Kentucky Chronicles: A Podcast of the Kentucky Historical Society

Nancy Hanks Lincoln, the mother of future President Lincoln, died from milk sickness in Spencer County, Indiana, in 1818, when young Abraham was only nine years old. Nancy died only days after providing care to other family members who had also succumbed to the illness. The Lincoln family’s experiences with milk sickness mirrored the challenges of thousands of other settlers who crossed the Appalachian Mountains seeking land and economic opportunity. Join us today for a discussion with a former KHS research fellow, who will discuss the medical, environmental, and social implications of milk sickness in antebellum America.

Dr. J. Matthew Ward is an assistant professor of history at Quincy University in Quincy, Illinois. He holds a PhD from Louisiana State University and is the author of Garden of Ruins: Occupied Louisiana in the Civil War, published in 2024 and available from LSU Press. Additionally, he serves on the board of the Quincy & Adams County Historical Society, as well as the Lincoln-Douglas Debate Museum.

Hosted by Dr. Allen A. Fletcher, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society.

history.ky.gov/khs-for-me/for-re…earch-fellowships

Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation.

history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation

This episode was recorded and produced by Gregory Hardison, with support and guidance from Dr. Stephanie Lang. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary,” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay.

To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website:

history.ky.gov/

history.ky.gov/khs-podcasts

November 2025 marks 200 years since the founding of Choctaw Academy, the first boarding school for Native Americans in the United States. Located in Great Crossings in Scott County, Choctaw Academy educated more than 600 students from across 17 nations. The academy, however, was more than a boarding school. It was a place where larger debates over imperialism, slavery, and Native American policy played out. Join us today for a discussion with Dr. Christina Snyder, author of the 2017 book Great Crossings: Indians, Settlers, and Slaves in the Age of Jackson.

Dr. Christina Snyder is the McCabe-Greer Professor of History at The Pennsylvania State University. Snyder earned her Ph.D. in History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Snyder is the author of Great Crossings: Indians, Settlers, and Slaves in the Age of Jackson and Slavery in Indian Country: The Changing Face of Captivity in Early America. These books received a wide range of accolades, including the Francis Parkman Prize, the John H. Dunning Prize, the James H. Broussard Prize, and the John C. Ewers Prize. Her research has been supported by the American Council of Learned Societies, the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, the National Humanities Center, and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

Kentucky Chronicles is inspired by the work of researchers worldwide who have contributed to the scholarly journal, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, in publication since 1903.

history.ky.gov/explore/catalog-r…istorical-society

Hosted by Dr. Allen A. Fletcher, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society.

history.ky.gov/khs-for-me/for-re…earch-fellowships

Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation.

history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation

This episode was recorded and produced by Gregory Hardison, with support and guidance from Dr. Stephanie Lang. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary,” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay.

To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website:

history.ky.gov/

history.ky.gov/khs-podcasts

Think of the Confederacy, and your focus probably shifts to the U.S. South. Yet during the Civil War era, the Canadian border emerged as an important political and military battleground. On one hand, enslaved people went to great lengths to forge freedom in Canada. Confederates, however, also executed violent attacks on the Union home front from Canada. As a border state, Kentucky played a crucial role in these excursions between North and South. Join us today for a discussion of how Confederate Kentuckians exploited the Canadian border during the Civil War.

Our guest is Dr. Cassandra Jane Werking, a December 2024 research fellow at the Kentucky Historical Society. Dr. Werking is from East Greenbush, New York, and graduated with a PhD in history from the University of Kentucky in May 2025. Her dissertation is titled "Refuge, Raids, and Confederates on Sleighs: How the Confederacy Exploited Canada and the International Border and Shaped the American Civil War." Werking now plans to publish her dissertation as a book and pursue her dream of becoming a history professor. When Werking is not researching the military, political, and social history of the American Civil War and the long nineteenth century, she can be found enjoying Dunkin iced coffee and going on roads trips to the Adirondack Mountains.

