Pike County Genealogy Records
Pike County genealogy records begin in 1836, when this southwest Arkansas county was formed from Clark County and Hempstead County. The county seat is Murfreesboro, and the courthouse holds marriage registers, probate files, and land records for family history research in this small county known for its diamond mine.
Pike County at a Glance
Pike County Courthouse Genealogy Records
The Pike County Clerk's office mailing address is PO Box 219, Murfreesboro, AR 71958, phone (870) 285-2231. The Clerk holds marriage records from 1836 and probate records from 1836. Pike County was created on November 1, 1833, from Clark County and Hempstead County, with courthouse records beginning in 1836. The Circuit Court Clerk at the courthouse holds divorce filings, court records, and land records. Birth and death records at the county level begin in 1914.
Pike County is a small, largely rural county in southwest Arkansas. Murfreesboro, the county seat, sits on the Little Missouri River. The county's early settlers in the 1830s and 1840s were mostly small farming families from older southern states who came to Arkansas during the territorial period. Because Pike County was formed from two parent counties, researchers need to know which portion of the county their ancestor lived in before 1833 to determine whether the earlier records are in Clark County at Arkadelphia or Hempstead County at Hope.
Pike County was also a parent county itself — Howard County was formed from Pike County in 1873, along with portions of Polk and Sevier counties. This means that families in the Howard County area before 1873 would have their earlier records in the Pike County courthouse. Researchers tracing families in the Nashville area and the southwest Arkansas hill country should be aware of this boundary change.
Note: Pike County was formed in 1833 from Clark and Hempstead counties. Pre-1833 records are in those two parent county courthouses. Pike County was also itself a parent to Howard County, formed in 1873.
Pike County Genealogy on FamilySearch
The FamilySearch Pike County wiki lists available records and links to digitized collections. Marriage records from 1836 are in the statewide Arkansas marriage index on FamilySearch. Probate records are indexed for the county, and census records run from 1840 through 1940.
The 1840 census is the first federal census for Pike County and gives an early look at the households in Murfreesboro and the surrounding townships. The 1850 census names every household member and includes birthplace data that traces families back to their pre-Arkansas origins in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas. Cross-referencing the census entries against the early courthouse records from the 1830s and 1840s gives the fullest picture of Pike County families in the antebellum period.
FamilySearch has indexed Civil War pension files for Pike County veterans. The county sent men into Confederate service, and the pension files from Confederate veterans and their widows are among the most detailed genealogical records available for this period. For African American genealogy, FamilySearch has indexed Slave Schedules from 1850 and 1860 for Pike County, and the Freedmen's Bureau records for southwest Arkansas cover this area and are held at the National Archives at Fort Worth.
ARGenWeb Pike County Resources
The ARGenWeb Pike County page provides free genealogical resources compiled by volunteers. Cemetery surveys, family history submissions, and historical documents for this southwest Arkansas county are available on the site.
Pike County cemeteries document families from the 1830s through the 20th century. The ARGenWeb volunteers have transcribed a number of these burial sites, including both church cemeteries in Murfreesboro and rural family plots across the county's townships. The cemetery records are a useful first step in Pike County research before turning to the courthouse materials.
The Arkansas State Archives in Little Rock holds microfilmed Pike County records, Confederate pension files, and military records for researchers tracing southwest Arkansas families.
Family histories on the ARGenWeb site for Pike County trace families through their connections to the parent counties of Clark and Hempstead and back to their origins in the older southern states. Some submitted genealogies document families across Pike County and Howard County, reflecting the 1873 boundary change that divided the region.
Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives
The Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives (SARA) at 201 Hwy 195 S, Washington, AR 71862, phone (870) 983-2633, covers 12 southwest Arkansas counties including Pike County. SARA holds county records, family papers, and historical manuscripts from this region. Washington, where SARA is located, was the first capital of Arkansas Territory, and the SARA collections include early territorial-period records that complement the Pike County courthouse materials.
The Arkansas State Archives in Little Rock holds Confederate pension files, military records, and microfilmed county materials for Pike County. The Arkansas Department of Health holds birth and death records from 1914. Federal records are at the National Archives at Fort Worth, 501 W Felix Street, Fort Worth, TX 76115, phone (817) 831-5620.
Nearby Counties
Pike County borders Clark County, Hempstead County, Howard County, Sevier County, Montgomery County, and Hot Spring County. Clark County and Hempstead County are the parent counties and hold pre-1833 records for Pike County families. Howard County, formed from Pike County in 1873, holds post-1873 records for families in that part of the region.