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Arkansas Genealogy

Arkansas Genealogy Facts

Spaniard Hernando de Soto was among the early European explorers to visit the territory in the mid-16th century, but it was a Frenchman, Henri de Tonti, who in 1686 founded the first permanent white settlement named the Arkansas Post. In 1803 the area was acquired by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase.

  • Arkansas was part of the Territory of Missouri from 1812
  • Arkansas became a Territory on March 2, 1819
  • Arkansas entered the union as a state on June 15, 1836 as the 25nd state.
  • It has 75 Counties.
  • Arkansas’s capital and largest city is Little Rock.
  • It is bordered by Louisiana (south), Mississippi (southeast), Missouri (north), Oklahoma (west), Tennessee (northeast) and Texas (southwest)
  • It has a land area of 53,182 square miles making it the 29th largest state.
  • The 2010 population was 4,779,736.
  • The  largest cities (2010) are Little Rock, 193,524; Fort Smith, 86,209; Fayetteville, 73,580; Springdale, 69,797; Jonesboro, 67,263; North Little Rock, 62304; Conway, 58,908; Rogers, 55,964; Pine Bluff, 49,083; Bentonville, 35,301
  • The State name  is dirived from the Quapaw (Sioux) word “acansa,” which means “downstream place” or “south wind.”
  • The State Nickname is “The Natural State”.
  • The State Motto is “Regnat populus” – The people rule

Arkansas County Genealogy

Arkansas County records vary widely from county to county in both quality and quantity. Some have been carefully preserved while others have been much abused and neglected.

Arkansas county vital, land, and probate records are held by the county clerk, with some counties having two courthouses. Either one might have been used for recording purposes. Some county clerks also maintain court records, but most are at the office of the clerk of the circuit court. Dates given are for the first known records in the category in that county; these dates do not imply that all records are extant from that date.

Select a County Below


Arkansas contains some counties that no longer exist because they were discontinued, renamed or merged with another county. These are important for Arkansas genealogy research purposes. Those Arkansas counties are:

  • Dorsey County, AR: Renamed Cleveland County in 1885
  • Lovely County, AR: Lovely County was Formed on October 13, 1827, from Crawford County and the Lovely Purchase. Lovely County included more of present day Oklahoma than present day Arkansas. The Oklahoma portion of the County was lost to Arkansas in 1828 with the Cherokee Treaty of that year. Most of the remainder became Washington County on October 27, 1828. Parts of Lovely County was used to form the following counties: Washington Other county boundry changes occured when According to D.Y. Thomas, “In 1816, William and Peter Lovely purchased a tract of land from the Osage Indians, which was included within the western boundary of Arkansas, as laid down in 1824, and was a large part of the county of Lovely, created in 1827. Unfortunately, this same region had been granted to the Cherokee Indians in 1818, creating difficulties which were not settled until 1828, when the present boundary of the State was established, and the most of Lovely County made a part of the Indian Territory. Such land as was left by this decision was included in Washington County, October 27, 1828, and the county officials were directed to take over the affiars and moneys of Lovely County.”
  • Old Miller County, AR: Formed on 1 April 1820 from Hempstead County. In 1828 a boundry change left old miller County entirely in Texas. In 1838, it was abolished to create Red River County, Texas. Extant records are at Arkansas History Commision includes Probate (1830-1838), Circuit Court (1830-1835), and Tax records (1832-1837). There was a courthouse fire in 1828. Available records for Old Miller County are in the George T. Wright Collection, Miller County Records, Territory of Arkansas, July 20, 1835 – March 17, 1838, University of Texas, Austin. Probate records have been published – see Old Miller County under books for sale www.ArkansasResearch.com
  • New Madrid County, AR: Now located in Missouri
  • Sarber County, AR: Formed on 22 March 1871 as Sarber County, Name changed to Logan in 14 December 1875


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Arkansas Genealogy Links

See Arkansas County Genealogyfor County Links. These genealogy links fall into 3 categories: Commercial Sites, Personal Sites or Organization Sites. Some are have free access some require a payment. This is just a list that has been collected or submitted. I do not endorse or promote one genealogy site above another. Feel free to submit your own favorite genealogy or family history related sites.

Arkansas State History Back to top

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