Enslaved African Americans appear early in Kentucky’s historical record- even prior to statehood during the Revolutionary War. In Northern Kentucky, from the 1700s through the mid-20th Century, African Americans were documented in church records, deeds, wills, taxes, and court papers. Each of these records connects to the lives of over 4000 individuals within the African Americans of the Kentucky Borderlands database. Although the database originally focused on the enslavement period, the database will continue to grow as research expands past the Civil War and into the 20th Century.
People
Key stories of the Underground Railroad in Boone County, Kentucky
Free People of Color
Browse information on free people of color living in Boone County, Kentucky before the Civil War