Lincoln County, Arkansas Genealogy

United States Arkansas  Lincoln County

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

County Courthouse
Lincoln County Courthouse 300 S Drew Street Star City, AR 71667 Phone: 870.628.5114 County Clerk has marriage, probate and land records from 1871 and tax records.

Parent County

 * 1871--Lincoln County was created 28 March 1871 from Arkansas, Bradley, Desha, Drew, and Jefferson Counties.

County seat: Star City

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  •  Desha  •  Drew  •  Jefferson

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


 * 1827 - The McLain, Lee, and Douglass families, established homes in a community called Auburn.
 * 1836 - Thomas Griffis bought land at what is now Griffith Springs and built a cotton gin.
 * 1846 - John S. Hall and his family arrived from South Carolina and established Hall’s Station.
 * 1847 May - Elias King Hays arrived from Tennessee and established Cornerville in southwestern Lincoln County.
 * 1871 March 28 - Lincoln County was established.
 * 1930-2010 - The population of Lincoln County hit a high mark of 20,200 in 1930, a low of 12,900 in 1970 and is now (2010) at 14,100.

Cemeteries

 * List of Lincoln Co. Cemeteries  ARGenweb

Guardianship

 * Probate Records 1871-1936 Lincoln County portion of the collection: : Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * Includes Guardian bonds and letters 1875-1910; Probate records 1871-1887; Wills 1871-1936.

Local Histories

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

Maps

 * Maps of Arkansas (1813-1925)

Civil War

 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1901-1929 - at FamilySearch — images only

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 1871-1936 Lincoln County portion of the collection: : Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * Includes Guardian bonds and letters 1875-1910; Probate records 1871-1887; Wills 1871-1936.


 * Index to Wills - 1869 to 1900  ARGenweb

Vital Records
See also How to order Arkansas Vital Records

Birth

 * 1876-1927 - Lincoln County Birth Index 1876-1927. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1882-1885 - Lincoln County Birth Index 1882-1885. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Marriage

 * 1871-1953 - Lincoln County Marriage Books A-X Index 1871-1953 in at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1871-1922 - Lincoln County Marriage Books A-K Index 1871-1922 in International Genealogical Index 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