Arkansas Genealogy is designed to serve as a comprehensive genealogical and historical resource for your personal use. Initially intended to be a guide for finding Arkansas-related genealogy and historical information on the web, we have now expanded to include specific data directly on this site for your convenience.
The first European settlement in Arkansas was established by the French in 1686 at Arkansas Post. This site later served as the residence for both French and Spanish governors, a crucial trading post during early American occupation, and the first territorial capital from 1810 to 1820. In 1720, John Law received a land grant on the Arkansas River. The territory changed hands, passing to Spain in 1762, back to France in 1780, and finally to the United States in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. Apart from its role in early western frontier trade and the complex land disputes left by French and Spanish colonists, the pre-American period holds little historical significance compared to later years.
From 1804 to 1812, present-day Arkansas was part of the Louisiana district, which later became the Louisiana Territory. From 1812 to 1819, it was part of the Missouri Territory. The earliest county organizations in Arkansas date back to this period. Arkansas was designated a territory of the first and second class by acts of Congress on March 2, 1819, and April 21, 1820, respectively. On June 15, 1836, it was admitted to the Union as a slave state.
Featured History of Arkansas
Today we take up on the history of Arkansas as a part of the Territory of Louisiana, to when it became known as the Territory of Arkansas, and finally statehood. Brief mention is also made of secession and reconstruction in Arkansas and the government makeup of the time.
- Louisiana Territory
- Arkansas Territory
- Secession in Arkansas
- Arkansas Reconstruction
- The Poland Committee
- Leaders of Arkansas Territory
Today I posted additional pages on Arkansas history which cover the exploration, and early settlers of Arkansas before it was a state.
- Ferdinand de Soto in Arkansas
- Marquette and Joliet in Arkansas
- La Salle, Hennepin and Tonti in Arkansas
- The Bubble of John Law
- Proprietary Change of Louisiana Territory
- French and Spanish Settlers in Arkansas
- Early English Settlers in Arkansas
- The New Madrid Earthquake
I have begun the process of creating pages on Arkansas history, and have posted the first two:
Arkansas County History and Genealogy
- Arkansas County Arkansas Genealogy
- Benton County, Arkansas Genealogy
- Carroll County Arkansas Genealogy
- Faulkner County Arkansas Genealogy
- Jefferson County, Arkansas Genealogy and History
- Washington County, Arkansas Genealogy and History
New Cemeteries
- Barlow Cemetery – Magnolia, Columbia, Arkansas
- Bethel Cemetery – Glenwood, Pike, Arkansas
- Caney Valley Cemetery – Pike County, Arkansas
- Chalybeat Springs Cemetery – Emerson, Columbia, Arkansas
- Coker Cemetery – Rosboro, Pike, Arkansas
- Ebenezer Cemetery – Glenwood, Pike, Arkansas
- Ebenezer Cemetery – Magnolia, Columbia, Arkansas
- Frazier Cemetery – Magnolia, Columbia, Arkansas
- Glenwood Cemetery – Glenwood, Pike, Arkansas
- Grizard Cemetery – White County Arkansas
- Hephzibah Cemetery – Emerson, Columbia, Arkansas
- I. O. O. F. Cemetery – West Helena, Phillips, Arkansas
- Miller Cemetery – Magnolia, Columbia, Arkansas
- Mt. Moriah Cemetery – Murfreesboro, Pike, Arkansas
- Mt. Vernon Cemetery – Waldo, Columbia, Arkansas
- Oak Grove Cemetery – Conway, Faulkner, Arkansas
- Old Ebenezer Cemetery – Glenwood, Pike, Arkansas
- Palmer Chapel Cemetery – Rosboro, Pike, Arkansas
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery – Nevada County, Arkansas
- Powers Chapel Cemetery – Pike County, Arkansas
- Salem Cemetery – Magnolia, Columbia, Arkansas
- Salem Cemetery – Salem, Pike, Arkansas
- Sharmon Cemetery – Magnolia, Columbia, Arkansas
- Smyrna Cemetery – Magnolia, Columbia, Arkansas
- Spotville Cemetery – Magnolia, Columbia, Arkansas
- Sweet Home Cemetery – Nathan, Pike, Arkansas
- Valley Grove Cemetery – Kirby, Pike, Arkansas
- Ware Cemetery – Emerson, Columbia, Arkansas
- Western Cemetery – Magnolia, Columbia, Arkansas
New Arkansas Genealogy
Biography of J. W. Underhill of Faulkner County
J. W. Underhill, editor and proprietor of the Log Cabin in Conway, Arkansas, was born in Trigg County, Kentucky, in 1856. He was the eldest of seven children of E. P. and Elizabeth (Miller) Underhill of Tennessee. His father was a distinguished physician in Kentucky. J. W. Underhill began his career teaching in Faulkner County, Arkansas, in 1882. After moving to Conway, he worked for Griffing & Witt and Martin & Harton. In 1885, he acquired part interest in the Log Cabin and became the sole owner in 1887. Underhill, a Democrat, attended the National Press Association in 1889. He…
Biography of M. R. H. Taylor of Faulkner County
Mr. M. R. H. Taylor, proprietor of the popular Taylor House near the Little Rock & Fort Smith depot, was born in West Tennessee in 1852. He was the youngest of nine children of Ryley and Mary Ann (Gooch) Taylor of North Carolina. Following his father’s death in 1853, Taylor and his mother moved to Mississippi before eventually settling in Arkansas. Initially a successful farmer, Taylor later established himself as a respected hotel and liverman in Central Arkansas. Married to A. Powers in Tate County, Mississippi, they had five children, four of whom survived: Ryley, Sallie, Anna, and M. R….
