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Arkansas County, Arkansas Genealogy

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Guide to Arkansas County, Arkansas ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

County Facts
County seat: De Witt
Organized: December 31, 1813
Parent County(s): New Madrid (MO)
Neighboring Counties
Desha • Jefferson • Lincoln • Lonoke • Monroe • Phillips • Prairie
Courthouse
ArkansasArkansasCourthouse.jpg
Location Map
Ar-arkansas.png

Description

Arkansas County was created on 31 December 1813 and was named after the Arkansas Indian tribe. Its county seat is DeWitt.[1] It is located in the east-central area of the state.[2]

County Courthouse

Arkansas County Courthouse
101 Court Square
DeWitt, AR 72042
Phone: 870-946-4349
Arkansas County Website

County Clerk has probate records from 1809 and marriage records from 1838;
Clerk Circuit Court has land records, divorce and court records from 1803 and military discharge records from 1917.[3]

Arkansas County, Arkansas Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Government County Records[4]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1914 1838 1914 1803 1803 1809 1830
*State birth and death records began in 1914. Limited compliance until the 1920s

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[6]

Cities
Towns
Unincorporated communities
  • Jacks Bay Landing
  • Kittlers
  • La Grue Springs
  • La Grue
  • Lodge Corner
  • Lookout
  • Mayview
  • Medina
  • Monica
  • Mount Adams
  • North Stuttgart
  • Olena
  • Ona
  • Osotouy
  • Parham
  • Prairie Landing
  • Prairie Union
  • Preston Ferry
  • Ricusky
  • Roberts
  • Sassafras
  • Sheppard Point
  • South Stuttgart
  • Stinking Bay
  • Super
  • Thomwall
  • Tichnor
  • Vallier
  • Van
  • Weber
  • West Bayou
  • Yoder
Townships
  • Barton
  • Brewer
  • Chester
  • Crockett
  • Garland
  • Gum Pond (most of Stuttgart)
  • Henton
  • Keaton
  • McFall
  • Mill Bayou
  • Morris (part of Stuttgart)
  • Point Deluce
  • Prairie
  • Stanley


History Timeline

Emphasis for this timeline is on events that affected migration, records, or record-keeping. Unless otherwise mentioned, the events below were taken from Arkansas County article at The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture[7]

  • 1686 - Henri de Tonti established Arkansas Post at the Quapaw village of Osotouy. It was the first semi-permanent French settlement in the lower Mississippi River Valley and the first step in a long struggle between France, Spain, and England over the interior of North America.
  • 1813 - December 13 - Arkansas County was created and comprised about two-thirds of what is now Arkansas and part of eastern Oklahoma. More than half the state’s counties were formed from this original county.
  • 1824 - the dwindling remnant of Quapaw Indians at last yielded their lands for $4,000 and an annuity of $1,000 a year for the next eleven years. Thus, a good deal of what is now fine cotton land changed hands at a figure estimated at one dollar per 1,000 acres.
  • 1862 - June 17 - Civil War naval and land battle that disabled the Union USS Mound City was located at St. Charles.
  • After the war, towns and villages sprang up across the prairie. The people who settled here were largely of German origin, including some who came directly from Prussia, some who came by way of Illinois, and some whose ancestors had lived in Russia.

Resources

Bible Records

Biographies

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Arkansas, Arkansas online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)
List of Cemeteries in the County
See Arkansas Cemeteries for more information

Census Records

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1830 1,426 —
1840 1,346 −5.6%
1850 3,245 141.1%
1860 8,844 172.5%
1870 8,268 −6.5%
1880 8,038 −2.8%
1890 11,432 42.2%
1900 12,973 13.5%
1910 16,103 24.1%
1920 21,483 33.4%
1930 22,300 3.8%
1940 24,437 9.6%
1950 23,665 −3.2%
1960 23,355 −1.3%
1970 23,347 −0.0%
1980 24,175 3.5%
1990 21,653 −10.4%
2000 20,749 −4.2%
2010 19,019 −8.3%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Federal Census Records

Though the United States purchased Arkansas from the French in 1803, Anglo-American settlement of the area did not began in earnest until after the formal organization of the territory in 1819. Therefore, Arkansas does not appear in Federal Censuses before 1830. For links to federal census indexes, see Arkansas Census.

Territorial and State Census Records

State censuses were taken at the state-level and territorial censuses were taken by the federal government. See Arkansas Census for more information about censuses taken in Arkansas.

