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Sebastian County, Arkansas Genealogy


 

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

County Facts
County seat: Fort Smith
Organized: January 6, 1851
Parent County(s): Scott, Polk, Crawford, and Van Buren[1]
Neighboring Counties
Crawford • Franklin • LeFlore (OK) • Logan • Scott • Sequoyah (OK)
See County Maps
Courthouse
ArkansasSebastianFortSmithCourthouse.jpg
Location Map
Ar-sebastian.png

County Information

Description

Sebastian County was created 06 Jan 1851[2] and was named for United States Senator and Judge William K. Sebastian. Its county seats are Fort Smith (northern district) and Greenwood (southern district).[3] It is located in the west-central area of the state [4]

County Courthouse

Sebastian County Courthouse
35 S 6th;
Fort Smith, AR 72901
Phone: 501-782-5065
Sebastian County Website

County Clerk has marriage records from 1865 and probate records from 1866.
Clerk Circuit Court has divorce, court and land records.[5]

Sebastian 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[6]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1914 1865 1914 1851 1861 1866 1830
*State birth and death records began in 1914. Limited compliance until the 1920s

Record Loss

1881, 1882 A courthouse fire destroyed most records. Some have been reconstructed.

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:[8]

Cities
Towns
Townships


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 Sebastian County page on the website, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. [9]

Resources

Bible Records

Biographies

  • Biographies from The History of Sebastian County, Arkansas (1889) published by Goodspeed Publishing Company are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Sebastian, 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. %±
1860 9,238 —
1870 12,940 40.1%
1880 19,560 51.2%
1890 33,200 69.7%
1900 36,935 11.3%
1910 52,278 41.5%
1920 56,739 8.5%
1930 54,426 −4.1%
1940 62,809 15.4%
1950 64,202 2.2%
1960 66,685 3.9%
1970 79,237 18.8%
1980 95,172 20.1%
1990 99,590 4.6%
2000 115,071 15.5%
2010 125,744 9.3%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Church Records

Episcopal

St. John's Episcopal Church, Fort Smith

  • 1860-1886 - St. John's Episcopal Church, Fort Smith Baptism Index 1860-1886. Batch C586781 at FamilySearch - free.
  • 1860-1895 - St. John's Episcopal Church, Fort Smith Marriage Index 1860-1895. Batch M586781 at FamilySearch - free.

Lutheran

First Lutheran Church, Fort Smith

  • 1868-1885 - First Lutheran Church, Fort Smith Baptism Index 1868-1885. Batch C586721 at FamilySearch - free.
  • 1868-1895 - First Lutheran Church, Fort Smith Marriage Index 1868-1895. Batch M586721 at FamilySearch - free.

List of Churches and Church Parishes

Court Records

Directories

Emigration and Immigration

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

African Americans

Funeral Homes

Genealogies

Guardianship

  • Probate Records 1851-1922 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 accounts 1870-1892; Administration and guardian bonds 1891-1904; Administration and guardian dockets 1865-1885; Administration bonds 1861-1868; Bonds and letters 1872-1883; Dockets 1861-1864 and 1875-1886; Executors bonds and letters 1883-1910; Probate records 1851-1888; Wills 1902-1922.

Land and Property Records

Online Land Indexes and Records


Local Histories

Local histories are available for Sebastian 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

Sequoyah CountyLe Flore CountyCrawford CountyFranklin CountyLogan CountyScott CountyAR SEBASTIAN.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Migration

Military Records

Civil War

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

- 11th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate)
- 17th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Griffith's) (Confederate), Companies A, B, C and F
- 19th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Dawson's) (Confederate)
- 34th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Companies D and G
- 35th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Companies A, B, C and D
- 51st Regiment, Arkansas Militia (Confederate)
- Witherspoon's Battalion, Arkansas Cavalry (Confederate)
- 4th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Union)

Online Records

Civil War Battle

The following Civil War battle was fought in Sebastian County:[10]

World War II

Naturalization and Citizenship

Newspapers

Finding More Arkansas Newspapers Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Sebastian 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[11] 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.

Marriage

Death

Divorce

Voting Records

Research Facilities

Archives

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

Fort Smith Public Library
3201 Rogers Ave
Fort Smith, AR 72903
Phone: 479-783-0229
Email: information@fortsmithlibrary.org
Website
Facebook

Museums

Societies

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

Fort Smith Historical Society
P.O. Box 3676
Fort Smith, AR 72913
Email: info@FortSmithHistory.org
Website
Facebook

South Sebastian County Historical Society
307 E Townsquare
P.O. Box 523
Greenwood, AR 72936
Phone: 479-414-5324
Email: SSCHSInfo@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. ↑ Individual County Chronologies, https://digital.newberry.org/ahcb/documents/AR_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm
  3. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Sebastian County, Arkansas," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sebastian_County,_Arkansas&oldid=1159655707 (accessed December 13, 2023).
  4. ↑ Genealogy Trails History Group, “Sebastian County, Arkansas Genealogy and History”, http://genealogytrails.com/ark/sebas/
  5. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002).
  6. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Sebastian County, Arkansas. Page 70 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), 67.
  7. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002).
  8. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Sebastian County, Arkansas," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastian_County,_Arkansas, accessed 30 September 2018.
  9. ↑ Guy Lancaster, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture, (http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=807&type=Category&item=Counties&parent=Counties%2c+Cities%2c+and+Towns&grandparent=+%3a+accessed+January+6%2c+2016)%2c : accessed January 15, 2016), “Sebastian County.”
  10. ↑ National Park Service, Civil War Battles. Filter by state or battle name.
  11. ↑ 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)
  12. ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/d/d7/Arkansasnz.pdf.
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