Arkansas African American Records

Arkansas African American Genealogy online research is much more difficult due to the scant nature of record keeping for African American's prior to the Civil War. This is the reason for creating a separate section for African Americans much like we have for Native Americans who's research can also be hampered by the available records. The links below provide an accurate reflection of what is available to be searched for African American genealogy.

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• National Archives

  • United State National Archives

    • Digital Classroom

    • Genealogy Research at the National Archives

• Archives

  • Arkansas History Commission and State Archives

    • Selected records from 1797-1950

  • Arkansas African American Griots (hosted at USGenWeb Special Project)

• Societies

  • Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society

  • Arkansas Afro American Historical and Genealogical Society

  • Family Search - African American Research Guide

• Biography

  • Free Biography Resources (hosted at AccessGenealogy)

    • A  B  Bi C  Ch  Cr  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

  • Arkansas Slave Narratives

•  African American Cemeteries

  • Calhoun County 

    • Pleasant Grove Cemetery  (hosted at African American Cemeteries online)

  • Crawford County

    • Hosted at Arkansas Freedman

      • Beal Cemetery

      • Crown Hill Cemetery

      • Lewis Cemetery

  • Drew County

    • Bethel Cemetery (hosted at Afrigeneas)

    • Lacey Cemetery (hosted at Afrigeneas)

  • Little River County

    • Cook Cemetery

  • Nevada County

    • Hosted at Nevada County Depot and Museum

      • De Ann Cemetery

      • Forest Hill Cemetery

      • Sweet Home Cemetery

      • Mt. Vernon Cemetery

      • Snell Cemetery

      • White Church (Waters Chapel) Cemetery

  • Ouachita County

    • Hosted at African American Genealogical Society of North Carolina

      • Cedar Grove Cemetery

      • Eternal Rest Cemetery

      • Good Hope Cemetery

      • Mt. Olive Cemetery

  • Pike County

    • Harrison Chapel Cemetery (hosted at Pike County, ARGenWeb)

  • Sebastian County

    • Cherokee African American Cemetery (hosted at Interment.net)

  • Union County - Lott Burgy Cemetery (searchable database)

  • Access Genealogy's Arkansas Cemetery Records
    The most complete coverage of Cemetery records available on the web.  They are broken down by county.  We do know know if there are African Americans in these cemeteries, so you should browse them for ancestors also.

  • Homemakers' Survey of Nevada County Arkansas Cemeteries

•  African American Census Records

  • Hosted at Ancestry.com

    • 1870 US Fed Census $$

  • Access Genealogy's Arkansas Census Records
    Providing the most complete coverage of census records available on the web. We've broken the list down by county, and take a careful look at the index page where we explain which records are missing from the census data and may never be recovered.

  • Greene County
    • 1850 Federal Census Slave Schedule (hosted at Green County ARGenWeb
    • 1860 Federal Census Slave Schedule
  • Marion County
    • 1850 Federal Census Slave Schedule (hosted at Marion County ARGenWeb)
    • 1860 Federal Census Slave Schedule
  • Pike County
  • Hosted at Pike County, ARGenWeb
    • 1840 Federal Census Slave Schedule
    • 1850 Federal Census Slave Schedule
    • 1860 Federal Census Slave Schedule
    • 1870 Federal Census, Black Households
    • 1880 Federal Census, Black Households
    • 1900 Federal Census, Black Households
  • Ft. Smith
    • 1870 Federal Census, Black Households (hosted at Freedmen of the Frontier)
  • Washington County

    • 1840 Washington County Census (hosted at Mika's Family)

    • 1830 Washington County Census

• Church Records

• Hosted at Ancestry.com

  • The First African Baptist Church of North America $$

• Court Records

  • Hosted at Ancestry.com

    • Slavery petitions and papers $$

  • Ft. Smith Black Marriages By Groom (hosted at Freedman of the Frontier)

  • Ft. Smith Black Marriages By Bride (hosted at Freedman of the Frontier)

  • Hosted at Freedman's Bureau

    • Register of Marriages in Arkansas

    • Report of Civilians Employed 

    • Roster of Officers and Civilians

    • List of Civilians & Employees

    • Indenture Bonds for Hempstead, Arkansas

• Help at Ancestry

  • The Challenge of African American Research
    Conducting successful African American genealogical research can be a challenging adventure. In recent years, the challenge has been lessened and the adventure heightened by the growing body of publications relating to this ethnic group. Special-interest groups and genealogical societies nationwide are publishing key guides, new bibliographies, and important how-to books. Before delving into published sources, however, it is always important to pause long enough to organize one’s own personal papers and review standard research methodology. 