We are also sending a shout-out to Clay Wallace, the Kentucky History Award winning podcast host of "Any Old Place" for the Capital City Museum: https://www.aop.frankfortpodcast.org/

Kentucky Chronicles is inspired by the work of researchers worldwide who have contributed to the scholarly journal, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, in publication since 1903.

https://history.ky.gov/explore/catalog-research-tools/register-of-the-kentucky-historical-society

Hosted by Dr. Allen A. Fletcher, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society.

https://history.ky.gov/khs-for-me/for-researchers/research-fellowships

Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation.

https://history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation

This episode was recorded and produced by Gregory Hardison, with support and guidance from Dr. Stephanie Lang. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary,” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay.

To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website:

https://history.ky.gov/

https://history.ky.gov/khs-podcasts

Travel across Kentucky today and one can easily find traces of the prominent McDowell family, who played an outsized role in the founding of Kentucky. Less known, however, is Dr. Ephraim McDowell. He married the oldest daughter of Governor Isaac Shelby, and in 1809, performed what is believed to be the first-known removal of an ovarian tumor. A man of contradictions, McDowell enslaved numerous people throughout his life, even as he saved the lives of several African American women. Join us today for a discussion with a former KHS research fellow who explores McDowell’s groundbreaking medical career.

Dr. Joan Cashin is a professor of history at the Ohio State University. She earned her PhD from Harvard University. She has published an array of books, including A Family Venture; Men and Women on the Southern Frontier (1991); First Lady of the Confederacy: Varina Davis’s Civil War (2006); and War Stuff: The Struggle for Human and Environmental Resources in the American Civil War (2018). In Fall 2018, Dr. Cashin received a fellowship from the Kentucky Historical Society. In 2024, she published “Doctor Ephraim McDowell and the Human Body: Surgery, Community, Gender, and Race in the Early Republic” for a special medical issue of the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society.

Kentucky Chronicles is inspired by the work of researchers worldwide who have contributed to the scholarly journal, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, in publication since 1903.

https://history.ky.gov/explore/catalog-research-tools/register-of-the-kentucky-historical-society

Hosted by Dr. Allen A. Fletcher, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society.

https://history.ky.gov/khs-for-me/for-researchers/research-fellowships

Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation.

https://history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation

This episode was recorded and produced by Gregory Hardison, with support and guidance from Dr. Stephanie Lang. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary,” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay.

To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website:

https://history.ky.gov/

https://history.ky.gov/khs-podcasts

The Whig Party has been largely forgotten today, but prior to the creation of the Republican Party in 1854, it was the main competitor to the Democratic Party. In Kentucky, the Whig Party dominated state politics, as it held the governor’s mansion from 1836 to 1851. In 1848, support from prominent Kentuckians like John J. Crittenden proved crucial to the nomination and election of Zachary Taylor, a man who had himself been raised in Kentucky. Join us today for a talk with a researcher and editor who is leading the project to compile the letters of Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore.

Dr. Michael D. Cohen is the Editor/Project Director of the Correspondence of Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore at American University. He holds a PhD in history from Harvard University. He has published Reconstructing the Campus: Higher Education and the American Civil War. He previously worked on the James K. Polk project at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he served as editor. As part of this project, he helped oversee (and edited) the book: James K. Polk and His Time: Essays at the Conclusion of the Polk Project.

Correspondence of Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore, American University:

https://edspace.american.edu/taylorandfillmore/

Listen to the Kentucky Farm Bureau podcast with Brandon Stephens:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/history-of-ag-in-kentucky-with-brandon-stephens-kfb/id1743450634?i=1000718979001

Kentucky Chronicles is inspired by the work of researchers worldwide who have contributed to the scholarly journal, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, in publication since 1903.

https://history.ky.gov/explore/catalog-research-tools/register-of-the-kentucky-historical-society

Hosted by Dr. Allen A. Fletcher, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society.

https://history.ky.gov/khs-for-me/for-researchers/research-fellowships

Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation.

https://history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation

This episode was recorded and produced by Gregory Hardison, with support and guidance from Dr. Stephanie Lang. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay.

To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website:

https://history.ky.gov/

https://history.ky.gov/khs-podcasts

Founded in 1780, what would become Transylvania University was established over a decade before Kentucky even became a state. In 1818, Horace Holley—a Yale-educated minister from Connecticut—took over as president of the fledgling institution. Holley attempted to transform the institution, but ran into a host of difficulties. Join us today for a discussion with a former research fellow, who has written a book exploring Holley’s life and the tumultuous time that he spent at Transylvania.

