Arkansas Marriage Index - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection includes an index to marriage records from the Arkansas Vital Records Division, Arkansas Department of Health, for the years 1933 to 1939. The index is provided by Ancestry.com. Many marriages recorded in the South, are separated by race in volumes, books, or registers. Be sure to check to determine if you have the right set of marriage records.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Marriage
 * Name of bride and groom
 * Bride's parents
 * Groom's parents
 * Ages of bride and groom
 * Calculated birth dates for the bride and groom
 * Marriage date and place
 * Reference ID - Page/Volume/Entry/Certificate Number

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The names of the bride and groom
 * The place where the marriage occurred
 * The marriage date

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?

 * Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use the age to calculate a birth date and to find other vital records such as birth, christening, census, land and death records
 * Use the information to find additional family members in census records
 * Search for other family members in the index

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of Arkansas.
 * United States, How to Use Marriage Records
 * Arkansas Guided Research
 * Arkansas Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research: 1880-Present

FamilySearch Historical Records

 * Arkansas Marriages, 1837-1944
 * Arkansas Divorce Index, 1923-1939

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.