Newton County, Arkansas Genealogy

United States Arkansas  Newton County

Guide to Newton County, Arkansas ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
Newton County Courthouse Court Street Jasper, AR 72641-0435 Phone: 870.446.5125

County Clerk has marriage and land records from 1866, probate and court records from 1880.

Parent County

 * 1842--Newton County was created 14 December 1842 from Carroll County. County seat: Jasper

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Arkansas county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Arkansas County Boundary Maps" (1813-1925) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
1866 All records destroyed by fire.

Places/Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog



Neighboring Counties
Boone •  Carroll  •  Johnson  •  Madison  •  Pope  •  Searcy  •

History Timeline
Emphasis for this timeline is on events that affected migration, records, or record-keeping. Unless otherwise mentioned, the events below were taken from the Newton County page on the website, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture.


 * 1818-1828 - The land was part of a reservation granted to the Western Cherokee.
 * 1833 - This area was now part of Carroll County and white settoers had begun to move in.
 * 1842 December 14 - Newton County was established.
 * 1800s (late) - The terrain made the area unattractive to land speculators, which was encouraging to people who could not afford land in other parts of the state.
 * 1861 - The isolation of Newton County resulted in an increase in population at the start of the Civil War.
 * 1865 - After the war, families returned to their previous way of life.
 * 1900s (early) - The 1900s brought increased population as outsiders moved to the county. Land speculators bought property. The county reached its largest population of 12,538 in 1900.
 * 1970-2010 - The county population reached its low point of 5,844 in 1970 and now stands at 8330 in 2010.

Census

 * Newton County 1900 Census at Ancestry.com ($)

Maps

 * Maps of Arkansas (1813-1925)
 * Family Maps of (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.

Civil War

 * - 14th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Powers') (Confederate)
 * - 1st Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Union)
 * - 3rd Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry (Union) Companies A, C, and I
 * - 3rd Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry (Union) Companies A, C, and I

Probate Records
Online Probate Records
 * 1783 – 1998 Arkansas Wills and Probate Records 1783-1998 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1817 – 1979 at FamilySearch — images
 * Probate Records 1866-1958 Newton County portion of the collection: : Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * Includes Dockets 1872-1936; Probate record index 1866-1902; Probate records 1866-1913; Wills 1915-1958.

Vital Records
See also How to order Arkansas Vital Records

Marriage

 * 1866-1952 - Newton County Marriage Books A-O Index 1866-1952 in at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1866-1927 - Newton County Marriage Books A-J Index 1866-1927 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Genealogy Societies and Libraries

 * List of Arkansas Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers