Franklin County, Arkansas Genealogy

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

County Facts
County seat: Ozark
Organized: December 19, 1837
Parent County(s): Crawford[1]
Neighboring Counties
CrawfordJohnsonLoganMadisonSebastian
See County Maps
Courthouse
ArkansasFranklinNorthDistrictCourthouse.jpg
Location Map
Ar-franklin.png
Scenic View of Ozarks on White Rock Mountain, Franklin County, Arkansas

County Information

Description

Franklin County was created on 15 February 1838[2] and was named for Benjamin Franklin.[3] Its county seat is Ozark.[4] It is located in the northwestern area of the state.[5]

County Courthouse

Franklin County Courthouse
211 W Commercial Street
Ozark, AR 72949
Phone: 501-667-3607
Franklin County Website

County Clerk has marriage records from 1850, probate records from 1838 and land records from 1899.[6]

Franklin County, Arkansas

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[7]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1914 1850 1914 1852 1899 1838 1830
*State birth and death records began in 1914. Limited compliance until the 1920s

Record Loss

  • 1863 - A courthouse fire destroyed deed records.

For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see:

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:[9]

Cities
Towns
Unincorporated communities
Townships
  • Alix
  • Barham
  • Black Oak
  • Boston
  • Cobb
  • Cravens
  • Donald
  • Grover
  • Hogan
  • Hurricane
  • Ivy
  • Limestone
  • McIlroy
  • Middle
  • Mill Creek
  • Miller
  • Morgan
  • Mountain
  • Mulberry
  • Prairie
  • Shores
  • Six Mile
  • Walker
  • Wallace
  • Watalula
  • Weaver
  • White Oak
  • White Rock
  • Wittich
Ghost towns


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 the Franklin County page on the website, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. [10]

  • 1819-1828 - By treaty, the Cherokee controlled the county
  • 1828 - the Cherokee were removed to Indian Territory and the area was opened to settlement, people came from Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, and surrounding states.
  • 1837 December 19 - was formed from Crawford County.
  • 1875 - The railroad came to Franklin County, and towns grew up along the line.
  • 1880s - The climate and terrain in northern Franklin County were suited to grape growing, and a group of Swiss and German farmers came to Altus and established wineries.

Resources

Bible Records

Biographies

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Franklin, 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.
1840 2,665
1850 3,972 49.0%
1860 7,298 83.7%
1870 9,627 31.9%
1880 14,951 55.3%
1890 19,934 33.3%
1900 17,395 −12.7%
1910 20,638 18.6%
1920 19,364 −6.2%
1930 15,762 −18.6%
1940 15,683 −0.5%
1950 12,358 −21.2%
1960 10,213 −17.4%
1970 11,301 10.7%
1980 14,705 30.1%
1990 14,897 1.3%
2000 17,771 19.3%
2010 18,125 2.0%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Church Records


List of Churches and Church Parishes

Court Records

Directories

Emigration and Immigration

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

Funeral Homes

Genealogies

  • Family biographies from The History of Franklin County, Arkansas (1889) published by Goodspeed are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.

Guardianship

  • Probate Records 1835-1958 Franklin County portion of the collection: Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979 : Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)- How to Use this Collection
    • Includes Administration and guardian record index no date; Administration bonds 1866-1918; Administration bonds and letters 1891-1935; Administration settlements 1866-1878; Chancery Court records 1891-1953; County Court records 1847-1860; General index 1852-1890; Guardian bonds and letters 1891-1940; Guardian settlements 1866-1891; Letters of administration 1865-1918; Letters of testamentary 1865-1936; Minutes 1870-1874; Probate packet index 1835-1958; Probate packets 1835-1958; Probate record index 1860-1898; Probate records 1838-1915; Wills 1892-1947.

Land and Property Records

Online Land Indexes and Records


Local Histories

Local histories are available for Franklin 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

Washington CountyMadison CountyJohnson CountyCrawford CountySebastian CountyLogan CountyAR FRANKLIN.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Migration

Military Records

Civil War

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

- 7th Battalion, Arkansas Infantry (Desha) (Confederate)
- 34th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Company I
- 35th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Company E

Online Records

Naturalization and Citizenship

Newspapers

Finding More Arkansas Newspapers Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Franklin newspapers in online catalogs like:


Obituaries

Other 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[12] 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.

  • 1947-1965 Franklin County Birth Index 1947-1965. Batch C744007 at FamilySearch.

Marriage

Death

Divorce

Voting Records

Research Facilities

Archives

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

Museums

Societies

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

Websites

Research Guides

References

  1. The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002).
  2. Arkansas: Individual County Chronologies, https://digital.newberry.org/ahcb/documents/AR_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm
  3. Genealogy Trails History Group, “Franklin County, Arkansas Genealogy and History”, http://genealogytrails.com/ark/franklin/
  4. The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002).
  5. Wikipedia contributors, "Franklin County," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_County,_Arkansas
  6. The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002).
  7. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Franklin 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.
  8. The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002).
  9. Wikipedia contributors, "Franklin County, Arkansas," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_County,_Arkansas, accessed 12 September 2018.
  10. Rebecca Haden, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture, (http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=768&type=Category&item=Counties&parent=Counties%2c+Cities%2c+and+Towns&grandparent= : accessed January 13, 2016), “Franklin County.”
  11. Desmond Walls Allen, Third Arkansas Union Cavalry, (Conway, Arkansas: Arkansas Research, c1987), pp. 33-92. FS Catalog book 976.7 M28dc
  12. 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)