Dallas County, Arkansas Genealogy

United States Arkansas  Dallas County

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

County Courthouse
Dallas County Courthouse 206 W 3rd Street Fordyce, AR 71742 Phone: 870.352.7179 County Clerk has marriage records from 1855, land records from 1845, probate, divorce and court records.

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


 * 1812 - White settlement of the Ouachita River valley had begun.
 * 1840 - Very little settlement was in the area now known as Dallas County, but even those settlers were mostly farmers and their slaves.
 * 1845 January 1 - Dallas County was created from parts of Bradley and Clark counties.
 * 1860-1865 - About a third of the population left the area for Texas and Louisiana to avoid the fighting during the war. Many never returned.
 * 1881 - The construction of four major railroads began in Dallas County.
 * 1930-2010 - The population of Dallas County peaked in 1930 with more than 14,500 people. In 2010 the population had dropped to just over 8,000.

History
The County of Dallas in Arkansas, was created on 1 January 1845 from Bradley and Clark Counties. It was named for George Mifflin Dallas, who was vice-president under President James Polk. Dallas County is bound on the north by Hot Spring and Grant Counties; On the east by Cleveland County; on the south by Calhoun and Ouachita Counties; and on the west by Clark County. Dallas County is well watered by the Ouachita River on its west border, on the east by Moro creek and through the center are Saline, Cypress and Tulip creeks. Many fine springs are found all through the county. There are also many Sulphur springs, which discharging many hundreds of gallons of water per day.

Parent County

 * 1845--Dallas County was created 1 January 1845 from Clark and Bradley Counties. County seat: Fordyce

Boundary Changes
On the first US Census of the county in 1850, the following townships appeared: Moro, Champagne (Champagnolle), Polk, Jackson, Saline, Tulip, Owen, Manchester, Princeton, &amp; Smith. In 1856, the townships of Champagne (Champagnolle), Moro and Polk went into the formation of Calhoun County. Later in 1873, Cleveland County annexed some of Dallas County. The County seat was located first at the house of Presley Watts, in Princeton, and then around 1910, it was moved to its present location of Fordyce.


 * See an interactive map of modern-day townships. (Histopolis)
 * 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
Calhoun •  Clark  •  Cleveland  •  Grant  •  Hot Spring  •  Ouachita

African Americans

 * 1866-1874 - Dallas County Colored Marriage Book A Index 1866-1874 in at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1866-1868 — Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, Princeton at FamilySearch.org — browsable images only; Contracts and monthly statements of property,

Local Histories
Dallas County argenweb.net has many local and online resources including transcriptions of all the Goodspeed Biographies.

The site also has a list of towns and communities with short descriptions.


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

Maps

 * Maps of Arkansas (1813-1925)

Revolutionary War

 * Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions. Washington, D.C., 1852. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969, and 1991. Reprints include "an Added Index to States." 973 M24ur; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes veterans from this county; Arkansas section begins on page 439.]

Civil War

 * - 2nd Battalion, Arkansas Calvalry (Confederate), Company C
 * - 3rd Consolidated Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate),
 * - 3rd Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry (Confederate), Company A
 * - 6th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate),
 * - 12th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate),
 * - 18th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Company B
 * - 26th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Company F
 * - 33rd Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Company C


 * Men from this county served in the 3rd Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry (Union), Company F; and the 3rd Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate).

Newspapers
U.S. Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present from "Chronicling America, Historic American Newspapers" by the Library of Congress; results of search for Dallas County, Arkansas

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 1843-1921 Dallas County portion of the collection: : Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * Includes Appraisements 1845-1890; Probate records 1845-1896; Wills 1843-1921.

Vital Records
See also How to order Arkansas Vital Records

Marriage

 * 1838-1924 - Dallas County Marriage Books A-N Index 1838-1924 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1845-1954 - Dallas County Marriage Books A-X and Loose Marriage Records Index 1845-1954 in at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1846-present - Marriage Records, 1846-present (available online).

All others are available from the Dallas County Courthouse.

Death

 * 1918-1922 - Dallas County Death Index 1918-1922. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Genealogy Societies and Libraries

 * List of Arkansas Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies
 * Dallas County Library; Main Branch : Online Catalog 501 East 4th Street, Fordyce, AR 71742-0584 (870)352-5600, (870) 352-3598 Fax.
 * Dallas County Library; Fohrell Public Library : 186 Dallas 208, Sparkman, AR 71763-8720 (870) 352-2592, (870) 352-3598 Fax.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers