Grant County Genealogy Records
Grant County genealogy records begin in 1869, when this central Arkansas county was created from Jefferson, Hot Spring, and Saline counties. The county seat is Sheridan, and the courthouse holds marriage registers, probate files, and land records for family history research spanning more than 150 years of settlement in this south-central Arkansas county.
Grant County at a Glance
Grant County Courthouse Genealogy Records
The Grant County Clerk's office is at 101 W. Center Street, Sheridan, AR 72150, phone (870) 942-2631. The Clerk holds marriage records from 1869 and probate records from 1869. Grant County was created on February 4, 1869, from Jefferson County, Hot Spring County, and Saline County. The Circuit Court Clerk at the same courthouse holds divorce filings, court records, and land records from 1869. Birth and death records at the county level begin in 1914.
Grant County was formed during the Reconstruction period, shortly after the end of the Civil War. The county's creation in 1869 means that its earliest courthouse records date from a time when freedpeople were establishing themselves as landowners and family units for the first time under their own names. The early Grant County census records and land records from the 1870s document this transition period and include both white and Black families who were settling in the new county.
Because Grant County was formed from three parent counties, pre-1869 records for this area are spread across Jefferson County (Pine Bluff), Hot Spring County (Malvern), and Saline County (Benton). Jefferson County has records going back to 1830, Hot Spring County to 1829, and Saline County to 1836. Knowing which township your ancestor lived in before 1869 will help you determine which parent county to check first.
Note: Grant County was formed in 1869 from Jefferson, Hot Spring, and Saline counties, so pre-1869 family records are held in those three parent county courthouses.
Grant County Genealogy on FamilySearch
The FamilySearch Grant County wiki lists available records and links to digitized collections. Marriage records from 1869 are in the statewide Arkansas marriage index on FamilySearch. Probate records are indexed for the county, and census records run from 1870 through 1940.
The 1870 census is the first federal census for Grant County and was taken just one year after the county was formed. It captures the founding generation of settlers and is the first census in which formerly enslaved people appear as named individuals in the regular population schedule. For Grant County researchers tracing Black families, the 1870 census is a starting point for identifying individuals who may have been held as enslaved in the parent counties of Jefferson, Hot Spring, or Saline before emancipation. Cross-referencing the 1870 census against Freedmen's Bureau records from 1865 to 1872 is the standard approach for connecting pre-war and post-war records.
FamilySearch also provides military records for Arkansas including Civil War pension files. Grant County veterans filed for pensions under both Confederate and Union headings, and the pension applications contain detailed family history information. For freedmen who served in the United States Colored Troops during the Civil War, the pension files are among the most detailed records available for tracing family connections that predate emancipation.
ARGenWeb Grant County Resources
The ARGenWeb Grant County page provides free genealogical resources compiled by volunteers. Cemetery surveys, family history submissions, and historical documents for this central Arkansas county are available on the site.
Grant County cemeteries include both older community graveyards that date from before the county was formed and newer burial sites established after 1869. The ARGenWeb transcriptions document many of these, including rural family plots on private land that may not be accessible for in-person visits. Volunteer records preserve stone readings for markers that have weathered over time.
The ARGenWeb Grant County page provides cemetery records, family history submissions, and genealogical resources for researchers tracing south-central Arkansas families.
Family histories posted on the ARGenWeb site for Grant County sometimes trace families from their origins in the parent counties through the founding of Grant County and into the 20th century. Searching by surname is a quick first step before starting a full courthouse research effort.
Vital Records and State Archives
The Arkansas Department of Health maintains birth and death records for Grant County from 1914. The state marriage index starts in January 1917. For events before those dates, the county courthouse in Sheridan is the primary official source. 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 Grant County. The Archives is free 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 the Grant County area from the parent county period onward.
Nearby Counties
Grant County borders Jefferson County, Hot Spring County, Saline County, Ouachita County, Dallas County, and Cleveland County. The three parent counties of Jefferson, Hot Spring, and Saline hold pre-1869 records for families who lived in the Grant County area.