African American Resources for Arkansas: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 17:59, 10 January 2025
| Arkansas Wiki Topics |
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| Beginning Research |
| Record Types |
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| Arkansas Background |
| Cultural Groups |
| Local Research Resources |
Introduction[edit | edit source]
This guide focuses on sources that are specific to the African American experience in Arkansas. Check out the Arkansas and African American guides on FamilySearch.org as well.
Online Resources[edit | edit source]
Research Strategy[edit | edit source]
Follow the strategies described on the African American Genealogy page.
History[edit | edit source]
Resources[edit | edit source]
Biographies[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
Census Records[edit | edit source]
Church Records[edit | edit source]
Emancipation Records[edit | edit source]
Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]
- CAAGS Obituary and Funeral Home Collection at California African American Genealogical Society - index & images
Genealogies[edit | edit source]
Land and Property[edit | edit source]
Visit the Arkansas Land and Property page to learn more about land records and how to access them. Check the deed book indexes for the years before 1865 for enslaved people listed in the "Description" column. Most county courthouse deed books are digitized on FamilySearch.org. Search the FamilySearch Catalog by county.
Plantation[edit | edit source]
Law and Legislation[edit | edit source]
Obituaries[edit | edit source]
- CAAGS Obituary and Funeral Home Collection at California African American Genealogical Society - index & images
Oral Histories[edit | edit source]
Other Records[edit | edit source]
Military Records[edit | edit source]
Civil War
- Arkansas and Missouri Union Army muster rolls 1863-1864. This collection contains the muster rolls for the Second and Third Regiments, Arkansas Infantry volunteers of African descent, and a couple of Missouri regiments (Arkansas History Commission).
- Company G, 2nd Arkansas Volunteers of African Descent, United States of America, records. This collection contains records pertaining to Company G, 2nd Arkansas Volunteers, United States Army, during the Civil War.
- The USCT Chronicle: Arkansas. This collection contains stories of the United States Colored Troops as recorded by genealogist Angela Walton-Raji. This link has all of her posts on Arkansas soldiers.
- U.S., Colored Troops Military Service Records, 1863-1865 ($). This database contains military records of African Americans who served in the Union during the Civil War.
World War I
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery
Probate Records[edit | edit source]
Visit the Arkansas Probate Records page to learn more about probate in Arkansas and how to find them. Pre-1865 records could contain the names of enslaved people from the slaveholder's probate records.
Garrett-Nelson, LaBrenda. Gleaning Information about Enslaved Ancestors from Probate Files NGS Magazine 48 #2 (April-June 2022): 23-27 FS Library 973 D25ngs
Reconstruction Records[edit | edit source]
Freedman’s Bank[edit | edit source]
An excellent source is the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company (visit the African American Freedman's Savings and Trust Company Records page to learn more). This company was created to assist African American soldiers of the Civil War and Freedmen. Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company signature cards or registers from 3 March 1865 to 25 July 1874 may list the name of the depositor, date of entry, age, birthplace, residence, complexion, name of employer or occupation, wife or husband’s name, death information, children’s names, name of father and mother, brothers’ and sisters’ names, remarks, and signature. Early books sometimes contained the name of the former master or mistress and the name of the plantation. Copies of death certificates were sometimes attached to the entries.
Online collections of Freedman's Bank records:
- United States, Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874 at FamilySearch; index and images — How to Use this Collection
- U.S., Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874 at Ancestry
- Freedman's Bank Records for Little Rock, Arkansas at FamilySearch; browsable images
- U.S., Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1871 at Ancestry (free)
- Interactive Map of Freedman's Bank Branches with Links to Online Records at Mapping the Freedmen's Bureau - images; FamilySearch collections
Freedmen's Bureau[edit | edit source]
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was created by the US government in 1865 until 1872 to assist formerly enslaved persons in the southern United States. The Bureau created a wide variety of records extremely valuable to genealogists. Such documents include censuses, marriage records, and medical records. These records often include full names, former slaveholders and plantations, and current residences.[1] For 1865 and 1866, the section on abandoned and confiscated lands includes the names of the owners of the plantations or homes that were abandoned, confiscated, or leased. It gives the county and location, a description of the house, the number of acres owned, and the number of cabins of enslaved persons. These films do not appear to contain the names of the formerly enslaved persons.
