Arkansas Genealogy

This page of our website provides links to Arkansas ancestry and historical narratives about Arkansas. These genealogical records may include, vital records (birth, marriage and divorce, death), ethnic records (Black, Native American), court records (land, probate and wills, criminal and civil), church records (Bibles, baptisms, marriages, burials and histories), cemeteries, census records, military records directories and yearbooks.

Arkansas Ancestry

Fathers of the ridge
Genealogical sketches of Greene County, Arkansas

Ancestor charts of the Saline County History and Heritage Society members
Rowland, Leon; Moore, Orene; Saline County History and Heritage Society (Arkansas)

Lineage charts and family group sheets
submitted by members of Hempstead County Genealogical Society

Arkansas pioneers
Compiled local and family histories from the Clayton Library.

A family history : Adcock, John, of Buckingham County, Virginia
Some of his descendants : with collateral lines: Christian, McMurtry, Robertson, Ingersoll, etc. John Adcock, of Scottish-Irish descent, emigrated from England in late 1600s or early 1700s and settled in Buckingham County, Virginia. His son, Joseph Adcock, served in the American Revolution. He married first, Susan Cason (d. 1804). They had thirteen children, ca. 1754-1804. Joseph and his second wife, migrated to Kanawha County, Virginia (now West Virginia) in 1814. Descendants of his sons, John and Joel, listed, lived in Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Georgia, Mississippi, and elsewhere.

A history of the Albright family
Thomas Finley Allbright was born in 1853 near Capps, Arkansas, married Sarah Anne Gilliam at age 24 and died in 1900. Includes Allbright, Albrecht, Moore and allied families.

A Berry history
Record contains an accounty of John and Jane Campbell Berry of Washington County, Virginia and some of their descendants in Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Oregon and other states.

A biographical sketch of the life, ancestors and descendants of Robert Exum Coffey (1858 – 1939) of Boone County, Arkansas
Robert Exum Coffey (1858-1939), son of Jonathan Norman Coffey and Permelia Spencer Cloyd, was born in Yardelle, Arkansas. He married Ida Mae Crumpler, daughter of William Crumpler and Mary Ann Cockerham, in 1881.

A bit about the past for Calvin, Barbara, and Ruby
Genealogy for Cotton, Castoe, Pendelton, Batesel, Coots families : from 1068-2008 A.D. John Cotton was born in 1626 and lived in Conington, Huntingdonshire, England. He married Anne Hucheson and they had nine children. He died in Virginia. Ancestors, descendants and relatives lived mainly in England, Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri, Utah, Idaho and California.

A Dysart lineage, seven generations
Information on seven generations of the Dysart family line, beginning with Samuel Dysart of Ireland c. 1746. Continues with the Dysart family coming to the United States and settling in Virginia, Maryland and Kentucky, and later moving west. James Dysart, son of Samuel and Frances Anderson Dysart, ” … was born in 1744 in County, Donegal, Ireland. In 1775 he married Agnes Beattie in Botetourt County, Virginia. He died on May 26, 1818 in Rock Castle County, Kentucky.”–P. 22. Descendants and relatives lived in Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Utah and elsewhere.

The first Donahoe families in Fort Smith, Arkansas, 1848

The Edmistons of Washington County, Arkansas
David Edmiston (b.ca.1760) was born in North Carolina, and married Anne Brevard in either North Carolina or Tennessee. They moved in 1818 from Tennessee to Clark County, Arkansas. Descendants and relatives lived in North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas and elsewhere.

2000 years, the families of Foster and Mansell
Stephen Moore Foster, born February 2, 1844 at Dekalb County, Tennessee, son of William Golden Foster and Minerva Spurlock. He married Mary Pearl Patterson and Rebecca Marilza Blythe Pruitt. He died on January 1, 1902 at Roseville, Arkansas.

A Gallaher family history : James H. and Sarah E. Gallaher and their descendants
James Gallaher (ca. 1730-1792) was born in Ireland. He and his wife, Sarah E. Miller, were in the Cumberland Valley in Pennsylvania in 1762. They later settled in Washington County, Tennessee in 1783. Descendants lived in Tennessee, Illinois, Arkansas.

