Bradley County, Arkansas Genealogy

United States Arkansas  Bradley County

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

County Courthouse
Bradley County Courthouse 101 E Cedar Street Warren, AR 71671 Phone: 870.226.3464 County Clerk has marriage records from 1846 and probate records from 1850; Clerk Circuit Court has divorce, court, court and land records.

Parent County

 * 1840--Bradley County was created 18 December 1840 from Union County. County seat: Warren

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
For a list of record loss in Arkansas counties see: Arkansas Counties with Burned Courthouses

Places/Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog'



Neighboring Counties
Ashley •  Calhoun  •  Cleveland  •  Drew  •  Union

Guardianship

 * Probate Records 1841-1933 Bradley County portion of the collection: : Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * Includes Dockets 1880-1907; Guardian bonds and letters; Letters of administration 1841-1858; Probate records 1841-1880; Wills 1860-1933

Local Histories

 * Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Southern Arkansas. Chicago, IL, USA: Goodspeed Publishing, 1890. Online at: Ancestry.com ($)

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


 * The area now known as Bradley County has been inhabited for more than 10,000 years. The descendants of those early residents include the Tunica and possibly the Quapaw.
 * 1673 - Father Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit, and Louis Joliet, a trader, were the first Frenchmen to set foot in the Arkansas.
 * 1686 - The first French permanent settlement, Arkansas Post, was set up by Henri de Tonti.
 * 1763 - The Treaty of Paris marked the end of the French-Indian War and of French imperialism in North America.
 * 1801 - Spain surrendered control of Louisiana Territory to France.
 * 1803 - France sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States.
 * 1803 - The United States government purchased over 800,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River from France in the Louisiana Purchase.
 * 1900-1910 - Warren, the county seat, became home to three large milling operations and as a result of the lumber business, Warren’s population doubled

Maps

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

Civil War

 * - 2nd Battalion, Arkansas Calvalry (Confederate), Company B
 * - 6th Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry (Confederate), Company A
 * - 8th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate)
 * - 20th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Company H
 * - 26th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Company D

Men from this county served in the 3rd Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry (Union), Company C

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 1841-1933 Bradley County portion of the collection: : Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * Includes Dockets 1880-1907; Guardian bonds and letters; Letters of administration 1841-1858; Probate records 1841-1880; Wills 1860-1933

Vital Records
See also How to order Arkansas Vital Records

Marriage

 * 1852-1853, 1883-1923 - Bradley County Marriage Books C-K Index 1852-1853, 1883-1923 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1853-1950 - Bradley County Marriage Books A-U Index 1853-1950 in at FamilySearch - free.

Genealogy Societies and Libraries

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

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Societies
Bradley County Genealogical Society P. O. Box 837 Warren, AR 71671


 * The website contains some County bibliography's,Obituaries, Cemetery, Census, Court, Land records and a link to Ancestry and more.