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United States Arkansas Clay County

Guide to Clay County Arkansas genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

	Arkansas Online Records

Clay County, Arkansas
Map
Location in the state of Arkansas
Location of Arkansas in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	March 24, 1873
County Seat	Piggott
Courthouse
Address	Clay County Courthouse PO Box 306 Piggott, AR 72454 Phone: 870.598.2813
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County Courthouse

Clay County Courthouse
PO Box 306
Piggott, AR 72454
Phone: 870.598.2813 

Clerk Circuit Court has land, divorce and court records from 1893. County Clerk has marriage and probate records from 1893.^[1]

According to History and Traditions of Clay County , compiled by Robert T. Webb, edited and indexed by Frank Cochran, the people moved the county seat from Corning to Boydsville in 1877. Most of the people lived in the eastern part of the county and it was difficult to travel through the bottoms to Corning. Changing the county seat did not change the difficulty of crossing the bottoms, but only transferred it to the people in the Western part. In 1881 the county was divided into two districts with Boydsville the Eastern county seat and Corning the Western county seat. In 1888 the people voted to move the eastern county seat to Piggott.

Early History of Clay County Seats

Western District Courthouse History

History

Parent County

• 1873--Clay County was created 24 March 1873 from Randolph and Greene Counties. County seat: Piggott ^[2]

Boundary Changes

See an interactive map of Clay County boundary changes at N2Genealogy.

Variant Spellings

Record Loss

• The Eastern District courthouse burned on January 11, 1893 with total record loss.

Places/Localities

Populated Places

Neighboring Counties

• Butler County, Missouri
• Dunklin County, Missouri
• Greene
• Randolph
• Ripley County, Missouri

Genealogy Resources

Research Guides

African Americans

Bible Records

Cemeteries

Partial Listings - none are complete.  Some also contain directions to cemetery as well as photographs.

Allen
Allmandinger
Bethlehem
Black
Blooming Grove
Bond
Brown
Brownie
Cantwell
Corning
Crockett
Cummings
Gilchrist
Gravel Hill
Green
Hall
Hardin
Hill
Hillsboro
Hitt
Hosea
Johnson #1
Johnson #2
Leonard
Liberty Hill
Little Flock
Mary's Chapel
Masterson
Mitchell
Moark
Mound
Myer Hill
New Hope
Nimmons
Parks
Piggott
Purcell
Redenbo
Richwoods
Rock Springs
Rogers
Saint Bernard
Salem
Scatterville
Travillian
Underwood
Williams
Williams
Winston
Woodland Heights US Genweb
Woodland Heights BillionGraves

Census

Church Records

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Arkansas denominations, view the Arkansas Church Records wiki page.

Hopewell Baptist Church, near Reyno

Court

(Western District)
Clay County Clerk's Office
Western District
800 W 2nd St
Corning AR 72422
870-857-3480

(Eastern District)
Office of the County Clerk
PO Box 306
Piggott AR 72454-0306
870-598-2813

Various Court Records of Clay County

Genealogy

Land and Property

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Arkansas Land and Property for additional information about early Arkansas land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Clay County, Arkansas. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see Arkansas Local Histories.

• Goodspeed's Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Northeastern Arkansas (1891)
• Arkansas State Penitentiary Records, Clay County Residents
• [1]Clay County Home
• Elected Officials who have served Clay County
• Pauper Deaths in Clay County
• Piggott Mayors
• Road System in Northeastern Arkansas

Maps

• Township Maps

Military

Civil War

Civil War Battle

The following Civil War Battle was fought in Clay County.

• May 1-2, 1863 = Chalk Bluff[3]
• Map showing Civil War battles in Arkansas.

Naturalization

Newspapers

Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Clay County, Arkansas newspapers in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat
• FamilySearch. Do a Clay County, Arkansas Place-name search for these and other records in the Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see, FHL Catalog Place-name Search).

• Clay County Newspapers
• Various Excerpts from the Clay County Courier
• Various Obituaries of Clay County Residents

Occupations

Probate Records

Probate records of Arkansas have been kept by the probate or county courts. You can obtain copies of the original records by contacting the clerk's office in the county courthouse.

The Family History Library has microfilm copies of many Arkansas probate records. See Arkansas Probate Records for more information about Probate records in Arkansas, including statewide indexes.

Taxation

Arkansas tax records replace missing censuses and provide lists of residents during years between censuses. There may be gaps of several years for some counties. For more information see Arkansas Taxation.

Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Arkansas Vital Records State Department of Health or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred. See also Arkansas Vital Records Online and Arkansas Statewide Indexes and Collections at the Family History Library.

Birth

• 1947-1958 - Clay County Birth Index 1947-1958. Batch C734491 at FamilySearch - free.^[4]

Marriage

• 1881-1923 - Clay County Marriage Books A-I, 1-11 Index 1881-1923 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.^[4]
• 1893-1950 - Clay County Marriage Books 1-57, A-U Index 1893-1950 in Arkansas, County Marriages, 1837-1957 at FamilySearch - free.^[5]

Death

• 1947-1958 - Clay County Death Index 1947-1958. Batch B734489 at FamilySearch - free.^[4]

Vital Record Substitutes

Genealogy Societies and Libraries

Clay County Genealogical & Historical Society

Corning Library
613 Pine St
Corning AR 72422
870-857-3453

Piggott Library
316 W Main
Piggott AR 72454
870-598-3666

Rector Library
121 W 4th St
Rector AR 72461
870-595-2410

Family History Centers

• Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Websites

• USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
• Family History Library Catalog

References

1. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists : United States of America, 10th ed., (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002), p. 66.
2. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
3. ↑ Heritage Preservation Services, Civil War Battle Summaries by State, (accessed 2 August 2012).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/images/5/5c/Igiarkansasad.pdf.
5. ↑ FamilySearch Wiki contributors, "Arkansas County Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records)," in FamilySearch Wiki, accessed 18 April 2013.

• This page was last modified on 17 May 2013, at 20:21.
• This page has been accessed 1,986 times.