Arkansas, Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection contains church records from St. John's Episcopal Church at Fort Smith in Sebastian County, Arkansas for the years 1922-1977. The records include baptisms, marriages, deaths, and meeting minutes.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The names of parents
 * The type of event
 * The date of the event
 * The location of event

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the individual
 * The approximate date and or location of the event

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use the information found in the church records to locate the family in census records
 * Search for death or burial information, including obituaries and cemetery records
 * Search for probate and land records
 * Search for vital records, such as birth, marriage and death

I Can’t Find The Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you find possible relatives
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby town or county
 * Try different spellings of your ancestor’s name
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names, or even initials

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of California.
 * California Guided Research
 * California Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research: 1850-1905 &#124; 1905-Present

FamilySearch Catalog

 * St. John's Episcopal Church records, 1860-1977
 * Ft. Smith. First Evangelical Lutheran Church. Church records, 1930-1979
 * Ft. Smith. First Lutheran Church records, 1868-1929

FamilySearch Historical Records

 * Arkansas, Sebastian County Births and Deaths, 1877-1963

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * Historical Records Survey, Service Division, Work Projects Administration.A directory of churches and religious organizations in the state of Arkansas, 1942. Little Rock, Arkansas : Historical Records Survey (Arkansas), 1942
 * The Goodspeed histories of Sebastian County, Arkansas'' Reprinted from Goodspeed's History of Arkansas. Chicago : Goodspeed, 1889. Columbia, Tennessee : Woodward & Stinson, 1977