Jefferson County, Arkansas Genealogy

United States Arkansas  Jefferson County

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

County Courthouse
Jefferson County Courthouse 101 W Barraque Street Pine Bluff, AR 71601 Phone: 870.541.5360 County Clerk has marriage records from 1830 and probate records from 1845; Clerk Circuit Court has divorce, court and land records.

Parent County

 * 1829--Jefferson County was created 2 November 1829 from Arkansas and Pulaski counties.

County seat: Pine Bluff

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
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Places/Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog



Neighboring Counties
Arkansas •  Cleveland  •  Grant  •  Lincoln  •  Lonoke  •  Pulaski

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


 * 1818 August 24 - The Quapaw ceded their lands to the U.S. government.
 * 1800s (early) - One of the first permanent settlers of record in Jefferson County was Joseph Bonne, who brought his Quapaw family from to live on a pine tree–covered bluff on the Arkansas River.
 * 1890s - Jefferson County entered what historian Jim Leslie has referred to as the Golden Era. Because of its prodigious cotton production and location near the Arkansas River, the county attracted many industries, businesses, and public institutions.
 * 1927-1930s - The Flood of 1927 is considered Jefferson County’s worst natural disaster, killing dozens of people and destroying tens of thousands of acres of cotton and hundreds of farmsteads and homes. With the Great Depression of the 1930s, it took the county decades to reclaim the economic status it was gaining before the flood.

African Americans

 * 1865-1871 - Jefferson County Colored Marriage Books I-II Index 1865-1871 in at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1864-1868 — Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, Pine Bluff at FamilySearch.org — browsable images only; Copies of marriage certificates, Register of marriages, Register of abandoned property, letters
 * 1866-1867 — Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, Pine Bluff (Superintendent of Arkansas River District) at FamilySearch.org — browsable images only; persons hired, letters

Genealogy

 * Biographies from The History of Jefferson County, Arkansas (1889) published by Goodspeed Publishing Company are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.

Guardianship

 * Probate Records 1830-1930 Jefferson County portion of the collection: : Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * Includes Administration and guardian bonds 1850-1859; Administration bonds and letters 1862-1906; Administration records 1856-1862; Administration, executor and guardian bonds 1859-1862; Dockets 1830-1889; Executor bonds and letters 1862-1930; Probate records 1863-1890; Wills 1839-1927

Local Histories

 * Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland, and Hot Spring Counties, Arkansas. Chicago, Nashville, and St. Louis, USA: Goodspeed Publishing, 1889. Online at: Ancestry.com ($)

Maps

 * Maps of Arkansas (1813-1925)

Civil War

 * - 1st Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Company D
 * - 1st Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Colquitt's) (Confederate)
 * - 2nd Battalion, Arkansas Calvalry (Confederate), Company D
 * - 6th Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry (Confederate), Company G
 * - 8th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate)
 * - 15th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Josey's) (Confederate)
 * - 18th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate) Companies A, D and K
 * - 26th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Companies C and K
 * - Pine Bluff Artillery, Arkansas (Confederate)


 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War battle was fought in Jefferson County.


 * October 25, 1863 = Pine Bluff


 * Map showing Civil War battles in Arkansas.

Newspapers
from the following from 1866 to current time:


 * Pine Bluff Commercial
 * Pine Bluff Graphic
 * Pin Bluff News
 * Pine Bluff Eagle
 * White Hall Journal
 * Pine Bluff Dispatch
 * The Negro Spokesman
 * The Jefferson Republican
 * Weekly Echo

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 1830-1930 Jefferson County portion of the collection: : Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * Includes Administration and guardian bonds 1850-1859; Administration bonds and letters 1862-1906; Administration records 1856-1862; Administration, executor and guardian bonds 1859-1862; Dockets 1830-1889; Executor bonds and letters 1862-1930; Probate records 1863-1890; Wills 1839-1927.

Vital Records
See also How to order Arkansas Vital Records

Marriage

 * 1830-1950 - Jefferson County Marriage Books A-Z, I-VIII, AA-ZZ Index 1830-1950 in at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1830-1920 - Jefferson County Marriage Books 1-8, A-Z, AA Index 1830-1920 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Genealogy Societies and Libraries

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

Family History Centers

 * Pine Bluff Arkansas Family History Center 2501 Ridgeway Rd, Pine Bluff AR 71603 United States

Societies
Jefferson County Genealogical Society Jefferson County Museum 4th and State Street Pine Bluff, Arkansas, 71613