Arkansas Census Records -   Statewide Records that exist for Arkansas are 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. The Arkansas Genealogical Society is currently sponsoring a statewide program to reconstruct the missing 1890 federal census with compilations of tax and other local records for that period. Of the seventy-five counties in Arkansas, sixty-six have a completed replacement of the 1890 federal census. Only Grant, Chicot, Drew, Hot Spring, Franklin, Poinsett, Sharp, Woodruff, and a portion of Lee counties remain to be finished. The Arkansas Genealogical Society should be contacted for the current status of the project.

See Also Researching in Census Records - What is the name, age, sex, color, occupation, and birthplace of each person residing in this house? Which of these individuals attended school or was married within the year? Who among them is deaf and dumb, blind, insane, “idiotic,” a pauper, or a convict? Is there anyone in the household over twenty years of age who cannot read and write? What is the name of the slave owner? How many slaves belong to the owner? What is the tribe of this Indian? What were the places of birth of the person’s parents? In what year did this person immigrate to the United States and, if naturalized, what was the year of naturalization? For answers to these and other questions, researchers look to census records......

 There are Industry and Agriculture Schedules 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Slave Schedules exist for 1850 & 1860. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880.

  Territorial Records: A collection of French and Spanish records that lists early Europeans in Arkansas between 1686–1804 is Morris S. Arnold and Dorothy Jones Core, comps. and eds., Arkansas Colonials.

  Federal territorial census records for 1810 included those settlements in the Arkansas District of Hopefield (West Memphis), St. Francis, and settlements along the Arkansas River, but these enumerations were lost. The 1820 federal territorial census included Miller County, which was organized that year by the Arkansas territorial government but actually was partially in Texas under Spanish control. This census was also lost.

  Arkansas Territory sheriffs were to enumerate the citizens biennially beginning in 1823. Although these censuses were recorded in 1823, 1825, and 1827, only the 1823 schedule for Arkansas County remains of the three early enumerations. The 1829 sheriff's census includes the name of the head of household, but only fragments remain. Those counties for which complete returns are available are Arkansas, Chicot, Clark, Conway, Crawford, Crittenden, Independence, Lawrence, Miller (old), St. Francis, and Washington. None are available for Pope or Sevier counties, and only the total number of inhabitants were submitted by the sheriffs of Hempstead, Izard, Lafayette, Phillips, and Pulaski counties.

Excerpts From the Book "Family History Made Easy"

   There are numerous ways to determine the location in which to concentrate research for an ancestor. One of the most popular and productive is the census.
Alice Eichholz, Ph.D., In Ancestry’s Red Book: American State,County and Town Sources

    Since 1790, the U.S. government has taken a nationwide population count every ten years. Unique in scope and often surprisingly detailed, the census population schedules created from 1790 to 1920 are among the most used of records created by the federal government. Over the course of two centuries the United States has changed significantly, and so has the census. From the six basic questions asked in the 1790 census, the scope and categories of information have changed and expanded dramatically.

   Early censuses were essentially basic counts of inhabitants; but as the nation grew, so did the need for statistics that would reflect the characteristics of the people. In 1850, the focus of the census was radically broadened. Going far beyond the vague questions previously asked of heads of households, the 1850 census enumerators were instructed to ask the age, sex, color, occupation, birthplace, and other questions regarding every individual in every household. Succeeding enumerations solicited more information; by 1920, census enumerators asked twenty-nine questions of every head of household and almost as many questions of everyone else in the residence. (Only a very small segment of the 1890 census remains; a fire in the Commerce Department destroyed the vast majority of the original records for that year. Because of privacy considerations, census records less than seventy-two years old are not available to the general public; thus, the 1920 census is the most recent available to the public.)

   Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do the U.S. federal censuses. The population schedules are successive “snapshots” of Americans that depict where and how they were living at particular periods in the past. Once home sources and library sources have been exhausted, the census is often the best starting point for further genealogical research. Statewide indexes are available for almost every census; they are logical tools for locating individuals whose precise place of residence is unknown. While some inaccuracies are to be expected in census records, they still provide some of the most fascinating and useful pieces of personal history to be found in any source. If nothing else, census records are important sources for placing individuals in specific places at specific times. Additionally, information found in the census will often point to other sources critical to complete research, such as court, land, military, immigration, naturalization, and vital records.

