Ashley County, Arkansas Genealogy

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

Description
The county was named for United States Senator Chester Ashley. It is located in the southeastern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Ashley County Courthouse 215 E Jefferson Street Hamburg, AR 71646 Phone: 870.853.2020 Ashley County Website County Clerk has marriage, probate, and land records from 1848. Clerk Circuit Court has divorce records.

Record Loss

 * 1921 - A courthouse fire in 1921 destroyed most of the county's records.

Boundary Changes

 * 1848--Ashley County was created 30 November 1848 from Chicot, Union and Drew Counties.

County seat: Hamburg

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.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

History Timeline
Events below were gleaned from the Ashley County section of Deirdre Kelley & Bill Norman, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture


 * By AD 1700, the area had no permanent villages.
 * 1818 - The Quapaw ceded what would be Ashley County to the United States government.
 * 1826 - When U.S. surveyor Nicholas Rightor entered the Arkansas Territory, he found settlers who had come to a land that they found to be abundantly fertile and in which game and fish were plentiful.
 * 1848 - November 30 - Ashley County was organized.
 * 1855 - By this time, many farms were producing cotton, corn, wheat, potatoes, and livestock. Timber was rafted down the Saline River.
 * Ashley County experienced solid growth in the years leading up to the Civil War. From a population of 2,058 in 1850, the county had grown to 8,590 in 1860. The Civil War interrupted this growth, so that by 1870, the population had dropped to 8,042.


 * Congress’s 1867 passage of “An Act for the More Efficient Government of the Rebel States” divided the South into five districts and implemented martial law in 1868.


 * 1868 - When the Fourteenth Amendment was passed, Arkansas refused to ratify it.


 * 1890's - The beginning of what was to become one of Arkansas’s most important economic developments: the wood products industry.

Biographies

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

Federal Census Records
Though the United States purchased Arkansas from the French in 1803, Anglo-American settlement of the area did not began in earnest until after the formal organization of the territory in 1819. Therefore, Arkansas does not appear in Federal Censuses before 1830. For links to federal census indexes, see Arkansas Census.

Territorial and State Census Records
State censuses were taken at the state-level and territorial censuses were taken by the federal government. See Arkansas Census for more information about censuses taken in Arkansas.


 * 1819-1879 Arkansas, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1819-1870 at Ancestry.com - index and images ($)

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * Court records began in 1849

African Americans

 * 1864-1872 — at FamilySearch — browse able images only; Register of contracts, letters.

Guardianship

 * 1817 – 1979 at FamilySearch — images

Local Histories

 * History of Ashley County, Arkansas. 1959. By Y.W. Etheridge. Van Buren, Ark. : Press-Argus. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Ancestry ($).
 * Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Southern Arkansas. 2 volumes. 1890. Chicago, IL, USA: Goodspeed Publishing. Online at: Vol. 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 2 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 1 - Internet Archive, Vol. 2 - Internet Archive, Google Books, Ancestry ($); . Ashley County history begins on Page 874 in Vol. 2.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
 * Arkansas State Archives State Maps Collection at Arkansas Digital Archives

Civil War

 * - 2nd Battalion, Arkansas Calvalry (Confederate), Company E
 * - 3rd Consolidated Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate)
 * - 8th Battalion, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Company F
 * - 8th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate)

Men from this county served in the 3rd Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate).

Online Records


 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index- How to Use this Collection
 * 1890-1963 - at FamilySearch — index and images- How to Use this Collection
 * 1891-1939 - at FamilySearch — index and images- How to Use this Collection
 * 1901-1929 - at FamilySearch — index and images- How to Use this Collection
 * Captain Calvin L. Collier. They'll Do To Tie To by, USAF (Little Rock, Arkansas: Civil War Round Table Associates, 1959) p. 10

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * 1783 – 1998 Arkansas Wills and Probate Records 1783-1998 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1817 – 1979 at FamilySearch — images- How to Use this Collection

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Marriage

 * 1779-1966 - Arkansas, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1837 - 1957 — at FamilySearch Historical Records — Free; Index- How to Use this Collection
 * 1848 - 1920 - Ashley County Marriage Books AA-T Index 1848-1920 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1860 - 1976 - at FamilySearch — index and images- How to Use this Collection
 * 1913 - 1951 - Arkansas County Marriage Books AA-T, 1-18 Index 1913-1951 in at FamilySearch - free. - How to Use this Collection
 * 1917-1969 Arkansas, Marriage Certificates, 1917-1969 at Ancestry.com - index and images ($)

Death

 * 1914-1969 Arkansas, Death Certificates, 1914-1969 at Ancestry.com - index and images ($)
 * 1935-1961 Arkansas, Death Index, 1935-1961 at MyHeritage - index and images ($)

Divorce

 * 1923-1969 Arkansas, Divorces, 1923-1969 at Ancestry.com - index ($)

Voter Records

 * 1868-1910 - at FamilySearch — index and images- How to Use this Collection

Libraries

 * Major catalogs for books, microfilm, or collections pertaining to Ashley County
 * - Select Places within... for cities and towns
 * WorldCat - Click an item for libraries near you. For more information, see WorldCat Online Catalog.
 * Allen County Public Library - Located in Indiana, they are heavily involved in digitizing much of their collection.
 * Arkansas Digital Archives - A division of Arkansas State Archives, involved in organizing, digitizing, and maintaining the records of state and local history.
 * Local libraries and Arkansas Archives and Libraries may suggest other catalogs

Websites
Sites with online indexes or images of records


 * ARGenWeb - Data may be submitted by individuals or complete transcriptions
 * USGenWeb Archives - Data may be submitted by individuals or may be complete transcriptions
 * RootsWeb resources - Data may be submitted by individuals or may be complete transcriptions