Coroners' Inquisitions

The office of the coroner was a political one. Medical training was not required. The function of the coroner was to determine the cause of death of persons who died suddenly. If the person died violently, the coroner and a jury, consisting of local men, would view the body and surroundings and would then render the cause of death.

Records of coroners' inquisition are not always easy to find. A few counties might have formal records, but most counties do not. The majority of records I have found were filed with county court records. The coroner would want to be paid for his work and, thus, would submit a claim to county court for payment. You might also find the claim for payment listed in the county court order books (court minutes).

The following claim for payment was found among other county court claims in Crittenden County in 1885. It reads as follows:

"Crittenden county to T.C. Campbell Dr to holding inquest on the Boddy of L.W. Burklow on the 24 of Feb 1885 $6.00"

Coroner's Inquisition 1811

When a person died unexpectedly in Kentucky, the coroner called a jury of twelve men to examine the facts surrounding the death and determine the probable cause of death. Coroner’s inquisitions are often found among loose papers in the county clerk’s office. The following inquisition was found in a file marked “Oaths 1811” in the Caldwell County clerk’s office, Princeton, Kentucky.

“Whereas We Joseph Morgan Chittenden Lyon Wm. Birdsong Wm. Darnal Wm. Johnston Zachariah Chandler Reuben Martin John E. Pound Christopher Hammond Wm. S. Norris Sam Black and Michael Mobley being Summoned by Edward Robison Coriner of Caldwell County at the House of Cobb & Clark in Eddyville on the first of July 1811 to Enquire in to the cause of the death of John Watson Infant Son of Samuel Watson aged about 14 years. The Jury on there oaths from the Information of George Miller Samuel C. Clark & John Phaora[?] Say the above [illegible word] John Watson came by his death accidentally. “ Chitt. Lyon foreman.