   The importance of census records does not diminish over time in any research project. It is always wise to return to these records as discoveries are made in other sources because, as you discover new evidence about individuals, some information that seemed unrelated or unimportant in a first look at the census may take on new importance.

   When you can’t find family, vital, or religious records, census records may be the only means of documenting the events of a person’s life. Vital registration—the official recording of births, deaths, and marriages—did not begin until around 1920 in many areas of the United States, and fires, floods and other disasters since have destroyed some official government records. When other documentation is missing, census records are frequently used by individuals who must prove their age or citizenship status (or that of their parents) for Social Security benefits, insurance, passports, and other important reasons.

How to Find Census Records
   All available federal census schedules (those made from 1790 to 1920) have been microfilmed and are available at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.; at the National Archives’ regional archives; at the Family History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS church) in Salt Lake City and LDS family history centers throughout North America, “The Family History Library and Its Centers”); at many large libraries; in genealogical society libraries; and through companies that lend microfilmed records. Some state and local agencies have census schedules for the state or area they serve. Generally, microfilm copies may be borrowed through interlibrary loan.

Starting With the Census
   It is usually best to begin a census search in the most recently available census records (1920) and to work from what is already known about a family. With any luck, birthplaces and other clues found in these more recent records will point to locations of earlier residence.

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Arkansas Church Records - Some church records for Arkansas churches are available at the Arkansas History Commission. These include published church histories, church records, newspapers, and manuscript collections.

See Also Research In State Church & Cemetery Records - Church records rank among the most promising of genealogical records available. Indeed, for periods before the advent of civil registration of vital statistics (a very late development in many American states), church records rank as the best available sources for information on specific vital events: birth, marriage, and death. They are also among the most under-used major records in American genealogy. Part of the reason lies in the number of denominations-there are hundreds of them. Identifying and locating the records of these various churches makes even professional genealogists hesitate......

• Baptist - Arkansas Baptist State Convention Collection, Ouachita Baptist University, Riley Library, 410 Ouachita, Arkadelphia, Arkansas 71923.
• Lutheran - Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church, 3558 South Jefferson Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103.
• Roman Catholic - Chancery Office, St. John's Seminary, North Tyler and I Streets, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201.
• Episcopal - The Bishop's Office, 509 Scott Street, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201.
• Methodist - North Arkansas Conference Depository, Hendrix College, Olin C. Bailey Library, Washington and Front Streets, Conway, Arkansas 72032; and Little Rock Conference Depository, Methodist Headquarters Building, 1723 Broadway, Little Rock, Arkansas 72204
• Presbyterian - Arkansas College Library, Batesville, Arkansas 72501.

Arkansas Cemetery Records - Local county genealogical and historical organizations have copied, cataloged, and published records of local cemeteries. Most of these are in the collection at the Arkansas History Commission; many are in the DAR Library. Most of those in the DAR collection have been microfilmed by the FHL.

The Arkansas Family Historian, a publication of the Arkansas Genealogical Society, publishes transcriptions of gravestones from cemeteries as do many local and regional periodicals. No statewide index to cemetery records exists.

   Cemetery records and gravestone inscriptions are a rich source of information for family historians. Cemetery and other sources of information associated with death include:

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Arkansas Land Records - When Missouri Territory, encompassing the present state of Arkansas, was established in 1812, the United States government agreed to acknowledge private land previously granted by Spain and Mexico. Two grants were also awarded to previous French claims.

See Also Researching in Land Records - Land records provide two types of important evidence for the genealogist. Prior to the Civil War, more than eighty-five percent of all Americans owned or leased land. Therefore, almost every researcher, whether a seasoned professional or weekend hobbyist, has required land records to document the existence, association, or movement of an individual or ancestral family. Most beginning genealogists underestimate the importance of using land records to pin persons to specific locales. In the South, which has far fewer vital records than New England, the land records are even more crucial to genealogical success. For answers to these and other questions, researchers look to Land records......

The largest percentage of Spanish and Mexican grants were located in the present-day counties of Arkansas and Desha. Preemption rights were acknowledged in 1814, and private land claims were heard by land commissions. Spanish control of land was loose, and many officials and landowners failed to comply with regulations, resulting in continuous claim problems, some extending for forty years after statehood. At times, no surveys were conducted for these grants. Frequently forgeries were made of the governor's signature on land grants, resulting in a high percentage of fraudulent claims. Early Spanish land claims and the original tract book are available at the National Archives and the FHL.