Church Records

List of Churches and Church Parishes

Court Records

  • Court records began in 1819 [8]

Directories

Emigration and Immigration

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

African Americans

Funeral Homes

Genealogies

Guardianship

Land and Property Records

Online Land Indexes and Records

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Arkansas County. They may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more about local histories, see Arkansas Local Histories.

Maps and Gazetteers

Lonoke CountyPrairie CountyMonroe CountyPhillips CountyJefferson CountyLincoln CountyDesha CountyBolivar CountyAR ARKANSAS.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Migration

Military Records

Civil War

Regiments. Men in Arkansas County served in various regiments and companies. Those listed below were specifically formed in this county:

- 1st Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Company H and Company K
- 1st Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Colquitt's) (Confederate)
- 5th Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry (Confederate)
- 6th Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry (Confederate) , Company E
- 6th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate)
- 8th Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry (Confederate)
- 13th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate)
- 18th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Companies E and F
- 26th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Company I

Online Records

Civil War Battle

The following Civil War battles were fought in Arkansas County.[9]

  • June 17, 1862 - Saint Charles.
  • January 9-11, 1863 - Arkansas Post, also known as Fort Hindman.
  • Battles of the American Civil War maps - filter by state or by battle name.

Naturalization and Citizenship

Newspapers

Arkansas Online Historical Newspapers - identifies historical archived and digitized newspapers available online on both free and pay-to-access websites. Includes newspapers for Arkansas County.

Obituaries

Other Records

Voting Records

Periodicals

Probate Records

Online Probate Indexes and Records

School Records

Social Security Records

Tax Records

Vital Records

Birth

Birth Records reveal
Yes or Maybe ⇒
 Y M
Name of Child Green check.png
Birth Date and Place Green check.png
Parent's Names Green check.png
Mother's Maiden Name Green check.png
Parent's Ages Green check.png
Father's Occupation Green check.png
Current Residence Green check.png
Name of Doctor or Midwife Green check.png

In 1877, a few county and city clerks[10] started keeping birth and death records.

In 1914, the state law required all county clerks to record births and forward them to the state.

ArrowGreen.svg.png

See also: • Arkansas Online Genealogy Records, • How to Find Arkansas Birth Records and • Arkansas Vital Records—Birth.

See Also How to Find Arkansas Birth Records

Marriage

Death

Divorce

Voting Records

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Arkansas County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Arkansas Archives and Libraries.

FamilySearch Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

  • FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
  • FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Arkansas County. For state-wide library facilities, see Arkansas Archives and Libraries.

Arkansas State Library
Website

Major catalogs for books, microfilm, or collections pertaining to Arkansas County:

FamilySearch Catalog - Select Places within... for cities and towns
WorldCat - Click an item for libraries near you. For more information, see WorldCat Online Catalog.
Allen County Public Library - Located in Indiana, they are heavily involved in digitizing much of their collection.
Arkansas Digital Archives - Select the county - Arkansas state agency involved in organizing, digitizing, and maintaining the records of state and local history.
Local libraries and Arkansas Archives and Libraries may suggest other catalogs

Museums

Societies

Listed below are societies in Arkansas County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Arkansas Societies.

Grand Prairie Historical Society
Phone: 870-830-1425
Email: grandprairiehistory@gmail.com
Website
Facebook

Websites

Research Guides

References

  1. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
  2. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Arkansas County," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkansas_County,_Arkansas.
  3. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists : United States of America, 10th ed., (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002), p. 66.
  4. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Arkansas County, Arkansas. Page 67 At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 65.
  5. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
  6. ↑ Wikipedia contributors,"Arkansas County, Arkansas," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkansas_County,_Arkansas#Communities, accessed 28 August 2018.
  7. ↑ Bill Shrum, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture, https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/arkansas-county-745/, (accessed January 6, 2016), “Arkansas County.”
  8. ↑ Alice Eichholz, Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources, 3rd ed. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Pub., 2004), 65-67. At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27rb 2004.
  9. ↑ National Park Service, Civil War Battles. Filter by state or battle name.
  10. ↑ such as Sebastian County (Fort Smith) and Pulaski County (Little Rock) (No entry in FamilySearch Catalog found for Pulaski County nor for Little Rock, Aug 2014)
  11. ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/5/5c/Igiarkansasad.pdf.
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