A Graham family of Boone County, Arkansas
Eli Frazier Graham (1839-1916) and wife Narcissus Lucindy Ellen Wadley (1848-1933) with some earlier generations and collateral lineages. Eli Frazier Graham (1839-1916), son of James M. Graham and Mary Robinson, was born in Bolivar, Missouri. He married Narcissus Lucindy Ellen Wadley (1848-1933) in 1866.

A Graham genealogy
William Graham was born in Ulster Province, Ireland, the son of Richard and Nancy Graham. His family immigrated to Pennsylvania when he was young. He later migrated to North Carolina. He married Margaret Graham, daughter of James and Jane Graham of Rowan County, in 1767. They settled in Mecklenburg County, where they had nine sons, 1769- 1790. He was a singner of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independance in 1775. He died in 1818. His grandson, William Graham (1814-1861) was born at Charlotte, North Carolina, the son of Sam and Abigail Shinn Graham. He migrated to Georgia where he married Louisa B. Dungegan. They had ten children, 1840-1859, all born in Georgia. The family migrated to Pleasant Valley (later Naylor) Arkansas in 1861. He died there. Descendants listed lived in Arkansas, Illinois and elsewhere.

A genealogy of the Hammer and Spoon families
John Hammer immigrated to the U.S. and eventually settled in Randolph County, North Carolina. His descendant, John Hammer, son of Abraham and Catherine Hammer was born in 1814 in North Carolina. He married Jane Spoon in 1832, daughter of John and Sophia. Descendants live in North Carolina, Indiana, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, and elsewhere.

A genealogy of all the descendants of Ephriam Knight through John Knight
James Valentine Knight was a veteran of the War of 1812. He was the son of Ephriam Knight who had migrated from Maryland to Virginia. James married a Miss Kindal in Virginia and they migrated to Ross County, Ohio where their family was reared. Descendants lived in Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, Missouri, Arkansas and elsewhere.

200 Years of London family in America
Amos London (1737-1805), a Quaker, served in the Revolutionary Army, and moved from New Jersey to Surry County, North Carolina in 1777. Descendants lived in New Jersey, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona

May and Keith families of Arkansas

A Genealogy of the McCullah-Wasson families, 1700-1967
Thomas Robertson (1763-1834) immigrated from Ireland to Virginia in 1780. He married Elizabeth Lane (1771-1838) in 1789 in Amherst County, Tennessee. Their daughter, Lucy married Alexander McCullah in 1819. Descendants lived in Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri and elsewhere.

A family history of Luther and Vera Merriman, 1883-2004
Luther Merriman was born 10 September 1912 in Doniphan, Missouri. His parents were Jess A. Merriman (1883-1942) and Hattie Belle West (1885-1959). He married Vera Beatrice Gregory, daughter of Samuel Afton Gregory (1878-1958) and Rosa Jones Horn (1880-1959), 16 September 1934 in Pelsor, Arkansas. They had three children. Luther died in 1982 in Independence, Missouri.

A Brief history of the Pettit and Spruce families in Boone County, Arkansas : ca. 1818-1925

The Rhoads family newsletter
by the Rhoads Cemetery and Family Association,

A history and genealogy of the Ruddle family, 1695-1941
John Ruddell (ca.1695-1781) emigrated from England to Chester County, Pennsylvania about 1717, and married Mary Cook. The family moved to Augusta County, Virginia between 1743 and 1747. Descendants lived in Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas and elsewhere.

13 generations of Sabin families
Life stories of David Sabin (1807-1882), Elizabeth Dowart (1811-1891); life stories of David Dorwart Sabin (1841-1899), Mary Powell (1843-1929); life stories of David Sabin (1868-1947), Julia Elizabeth Pfiste.