 A French measurement term used in some Spanish grants is “arpents”; one arpent is a little more than four-fifths of an acre. Most early land grants to heads of household were for parcels of 800 arpents, or approximately sixty-eight acres. An additional parcel of fifty arpents or about forty-two acres was awarded for each child.

Between 1803 and 1836, Native Americans were forced to cede their lands in Arkansas and move west. As the federal government acquired land, it was made available for settlement. Territorial land transactions began in 1803 for the Arkansas District (part of Louisiana Territory until 1812 when the district became part of Missouri Territory) and in 1819, when it became Arkansas Territory. First Settlers of the Missouri Territory, 2 vols. (Nacogdoches, Tex.: Ericson Books, 1983), lists early land grants in Arkansas. Originally negotiated by William Lovely as cession land, Lovely Purchase Donation Claims generated from the private sale of land for the present-day area of northwest Arkansas are grouped and microfilmed along with disputed Spanish land claims and the original tract book. Bounty land for War of 1812 service was distributed by lottery. 

The first land office was established in 1818 with the GLO ordering a survey of sixty townships. The first survey was finished in 1819, but no land was actually sold until 1821. Land offices opened at Arkansas Post and Davidsonville in 1820 were soon moved to Little Rock and Batesville, respectively.

In 1832 Congress divided the territory into four land districts. Two additional land offices were then opened at Fayetteville and Washington. Increased demand for land led to additional offices at Helena and Clarksville before 1840, followed by Champagnole before 1850 and Huntsville in the next decade. New land offices appeared by 1870 at Camden, Dardanelle, and Harrison. But, between 1880 and 1900 the only land offices open in all of Arkansas were those located in Camden, Dardanelle, Harrison, and Little Rock. The latter remained open until 1933.

After the initial acquisition, all subsequent land transfers are recorded at the county seat through the county clerk's office.

• Arkansas Land Grants
• Land Records from All States
• Search County Property Records
• Search County Land Patents

Excerpts From the Book "Family History Made Easy"

   Prior to the Civil War, more than eighty-five percent of all Americans owned or leased land. Therefore, almost every researcher, whether a seasoned professional or weekend hobbyist, has required land records to document the existence, association, or movement of an individual or ancestral family. While many researchers may feel a sense of historical excitement when finding an ancestor in a land deed, many also fail to understand the importance of such a document and how land can be used to make vital links between generations; they are not aware that it can bridge distant origins and help solve even the most difficult problems. E. Wade Hone, In Land and Property Research in the United States

U.S. House of Representative Private Claims, Vol. 1, Vol. 2 or Vol. 3

   The right to own land has always been one of the great incentives for living in the United States. Yet researchers often overlook the importance of land records as a source of family history information. Written evidence of people’s entitlement goes back in time further than virtually any other type of record family historians might use.

   Land records meet the needs of researchers in different ways and contain a variety of genealogical and historical data. They are a major source of information for many family histories and provide primary source material for local history as well. They are closely related to probate and other official court records and should be investigated in connection with them. Land and property are leading issues in the settlement of estates, and the majority of civil cases in the courts deal with real and personal property. Although land records rarely yield vital statistics, in many instances they provide the only proof of family relationships. Often they include the names of heirs of an estate (including daughters’ married names and a widow’s subsequent married name) and refer to related probates and other court cases by number and court name. In some places where other records are scarce, the land records take on extra importance. Occasionally these documents disclose former residences and more often provide the new address of the grantors or heirs at the time of the sale of the property.

   Land records provide two types of important evidence for the family historian. First, they often document family relationships. Second, they place individuals in a specific time and place, allowing the researcher to sort people and families into neighborhoods and closely related groups. One of land records’ most important qualities is that they are sometimes the only records that allow us to distinguish one person of a common name from another.

   The National Archives has bounty-land warrant files, donation land entry files, homestead application files, and private land claim files relating to the entry of individual settlers on land in the public land states. There are no land records for the original thirteen states or for Maine, Vermont, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, and Hawaii. Records for these states are maintained by state officials, usually in the state capital. Searching for the record of a particular land grant from the federal government requires contacting both the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the National Archives (NARA).