Biography of Esley P. Stone of Faulkner County
Esley P. Stone, born on October 26, 1824, in Pennsylvania, was a successful farmer and stockman in Arkansas. The son of Elias and Rebecca (Key) Stone, he moved with his family to West Virginia in 1831 and later to Arkansas. In 1850, he married Sarah McKown, with whom he had ten children. Stone enlisted briefly in the Confederate Army in 1863. He bought 160 acres of land from the government in 1853, building a log cabin with a puncheoned floor. Stone was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Green Grove Lodge No. 107 in Conway, Arkansas.
Biography of Thomas Springer of Faulkner County
Thomas Springer, born in Alabama in 1839, was a highly respected farmer in Arkansas. Raised and educated in Tennessee, his parents, John and Elizabeth (Gaines) Springer, were Virginians. John Springer died in Mississippi in 1864, and Elizabeth in Tennessee in 1851. Thomas, the fourth of nine children, moved to Arkansas in 1882, acquiring 240 acres of land with 100 under cultivation. He served 18 months in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. A Democrat and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, he married four times and had eleven children.
Biography of Alexander Showalter of Faulkner County
Mr. Alexander Showalter, born on April 22, 1839, in Butler County, Ohio, was a notable resident of Stone Township, Arkansas, engaged in agriculture and stock raising. His parents, John Showalter from Germany and Elizabeth (Hinkin) Showalter from Ohio, had four children. Alexander served in the Civil War with the 17th Indiana Infantry and later the 128th Indiana Infantry. In 1866, he married Rebecca Kaziah, and they moved to Arkansas in 1879, where he established a successful farm in Stone Township. The couple had seven children, and Mr. Showalter was active in the G.A.R. and the Lutheran Church.
Biography of Jacob Sansom of Faulkner County
Jacob Sansom, a successful farmer in Faulkner County, Arkansas, was born in DeKalb County, Georgia, in 1826. He is the son of William H. and Nancy (Stinson) Sansom. After moving through several states, the family settled in Tennessee, where both parents passed away by 1843. Jacob, largely self-educated, began his career as a farm laborer in Mississippi. In 1852, he married R. N. Ross, with whom he had six children, two of whom survived. After her death, he married Matilda Bland in 1873, and they had one son. Sansom moved to Arkansas in 1868, establishing a prosperous 240-acre farm. He…
Biography of Hon. Joseph Roden of Faulkner County
Hon. Joseph Roden, a leading miller, cotton gin operator, and farmer in Faulkner County, Arkansas, was born in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, in 1839. He was the son of Josiah and Nancy J. (Hawkins) Roden. The family moved to Arkansas shortly after the Civil War began. Joseph Roden served in the Confederate Army and later moved to various locations, including Little Rock and Texas, before settling in Faulkner County in 1871. In 1884, he established a successful farm, mill, and cotton gin operation. A dedicated Democrat, Roden served as justice of the peace and in the Arkansas legislature. He married Lizzie…
Biography of Col. A. P. Robinson of Faulkner County
Col. A. P. Robinson, a prominent figure in Central Arkansas, was born in Hartford County, Connecticut, in 1822. The eldest of seven children of Ludyah and Sophia Eliza (Hosmer) Robinson, he was raised in Newburgh, New York. Educated in civil engineering, Robinson worked on the Erie Railroad and later constructed major railways, including the Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad and the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad. Moving to Little Rock in 1869, he helped develop Conway, Arkansas. Robinson served as Conway’s first mayor and was active in real estate and politics. He married twice, first to Lucy Blodgett, with…
Biography of P. H. Prince of Faulkner County
P. H. Prince, who served as county and probate judge of Faulkner County, Arkansas, was born in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, in 1846. He was the eighth of thirteen children of William and Sarah P. (Williams) Prince. After graduating from the State University at Lexington, Kentucky, in 1873, Prince moved to Conway, Arkansas, to practice law. A dedicated Democrat, he was also an active member of Green Grove Lodge No. 107, F. & A. M., and Woodland Lodge No. 11, Knights of Pythias. Prince married Martha E. Hoss in 1878, and they had two children, William Henry and Anna. He was…
Biography of Jacob A. Phillips of Faulkner County
Jacob A. Phillips, a prominent farmer in Caney Township, was born on August 8, 1840, in Fayette County, Tennessee. He is the son of Alexander and Catherine (Long) Phillips. After moving to Prairie County, Arkansas, in 1858, Phillips served in the navy under General Farragut. He married Sarah J. Ferguson in 1866, and they had eleven children. In 1871, Phillips settled in Faulkner County, where he developed a successful 120-acre farm. A respected community member, Phillips is active in the Christian Church and affiliated with the Union Labor Party.