A branch of the Stallings/Stillions family tree
Richard Stallings was born in about 1630 in Lincolnshire, England. He married Lavaria Kingland, daughter of Anthony Kingland. They had seven children. They emigrated in 1652 and settled in Calvert County, Maryland. Descendants and relatives lived mainly in Maryland, Virginia, Missouri and Arkansas.

A history of one–of the many–John Williams families in America
John Williams immigrated from Wales to land near Norfolk, Virginia, served in the Revolutionary War, probably married twice, and moved after the war to North Carolina and then to Madison County, Tennessee. Descendants lived in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and elsewhere.

Kith and kin of Georgia Ridge, Crawford County, Arkansas
Abel, Adams, Chastain, Ferguson, Rogers, Sinclair, et. al.

Arkansas Black Genealogy

Arkansas African American Records

WPA Slave Narratives
Slave narratives are stories of surviving slaves told in their own words and ways. Unique, colorful, and authentic, these slave narratives provide a look at the culture of the South during slavery which heretofore had not been told.

Arkansas Bible Records

Arkansas Biographies

Biographical and historical memoirs of eastern Arkansas
Comprising a condensed history of the state, a number of biographies of distinguished citizens of the same, a brief descriptive history of each of the counties.

Biographical and historical memoirs of northeast Arkansas
Comprising a condensed history of the state, a number of biographies of distinguished citizens of the same, a brief descriptive history of each of the counties mentioned, and numerous biographical sketches of the citizens of such counties.

Biographical and historical memoirs of western Arkansas
Comprising a condensed history of the state, a number of biographies of distinguished citizens of the same, a brief descriptive history of each of the counties mentioned, and numerous biographical sketches of the citizens of such counties.

Biographical and historical memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland and Hot Spring counties, Arkansas
Comprising a condensed history of the state, a brief descriptive history of each of the counties, a number of biographies of distinguished citizens of the same.

Biographical and pictorial history of Arkansas
From earliest times to the year 1890. A full and complete account, embracing the Indian tribes occupying the country; the early French and Spanish explorers and governors; the colonial period; the Louisiana purchase; the periods of the territory, the state, the civil war, and the subsequent period. Also, an extended history of each county in the order of formation, and of the principal cities and towns; together with biographical notices of distinguished and prominent citizens.

Pioneers and Makers of Arkansas
By Josiah Hazen Shinn.  1908

Arkansas Cemetery Records

  • Arkansas Cemetery Records
    Arkansas Cemetery records are listed by county then name of cemetery within the Arkansas county. Most of these are complete indices at the time of transcription, however, in some cases we provide only a partial listing.
    • Cemetery census of Arkansas
      Magnolia, Columbia; Conway, Faulkner; London, Pope; West Helena, Phillips; —  Chalybeat Springs,   P e r s o n , Columbia;  BARLOW,   Evenezer,  Frazier,  MT. Vernon,  Westem, Miller,  Salem,  Sharmon,  Sawrna, Oak Grove, Pleasant Hill,  Price, L. 0, 0. F,  Hartford Memorial Park   Cemeteries, etc. FHB

Arkansas Census Records

Arkansas Church Records and History

The annals of Christ church parish of Little Rock, Arkansas, from A. D. 1839 to A. D. 1899
by Ellen Maria Harrell Cantrell, 1900

The history of Presbyterianism in Arkansas, 1828-1902
by Charles Beatty Moore  1902

A Rural Survey in Arkansas
This Rural Survey of Benton County, Arkansas, made under the direction of the Department of Church and Country Life of the Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church, was undertaken at the request of the Synod of Arkansas. In the conduct of the survey, a broad study has been made of economic, social, and religious conditions as well as the educational life of the country, including with the schools an investigation of all ecclesiastical denominations and social organizations. Presbyterian Church: Dept of Church & Co. 1913.

