Here is a little known book that can be a real find when it still remains in the county. A Stray Book is a listing of all the strayed animals that have been found and claimed before the Justice of the Peace. These animals may have been let loose when their owners could not feed them, lost through high water or other natural disasters, separated from groups traveling through the area or simply lost. The person who took the time to catch and corral the animals could have them appraised before the JP and then take them home; if no one claimed them, the finder had new livestock.
These books are great because they tell not only the finders name, but also where the stock was taken; most often near the finders homestead. Here is an excellent locator because most of the entries give a very good description where the livestock was found. The entries also give some idea about the county itself. Owen County was a connector between the Kentucky Bluegrass and Cincinnati on the Ohio RIver. Apparently many animals were rafted down the Kentucky River and were lost along the Owen County stretch. With the changes in transportation, Owen County is today isolated; but in the nineteenth century, it was on the main transportation route.
Carrie Eldridge
1996
ISBN: 9781928979258
108-7925
