Franklin County Genealogy Records
Franklin County genealogy records begin in 1844, when this northwest Arkansas county was formed from Crawford and Johnson counties in 1837. The county operates two courthouse districts — Charleston in the east and Ozark in the west — each holding separate records for their respective areas, so knowing where your ancestor lived in the county is essential before requesting files.
Franklin County at a Glance
Franklin County Courthouse Genealogy Records
Franklin County has two courthouse offices serving different parts of the county. The Charleston office covers the eastern district at 211 W. Commercial Street, Charleston, AR 72933, phone (479) 965-7332. The Ozark office serves the western district at 217 N. 3rd Street, Ozark, AR 72949, phone (479) 667-3609. Both offices maintain marriage records from 1844 and probate records from 1844. As with Carroll County, you need to know which district your ancestor lived in before making a record request.
Franklin County was created on December 19, 1837, from Crawford County and Johnson County, but courthouse records did not begin until 1844. Families who lived in this area before that date would appear in Crawford or Johnson county records depending on which part of present-day Franklin County they settled in. Crawford County records begin in 1877, while Johnson County records go back to 1833. The Circuit Court Clerk in both Franklin County offices holds divorce filings, court records, and land records from 1844. Birth and death records begin in 1914.
Franklin County sits along the Arkansas River in the River Valley region. Ozark, in the western district, sits on the river itself and was an early Arkansas River trading and ferry crossing. The county's location made it part of the flow of settlers moving west along the river from Little Rock toward Fort Smith and into Indian Territory. Many Franklin County families in the 1840s and 1850s were recently arrived from Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and other eastern states.
Note: Franklin County has two courthouse districts at Charleston (eastern) and Ozark (western), so verify which district held your ancestor's township before requesting records.
Franklin County Genealogy on FamilySearch
The FamilySearch Franklin County wiki lists available records and links to digitized collections. Marriage records from 1844 are in the statewide Arkansas marriage index on FamilySearch. Probate records are also indexed, and census records for the county run from 1840 through 1940.
The 1840 census predates the county's own courthouse records and is part of the Pulaski/Crawford County territorial census coverage for this area. The 1850 census is more directly useful as the first complete federal census for Franklin County after the courthouse records began. Cross-referencing the 1850 census against early deed and probate records from the county builds detailed family pictures for the founding generation of settlers.
FamilySearch also provides military records for Arkansas including Civil War pension files for Franklin County veterans. The Arkansas River Valley was disputed territory during the Civil War, and Franklin County families often had members serving on both sides. The pension files for both Confederate and Union veterans contain sworn statements with marriage dates, children's names, and birthplaces that are not duplicated in other record types.
ARGenWeb Franklin County Resources
The ARGenWeb Franklin County page provides free genealogical resources compiled by volunteers. Cemetery records, family history submissions, and historical documents are available on the site for both courthouse districts.
Franklin County has a mix of church and family cemeteries dating back to the earliest settlement period. The ARGenWeb volunteers have transcribed many of these, covering both the Charleston and Ozark districts. Rural Franklin County cemeteries were often established on private farmland and are sometimes difficult to locate today; the ARGenWeb transcriptions preserve records of burial sites that might otherwise be inaccessible.
The ARGenWeb Franklin County page provides cemetery records, family history submissions, and genealogical resources for researchers tracing families in this Arkansas River Valley county.
Family histories on the ARGenWeb site sometimes trace Franklin County families from their origins in older states through their settlement along the Arkansas River. If your family has been in Franklin County since the 1840s or 1850s, checking the ARGenWeb submissions by surname is a quick first step before undertaking a full courthouse search.
Vital Records and State Archives
The Arkansas Department of Health holds birth and death records for Franklin County from 1914. The state marriage index starts in January 1917. For events before those dates, the Franklin County courthouses in Charleston or Ozark are the official sources. Birth certificates cost $12 and death certificates are $10 per copy from the state.
The Arkansas State Archives at 1100 North Street, Little Rock, (501) 682-6900, holds Confederate pension files, military records, and microfilmed county materials for Franklin County. The Archives is free to visit and open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m., plus the first and third Saturday of each month. The BLM land records database holds federal land patents for Franklin County from the 1840s onward.
Nearby Counties
Franklin County borders Crawford County, Johnson County, Sebastian County, Scott County, and Logan County. The parent counties of Crawford and Johnson hold pre-1844 records for families who lived in the Franklin County area.