Nevada County, Arkansas Genealogy

United States Arkansas  Nevada County

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

This page adopted by Betsy Mills, Nevada County, ARGenWebCounty Coordinator

County Courthouse
Nevada County Courthouse 215 E 2nd St Street; Prescott, AR 71857 Phone: 870.887.3115

County Clerk has marriage and probate records from 1871 and cemetery records; Clerk Circuit Court divorce and court and land records from 1871.

Parent County

 * 1871--Nevada County was created 20 March 1871 from Hempstead, Columbia, and Ouachita Counties.

County seat: Prescott 

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
Clark •  Columbia  •  Hempstead  •  Lafayette  •  Ouachita  •  Pike  •

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


 * 1803 - With the Louisiana Purchase, Euro-American settlers began to move into the region.
 * 1812 - Stephen Vaughan and his wife, Polly, came up the Ouachita and the Little Missouri rivers, settling at a place on the Little Missouri later known as Janes Ferry.
 * 1812 (after) - Vaughan was the first person in the county to be granted a federal land patent.
 * 1850s - The flood of immigration in the 1850s accelerated the trend of land patents, which continued to the brink of the Civil War.
 * 1860s - The area that would become Nevada County had only dirt roads and no towns of any size.
 * 1920-2010 - Nevada County hit its population high mark in 1920 with 21,934 and has had a steady decline until this time (2010) with only 8,997.

Cemeteries

 * Nevada County, AR Cemeteries
 * Map of Nevada County, AR with cemeteries marked

Census

 * Census Transcriptions

Church Records

 * Churches in Nevada County, AR

Land and Property

 * Nevada County, AR Federal Land Records

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)
 * Family Maps of (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * Township and Township/Range Maps - Nevada County, AR

Civil War

 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1891-1939 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1901-1929 - at FamilySearch — images only

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War battles were fought in Nevada County.


 * April 3-4, 1864 = Elkin’s Ferry, also known as Okolona
 * April 9-13, 1864 = Prairie D'Ane, also known as Gum Grove or Moscow


 * Map showing Civil War battles in Arkansas.

Newspapers

 * Nevada County Picayune

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 1871-1922 Nevada County portion of the collection: : Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * Includes Bonds and letters 1872-1916; Probate records 1871-1893; Wills 1871-1922.

Vital Records
See also How to order Arkansas Vital Records

Birth

 * 1947 - 1965 - Nevada County Birth Index 1947-1965. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Marriage

 * 1837 - 1957 - Arkansas Marriages 1837-1957 at FamilySearch.org
 * 1860 - 1976 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1871 - 1924 - Nevada County Marriage Books A-P Index 1871-1924 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1871 - 1953 - Nevada County Marriage Books A-Z, AA-CC Index 1871-1953 in at FamilySearch - free.
 * Some Nevada County, AR Marriages

Genealogy Societies and Libraries

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

Nevada County Depot and Museum 403 West First Street South PO Box 592 Prescott AR 71857 Phone: (870) 887-5821 Email:[mailto:Curator@DepotMuseum.Org] Website

Hempstead County Genealogy Society PO Box 756 Hope, AR 71802 Email:[mailto:hempsteadgen@yahoo.com] Nevada County doesn't have a genealogical society at this time, but the Hempstead County Genealogy Society does have information about Nevada County.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers