Arkansas Census

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United States

U.S. Census

Arkansas

Census

Online Federal Censuses

Population Schedules

Starting in 1790, federal population schedules were taken every 10 years in the United States. Click here for more information about 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.

United States Federal Censuses with Online Links

1830	1840	1850	1860
FamilySearch Ancestry.com	FamilySearch Ancestry.com	FamilySearch Ancestry.com	FamilySearch Ancestry.com
1870	1880	1890	1900
FamilySearch Ancestry.com	FamilySearch Ancestry.com	Census lost	FamilySearch Ancestry.com
1910	1920	1930	1940
FamilySearch Ancestry.com	FamilySearch Ancestry.com	FamilySearch Ancestry.com	FamilySearch Ancestry.com
1950	1960
FamilySearch Ancestry.com NARA	Release Date April 1, 2032

Non-Population Schedules for Arkansas

Federal non-population schedules included such things mortality schedules, agriculture schedules, slave schedules, and manufacturing schedules.

Year	Type of Census	Links
1841	Pensioner	Ancestry ($)
1850	Mortality	Ancestry ($)
1850	Slave	Ancestry ($)
1860	Mortality	FamilySearch; Ancestry ($)
1860	Slave	Ancestry ($)
1870	Mortality	FamilySearch; Ancestry ($)
1880	Mortality	FamilySearch; Ancestry ($)

Existing and Lost Censuses

• 1890 Census was lost for Arkansas.
• List of existing and lost federal censuses for Arkansas

Online State and Territorial Censuses

State censuses are census records that were taken at the state-level rather than at the federal. Often, but not always, a state took their census in ten year increments 5 years from when the Federal Census was taken, such as 1885. State censuses can even serve as substitutes for missing federal censuses. For more information on state censuses, visit United States Census Bureau.

Territorial censuses were taken by the federal government to count the population in federal territories. The government needed to count the population in the territory to see if it could qualify for statehood. For more information on territorial censuses, visit the US Territorial Census page.

Year	Type of Census	Links
Various	Arkansas, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1819-1870	Ancestry ($)

Other Census Images

• Arkansas Sheriff's Censuses, 1823 and 1829 - book
• Arkansas 1911 Census of Confederate Veterans - book and microfilm

Why Use the Census?

State census records can be one of the easiest ways to locate where an ancestor's family lived and when they lived there. Information varies based on year and location, but information that may be included in a census can include:

• Name of each person in the family at the time the census was taken
• Street or Avenue, or number Rural Free Delivery
• Sex
• Age
• Color
• Nativity
• Place of birth of this person
• Place of birth of Father of this person
• Place of birth of Mother of this person
• Period of Residence
• How long a resident of this State (years and months)
• How long a resident of this enumeration district (years and months)
• Regular occupation
• Military service