To find Freedmen's Bureau records:
- DiscoverFreedmen - the search on this site will utilize all of the Freedmen's Bureau records on FamilySearch, including:
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau Claim Records,1865-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau Hospital and Medical Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- Interactive Map of Freedmen's Bureau Hospitals with Links to Online Records at Mapping the Freedmen's Bureau - images; FamilySearch collections
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau Labor Contracts, Indenture and Apprenticeship Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau Ration Records,1865-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau Records of Persons and Articles Hired, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Freedmen's Court Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Land and Property Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen's Complaints, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Superintendent of Education and of the Division of Education, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
Other collections not included:
- United States Freedmen's Bureau Miscellaneous Records,1865-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- United States Freedmen's Bureau Records of Freedmen, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- Arkansas, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1864-1872 at FamilySearch; images — How to Use this Collection
- U.S., Freedmen's Bureau Records of Field Offices, 1863-1878 at Ancestry
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch; images — How to Use this Collection
- Arkansas, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1864-1872 at FamilySearch; images — How to Use this Collection
Additional Resources:
- Mapping the Freedmen's Bureau - visual guide to the Freedmen's Bureau Field Offices, Freedmen Schools, contraband camps, and battle site locations the US Colored Troops fought
- Records of the Field Offices for the State of Arkansas, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872 - a National Archives document describing the contents of each field office's records
School Records[edit | edit source]
Slavery Records[edit | edit source]
- State slavery statutes. Bethesda, Maryland : University Publications of America, c1989. Arkansas FS Library fiche 6118903
- Slavery in Arkansas: A Resource for Genealogists. Features Arkansas Slave Names, a searchable, downloadable spreadsheet containing the names of enslaved people, the slaveholders, county, and date and abstract of document.
- Works Project Administration. Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves. Arkansas Narratives, Parts 1–7. Digital version at Internet Archive made available by Project Gutenberg.
- Taylor, Orville W. Negro Slavery in Arkansas. Fayetteville, Arkansas: University of Arkansas Press, 2000. FS Catalog book 976.77 F2t At various libraries (WorldCat).
- George Berry Washington, Black Plantation Owner. By Iroquois Research Institute prepared for Historic Preservation Associates. - Fairfax, Va.: The Institute, 1981. - iv, 84 leaves: ill. F415.C9 W373
- Burton, Arthur T. Black, Buckskin and Blue: African American Scouts and Soldiers on the Western Frontier. Austin, Texas: Eaton Press, 1999. FS Catalog book 978 F2b At various libraries (WorldCat).
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
Birth[edit | edit source]
Marriage[edit | edit source]
The Freedmen's Bureau (1865-1872) was created by the US government to assist formerly enslaved persons in the southern United States. One of their responsibilities was to record the marriages (past and present) of the formerly enslaved. These records can be found in the collections below and include the lists of marriages that occurred previously, marriage certificates, and marriage licenses. The information contained on the records may include the name of the husband and wife/groom and bride, age, occupation, residence, year or date of marriage, by whom, number of children, and remarks.
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- U.S., Freedmen’s Bureau Marriage Records, 1846-1867 at Ancestry ($)
Death[edit | edit source]
- Arkansas Deaths and Burials, 1882-1929; 1945-1963 at FamilySearch; index — How to Use this Collection
- Arkansas Death Index, 1914-1950 at FamilySearch; index — How to Use this Collection
Divorce[edit | edit source]
Voting Records[edit | edit source]
- Register of Legal Voters, 1867-68 at Arkansas Digital Archives
Archives and Libraries[edit | edit source]
Visit the Arkansas Archives and Libraries page to learn more about archives and libraries in Arkansas.
Societies[edit | edit source]
AAHGS Arkansas Chapter
Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS)
P.O. Box 4294
Little Rock, AR 72214
Website: AAHGS
A Museum of African American History
Mosaic Templars Cultural Center
501 W. Ninth Street
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
Telephone: (501) 683-3593
Website: Mosaic Templars Center
Black History Commission of Arkansas
Arkansas State Archives
2B215, 2nd Floor, 1 Capitol Mall
Little Rock, AR 72201
Website: BHCA
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "African American Records: Freedmen's Bureau," "African American Heritage," National Archives, accessed 11 May 2018.
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