Dr. James P. Cousins is the President of Kentucky Wesleyan College. He holds a PhD from the University of Kentucky and has published widely on the history of education. He co-authored, Collaboration and the Future of Education: Preserving the Right to Think and Teach Historically. A former research fellow at the Kentucky Historical Society, Dr. Cousins will talk to us today about his book “Horace Holley: Transylvania University and the Making of Liberal Education in the Early American Republic,” which he published with the University Press of Kentucky.

Kentucky Chronicles is inspired by the work of researchers worldwide who have contributed to the scholarly journal, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, in publication since 1903.

https://history.ky.gov/explore/catalog-research-tools/register-of-the-kentucky-historical-society

Hosted by Dr. Allen A. Fletcher, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society.

https://history.ky.gov/khs-for-me/for-researchers/research-fellowships

Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation.

https://history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation

This episode was recorded and produced by Gregory Hardison, with support and guidance from Dr. Stephanie Lang. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay. Other backing tracks are used courtesy of Pixabay or are original compositions by Gregory Hardison.

To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website:

https://history.ky.gov/

https://history.ky.gov/khs-podcasts

When we think of border states and the Civil War, we often think about Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and Delaware. When we think of fugitive slaves, we often think of the Ohio River or the Mason-Dixon line as a boundary between slavery and freedom. But did you know that similar debates over the meaning of freedom and slavery occurred in the Washington Territory? Join us today for a discussion with a former research fellow, who will explain how she came across a fugitive slave in Washington Territory, and what his story tells us about fugitivity and freedom in a border region.

Dr. Lorraine McConaghy is a public historian. She received a PhD in history from the University of Washington. In 2010-11, she received a fellowship to conduct research on Richard Dickerson Gholson, a Kentuckian who became the 3rd Territorial Governor of Washington. We are here today, however, to talk about Dr. McConaghy’s book that she co-authored with Judy Bentley: Free Boy: A True Story of Slave and Master.

Kentucky Chronicles is inspired by the work of researchers worldwide who have contributed to the scholarly journal, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, in publication since 1903.

https://history.ky.gov/explore/catalog-research-tools/register-of-the-kentucky-historical-society

Hosted by Dr. Daniel J. Burge, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society.

https://history.ky.gov/khs-for-me/for-researchers/research-fellowships

Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation.

https://history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation

This episode was recorded and produced by Gregory Hardison. Thanks to Dr. Stephanie Lang for her support and guidance. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay. Other backing tracks are used courtesy of Pixabay or are original compositions by Gregory Hardison.

To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website:

https://history.ky.gov/

https://history.ky.gov/khs-podcasts

Within popular culture, veterans of the Civil War are often depicted as having reconciled in reunions held throughout the nation in the late nineteenth century. Grainy images of Blue and Gray Reunions often show grizzled veterans shaking hands, symbolically pulling the nation back together as the bitter memory of the Civil War faded. Yet how accurate is this portrayal? Join us today for a discussion with a former research fellow who has written a book that reveals why this often-repeated tale of reunion and reconciliation fails to accurately capture how many remembered the Civil War.

Dr. Caroline Janney is the John L. Nau, III, Professor in History at the University of Virginia. She has published 8 books, as well as numerous articles and book chapters. Her most recent monograph: Ends of War: The Unfinished Fight of Lee’s Army After Appomattox won the 2022 Lincoln Prize. We are here to talk with her today about Remembering the Civil War: Reunion and the Limits of Reconciliation (2013). Dr. Janney was a fellow at the Kentucky Historical Society in 2009-10, when she was researching Remembering the Civil War. This book would go on to win the Jefferson Davis Award from the American Civil War Museum and the Charles S. Sydnor Award from the Southern Historical Association.

Kentucky Chronicles is inspired by the work of researchers worldwide who have contributed to the scholarly journal, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, in publication since 1903.

https://history.ky.gov/explore/catalog-research-tools/register-of-the-kentucky-historical-society

Hosted by Dr. Daniel J. Burge, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society.

https://history.ky.gov/khs-for-me/for-researchers/research-fellowships

Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation.

https://history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation

This episode was recorded and produced by Gregory Hardison. Thanks to Dr. Stephanie Lang for her support and guidance. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay. Other backing tracks are used courtesy of Pixabay or are original compositions by Gregory Hardison.

