Arkansas Genealogy Records

To begin, add a genealogy record or view a list of locations and resources for Arkansas genealogy records.

Genealogical research is important to many Arkansas residents and many residents of other states who have their family origination in the state. Researching family genealogy has become an art form, although it can still take considerable luck to find the necessary records. Arkansas was purchased from the French in 1803 becoming its own territory in 1819 and it eventually became a state in the Union in 1836. The Arkansas State Health Department is in charge of overseeing Birth, Death, Marriage, and Death Certificates through its Vital Records department. The Arkansas History Commission also maintains records that are vital to genealogy research. The Arkansas History Commission was established in 1905 and part of its mission is to keep and care for official state records.

Although Arkansas has its origination in 1803, vital records are available only after 1914. While there are a few available before that date, the numbers are pretty small. This makes searching for Arkansas genealogy records difficult. The Arkansas History Commission is a great resource for earlier vital records. They maintain a list of deaths from 1914 to 1949, but there are no actual certifications, just the list itself.

Arkansas Vital Records houses marriage certificates from 1917 to the present. Unfortunately, Arkansas marriages that occurred before 1917 aren't on file, nor does it house has divorce records prior to January 1923. There are limited resources for genealogy records in Arkansas.