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Arkansas Military Records -  The military history of Arkansas begins with the Native American nations and the conflicts that arose among them. By the time colonial powers staked their claims in the region, they had made allies of the Indian Nations there. The English stood with the Chickasaws in Mississippi while the French (and later the Spanish) supported the Quapaw. The last gasp of the Revolutionary War took place in 1783, after the peace accords were signed in Paris, when a British-led force attacked the Spanish fort at Arkansas Post. The Spanish and their Quapaw allies prevailed.

See Also Researching in Military Records - The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest.......

     While Arkansas was still a part of Missouri Territory, the United States Army established an important outpost at Fort Smith. Among a number of important figures who served at the Fort was Zachary Taylor, who was later elected president of the United States. While the perceived threat from Indians helped to keep the territorial militia active, the first significant military action in the region took place in the Texas Revolution. It was said that Sam Houston did much of the planning for the Revolution in Washington, Arkansas, and some Arkansas citizens joined the effort. In the Mexican War, Arkansas troops were active in the fighting, though not without some controversy. After the War, accusations about the quality of fighting led to a duel between John S. Roane and Albert Pike, though neither was injured in the duel.

     The Civil War pulled about 70,000 Arkansas men into military service, with close to 9,000 of them fighting for the Union. Confederate soldiers from Arkansas fought for the Army of Northern Virginia and in the Army of Tennessee in some of the major battles of the War, but significant action took place in Arkansas as well. The Battle of Pea Ridge, called the "Gettysburg of the West," opened the trans-Mississippi area to Union advances. By 1863, Union forces had taken Little Rock. The War did not bring the wholesale destruction visited upon some regions in the east, but significant property and lives were lost.

     Arkansas soldiers fought with distinction in both World Wars, but in World War II the most important contribution from the state came not in men but in the aluminum made from Arkansas bauxite. The military airplanes needed for modern warfare were made of aluminum, and with external supplies of aluminum blocked off, Arkansas bauxite became crucial to the war effort.

The Arkansas History Commission maintains the finest collection of records pertaining to Arkansas military men and service. Included are microfilmed indexes to many of the National Archives compiled service records, such as those for the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and various Indian Wars. The Commission also has compiled service records for Arkansas men for the Mexican War, Civil War (both Union and Confederate), and Spanish-American War; returns from United States Military Posts, 1800–1916, including reports, rosters, and related papers; Confederate States Army Casualties: Lists and Narrative Reports, 1861–65; Register of Confederate Soldiers, Sailors, and Citizens Who Died in Federal Prisons and Military Hospitals in the North, 1861–65; and Registers of Confederate Prisoners Held in the Military Prison at Little Rock, Arkansas, 1863–65.

The site U.S. Wars list conflicts dating from earliest to 1865. Wars covered that are availibele are:

Search Revolutionary War 1775-83 Service Records, Rejected Pensions, Loyalists Records, 1775-1783 Pay Rolls, Courts-Martial, Officers, Pension Index, 1841 Pensioner Census

• Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783(The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
• Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
• Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, from NARA publication M804.

Civil War -  Although a slave state, Arkansas did not secede from the Union until May 1861—five months after South Carolina did so. Arkansas took this action only after the Confederate capture of Fort Sumter and President Abraham Lincoln's call for volunteers. Union sentiment was strong in northern Arkansas; about 6,000 Arkansans joined the Federal forces. About 58,000, however, fought for the Confederacy. Little Rock fell to Federal troops in 1863, and for a decade the state was a legislative battleground between secessionist supporters and the imposed Republican government. Arkansas was readmitted to the Union in 1868, but internal strife approached open warfare. In 1874 the state returned to the fold of the Democratic Party, and remained there until Winthrop Rockefeller, a Republican, was elected governor in 1966.

The Civil War's chief long-range effects on Arkansas, as on most of the other former Confederate States, were a crop-lien sharecropping system, a race problem of new and formidable dimensions, a one-party (Democratic) political system, and widespread poverty.

The commission has the state's Confederate veteran or widow's pension applications and indexes to Confederate pension records for Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. In 1911 the Public Acts of Arkansas, Number 353, provided that an enumeration of Confederate veterans residing in the state be made by each county's tax assessor. Records are available for forty-four of the counties, but there are no extant records for thirty-one counties. There are 1,751 questionnaires that usually include the following information: full name of veteran; his address; date and place of birth; date, state, and county of enlistment; full name and place of birth of veteran's parents, grandparents; maiden name of wife, with date and place of marriage; names of her parents; and full list of children with spouses. 

