Arkansas Societies and Archives

The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be more generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.

Arkansas Genealogical Archives

 

It is wise to acquaint yourself with any repository which you might visit by writing to the appropriate archive or library in advance. Every repository has published materials that introduce its collections and research policy. State archives and historical agencies also have Internet sites that provide the same information. Some even have downloadable databases for some or parts of their collections.

• Arkansas History Commission, One Capitol Mall, Little Rock, AR 72201; 501.682.6900
• Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives, 201 Highway 195 South, PO Box 134, Washington AR 71862; Phone: (870) 983-2633, FAX: (870) 983-2636
• The Old State House, 300 W. Markham, Little Rock, AR 72201 - 501-324-9685
• Arkansas Department of Health & Human Services, Division of Health, Vital Records
  PO Box 8184, Little Rock, AR 72203-8184
• University of Arkansas Libraries, Special Collections Division, Fayetteville, AR 72701-1201
  (501) 575-5577  FAX: 501) 575-6656

Historical & Genealogical Societies

 

Because family history research relies greatly upon records found at the county level, many local societies represent counties. Organizations also form around shared interests. Ethnic or religious origins account for many groups, such as the Polish Genealogical Society of America and P.O.I.N.T. (Pursuing Our Italian Names Together). Societies also form around common locales of origin for members’ ancestors; hence, the Palatines to America and Germans from Russia societies. To locate these and other societies, consult Juliana Szucs Smith’s The Ancestry Family Historian’s Address Book. It lists addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and Internet addresses of thousands of organizations throughout the United States.

For almost every state there is a state genealogical society, a state genealogical council, or both. In addition to their own work, state-level groups sometimes help coordinate the efforts of local societies within the state. Their publications, newsletters and quarterlies, supplement those produced by the local societies.

• Arkansas Genealogical Society, 1411 Shady Grove Road, P.O. Box 908, Hot Springs, AR 71902-0908; Phone: 501-262-4513
• Arkansas Historical Society, 422 South Sixth Street, Van Buren, AR 72201
• Arkansas Family History Association, 609 Colynwood, Sherwood, Arkansas 72120; 501-835-7502
• Arkansas Historical Association, 416 Old Main, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701; 479-575-5884, 479-575-2775 FAX
• Northwest Arkansas Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 796, Rogers, AR 72756-0796; (479) 273-3890
  Serving the Arkansas Counties of Benton, Carroll, Madison and Washington
• Southwest AR Genealogical Society, % Kitty Reeves Jean, 1022 Lawton Circle, Magnolia, AR 71753
• Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society, Arkansas Chapter P.O. Box 4294 Little Rock, AR 72214
• Arkansas Society of Daughters of the American Revolution
• National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution,
• Arkansas Society of Sons of the American Revolution,
• National Society of Sons of the American Revolution, 1000 South Fourth Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40203; (502) 589-1776
• Central Arkansas Library System, 700 South Louisiana, Little Rock, AR 72203
• Directories & Member Lists - Directories and member lists are typically compilations of information about people who belonged to various associations and groups or lived within city boundaries. They can be thought of as the predecessors to the modern-day phone book and usually list names, addresses, and sometimes the occupations of your ancestors.

Arkansas Genealogical Publications

See specific county page for Individual County List

The Arkansas Genealogical Society's publication Arkansas Family Historian serves the entire state. The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, published for over fifty years by the Arkansas Historical Association, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701, contains relevant background information for both genealogists and historians. Many other county and regional genealogical and/or historical societies publish periodicals which contain valuable records pertaining to the region or locality they serve. Often these publications carry articles concerning records that are not available elsewhere. The Arkansas History Commission maintains copies of most of the state's published periodicals. Statewide or regional publications include the following:

• Search The PERiodical Source Index
• Newspapers & Periodicals - The Newspapers & Periodicals Collection lets you discover a wealth of information about your ancestors from many historical newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals. These types of sources can often supplement public records and provide information that is not recorded anywhere else. Here, you can learn more about your ancestor's possible daily activities by placing them in the context of their time.

Arkansas Newspapers

 

Two important early newspapers were the Arkansas Advocate and the Arkansas Gazette. Abstracts of articles and data from both newspapers have been published. These volumes are available at the Arkansas History Commission. A valuable source is the Union List of Arkansas Newspapers, 1819–1942: Partial Inventory of Arkansas Newspaper Files Available in Offices of Publishers, Libraries, and Private Collections in Arkansas which was prepared by the Historical Records Survey, Division of Community Service Programs, WPA (Little Rock, Ark.: Historical Records Survey, 1942). Although current publications are not included, it is an excellent guide to those newspapers published during the territorial period through the beginning of World War I.

The Arkansas History Commission maintains files of approximately 700 Arkansas newspapers published at about 200 different places for the period 1819 to date. It also has an index to the Arkansas Gazette for 1819 through 1881 and 1964 through 1983.

While records of birth, marriage, and death are the most commonly sought and the most consistently helpful records, only the genealogist’s imagination and resourcefulness limit newspapers’ usefulness in supplying clues about historical events, local history, probate court and legal notices, real estate transactions, political biographies, announcements, notices of new and terminated partnerships, business advertisements, and notices for settling debts.

Newspapers can provide at least a partial substitute for nonexistent civil records. For example, a person’s obituary may have appeared in a newspaper even when civil death records for that person do not exist. And newspapers are an important source of marriage records, particularly in those states where civil recording of marriages was essentially nonexistent until the twentieth century.

Unlike official records, newspapers are not limited to a particular geographical area. They often include reports of the weddings of local citizens (even those that occurred in a neighboring county or another state), and they sometimes report visits of geographically distant relatives or the visits of former local residents. They often published death notices of individuals who had left the area long before but who still had local family or friends as well. In each case the newspaper account can identify the date and place of an event, thus opening the possibility of turning up additional documentation in other sources.

The first step in searching a newspaper is to identify those which served the area of interest and which have survived. The three most necessary tools are bibliographies (What was published?), inventories of library and depository holdings (Where is it?), and indexes (How do I find what I want in it?).

• Newspapers & Periodicals - The Newspapers & Periodicals Collection lets you discover a wealth of information about your ancestors from many historical newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals. These types of sources can often supplement public records and provide information that is not recorded anywhere else. Here, you can learn more about your ancestor's possible daily activities by placing them in the context of their time.
• Find your family history In The World's Largest Newspaper Archive! Find News, Births and Deaths - Find tens of millions of historical newspaper articles, dating back to 1759. Search for newspaper articles about a deadly earthquake or one that mentions a past relative. Newspaper articles are easily accessible with online research tools.
• Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers throughout the world.
• Search Historical Newspapers (1690 - 1980) - Quickly find names and keywords in over 450 million articles, obituaries, marriage notices, birth announcements and other items published in over 2,800 historical U.S. newspapers. New content added monthly!