  • African American Research, Part 1

  • African American Research, Part 2

  • African American Research, Part 3: Case Studies
    Searching for African American families involves two distinct research approaches. These approaches correspond to the distinct change in the legal status of African Americans in the United States before and after the Civil War. Genealogical techniques used to track slave families before the war are necessarily quite different than those used for white or free African Americans; however, research conducted on African Americans after the war usually involves the same types of records as those used for whites. 

  • African American Genealogy Program at Indiana Historical Society
    Internationally known genealogist Tony Burroughs will present a lecture titled "Black Roots: A Beginner's Guide to Tracing the African American Family Tree" at the Indiana Historical Society on February 10, from 1–4 p.m. The program, cosponsored by the IHS and the Indiana African American Genealogy Group, will discuss conducting African American family history research. IHS Program Archivist Wilma Gibbs will present a discussion on research resources available at the IHS and other repositories. 

  • Finding Your African American Ancestors: A BeginnerÆs Guide
    Few areas of American genealogy pose as much challenge as the search for African American ancestry prior to the Civil War. Notwithstanding the inherent difficulties, there are few areas that contain as much unrealized potential. Despite great strides within the last two decades, the basic outlines of the field are only now being clarified. While the difficulties of African American genealogical research are not to be discounted, these difficulties are not always insurmountable. 

  • Celebrating African American Family History
    February is Black History Month in the United States. If you have Black American ancestry, you might want to begin tracing your family tree this month while many museums and archives have special exhibits to mark the month.

• History

  •    Slave Narratives CD-ROM (Windows) $$

  • Ancestry.com Slave Narratives  $$
    Perhaps no other resource approaches the range of human experience found in Ancestry.com's Slave Narratives. This collection of interviews stands in contrast to other slave narratives that appear in most literature anthologies which were written by the rare few who, against staggering odds, had become literate. This database provides a more poignant picture of what it was to live as a slave in the American South. Taken from The American Slave: A Composite Autobiography, this collection is the most complete available picture of the African-American slavery experience. There is simply no other historical document quite like it. The collection contains over 20,000 pages of type-scripted interviews with more than 3,500 former slaves collected over a ten year period. (Requires Ancestry.com Membership) Get 14 Days Free Access!!!

• Arkansas Slave Narratives

• Hosted at Ancestry.com

  • Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874 $$

• Mailing Lists

• Military Records

  • Military Records (hosted at AccessGenealogy)

    • World War 1 Records

    • Hosted at Ancestry.com

      • WWI Draft Registration Cards $$

    • World War II Records

      • Arkansas World War II Army - Air Corps Casualty List

      • Arkansas World War II Navy - Marines Casualty List

  • African Americans in World War II  (hosted at World War 2)

  • Hosted at Ancestry.com

    • Civil War Service Records $$

  • African-American Civil War Soldiers & Sailors (hosted at Solders and Sailors System)

  • African American Warriors (hosted at African American Warriors)

  • 106th Regiment Colored Infantry (hosted at Least We Forget)

  • US Colored Troops (hosted at Least We Forget)

  • Bureau of Colored Troops - Established May 22, 1863 (hosted at Least We Forget)

• Arkansas Military Records

  • Colored Troops of Crawford County (hosted at Arkansas Freedman)

  • Arkansas Black Civil War History (hosted at Arkansas Freedman)

  • Eleventh US Colored Troops (hosted at Arkansas Freedman)

• Miscellaneous

  • Persistence of the Spirit (hosted at Persistence of the Spirit)

    • Historical Narrative

  • People and Their Stories (hosted at The Department of Arkansas Heritage)

  • Early African Presence in Ft. Smith (hosted at Freedman of the Frontier)

  • List of Teachers on duty in Arkansas

  • Underground Railroad (hosted at National Geographic)

• Slave Owners

  • Crawford County Slave Owners, 1850 (hosted at Arkansas Freedman)

    • Hosted at Slaveholders and African Americans 1860-1870

      Arkansas Chicot Desha Hempstead Jackson Jefferson

      Lafayette Monroe Phillips Sebastian Sebastian

• Surnames

  • African-American Surnames Database (hosted at Afrigeneas)

• Vital Records

  •  Arkansas Vital Records (hosted at AccessGenealogy)

African American Genealogy