Pulaski County Genealogy Records
Pulaski County genealogy records begin in 1820, when this central Arkansas county was formed from Arkansas County and became the seat of Arkansas territorial and state government. The county seat is Little Rock, the state capital, and the courthouse holds one of the richest genealogical record bases in Arkansas.
Pulaski County at a Glance
Pulaski County Courthouse Genealogy Records
The Pulaski County Courthouse is at 401 W. Markham Street, Little Rock, AR 72201, phone (501) 340-8500. The County Clerk holds marriage records from 1838 and probate records from 1820. Land records begin in 1819. Court records begin in 1839. Real estate tax records go back to 1828 and personal property tax records to 1869. The Pulaski County Historical Commission holds probate court records before 1920. Birth and death records at the county level begin in 1914.
Pulaski County was created on December 15, 1818, from Arkansas County, and Little Rock became the Arkansas territorial capital in 1821. The county's position as the seat of government means its courthouse records are among the most complete and best-preserved in the state. The record base includes not just standard county records but also naturalization records (1870-1918), voter registration from 1952, and soldiers' and sailors' discharge records from 1919. No known courthouse disasters have affected Pulaski County records, which is significant for a county with records going back to the territorial period.
Pulaski County was a parent county for several later organized counties including Saline (1835), Faulkner (1873), Lonoke (1873), and Perry (1840, via Conway County). The depth of the Pulaski County record base and its role as parent to multiple counties make it one of the most important archives in Arkansas genealogical research. Researchers tracing central Arkansas families often begin in Pulaski County even when their target family ended up in a neighboring county.
Note: Pulaski County holds some of the oldest records in Arkansas, going back to 1820, with no known courthouse record losses. The county is parent to Saline, Faulkner, Lonoke, and other counties.
Pulaski County Genealogy on FamilySearch
The FamilySearch Pulaski County wiki lists available records and links to digitized collections. FamilySearch has indexed Pulaski County probate packets from 1819 to 1920, wills from 1818 to 1849, and census records from 1820 through 1940. Marriage records are in the statewide index. Administrators and Guardians Bonds and Letters from 1839 to 1919 are also indexed.
The 1820 census is the earliest federal enumeration for Pulaski County and captures households in the county's founding year. Little Rock was already becoming a significant settlement by this time as the territorial capital. The 1850 and 1860 censuses for Pulaski County name all household members and include the detailed Slave Schedules that are essential for African American genealogy. The county's large urban population in Little Rock means that the census records for Pulaski County are denser and more varied than those for rural counties.
For African American genealogy, the Freedmen's Bureau records for central Arkansas — centered on Little Rock — are among the most comprehensive in the state. Little Rock was a major Bureau headquarters, and the records from 1865 to 1869 include labor contracts, school records, marriage registers, and ration lists that name thousands of formerly enslaved individuals and their family connections. FamilySearch has indexed much of this material, making it searchable online.
Butler Center for Arkansas Studies
The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at 401 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, AR 72201, phone (501) 320-5700, is located in the Central Arkansas Library System building in downtown Little Rock. The Butler Center holds Arkansas-focused genealogy collections, historical manuscripts, newspaper archives, and photograph collections. For Pulaski County research and for statewide Arkansas genealogy, the Butler Center is one of the primary research destinations, with collections that complement what is available at the courthouse and the State Archives.
The Butler Center has an extensive newspaper archive with Little Rock papers going back to the early 19th century. Newspaper death notices, marriage announcements, and legal notices are an important supplemental record for Pulaski County genealogy, particularly for families in Little Rock who may have received more press coverage than rural families in smaller counties.
ARGenWeb Pulaski County Resources
The ARGenWeb Pulaski County page provides free genealogical resources compiled by volunteers. Cemetery surveys, family history submissions, historical documents, and military records for this central Arkansas county are available on the site.
Pulaski County cemeteries include historic Little Rock burial grounds with graves going back to the early 19th century. The Mt. Holly Cemetery in Little Rock is one of the most historically significant burial sites in Arkansas, with graves of prominent state figures and families from the territorial period. The ARGenWeb transcriptions cover a range of burial sites across the county.
The ARGenWeb Pulaski County page provides cemetery records, family history submissions, and genealogical resources for researchers tracing families in Little Rock and the surrounding county.
Family histories on the ARGenWeb site for Pulaski County cover both the prominent Little Rock families documented in newspapers and institutional records and the rural families in the county's outer townships. Some compiled genealogies trace families across Pulaski County and the daughter counties of Saline, Faulkner, and Lonoke.
Arkansas State Archives
The Arkansas State Archives at 1100 North Street, Little Rock, AR 72201, phone (501) 682-6900, is located in Pulaski County and holds the official archives of the state. For Pulaski County genealogy as well as statewide research, the Archives is the single most important repository. It holds Confederate pension files, military records, microfilmed county materials, territorial records, and a wide range of other primary source materials. 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 Arkansas Department of Health holds birth and death records from 1914. Federal records including Freedmen's Bureau materials are at the National Archives at Fort Worth, 501 W Felix Street, Fort Worth, TX 76115, phone (817) 831-5620.
Nearby Counties
Pulaski County borders Faulkner County, Lonoke County, Saline County, Perry County, and Prairie County. Saline, Faulkner, and Lonoke were all formed from Pulaski County and hold post-formation records for families who moved into those areas. The cities of Little Rock and North Little Rock are both in Pulaski County.