Arkansas County Genealogy Records
Arkansas County holds some of the oldest genealogy records in the state, with land and probate files going back to 1814. The county was created in 1813 and served as one of the earliest settled areas in what would become the state of Arkansas. If you are tracing family lines in the southeastern part of the state, Arkansas County is a key stop. Records are split between two courthouse districts, De Witt and Stuttgart, so knowing which district your ancestors lived in will help you find the right office and the right set of files.
Arkansas County at a Glance
Arkansas County Courthouse and Clerk Records
Arkansas County operates with two separate courthouse districts. The DeWitt District handles the southern portion of the county. It is located at 101 Court Square, DeWitt, AR 72042, and can be reached at (870) 946-4219. The Stuttgart District serves the northern area and is located at 305 S. College Street, Stuttgart, AR 72160, phone (870) 673-2052. Both offices maintain separate sets of records, so you need to know which district your family lived in before making the trip or placing a records request.
The County Clerk maintains marriage registers, probate files, and tax records. Marriage records in Arkansas County go back to 1837, which is one of the longest-running marriage record sets in the state. Probate records start in 1814, covering estates and wills from the earliest days of the county. Land records also begin in 1814. The Circuit Court Clerk holds divorce records, civil court files, and additional land records. Birth and death records at the county level begin in 1914, consistent with the statewide registration system that began that year.
Note: Arkansas County has two courthouse districts, so confirm whether your ancestor lived in the northern or southern district before requesting records.
Arkansas County Genealogy on FamilySearch
The FamilySearch Arkansas County genealogy wiki is one of the best free starting points for this county. The wiki covers what records exist, where they are held, and which collections are available online. FamilySearch has digitized Arkansas County marriages covering the period from 1837 to 1957, which gives you well over a century of marriage data without needing to contact the courthouse. Probate records from 1817 to 1979 are also indexed on the site, along with census records for every available census year from 1830 through 1940.
Census records are especially useful for Arkansas County research because they can place a family at a specific location and time, helping you match names across different record types. The 1870, 1880, and 1900 censuses are particularly helpful for tracing families who moved into the county after the Civil War. FamilySearch also provides links to church records and other county-specific collections that are not always easy to find through a general web search.
ARGenWeb and Free Arkansas County Records
The ARGenWeb Arkansas County page offers free access to historical records and transcriptions contributed by volunteers. This includes cemetery listings, obituary records, family history narratives, and some transcribed court and deed records. ARGenWeb is a long-running project that has gathered material from local researchers over many years. While not every record is available, the site often has items that are not digitized anywhere else, particularly cemetery inscriptions from rural family graveyards.
Cemetery records from this county can be vital for genealogy research. Many families buried their dead on private land in the 19th century, and those graves may be the only physical evidence of a family's presence in the area. ARGenWeb volunteers have walked many of these cemeteries and documented the inscriptions. The site also has obituary listings from local newspapers, which often include names of survivors and previous residences, giving you clues for tracking family migration.
Family history submissions on ARGenWeb sometimes contain details that are hard to find in official records. If someone else has researched your family line in Arkansas County, their notes may be posted here. It is worth searching by surname before spending hours in the courthouse.
Note: ARGenWeb records are volunteer-contributed and may be incomplete, but cemetery and obituary data here is often unique and not found in official archives.
Vital Records for Arkansas County Genealogy
State vital records for Arkansas County are maintained by the Arkansas Department of Health. Birth records for the county begin on February 1, 1914. Death records from Little Rock and Fort Smith start in 1881, while statewide death registration began in 1914 as well. Marriage records at the state level begin in January 1917 and divorce records from January 1923. For events before those dates, you need to look at county-level records held by the County Clerk in De Witt or Stuttgart.
The state vital records office charges fees for certified copies. Birth certificates cost $12 for the first copy and $10 for each additional copy ordered at the same time. Death certificates are $10 for the first copy. These fees apply to records ordered through the state office. You may be able to get information more quickly by contacting the county clerk directly for older marriage and probate records, since those have been held at the county level for over a century.
Arkansas State Archives for County Research
The Arkansas State Archives in Little Rock holds materials that extend beyond what most county courthouses can provide. For Arkansas County genealogy, the Archives has Confederate pension records, Civil War discharge records, land records, and state census records. The collection also includes newspapers from across the state, manuscripts, and microfilm copies of county records that are too fragile to handle at the courthouse.
The Archives is located at 1100 North Street, Little Rock, AR 72201. Phone: (501) 682-6900. Email: state.archives@arkansas.gov. Admission is free. Hours run Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. The Archives is also open the first and third Saturday of each month. If you cannot visit in person, staff can answer basic research questions by email, and many indexes are searchable online through the Arkansas Heritage website.
The Arkansas County Records on Microfilm index shows which county records have been filmed and are held at the State Archives or other repositories. For Arkansas County, several early record books have been microfilmed and can be accessed without traveling to the courthouse.
Land Records and Early Settlement
Arkansas County was one of the first areas surveyed under the federal land system, and the Bureau of Land Management land records database holds pre-1908 federal land patents for this area. These early patents name the original patentees, and in some cases, their widows, heirs, or assignees. Land patents are useful for placing a family in the county at a specific time and can help confirm whether someone who appears in later census or probate records was actually a long-term resident.
Once you find a land patent, cross-referencing with probate records is a good next step. Probate files from 1814 onward in Arkansas County often include inventories of personal property and land descriptions that match the original survey descriptions. This lets you trace land from the original federal grant through multiple generations of inheritance.
Federal Records and the National Archives
Federal records for Arkansas County are held at the National Archives at Fort Worth, located at 501 W Felix Street, Fort Worth, TX 76115, phone (817) 831-5620. This facility covers Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. Federal records include military service and pension files, federal court records, and Freedmen's Bureau records from the Reconstruction era. For Arkansas County, Freedmen's Bureau records cover the period from 1865 to 1872 and include labor contracts, complaints, and registers of freedpeople that can be essential for tracing African American families in this part of Arkansas.
The Arkansas Genealogical Society is another resource worth contacting. The society is based in Little Rock and maintains a library and archives. They publish the quarterly "The Arkansas Family Historian" and run an Ancestry Certificate program for families who can document deep roots in the state. Membership is $25 for individuals or $35 for families.
Nearby Counties
Arkansas County borders several other counties in the southeastern part of the state. Families often moved across county lines, so checking records in adjacent counties can fill gaps in your research. The nearby counties are Desha County, Monroe County, Prairie County, Jefferson County, and White County. Each has its own courthouse with records that may overlap with Arkansas County families.