Washington County, Arkansas Genealogy

United States Arkansas  Washington County

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

County Courthouse
Washington County Courthouse 280 N College Ave #300 Fayetteville, AR 72701 Phone: 501.444.1711

County Clerk has marriage records from 1845 and probate records from 1828; Clerk Circuit Court has divorce, court and land records; City Librarian has cemetery records

Government and Related Websites

 * PublicRecords.com (unofficial site) Provides links to County officials and public records.

History
Washington County is Arkansas's seventeenth county, formed on October 17, 1828, and named for George Washington, the first President of the United States.

Parent County

 * 1828--Washington County was created 17 October 1828 from Lovely County.County seat: Fayetteville


 * Encyclopedia of Arkansas 2940
 * Encyclopedia of Arkansas 813

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
1861 thru 1864 Some records missing. Also, probate and will records, A and B, have been stolen.

Places/Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog



Populated Places

 * Elkins
 * Elm Springs
 * Farmington
 * Fayetteville
 * Goshen
 * Greenland
 * Johnson
 * Lincoln
 * Prairie Grove
 * Springdale
 * Tontitown
 * West Fork
 * Winslow

Neighboring Counties
Adair County, Oklahoma · Benton · Crawford · Madison ·

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

Biographies

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

Cemeteries
Cemeteries of Washington County - Index and Transcriptions - Washington County ARGenWeb,

Combs Cemetery, Confederate Cemetery, Fayetteville National Cemetery, Harrell Cemetery, Joyce Cemetery, Mount Salem Cemetery, Reese Cemetery 1, Reese Cemetery 2, Roberson Cemetery, Tharp Cemetery, Walker Cemetery, Whitehouse Cemetery, Zion Cemetry

Census

 * 1830 Census -  Tripod  Mika Jackson
 * 1840 Census -  Tripod  Mika Jackson
 * 1850 Census with Index - USGenWeb Washington County Archives

Church Records

 * Churches in Fayetteville AR -  ChurchAngel
 * Churches in Springdale, AR -  ChurchAngel

Court

 * Records Inventory &amp; Retention Schedule Circuit Clerk &amp; Recorder

Genealogy

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

Land and Property
Federal Land Patents, Homestead and Cash Entry Patents Before 1908 -  USGenWeb Washington County Archives,  Land Records 1834-1991, Fayetteville Public Library Land Index, 1830-1903

Washington County Archives Land Records

Local Histories

 * Penny Postcards from Washington County -  USGenWeb Washington County Archives
 * National Register of Historic Places for Washington County AR
 * American Memory for Washington County - Library of Congress
 * St. John's College of Arkansas -  Washington County ARGenWeb
 * School Records Indexcovers early 1900s and is courtesy of the Fayetteville Public Library


 * History of Benton, Washington, Carroll, Madison, Crawford, Franklin, and Sebastian Counties, Arkansas. Chicago, IL, USA: Goodspeed Publishing, 1889. Online at: Ancestry.com ($)

Maps

 * Maps of Arkansas (1813-1925)
 * Family Maps of (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * Gold Bug Historic Maps - reflect changes in county boundaries
 * Interactive Battle Map for Arkansas
 * Map of 1909 Washington County, Arkansas with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)

Revolutionary War

 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census]. 1841. Digital version at Google Books. 1967 reprint: 973 X2pc 1840. [See Arkansas, Washington County on page 191.]
 * Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions. Washington, D.C., 1852. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969, and 1991. Reprints include "an Added Index to States." 973 M24ur; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes veterans from this county; Arkansas section begins on page 439.]

Mexican War

 * Fayetteville Roster Mexican War -  Washington County ARGenWeb

Civil War
Civil War service men from Washington County served in various regiments. Men often joined a regiment or a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are the military units that were formed in or had many men from Washington County.


 * - 1st Battalion, Arkansas Cavalry (Stirman's) (Confederate), Companies D and E
 * - 16th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Company G
 * - 17th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Griffith's) (Confederate), Companies D and E
 * - 34th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Companies A, B, C, H and K
 * - Witherspoon's Battalion, Arkansas Cavalry (Confederate)
 * - 1st Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry (Union)
 * - 1st Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Union)
 * - 3rd Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry (Union) Company C


 * Confederate Soldiers Buried in Washington County - Washington County ARGenWeb


 * Arkansas Civil War Biographies - Washington County ARGenWeb


 * United Daughters of Confederacy - Prairie Grove, Arkansas

Also see Arkansas in the Civil War

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War battles were fought in Washington County.


 * November 28, 1862 = Cane Hill also known as Canehill, Boston Mountains
 * December 7, 1862 = Prairie Grove also known as Fayetteville


 * Map showing Civil War battles in Arkansas

Newspapers
Historical online newspapers
 * Northwest Arkansas Times, July 1937 - December 1977 at Ancestry.com ($)
 * Fayetteville Democrat, August 1917 - October 1923 at Ancestry.com ($)
 * Daily Fayetteville Democrat (Fayetteville, Arkansas), July 1915 - July 1916 at Ancestry.com ($)
 * Fayetteville Daily Democrat (Fayetteville, Arkansas), February 1921 - July 1936 at Ancestry.com ($)

Current online newspapers
 * Northwest Arkansas Times and others Online
 * Northwest Arkansas Times
 * Fayetteville Free Weekly

Obituaries

 * Obituary Records: 1868-2010 | Courtesy of the Fayetteville Public Library | This index covers three newspapers: Northwest Arkansas Times, Fayetteville Weekly Democrate and the Fayetteville Daily Democrate

Probate Records
Online Probate Records
 * 1783 - 1998 - Arkansas Wills and Probate Records 1783-1998 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1829 - 1931 - Washington County Arkansas list of will book testators SAMPUBCO - Browsable index of testators of wills - free
 * 1817 - 1979 - at FamilySearch — free images
 * Probate Records 1829-1931 Washington County portion of the collection: : Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979 FamilySearch Historical Collections - free images
 * Includes:
 * 1840 - 1905 - Letters of administration
 * 1841 - 1905 - Letters testamentary
 * 1837 - 1886 - Probate records
 * 1889 - 1931 - Will Books

Vital Records
See also How to order Arkansas Vital Records

Birth

 * 1900-1953 - Washington County Birth Index 1900-1953. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Marriage

 * 1845-1922 - Washington County Marriage Books D-R Index 1845-1922 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1887-1949 - Washington County Marriage Books I-Z, A1-C1 Index 1887-1949 in at FamilySearch - free.
 * Washington County Marriages - submitted to Washington County ARGenWeb
 * Washington County Archive Marriage Record Search, 1845-1941
 * Arkansas Marriage Records -  GenWed.com

Death

 * Obituaries submitted to Washington County ARGenWeb

Washington County Death Records Index 1914-1923

Genealogy Societies and Libraries

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

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Springdale Arkansas Jones Family Center Family History Center 922 E Emma Springdale AR 72764 United States