covering 1911–1955 — searchable by name and county. This is your first stop before ordering a certified copy, as the free version often provides all the genealogical information you need.
Kentucky County Death Records 1852–1862 and 1874–1878
Kentucky uniquely has two separate early periods of county-level death registration — 1852–1862 and 1874–1878 — covering the years before statewide registration began in 1911. These are available free on FamilySearch and cover many pre-Civil War Kentucky deaths that have no other official record.
Appalachian Hatfield-McCoy Country Records
Eastern Kentucky Appalachian counties have unique genealogy patterns. The Hatfield-McCoy feud families’ records are extensively documented by Pike County genealogists. The Eastern Kentucky Genealogical Society (ekygs.org) maintains county-level research resources not in any public database for Pike, Mingo, Logan, and surrounding counties.
Bourbon County Records — Not What You Think
Bourbon County in Kentucky’s Bluegrass region has some of the most extensive genealogy records in the state — county court minutes dating to 1786, land records, and church registers from the earliest Kentucky settlements. If your ancestor lived anywhere in the inner Bluegrass, check Bourbon County records even if they didn’t live there.
Cave Hill Cemetery Has Its Own Database
Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville maintains its own searchable burial database at cavehillcemetery.com — more detailed than Find a Grave for this specific cemetery. If you have Louisville ancestors, always search Cave Hill’s own system before relying solely on Find a Grave.
Daniel Boone’s Grave Has Two Claims
Daniel Boone’s grave is officially at Frankfort Cemetery (215 E. Main St., Frankfort), where his remains were reinterred from Missouri in 1845. However, there is an ongoing historical debate about whether the correct remains were moved. Both the Frankfort Cemetery and Marthasville, Missouri, make claims. The Find a Grave memorial is at Frankfort Cemetery.