To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website:

https://history.ky.gov/

https://history.ky.gov/khs-podcasts

Kentucky is known for having a lot of counties: 120 to be exact. At the center of each county stands the county courthouse, some slightly more elaborate than others. Most Kentuckians are familiar with these, as it is where they go to register their vehicles or obtain a marriage license. In Jessamine County, however, those who visit the courthouse in Nicholasville will likely be struck by a towering statue that stands on the courthouse lawn: a statue of a Confederate soldier. Join us today for a discussion with a former research fellow, who has created a podcast to explore the towering history of this Confederate monument.

David Swartz is a Professor of History at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. Swartz received his M.A. and Ph.D. in American History from the University of Notre Dame. A historian of religion, he has published two books, Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012) and Facing West: American Evangelicals in an Age of Christianity (Oxford University Press, 2020).

In the summer of 2024, Dr. Swartz was a Research Fellow at the Kentucky Historical Society, researching Civil War Memory in Jessamine County, Kentucky. That research informed the podcast, “Rebel on Main,” about a Confederate monument in Nicholasville.

To learn more about the Confederate Monument and Civil War memory in Jessamine County, please listen to David’s podcast, “Rebel on Main.” Also, be sure to visit David’s website, rebelonmain.com, for more content connected to each episode, and for links to the preferred podcast streaming platforms.

https://www.rebelonmain.com/

Shoutout to Dr. Sean Rost and the "Our Missouri" podcast, currently sharing episodes focused on the states that border Missouri. Listen here:

https://shsmo.org/our-missouri

Kentucky Chronicles is inspired by the work of researchers worldwide who have contributed to the scholarly journal, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, in publication since 1903.

https://history.ky.gov/explore/catalog-research-tools/register-of-the-kentucky-historical-society

Hosted by Dr. Daniel J. Burge, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society.

https://history.ky.gov/khs-for-me/for-researchers/research-fellowships

Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation.

https://history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation

This episode was recorded and produced by Gregory Hardison. Thanks to Dr. Stephanie Lang for her support and guidance. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay. Other backing tracks are used courtesy of Pixabay or are original compositions by Gregory Hardison.

To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website:

https://history.ky.gov/

https://history.ky.gov/khs-podcasts

Loretta Lynn rose to musical fame through songs such as “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “Trouble in Paradise,” and “The Pill.” But have you ever wondered how her Kentucky roots influenced her lyrics? Join us today for a discussion with a former research fellow who explores how Lynn’s upbringing in Johnson County indelibly shaped her artistic output.

Dr. Brian Ward is a Professor in American Studies at Northumbria University. His previously published books include (1) Just My Soul Responding: Rhythm and Blues, Black Consciousness and Race Relations, (2) Media, Culture, and the Modern African American Freedom Struggle, (3) Radio and the Struggle for Civil Rights in the South, and (4) A&R Pioneers: The Architects of American Roots Music on Record. In this episode, he shares research from his article in the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society: “Sex, Drugs, and Country Music: Loretta Lynn, Gender Politics, and the Health Environment in Mid-Twentieth Century Rural Kentucky.”

Read more about Dr. Ward's research in Volume 122, Number 3&4, Summer/Autumn 2024 of The Register, out now, and available on Project Muse:

https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/54237

Kentucky Chronicles is inspired by the work of researchers worldwide who have contributed to the scholarly journal, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, in publication since 1903.

https://history.ky.gov/explore/catalog-research-tools/register-of-the-kentucky-historical-society

Hosted by Dr. Daniel J. Burge, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society.

https://history.ky.gov/khs-for-me/for-researchers/research-fellowships

Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation.

https://history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation

This episode was recorded and produced by Gregory Hardison. Thanks to Dr. Stephanie Lang for her support and guidance. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay. Other backing tracks are used courtesy of Pixabay or are original compositions by Gregory Hardison.

To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website:

https://history.ky.gov/

https://history.ky.gov/khs-podcasts