Arkansas African American Records

Arkansas African American Genealogy online research is much more difficult due to the scant nature of record keeping for African American’s prior to the Civil War. This is the reason for creating a separate section for African Americans much like we have for Native Americans who’s research can also be hampered by the available records. The links below provide an accurate reflection of what is available to be searched for African American genealogy.

• National Archives
  • United State National Archives
    • Digital Classroom
    • Genealogy Research at the National Archives
• Archives
  • Arkansas History Commission and State Archives
    • Funeral Home and Cemetery Records  (PDF)
  • Arkansas African American Griots
• Societies
  • Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society
  • Arkansas Afro American Historical and Genealogical Society
  • Family Search – African American Research Guide
• Biography
  • Free Biography Resources (hosted at AccessGenealogy)
    • A  B  Bi C  Ch  Cr  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z
  • Arkansas Slave Narratives
•  African American Cemeteries
  • Calhoun County
    • Pleasant Grove Cemetery  (hosted at African American Cemeteries online)
  • Crawford County
    • Hosted at Arkansas Freedman
      • Beal Cemetery
  • Nevada County
    • Hosted at Nevada County Depot and Museum
      • De Ann Cemetery
      • Forest Hill Cemetery
      • Sweet Home Cemetery
      • Mt. Vernon Cemetery
      • Snell Cemetery
      • White Church (Waters Chapel) Cemetery
  • Sebastian County
    • Cherokee African American Cemetery (hosted at Interment.net)
  • Access Genealogy’s Arkansas Cemetery Records
    The most complete coverage of Cemetery records available on the web.  They are broken down by county.  We do know know if there are African Americans in these cemeteries, so you should browse them for ancestors also.
  • Homemakers’ Survey of Nevada County Arkansas Cemeteries
•  African American Census Records
  • Hosted at Ancestry.com
    • 1870 US Fed Census $$
  • Access Genealogy’s Arkansas Census Records
    Providing the most complete coverage of census records available on the web. We’ve broken the list down by county, and take a careful look at the index page where we explain which records are missing from the census data and may never be recovered.
  • Greene County
    • 1860 Federal Census Slave Schedule
  • Marion County
    • 1850 Federal Census Slave Schedule (hosted at Marion County ARGenWeb)
    • 1860 Federal Census Slave Schedule
  • Pike County
  • Hosted at Pike County Archives and History Society
    
    • 1840 Federal Census Slave Schedule
    • 1870 Federal Census, Black Households
    • 1880 Federal Census, Black Households
    • 1900 Federal Census, Black Households
  • Ft. Smith
    • 1870 Federal Census, Black Households (hosted at Freedmen of the Frontier)
  • Washington County
    • 1850 Washington County Slave Census (hosted at Washington County USGenWeb)
• Church Records
• Hosted at Ancestry.com
  • The First African Baptist Church of North America $$
• Court Records
  • Hosted at Ancestry.com
    • Slavery petitions and papers $$
  • Ft. Smith Black Marriages By Groom (hosted at Freedman of the Frontier)
  • Ft. Smith Black Marriages By Bride (hosted at Freedman of the Frontier)
  • Hosted at Freedman’s Bureau
    • Register of Marriages in Arkansas
    • Report of Civilians Employed 
    • Roster of Officers and Civilians
    • List of Civilians & Employees
    • Indenture Bonds for Hempstead, Arkansas
• History
  • Ancestry.com Slave Narratives  $$
    Perhaps no other resource approaches the range of human experience found in Ancestry.com’s Slave Narratives. This collection of interviews stands in contrast to other slave narratives that appear in most literature anthologies which were written by the rare few who, against staggering odds, had become literate. This database provides a more poignant picture of what it was to live as a slave in the American South. Taken from The American Slave: A Composite Autobiography, this collection is the most complete available picture of the African-American slavery experience. There is simply no other historical document quite like it. The collection contains over 20,000 pages of type-scripted interviews with more than 3,500 former slaves collected over a ten year period. (Requires Ancestry.com Membership) Get 14 Days Free Access!!!
• Arkansas Slave Narratives
• Hosted at Ancestry.com
  • Freedman’s Bank Records, 1865-1874 $$
• Mailing Lists
• Military Records
  • Military Records (hosted at AccessGenealogy)
    • World War 1 Records
    • Hosted at Ancestry.com
      • WWI Draft Registration Cards $$
    • World War II Records
      • Arkansas World War II Army – Air Corps Casualty List
      • Arkansas World War II Navy – Marines Casualty List
  • Hosted at Ancestry.com
    • Civil War Service Records $$
  • African-American Civil War Soldiers & Sailors (hosted at Solders and Sailors System)
• Arkansas Military Records
  • Colored Troops of Crawford County (hosted at Arkansas Freedman)
  • Arkansas Black Civil War History (hosted at Arkansas Freedman)
  • Eleventh US Colored Troops (hosted at Arkansas Freedman)
• Miscellaneous
  • Persistence of the Spirit (hosted at Black Past.org)
  • Early African Presence in Ft. Smith (hosted at Freedman of the Frontier)
  • List of Teachers on duty in Arkansas
  • Underground Railroad (hosted at National Geographic)
• Slave Owners
  • Crawford County Slave Owners, 1850 (hosted at Arkansas Freedman)
    • Hosted at Slaveholders and African Americans 1860-1870
      

      Arkansas Chicot Desha Hempstead Jackson Jefferson

      Lafayette Monroe Phillips Sebastian Sebastian

• Surnames
  • African-American Surnames Database (hosted at Afrigeneas)
• Vital Records
  •  Arkansas Vital Records (hosted at AccessGenealogy)