The Arkansas History Commission has the actual 1911 Confederate veterans census for Arkansas and copies of Confederate Veteran magazine for the period 1893 through 1932.

Confederate veteran or widow pension applications, not just those for veterans living in 1911, contain valuable information such as name, rank, unit, length of time of service, veteran's wife's name, widow's birth date, veteran's death date, veteran or widow's residence at time of application, and the amount of the approved pension.

Below is a list of online resources for Kentucky in the Civil War. Email us with websites containing information on Kentucky in the Civil War by clicking the link below:

• Southern Claims Commission from the State of Arkansas (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
• Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900 from the State of Arkansas (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Pension applications for service in the U.S. Army between 1861 and 1917, grouped according to the units in which the veterans served.
• Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Arkansas (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Compiled service records of Confederate soldiers from southern units, labeled with each soldier's name, rank, and unit, with links to revealing documents about each soldier.
• Case Files of Applications from Former Confederates for Presidential Pardons ("Amnesty Papers"), 1865-67 from the State of Arkansas (The National Archives): NARA M1003. View, Print Copy & Save Original Applications for pardon submitted to President Andrew Johnson, 1865-67, by former Confederates excluded from earlier amnesty proclamations.
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Excerpts From the Book "Family History Made Easy"

   Military and pension records are among the most useful sources available to genealogists because of the detail they offer. These records are important because they may provide an ancestor’s date of birth, place of residence, the names and addresses of family members, and other details that can round out a picture of his or her life. Judith Prowse Reid, Head, Local History and Genealogy, Library of Congress

   Military records have originated at the federal, state, and local levels. Whether created in time of war or in time of peace, these records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served in the military forces of the United States. Almost every American family, in one generation or another, has seen one or more of its members serve in America’s armed forces. From regimental histories, which provide blow-by-blow accounts of a unit’s participation in military actions, to the personal details contained in the service and pension files of individual men and women, military records provide valuable information concerning a large and significant portion of the American population. And because military records have been preserved and made available at and through a number of research institutions, much information awaits the well-prepared researcher.

How to Find Military Records
   To locate military records for any individual, it is essential to know when and where in the armed forces he or she served and whether that person served in the enlisted ranks or was an officer. (If you don’t have that identifying information, some potential solutions are discussed below.)
As in any research project, it is important to study carefully whatever is already known about the subject of interest. Families and communities frequently pass down stories of military heroes from generation to generation. In most cases, these stories retain some fact, but, with the passage of years and in the process of retelling, accuracy fades. At any rate, family stories should not be overlooked for clues at the start of a military search.

   When and where did the individual live? Did the family keep evidence of military service? Certificates, letters, journals, diaries, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, photographs, medals, swords, and other memorabilia kept in private collections may provide the basic facts needed to begin searching in military record collections.

Military Time Lines
   Creating a historical time line can be especially useful for determining if and when the subject might have served in the military. By compiling a chronological list of the known dates and places of residence of an individual from birth through adulthood, it is frequently easy to discover the possibility of military service. Was the individual the right age to be eligible for the draft or to serve voluntarily in the Civil War? Is it likely that the person served on the Northern rather than the Southern side, or vice versa? For records from the colonial period to more recent military engagements, the place of residence is key to finding an individual’s records.

Evidence of Military Service in Hometown Records
   There are a number of public records that are potentially valuable in discovering the military history of a veteran. It has been a long-standing American tradition to foster patriotism by honoring local sons and daughters who have defended the ideals of their country. Hometown military heroes are frequently noted on public monuments, and local newspaper files may yield surprisingly detailed accounts of a community’s well-known and less-famous military personnel.

Military History
   Commercial enterprises and historically oriented groups and institutions have regularly published local histories. As a rule, these histories will include glowing accounts of the area’s involvement in military activities. Some volumes provide biographical sketches of military leaders, while others attempt to list all of the community’s participants in various military conflicts. Locally focused histories have been published at various times for virtually every state and county in the United States. Do not overlook them as an important research aid. P. William Filby’s A Bibliography of American County Histories is a list of five thousand such sources.

