I’m currently on Day 2 of a week-long research trip in the Kentucky area; yesterday I visited Boone County Public Library and today I went to KDLA. Notes below are to help me decide how best to spend my next three days, with notes about what I could do in each place:

Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives

Updated below to-do list on 9/21, 9/22, and 9/23

• Go through Pullum and Robards lawsuits from Fayette County for context on slave trading in the 1850s (some Pullum suits listed on Archives page; consult box list for others)
• Go through large number of Henry Forsyth lawsuits (listed by Clair in RA Assignments); could help shed light on his reasons for selling Henrietta Wood to Cirode Family and when (UPDATE, 9/22: Went through 1836 to 1838 lawsuits; nothing showing that he was forced by court to sell slaves, but lots of suits for unpaid debts, particularly in 1838 as Bank of Kentucky called in thousands of dollars of loans.)
• Look for “State v. Ferguson” in Kenton County Circuit Court records, circa 1858 (the Covington Journal calls it “the case in which an old citizen of Covington is charged with seducing away negroes” and Zeb Ward is listed as a witness for the state; UPDATE, 9/22: Looked at circuit court order books from 1850 through March 1855, and found no references to this case or to Zeb Ward in the book indices; I also went page by page through the July 1853 term and found nothing relevant)
• Look at Kentucky Gazette newspaper for issues around both Wood v. Ward cases, see microfilms 993216 (1838-1866) (UPDATE, 9/22: Gazette not published in the 1850s) and 993221-22 (1877-1880)
• Look at Frankfort newspapers for the times when Ward lived there (microfilms 993458, 993439-41, 993417-18)
• Look for Boone County tax assessment lists (UPDATE, 9/21: Hillary Delaney sent the relevant references to Jonathan Williams)
• Look at Franklin County Circuit Case index for Ward suits (try microfilms 987457 or, preferably, 7036099) and Order Books (7038311-7038312) (UPDATE, 9/23: Only one case in the circuit court, from 1858, and nothing in the county court order book indices from the period)
• See if there are any mentions of Frank Rust, Willoughby Scott, or Bolton, either in Kenton County (check for microfilm indices), Boone County (check for microfilm indices), or Fayette County (consult box list)
• Look for “Sheriff Rhodes” of Fayette County (check County Clerk Order Books, Index on Microfilm 988990) (UPDATE, 9/21: Confirmed in County Order Books 13 and 14 that “Waller Rodes” was sheriff of the county in 1853, when Henrietta Wood was kidnapped, but no mention of Wood or the case in these books.)
• Look for lawsuits involving William Bishop, proprietor of Louisville Hotel, in Jefferson County (check relevant case indices on microfilms 987223, 987225, 987226, looking for Forsyth and Cirode at same time) (UPDATE, 9/23: Found no Bishop in the Jefferson County Common Law Defendants Index, and no Bishop suits in the Chancery Defendants Index prior to the 1850s; but I did find lots of Forsythe suits in the Chancery Defendants Index; on the reel going up to 1842, there were 29 suits in all, between 1827 and 1842, but none around 1837-1840—and on the Chancery Defendants Index for 1835-1860, there were 77 cases involving Forsyth, many between 1835-1845)
• Check Jefferson County tax assessment rolls for signs of Henry Forsyth or Cirode Family, Microfilm rolls 008053-008056 (UPDATE, 9/22: Looked at rolls from 1833 through 1839, on reels 008053-008054, and also 1844-1845, reel 008055, which showed William H. Bishop for both years, listing nothing but the head tax and no real property; no Cirode appears)
• Mentions of Zebulon Ward in any records about Kentucky Mexican War veterans?¹
• Look for any mentions of Jonathan Williams (or William Herndon) in Boone County court or tax records (UPDATE, 9/21: There are some Williams case hits in Boone County Circuit Court case files database, but no first name in the index. Could pull the case files if there’s time, but they all predate 1840.)
• Look for Zebulon Ward prior to his appearance in Kenton County prior to 1852; this could involve looking for more information about his father Andrew Ward or grandfather Zebulon Headington in Harrison County (couldn’t find Ward in the estate books for the county, but perhaps look in order books, record books, and tax assessment rolls; UPDATE, 9/21: looked in Harrison County will books and tax assessment rolls; could still check order or record books but it seems unlikely Ward was there between roughly 1842 and 1852, or that he was at a time when he’d be old enough to show up in these places)

Louisville

• Could go to public library to look at Evening Post microfilm from the 1890s when the paper tussled with Zebulon Ward over his paving stones contract with the city (UPDATE, 9/21: Decided to try to get these via ILL.)
• Look for evidence at Filson Historical Society or public library about hotels where Henrietta Wood was hired out (“a man named Lyons,” “Mr. Bishop who kept the Louisville Hotel”). There is a collection of Louisville Hotel Co. Records from the period. There are also records in the card catalog about Louisville Hotel at Filson, but most seem too late. Also some images of the hotel in their prints collection. (UPDATE, 9/21: Looked at the Louisville Hotel company records, which confirm William Bishop managed the hotel between 1844 and 1850, but there were no account books from that period that might show hired servants.)
• Look at City Directories at University of Louisville (UPDATE, 9/21: Looked at city directories available at Filson instead.)
• See if Bodley Family Papers at Filson contain any reference to George B. Kinkead giving an affidavit in Wood v. Ward in December 1878 (UPDATE, 9/21: They do not.)

Cincinnati

UPDATE, 9/21: Leaning towards not going to Cincinnati on this trip because of extent of things to do at KDLA and updates about archives below via email.

• See if Mussey collection contains any of the doctor’s personal records, since Henrietta Wood recalled being treated by him (UPDATE, 9/21: Email from archivist Gino Pasi indicates there are no patient records in the collection.)
• Any references to Cirode Family in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati records (UPDATE, 9/21: Email from archivist Sarah Patterson indicates there are sacramental records on microfiche, but will consult indices to see if Cirode is mentioned.)
• Poke around in the local history section of the Cincinnati Public Library