Van Buren County, Arkansas Genealogy

United States Arkansas  Van Buren County



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

County Courthouse
Van Buren County Courthouse Main &amp; Briggs; Clinton, AR 72031 Phone: 501.745.4140

County Clerk has marriage, court and land records from 1859, divorce records from 1874 and probate records from 1860

History
The county is named after President Martin Van Buren (1782-1862) who was serving as United States Vice President at the time of the county's formation.

Parent County

 * 1833--Van Buren County was created 11 November 1833 from Independence, Conway, and Izard Counties.

County seat: Clinton

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
1863 Nearly all county records were destroyed by fire.

Places/Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog

Neighboring Counties
Cleburne • Conway • Faulkner • Pope • Searcy • Stone •

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

Maps

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

Civil War

 * - 1st Battalion, Arkansas Cavalry (Stirman's) (Confederate), Company C
 * - 10th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate),
 * - 16th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Company F
 * - 31th Regiment, Arkansas Confederate Infantry, Companies B, D, and F
 * - 31st Regiment, Arkansas Infantry
 * - 36th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Company D
 * - 3rd Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry (Union), Companies B, G, H, I, and M

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 1859-1954 Van Buren County portion of the collection: : Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * Includes Probate records 1859-1891; Wills 1889-1954.

Vital Records
See also How to order Arkansas Vital Records

Marriage

 * 1865-1951 - Van Buren County Marriage Books [1]-17 Index 1865-1951 in at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1865-1895 - Van Buren County Marriage Index 1865-1895 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

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