Pope County, Arkansas Genealogy

United States Arkansas  Pope County

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

County Courthouse
Pope County Courthouse 100 W Main Street Russellville, AR 72801 Phone: 501.968.6064

County Clerk has marriage and probate records from 1831, county court records from 1857, voter and divorce records from 1965; Clerk Circuit Court has divorce, land and military and court records.


 * 1) 1829-1830 -- A temporary county seat was established at the home of John Balinger on the Arkansas River.
 * 2) 1830 -- The county seat was established at old Norristown. No county buildings were built there.
 * 3) 1840 -- The first Courthouse was built in Dover. It was built of logs and lasted until it was burned with no loss of records during the Civil War.
 * 4) After the log Courthouse burned, court was held in churches until a brick Courthouse was constructed on the Dover town square.
 * 5) May 16, 1888 -- The county seat was moved to Russellville, and Russellville's first couthouse was built in 1888. The present Pope County Courthouse was built in 1931.

Parent County

 * 1829--Pope County was created 2 November 1829 from Crawford County. County seat: Russellville

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

Populated Places
Appleton · Atkins · Boiling Springs · Caglesville · Diamond · Dover · Freeman Springs · Gabriel Glass Village · Granny's Gap · Gravel Hill · Gunter Mountain · Hector · Leta · Lost Corner · London · Moccasin Gap · Moreland Point · Remove Creek · Pottsville · Pisgah · Rock Springs · Russellville · Scottsvile · Treat · Walnut Grove

Neighboring Counties
Conway • Johnson • Logan • Newton • Searcy • Van Buren • Yell –

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

Guardainship

 * Probate Records 1830-1978 County portion of the collection: : Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * Includes Executor bonds and letters 1870-1926; Guardian bonds and letters 1857-1882; Probate record index 1860-1900; Probate records 1844-1892; Will index 1830-1978.

Genealogy

 * Family biographies from The History of Pope County, Arkansas (1891) published by Southern Publishing Company are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.

Local Histories

 * Pope County Historical Association. History Book Committee. History of Pope County, Arkansas. Winston-Salem, North Carolina : Jostens, c1981-1999.
 * Online at FamilySearch Catalog (Free)


 * Lemley, J. B..Pope County historical articles. Russellville, Arkansas : J.B. Lemley, 198-?.
 * Online at FamilySearch Catalog (Free)

Maps

 * Maps of Arkansas (1813-1925)
 * Family Maps of (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * Map of 1898 Pope County, Arkansas with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)

Civil War

 * - 1st Battalion, Arkansas Cavalry (Stirman's) (Confederate), Companies F and G
 * - 2nd Regiment, Arkansas Mounted Rifles (Confederate), Company B
 * - 3rd Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry (Confederate), 1st Company E
 * - 31st Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Company E
 * - 35th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Company H
 * - 3rd Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry (Union), Companies A, B, D, H, I, and L

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 1830-1978 County portion of the collection: : Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * Includes Executor bonds and letters 1870-1926; Guardian bonds and letters 1857-1882; Probate record index 1860-1900; Probate records 1844-1892; Will index 1830-1978.

Vital Records
See also How to order Arkansas Vital Records

Marriage

 * 1830-1952 - Pope County Marriage Books A-Z and AA Index 1830-1952 in at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1830-1922 - Pope County Marriage Books A-M Index 1830-1922 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Genealogy Societies and Libraries

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

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Russellville Arkansas Family History Center 200 South Cumberland, Russellville AR 72801-4663 USA

Societies
River Valley Genealogy Society Researchers interested in CONWAY, FAULKNER, PERRY, POPE, YELL AND VAN BUREN COUNTIES. Farm Bureau Building 201 E. Shady Lane Morrilton, Arkansas
 * Website has a list of researched Surnames and recommended links.