Arkansas, County Marriages, 1837-1957

What is in This Collection?

This collection consists of an index & images to marriages recorded in counties of Arkansas for the years 1837 to 1957. Many marriages recorded in the South, are separated by race in volumes, books, or registers. Be sure to check to determine if you have the right set of marriage records. There may be related records included with marriage records. Once an image of a marriage record is located, browse through preceding and following images to check for related records. This project was indexed in partnership with the Arkansas Genealogical Society. There are three types of marriage records:

• Marriage books are usually large, bound volumes, especially those with printed columns. Entries were made chronologically. Some volumes, especially those for earlier years, were written in paragraph format, often with two or three marriages on each page. When printed pages were introduced later, marriages were recorded in columns, allowing for many entries per page
• Marriage licenses may be in paragraph format or printed forms
• Marriage returns are usually in paragraph format

County officials, usually the county clerk, began keeping marriage records from the time the county was formed. When the person obtained a license, he went to a minister or other person authorized to perform marriages, such as the justice of the peace. That person sent a return to the county clerk confirming that the marriage had occurred. Most marriages that took place in a county were recorded by civil authorities.

Marriage records validate a wife’s legal claim to property. The date and place of marriage and the name of the officiator are very reliable. Other information depends upon the knowledge and reliability of the informants (usually the bride and groom). Only a few deliberately provided false information.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

• The names of the groom, bride, and officiator
• The date of the marriage or license
• Birth dates and places of the bride and groom (in later records)
• Residences of the bride and groom
• Name of the officiator, either a Minister (MG) or a Justice of the Peace (JP)

Collection Content

Sample Image

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  Marriage Record 1942

Coverage Table

A coverage table for this collection is available at Arkansas County Marriages, Coverage Table - FamilySearch Historical Records.

Digital Folder Number List

This collection contains a digital browse. Only the DGS numbers are displayed. A list of the contents of each folder can be found at Arkansas County Marriages Digital Folder Number List.