125 years in the heart of the city
First United Methodist Church, Grand Prairie, Texas 1880-2005

A century of faith
A history of the First Christian Church, Harrison, Arkansas, 1876-1976

A history of Greenbrier Baptist Association from 1884 to 1926

A history of the Church of the Brethren in the district of southern Missouri and Arkansas

Inventory of the church archives of Arkansas

Cleburn County

Heber Springs

Columbia County

Little Rock County

Marion County

Mississippi County

Monroe County

Clarendon

Pike County

Corinth Church of Christ

Antioch-Delight Church of Christ

Pope County

Sebastian County

Fort Smith

Washington County

Cumberland Presbyterian Church (Arkansas)

Arkansas Court Records

Arkansas Directories

Arkansas History

Arkansas County Histories

Arkansas Town Histories

Arkansas Land Records

U.S., Bureau of Land Management Tract Books, 1820-1908
3,907 land management tract books containing official records of the land status and transactions involving surveyed public lands arranged by state and then by township and range. These books indicate who obtained the land and include a physical description of the tract and where the land is located.

Original purchasers of land in southwest Arkansas from 1826, book 1
Names in alphabetical order; also, in alphabetical order by township & range.

Crawford County

Crawford County Arkansas Land Records 1829-1907
This database is compiled from the Bureau of Land Management land records and includes 2,520 homestead and cash entry patents before 1908 for what is now Crawford County, Arkansas.

Marion County

Washington County

Arkansas Maps

Arkansas Military Records

Arkansas Native American Records

Arkansas Newspapers

  • Arkansas County
  • Benton County
    • Gentry Courier Journal 1896-1897
    • Gentry Courier Journal Advance 1897-1949
  • Independence County
  • Mississippi County
    • Leachville
      • World’s cresset 1903-1918
        The World’s Cresset began in 1891 in Aurora Springs, Missouri, as the journalistic brainchild of Leroy Sylvester Garrett. In publicity introducing the new four-page, six-column weekly, Garrett called it “The Aurora Springs Cresset,” but he seemed to decide later to expand the scope of the paper beyond Aurora Springs.
  • Sebastian County
    The following newspapers are hosted by the Fort Smith Library through History Archives interface which doesn’t allow direct linking (aka, it’s poorly designed). In order to access these you’ll need to use the following link: Fort Smith Library Community Archives
    • Arkansas Developer 1894-1894
    • Belle Grove School Journal 1872-1872
    • Daily News Record 1894-1895
    • Daily Southwest American 1911-1911
    • Evening Call 1891-1891
    • Fort Smith Bulletin 1862-1862
    • Fort Smith Daily Herald 1877-1879
    • Fort Smith Daily Time and Herald 1861-1861
    • Fort Smith Elevator 1878-1909
    • Fort Smith Enterprise 1895-1895
    • Fort Smith Herald 1848-1881
    • Fort Smith Herald and New Elevator 1912-1915
    • Fort Smith New Era 1863-1870
    • Fort Smith News Record 1896-1907
    • Fort Smith Southwest American 1908-1911
    • Fort Smith Standard 1867-1867
    • Fort Smith Times Record 1924-1929
    • Fort Smith Tri Weekly Bulletin 1862-1862
    • Fort Smith Tri Weekly Herald 1865-1866
    • Fort Smith Weekly Herald 1867-1879
    • Fort Smith Weekly New Era 1865-1874
    • News Record 1894-1894
    • Ouachita Conference Journal 1863-1863
    • South West Independent 1854-1854
    • Southwest American 1908-1932
    • Southwest Times Record 1923-1932
    • Sun 1898-1898
    • Thirty Fifth Parallel 1860-1861
    • Times Record 2012-2018
    • Tri Weekly Fort Smith Herald 1870-1872
    • War Times 1863-1863
    • Weekly New Era 1880-1884
    • Western Independent 1872-1877
    • Wheelers Daily Independent 1879-1879
    • Wheelers Independent 1878-1883
    • Wheelers Western Independent 1878-1878

Arkansas Newspaper Transcriptions

Arkansas Obituaries

Arkansas Periodicals

Arkansas Research Guides

Arkansas School Records

Arkansas Vital Records

Arkansas Genealogy Websites

Arkansas Genealogy

ARGenWeb

Arkansas Yearbooks