Sebastian County, ArkansasEdit This Page

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United States Arkansas Sebastian County

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

	Arkansas Online Records

Sebastian County, Arkansas
Map
Location in the state of Arkansas
Location of Arkansas in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	January 6, 1851
County Seat	Fort Smith
Courthouse
Address	Sebastian County Courthouse 35 S 6th; Fort Smith, AR 72901 Phone: 501.782.5065
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County Courthouse

Sebastian County Courthouse
35 S 6th;
Fort Smith, AR 72901
Phone: 501.782.5065

County Clerk has marriage records from 1865 and probate records from 1866; Clerk Circuit Court has divorce, court and land records.^[1]

History

Parent County

• 1851--Sebastian County was created 6 January 1851 from Scott, Polk, Crawford, and Van Buren Counties.

County seat: Fort Smith ^[2]

Boundary Changes

See an interactive map of Sebastian County boundary changes.

Variant Spellings

Record Loss

Places/Localities

Populated Places

Neighboring Counties

• Crawford
• Franklin
• LeFlore County, Oklahoma
• Logan
• Scott
• Sequoyah County, Oklahoma

Genealogy Resources

Research Guides

African Americans

Bible Records

Cemeteries

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.

Episcopal

St. John's Episcopal Church, Fort Smith

• 1860-1886 - St. John's Episcopal Church, Fort Smith Baptism Index 1860-1886. Batch C586781 at FamilySearch - free.^[3]
• 1860-1895 - St. John's Episcopal Church, Fort Smith Marriage Index 1860-1895. Batch M586781 at FamilySearch - free.^[3]

Lutheran

First Lutheran Church, Fort Smith

• 1868-1885 - First Lutheran Church, Fort Smith Baptism Index 1868-1885. Batch C586721 at FamilySearch - free.^[3]
• 1868-1895 - First Lutheran Church, Fort Smith Marriage Index 1868-1895. Batch M586721 at FamilySearch - free.^[3]

Court

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 Sebastian 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.

Maps

• Family Maps of Sebastian County, Arkansas (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.

Military

Civil War

Civil War Battle

The following Civil War battle was fought in Sebastian County.

• September 1, 1863 = Devil's Backbone, also known as Backbone Mountain^[4]

Map showing Civil War battles in Arkansas.

Men from this county served in the 51st Regiment, Arkansas Militia.

Naturalization

Newspapers

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

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

Occupations

Probate Records

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

• 1877-1913 - Sebastian County Birth Index 1877-1913. Batch C750707 at FamilySearch - free.^[3]

Marriage

• 1865-1922, 1952 - Sebastian County Marriage Books B-Q Index 1865-1922, 1952 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.^[3]
• 1884-1947 - Sebastian County Marriage Index, Greenwood District Books B-M Index (1882-1949), Fort Smith District Books C-Q, S-Z, 2-52 Index (1889-1951) in Arkansas, County Marriages, 1837-1957 at FamilySearch - free.^[5]

Death

• 1881-1919 - Sebastian County Death Index 1881-1919. Batch B750709 at FamilySearch - free.^[3]
• 1919-1929 - Sebastian County Death Index 1919-1929. Batch B750794 at FamilySearch - free.^[3]

Vital Record Substitutes

Genealogy Societies and Libraries

Family History Centers

• Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
• Fort Smith Arkansas Family History Center 
  • Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States

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
• Sebastian County, Arkansas Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
  

A wiki article describing this collection is found at:

Arkansas, Sebastian County Births and Deaths; Including Fort Smith Death Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

References

1. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists : United States of America, 10th ed., (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002), p. 70.
2. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7} Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/images/d/d7/Arkansasnz.pdf.
4. ↑ Heritage Preservation Services, CivilWar Battle Summaries by State, (accessed 2 August 2012).
5. ↑ FamilySearch Wiki contributors, "Arkansas County Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records)," in FamilySearch Wiki, accessed 18 April 2013.

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