Admitted to the Union as the 15th state in 1792, Kentucky was made entirely from soutwest Virginia. Kentucky was settled predominantly by English, Irish, and German men and women in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Many genealogies will state Floyd or Pike county 1780 or 1750 or 1790, this is not correct. Genealogy before 1792 was in Virginia. Counties were made from other counties so a history of this era of time is very helpful in researching.
The name of Kentucky was an Indian word signifying "Dark and Bloody Ground." The early history of Kentucky has a romantic interest from the personal adventures of the pioneer Daniel Boone, a famous Virginia hunter, who set out in 1769 to explore the region with five companions and entered Kentucky by way of Cumberland Gap. His adventures in this region for several years succeeding were numerous and exciting. He acquired the reputation of a mighty hunter, became dreaded by the Indians, and, though on several occasions taken prisoner, always managed to escape from their hands. During this interval the Indian war known as Lord Dunmore's War broke out
So promising was its appearance that he returned to his home and led a party in 1773, which he undertook to settle on the Cumberland River, but difficulties with the Indians drove them back. He was resolute, however, and continued his efforts at settlement, acting also for a North Carolina Company in the purchase of lands from the Indians. The first permanent settlements were made at the beginning of the Revolutionary War and their existence was constantly imperiled by Indian attacks.
The county is bordered on the north by the Cumberland River dividing it from Pulaski County. This stream called "Shawanoe" by the Indians, was re-named by Virginia explorer Dr. Thomas Walker in 1750 in honor of the Duke of Cumberland.
County Formation Maps
wondering where the years of my life have flown
High on a mountain top... wind blowing free
thinking about the days that used to be"
Exerpt from "High on a Mountain Top" by Ola Belle Reed, Alex Campbell,
 Kentucky Civil War Index |
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Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time.