   In addition to the standard histories, local public libraries and historical societies usually preserve and make available other types of publications that document the military history of the geographical areas they serve. Historical agencies collect biographies, letters, diaries, journals, and all sorts of memorabilia from military units and servicemen and -women. The personal accounts found in some collections are a fascinating means of stepping back in time. Firsthand accounts afford a better understanding of the day-to-day drudgery, loneliness, fears, and satisfactions of military life.

Evidence of Military Service in Cemeteries
   Cemeteries provide yet another local source of information regarding individuals who served in the armed forces. Almost every cemetery in the United States contains some evidence of military events and veterans. Cemetery records and grave markers frequently identify military dead by name, rank, and unit designation. If a man or woman died elsewhere while in the service, the body was frequently brought home for burial; cemetery records often note the place and date of death.

Evidence of Military Service in Court Records
   Court records are yet another potential source for identifying those who served in the military. Most counties formally recorded and indexed the names of their citizens who were discharged from the military. In some local courts, “military discharges” will be found indexed separately, and in others the military records may be oddly interspersed with deeds, naturalizations, or other categories of documents. The contents of military records may vary greatly from one courthouse to another. Some will provide biographical information, while others may simply list names and the event or names and date of certificate issue.

Military Records in the National Archives
   Federal military documents that have been classified as archival material are in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration. Not all records created by military agencies are judged to be permanently valuable. Generally, only records of historical or administrative importance are kept.

   A wonderful array of federal military records are available in major libraries and archives and through microfilm rental programs. (Heritage Quest, a division of AGLL, Inc., PO Box 329, Bountiful, UT 84011-0329, is a source of rental microfilms.) With sufficient identifying information, you may request a search of the registers of enlistments or the compiled military service records. The minimum information required for a search is (1) the soldier’s full name, (2) the war in which he or she served or period of service, and (3) the state from which he or she served. For the Civil War, you must also indicate whether the person served in Union or Confederate forces. A separate copy of the form must be used for military service, pension, and bounty-land warrant applications. Submit requests for information about individuals who served in the military before World War I on NATF form 80 (Order for Copies of Veterans Records). Write to the National Archives and Records Administration, General Reference Branch, Washington, DC 20408 to obtain copies of NATF form 80. Always ask for “all records” for an individual.

   Make requests for information about U.S. Army officers separated from the service after 1912 on standard form 180 (Request Pertaining to Military Records) and send it to the Military Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63132.

U.S. Military Records
   By far the most comprehensive study of military records and how to use them is found in James C. Neagles’s U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources, Colonial America to the Present. Neagles’s guide addresses primary and secondary military sources and accessibility, including the following information-rich sources:

Records of state militias and the National Guard
Records of the army, navy, and other branches of the U.S. military
Records of the military academies
Post-service records
Pensions
Bounty-land grants
Bonuses and family assistance
Soldier’s homes
Military burials
Military installations
Censuses of veterans
Conscription
Civilian affairs

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Arkansas Vital Records - Statewide registration of births and deaths in Arkansas did not begin until February 1914. Compliance was not complete for approximately three decades. The Division of Vital Records, Arkansas Department of Health, 4815 West Markham Street, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201, has records from that date. Some local vital records for Little Rock and Fort Smith are maintained by the Arkansas History Commission (see Archives, Libraries, and Societies). When requesting copies, include a statement of purpose and relationship. Delayed birth certificates are also available.

See Also Researching in Vital Records - Vital records, as their name suggests, are connected with central life events: birth, marriage, and death. Maintained by civil authorities, they are prime sources of genealogical information; but, unfortunately, official vital records are available only for relatively recent periods. These records, despite their recent creation in the United States, are critically important in genealogical research, often supplying details on family members well back into the nineteenth century.......

Statewide registration of marriage did not begin until 1917, but, once counties were organized, most of them began recording marriages. The Division of Vital Records maintains marriage records only since 1917. Earlier records must be obtained from the respective county clerk where the license was issued, which is frequently the county of the bride's residence. Many early marriage records include names of bride and groom, ages, and residence. Later records contain more information.

Full certified copies of divorce records may be obtained from the circuit or chancery clerk in the respective county in which the divorce was granted. Records of divorces granted beginning in 1923 are also available from the Division of Vital Records.

