African American Resources for Arkansas

Arkansas Wiki Topics

Beginning Research

Guided Research Research Strategies Record Finder

Record Types

Adoption Bible Records Biography Cemeteries Census Church Records Colonial Records Correctional Institutions Court Records Crime & Punishment Directories Emigration & Immigration Genealogies Guardianship Land & Property Military Records Naturalization & Citizenship Newspapers Obituaries Occupation & Business Records Online Collections Periodicals Probate Records Taxation Vital Records Voter Records

Arkansas Background

Biography Further Reading Gazetteers History Maps Migration

Cultural Groups

African Americans Indigenous Peoples Cultural Groups Swedish American

Local Research Resources

Archives & Libraries Societies Find a FamilySearch center

United States

African American Research

Arkansas

African-American Resources

Introduction

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.

Freedmen's Bureau

• Arkansas, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1864-1872 Images Only.
• Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1864-1872
• 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

Help Index Freedmen's Bureau Records

Help yourself and others find their African American ancestors by participating in the Discover Freedmen Indexing Project. June 19th Press Conference

Freedman's Bank Records

• Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1871 ($)
• United States, Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874 - searchable database with browsable images for Little Rock, Arkansas

Cemeteries

• African American Cemeteries Online: Arkansas - organized by county.
• Arkansas Gravestones
• Arkansas Gravestones Project

Churches

• Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church records from 1944-1983 are located in the state archives (Arkansas History Commission). This collection contains the church board, treasurer, and Sunday school records of the Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), of Sweet Home, Arkansas, 1944-1983.
• First Missionary Baptist Church [Little Rock] (1845- ) History

Genealogy

• "Arkansas African-American Records" at Arkansas Genealogy - Provides resources, including links to African American cemeteries, military records, slave records, and more.

Military

• Arkansas and Missouri Union Army muster rolls 1863-1864 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.

Slavery

Slavery in Arkansas - a resource for genealogists featuring Arkansas Slave Names, a searchable, downloadable spreadsheet containing the names of enslaved people, the slaveholders, and county.

Societies and Organizations

Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS)
AAHGS Arkansas Chapter
P.O. Box 4294
Little Rock, AR 72214

Mosaic Templars of America (MTA)
Mosaic Templars Cultural Center
501 W. Ninth Street
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
(501) 683-3593

Time Line

1859 Arkansas law ordered free Negroes and mulattoes to leave the state by the end of the year or select a master "who must give bond not to allow such Negroes to act as free."

Free Negroes were to carry at all times his "free papers"(manumission) which gave his name and description and explained just how his freedom had been obtained.

Books

• Taylor, Orville W. Negro Slavery in Arkansas. Fayetteville, Arkansas: University of Arkansas Press, 2000. FHL 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. FHL book 978 F2b At various libraries (WorldCat).

• Clark, John Franklin. A Brief History of Negro Baptists in Arkansas: A Story of Their Progress and Development, 1867-1939. Pine Bluff, Ark.: [s.n.], 1938. At various libraries (WorldCat).

• 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.

• Black History Commission of Arkansas - Arkansas History Commission and State Archives[1]