PENDLETON

Names of Families in Pendleton County Kentucky Genealogy: Images of Wills, Estates, Inventories, Appraisements, Guardianships

Pendleton County was created from parts of Campbell and Bracken counties in 1798. It was named after Edmund Pendleton, a longtime member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, the Continental Congress, and chief justice of Virginia. The county seat is Falmouth which in 1776 was known as Forks of Licking, which was the site of the unfortunate Battle of Blue Licks during the Revolutionary War when the British ambushed the patriots, aided by Indians. Sixty persons died that day. It was not until 1793 that Falmouth was chartered.

Assumption vs. Facts

In tracing the ancestors, the minute that we assume something, it is wrong! Family traditions, the naming of children, and certain scenarios seem to fit the puzzle, so we pencil it in. Years pass, and we still have not found anything concrete the prove our theory. But the entry is like an old friend, so we hesitate to erase it. Somehow it gets published on the Internet. Because someone else has the same entry (probably originated from ourselves), we add credibility to the situation. This is just one way in which errors get repeated. There is nothing easy about this work and mistakes are made by the bushels. It is said that tens of millions of Americans descend from King Edward I of England. We are talking about the 13th century. Since the family tree doubles with every generation which is traced backward, some 239.33 generations have since passed. Now, let us imagine a lineage chart containing all of his descendants published in the traditional individual pedigree format upon a World Chart! And that the computer program merged criteria of data. Now think of the individual errors (names and probable dates, spelled variously, and repeated) on individual family group sheets all pointing to the King. Because of name variables (and spellings) and estimated datelines, the same names of his children get repeated millions of times. As more and more charts go online, we discover a conglomeration of conflicting data.

The best means of preventing duplication is to add the proof of each name, date, place, etc. so that others may double-check the information.Just saying.

Why Tracing Back 4 Generations is a Break-Through in the Family Tree

Theoretically, one should easily trace his lineage back 4 generations to the great grandparents using census records. If this much is accomplished, at the point of the great grandparents, it should be fairly easy to find others sharing the same lineage. The 1850 census was the first

census to provide the names and ages of all family members, including where they were born. From 1790 to 1840, the date ranges help estimate the births of the children, but you do not get the names. For this information, one must turn their research to deeds, wills, estates, marriages, tax digests, etc. in the county records where an ancestor resided. With each generation backward, this process is repeated. One can find the ancestors in American county records dating back to the first immigrants.

Pendleton County Kentucky Genealogy Records Available to Members

Indexes to Probate Records

Wills, Estates, etc. 1841 to 1871
Wills, Estates, etc. 1872 to 1918
Wills, Estates, etc.1918 to 1947

Images of Wills, Inventories, Appraisements, Guardianships

1841 to 1871
1872 to 1918

John Waller

Captain John Waller is given credit for being the founder of Falmouth. He was born December 27, 1758, in Stafford County, Virginia, a son of John Waller Sr., and served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He was made captain during the Battle of Brandywine on the field by General George Washington. Most enlistees did so for 3-month spans, because of the time required to plant and harvest their crops. Of note here is the fact that Waller served seven years in the Army. He came to Kentucky with his brother, Edward Waller and George Lewis in 1783 and settled in Pendleton County.

The Old Covered Bridge

This old covered bridge which crossed over Licking Creek in Pendleton County was considered unsafe for the school bus to cross; therefore, the bus would pull up close to the bridge to unload and the students walked across the bridge to the school. Apparently, the Morgan School was still operating during the 1920s.