Craighead County, Arkansas Genealogy

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

Description
Craighead County was created on 19 February 1859 and was named for state Senator Thomas Craighead. Its county seat is Jonesboro. It is located in the northeastern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Craighead County Courthouse 511 South Main Street Jonesboro, AR 72401 Phone: 870-933-4520 Craighead County Website County Clerk has marriage and probate records from 1878 and tax records. Clerk Circuit Court has divorce records from 1878 and land records from 1900

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

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 Craighead County page on the website, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture.


 * 1803 (pre) - Some groups of Shawnee, Delaware, and Cherokee moved west of the Mississippi River and through the area.
 * 1811-1812 - The New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811–1812 kept many potential settlers away from northeast Arkansas and induced the few Native Americans there to move elsewhere.
 * 1817 - Immigration to the area began increasing due to allayed fears of earthquakes and the attractiveness of the bounties given to veterans of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
 * 1820 - An act of Congress continued the land bounty program.
 * 1850 - The Bounty Land Act in 1850 allowed for veterans of the Mexican War (1846–1848) to obtain land warrants.
 * 1850 - The U.S. Congress granted the state of Arkansas all swamp and overflow lands, many of which were in the region now included in Craighead County.
 * 1859 February 19 - Crighead County was formed.
 * 1869-1885 - A high incidence of courthouse fires in Jonesboro destroyed many of the county’s early documents.
 * 1906 - Jonesboro’s growth was enhanced with the creation of City Water &amp; Light (CWL) as a municipal utility.

Biographies

 * Biographies at My Genealogy Hound

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * 1875-1899 at FamilySearch — index- How to Use this Collection
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1878-1887 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1878-1887 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1878-1964 (*); Chancery Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1883-1896 (*); Chancery Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1883-1902 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1884-1900 (*); Municipal Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1887-1941 (*); County Clerk at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images

Funeral Homes

 * Emerson Funeral Home in Jonesboro
 * Gregg-Langford Bookout Funeral Home in Monette and Jonesboro
 * Roller-Farmers Union Funeral Home in Jonesboro
 * Woodard Funeral Services in Jonesboro

Guardianship

 * Probate Records 1878-1971 Craighead County portion of the collection: : Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)- How to Use this Collection
 * Includes Administration and guardian bonds 1899-1936; Administration bonds and letters 1878-1923; County Court records 1878-1884; Dockets 1887-1892; Guardian bonds 1878-1938; Letters of administration and guardianship 1884-1903; Probate records 1878-1927; Wills 1886-1930.

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records

Local Histories

 * Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Northeast Arkansas. Chicago, The Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1899. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, HathiTrust, Internet Archive; . Craighead County history begins on Page 309.
 * Goodspeed's History of Craighead County, Arkansas. Van Buren, Arkansas : Press-Argus, 1964. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; . Reprint of original published 1889. Craighead County history extracted from Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Northeast Arkansas.
 * The Story of Craighead County : a Narrative of People and Events in Northeast Arkansas. By Charles Albert Stuck. Jonesboro, Arkansas : C.A. Stuck, c1960.  Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, HathiTrust;.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Arkansas (1813-1925)
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
 * Arkansas State Archives State Maps Collection at Arkansas Digital Archives

Civil War

 * - 8th Battalion, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Company E

'''Online Records


 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index- How to Use this Collection
 * 1890-1963 at FamilySearch — index and images- How to Use this Collection
 * 1891-1939 at FamilySearch — index and images- How to Use this Collection
 * 1901-1929 at FamilySearch — index and images- How to Use this Collection

Newspapers

 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * Arkansas Online Historical Newspapers - identifies historical archived and digitized newspapers available online on both free and pay-to-access websites. Includes newspapers for Craighead County.

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1783–1998 Arkansas Wills and Probate Records 1783-1998 at Ancestry.com — index & images ($)
 * 1817-1979 (*) at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images
 * 1878-1923 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1878-1927 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1878-1938 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1883-1936 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1884-1908 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1886-1930 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1928-1971 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Birth

 * 1947 - 1965 - Craighead County Birth Index 1947-1965. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Marriage

 * 1779-1966 Arkansas, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
 * 1860-1976 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1878-1923 Craighead County Marriage Books A-S, 1-7 Index 1878-1923 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch.
 * 1878-1934 Craighead County Marriage Books A-Z, 1-17, A1-A20 Index 1878-1934 in  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1917-1969 Arkansas, Marriage Certificates, 1917-1969 at Ancestry.com - index & images ($)

Death

 * 1914-1969 Arkansas, Death Certificates, 1914-1969 at Ancestry.com - index & images ($)
 * 1935-1961 Arkansas, Death Index, 1935-1961 at MyHeritage - index & images ($)

Divorce

 * 1923-1969 Arkansas, Divorces, 1923-1969 at Ancestry.com - index ($)

Voter Records

 * 1868-1910 at FamilySearch — index and images- How to Use this Collection

FamilySearch Centers

 * Blytheville Arkansas FamilySearch Center
 * Jonesboro Arkansas FamilySearch Center
 * Mountain View Arkansas FamilySearch Center
 * Greene County Historical & Genealogical Society - an affiliate library

Societies
Genealogy Society of Craighead County 315 W Oak Avenue P.O. Box 844 Jonesboro, AR 72403 Phone: 870-219-0535 Email: [mailto:gscca@suddenlink.net gscca@suddenlink.net] Website Facebook

Websites

 * ARGenWeb
 * USGenWeb Archives
 * Linkpendium
 * Cyndi's List
 * - The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records