• Ordering Vital Records Online - Getting documents by mail can take a long as six weeks or more. Through VitalChek Express Certificate Service you can get Birth, Marriage, Divorce & Death Certificates Signed, Sealed, & Delivered in as few as three business days!
  

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• Ordering Vital Records by Mail - Mail a check or money order (no cash) payable to the "Vital Records " along with the necessary information to the following address: 
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  Little Rock AR 72203-8184
  Please include return address on envelope and application form. Processing Time takes 4-6 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you Order Online.

Facts on Birth Records - Most early birth records contain very little biographical information. Typical early New England town and church records, for example, give little information beyond the name of the child, date and place of birth, and parents’ names. Some localities listed only the name of the father.

While early birth records can be discouragingly lacking in information, by the mid-nineteenth century birth records in the United States began to include more information. Even though births were not widely recorded during the early years of America’s existence, the records that do exist may be the only source of a birth date for an individual and should always be consulted.

Delayed births are also important vital registrations that you should consider for obtaining biographical information. When Social Security benefits were instituted in 1937, individuals claiming benefits had to document their birth even if the state of their birth did not require registration when they were born. Individuals who were not registered with state or county agencies at the time of their birth often applied for a delayed birth registration. Obtaining passports, insurance, and other benefits also required proof of age.

Applications were accompanied with full name, address, and date and place of birth; father’s name, race, and place of birth; and evidence to support the facts presented. The evidence could be in the form of a baptismal certificate, Bible record, school record, affidavit from the attending physician or midwife, application for an insurance policy, birth certificate of a child, or an affidavit from a person having definite knowledge of the facts. Delayed birth records are usually filed and indexed separately from regular birth registrations, and it may be necessary to request a separate search for them.

• Search All U.S and Foriegn Birth, Marriage and Death Records
• Search County Birth Records
• Order Birth Certificates Online

Facts on Marriage Records - Because of the importance of the legal distribution and control of property, most states and counties began to record marriages before births and deaths. The recording of a marriage is a two-step process. Traditionally, couples apply for a license to marry, and the applications are usually filed loose among other applications or in bound volumes. Marriage returns are filed once the marriage has taken place. The latter document is the proof of a marriage (not the license application).

Marriage applications are often filled out by both the bride and groom and typically contain a significant amount of genealogical information. They may list full names of the bride and groom, their residences, races, ages, dates and places of birth, previous marriages, occupations, and their parents’ names, places of birth, and occupations.

Marriage certificates are issued by counties after the marriage ceremony is completed, and these are usually found among family items. While the certificates tend to have less biographical data than the application, the name of the individual officiating at the wedding may lead you to religious records by revealing the denomination. The religious records, in turn, may reveal the names of witnesses and other useful information.

Early American records sometimes include marriage bonds, which served as a protection for the future children of the marriage. A bond obligated a prospective groom to pay the bond if he were discovered to be a bigamist or imposter or otherwise ineligible to contract a valid marriage. As long as the marriage was legal, the bond was void. Bonds generally include the groom’s name, name of the surety, the sum, and the date of the agreement.

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• Arkansas Divorce Index, 1923-1939
• Arkansas Marriage Index, 1933-1939
• Arkansas Marriages to 1850
• Arkansas Marriages, 1779-1992
• Arkansas Marriages, 1820-1949
• Arkansas Marriages, 1851-1900
• Search U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900
• Search County Marriage Records
• Search County Divorce Records

Facts on Death Records - Early death records in the United States provide little more than the name of the deceased, the date of death, and the place of death. Obituaries and cemetery, court, and other records often provide more information about the deceased than do most official death records created before the last quarter of the 1800s.

By 1900 death records included more details. They often include the name of the deceased; date, place, and cause of death; age at the time of death; place of birth; parents’ names; occupation; name of spouse; name of the person giving the information; the informant’s relationship to the deceased; the name and address of the funeral director; and the place of burial. Race is listed in some records, and modern death certificates generally include a Social Security number.

• Arkansas Death Index, 1914-1950
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• Social Security Death Index
• Obituary Collection
• Search County Death Records
• Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of Kentucky obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a Kentucky newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from Alabama.
• America's Obituaries (1977 to current) at Genealogybank.com - Obituaries contain helpful information such as names, dates, places of birth, death, marriage and family information. Over 28 million obituaries make this the most complete collection from the 20th and 21st centuries - includes over 1,100 U.S. newspapers. New content added daily!

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