Sebastian County, Arkansas Genealogy

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

Description
Sebastian County was named for United States Senator and Judge William K. Sebastian. It is located in the west-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Sebastian County Courthouse 35 S 6th; Fort Smith, AR 72901 Phone: 501-782-5065 Sebastian County Website County Clerk has marriage records from 1865 and probate records from 1866. Clerk Circuit Court has divorce, court and land records.

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

Bible Records

 * Old Bible Records at ArGenWeb.net

Biographies

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

Church Records

 * 1875-1899 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection

Episcopal

'''St. John's Episcopal Church, Fort Smith


 * 1860-1886 - St. John's Episcopal Church, Fort Smith Baptism Index 1860-1886. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1860-1895 - St. John's Episcopal Church, Fort Smith Marriage Index 1860-1895. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Lutheran

'''First Lutheran Church, Fort Smith

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * 1868-1885 - First Lutheran Church, Fort Smith Baptism Index 1868-1885. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1868-1895 - First Lutheran Church, Fort Smith Marriage Index 1868-1895. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1851-1884 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1851-1938 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1866-1950 (*); Chancery Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1869-1922 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1882-1957 (*); Chancery Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * Criminal Case Files, 1866-1900 at Ancestry ($)
 * Criminal Case Files Index, 1866-1900 at Ancestry ($)

African Americans

 * 1865-1868 — Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, Fort Smith at FamilySearch.org — browsable images only; register of marriages, labor contracts, letters

Funeral Homes

 * 1882-1904 (*); at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * Brotherton Brothers Funeral Home in Fort Smith
 * Lewis Funeral Chapel in Greenwood, Fort Smith, and Lavaca
 * Martin Funeral Homes in Mansfield
 * Ocker-Putman Funeral Home in Fort Smith

Guardianship

 * Probate Records 1851-1922 County portion of the collection: : Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images) - How to Use this Collection
 * Includes Administration accounts 1870-1892; Administration and guardian bonds 1891-1904; Administration and guardian dockets 1865-1885; Administration bonds 1861-1868; Bonds and letters 1872-1883; Dockets 1861-1864 and 1875-1886; Executors bonds and letters 1883-1910; Probate records 1851-1888; Wills 1902-1922.

Local Histories

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

Maps and Gazetteers

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

 * - 11th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate)
 * - 17th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Griffith's) (Confederate), Companies A, B, C and F
 * - 19th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Dawson's) (Confederate)
 * - 34th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Companies D and G
 * - 35th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Companies A, B, C and D
 * - 51st Regiment, Arkansas Militia (Confederate)
 * - Witherspoon's Battalion, Arkansas Cavalry (Confederate)
 * - 4th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Union)

'''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

Civil War Battle

The following Civil War battle was fought in Sebastian County:
 * September 1, 1863 - Devil's Backbone, also known as Backbone Mountain.
 * Battles of the American Civil War maps - filter by state or by battle name.

World War II

 * H.G. Alvarez.  Honorably they served : a heartfelt tribute to the men and women of the lower district of Sebastian County who placed their lives on the line in World War II in the defense of their country and for the freedom we enjoy.Greenwood, Arkansas : South Sebastion County Historical Society, 198-? FS Library 976.736 M2a]

Newspapers

 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1783-1998 Arkansas Wills and Probate Records 1783-1998 at Ancestry.com — index and images ($)
 * 1817-1979 (*) at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images
 * 1851-1910 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1852-1880 (*); at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1869-1922 (*); Circuit 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

 * 1877-1963 at FamilySearch. Index only - [|How to Use this Collection]
 * 1877-1913 Sebastian County Birth Index 1877-1913. Batch  at FamilySearch.

Marriage

 * 1779-1966 Arkansas, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
 * 1833-Onward Arkansas, Sebastian County Marriages at MyHeritage - index ($)
 * 1860-1976 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1865-1922, 1952 Sebastian County Marriage Books B-Q Index 1865-1922, 1952 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch.
 * 1884-1947 Sebastian County Marriage Index, Greenwood District Books B-M Index (1882-1949), Fort Smith District Books C-Q, S-Z, 2-52 Index (1889-1951) in  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1917-1969 Arkansas, Marriage Certificates, 1917-1969 at Ancestry.com - index and images ($)

Death

 * 1877-1963 at FamilySearch. Index only - [|How to Use this Collection]
 * 1881-1919 Sebastian County Death Index 1881-1919. Batch  at FamilySearch.
 * 1919-1929 Sebastian County Death Index 1919-1929. Batch  at FamilySearch.
 * 1914-1969 Arkansas, Death Certificates, 1914-1969 at Ancestry.com - index and images ($)
 * 1935-1961 Arkansas, Death Index, 1935-1961 at MyHeritage - index and images ($)

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

 * Fort Smith Arkansas FamilySearch Center
 * Honey Grove Library and Learning Center - Texas - an affiliate library

Libraries
Fort Smith Public Library 3201 Rogers Ave Fort Smith, AR 72903 Phone: 479-783-0229 Email: [mailto:information@fortsmithlibrary.org information@fortsmithlibrary.org] Website Facebook

Societies
Fort Smith Historical Society P.O. Box 3676 Fort Smith, AR 72913 Email: [mailto:info@FortSmithHistory.org info@FortSmithHistory.org] Website Facebook South Sebastian County Historical Society 307 E Townsquare P.O. Box 523 Greenwood, AR 72936 Phone: 479-414-5324 Email: [mailto:SSCHSInfo@gmail.com SSCHSInfo@gmail.com] Website Facebook

Websites

 * ARGenWeb for Sebastian County]
 * USGenWeb
 * 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