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 George Green Howard of Faulkner County
George Green Howard, a farmer and minister in Faulkner County, Arkansas, was born on November 24, 1844, in Obion County, Tennessee. His father, Ellison S. Howard, a Virginian born in 1815, died in Williamson County, Illinois, in 1879. His mother, Agnes (Hawkins) Howard, born in 1820 in Gibson County, Tennessee, lived in Conway County, Arkansas. George married Polly Jane Gray in 1866, and they had six children. After moving to Illinois in 1872, they relocated to Faulkner County in 1879, where George owned an eighty-acre farm, a cotton gin, and a sawmill. A staunch Democrat, he served as justice of…
Biography of David R. B. Greenlee of Faulkner County
David R. B. Greenlee, a distinguished physician and surgeon in Faulkner County, Arkansas, was born on December 8, 1829, in Rockbridge County, Virginia. He was the son of David and Hannah (Grigsby) Greenlee. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1852, he practiced medicine in West Virginia and Arkansas. During the Civil War, he served in the Confederate Army and was wounded. Post-war, he resumed his medical practice in Arkansas, later moving to Wichita, Kansas, and finally to Faulkner County in 1885. Married to Amanda (Boone) Gifford, a relative of Daniel Boone, he had two daughters. Greenlee was active…
The Higgs Family of Conway
Thomas J. Higgs, a farmer from Western Tennessee, married Sarah Reynolds in 1845. The family moved to Mississippi, where Thomas J. Higgs passed away on May 8, 1860. In 1882, Sarah relocated to Arkansas with her son Thomas H. Higgs, born January 11, 1846, who became a school teacher and farmer. J. C. Higgs, born July 25, 1856, also pursued teaching and moved to Conway, Arkansas, in 1882. Active in Masonic organizations, J. C. Higgs served as Grand Secretary of the Arkansas Grand Chapter. The Higgs family were prominent members of the Christian Church and were active in public enterprises.
Biography of L. B. Griffing of Faulkner County
L. B. Griffing, born in Sevier County, Arkansas, in 1856, established a leading dry goods, notion, and millinery business in Conway in 1887. He was the eldest of seven children of W. L. and Jerusha (Profis) Griffing. Raised on a farm, L. B. Griffing taught school before entering the mercantile business. After working with Sneed & Co. and later partnering with A. R. Witt, he successfully launched his own enterprise, which grew rapidly. Married to Mary A. Johnson in 1882, Griffing was active in the Methodist Episcopal Church and the K. of P. His store became a top destination for…
Biography of Samuel Frauenthal of Conway
Samuel Frauenthal, a prominent young attorney in Arkansas, was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1862. He was the third of seven children of Jacob and Yetta (Landan) Frauenthal, originally from Bavaria, Germany. Samuel was educated at Bethel College in Russellville, Kentucky, graduating in 1880. After studying law in Memphis, Tennessee, he was admitted to the bar in 1881. Relocating to Conway, Arkansas, in 1882, he quickly built a successful legal practice. Active in politics and local development, Frauenthal was a Democrat, a former school board director, and a town council member. He also held a leadership position in Woodland Lodge…
Biography of Joseph J. Fowler of Faulkner County
Joseph J. Fowler, a notable planter in Faulkner County, Arkansas, was born in 1840 in Lauderdale County, Alabama. His parents, H. Fowler and M. (Nolan) Fowler, moved to Arkansas in 1847. Joseph learned the wagon-making trade from his father and later became a farmer in 1870. Married to Susan I. McEwan in 1861, they had six children. Fowler served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He owned 120 acres near Conway, Arkansas, and was active in local Masonic Lodge No. 51. His close friend was Governor J.P. Eagle.
Biography of Benjamin S. Farrow of Conway
Benjamin S. Farrow, born in 1843 in Montgomery County, Alabama, is a notable merchant in Faulkner County, Arkansas. The son of John M. and Susan M. (Smith) Farrow, he was raised and educated in Missouri, where his father was a prominent judge. Farrow served in the Confederate Army’s Home Guards during the Civil War. After the war, he married Sarah J. Woods in 1867 and pursued commercial and agricultural ventures in Missouri. In 1869, he moved to Arkansas, settling first in Mount Vernon and later in Conway. Farrow opened a successful general store in 1888 and has been active in…
Biography of Green Berry Evans of Stone Township
Green Berry Evans, born January 3, 1842, in Marshall County, Alabama, is a prominent farmer and stock-raiser in Faulkner County, Arkansas. The son of William and Mary (Hill) Evans, he received his education locally and spent his early years on his family’s farm. In 1860, he traveled to France with his uncle, Green B. Hill, and upon returning, enlisted as a first lieutenant in the Confederate army, later becoming a captain under Gen. Forrest. After the Civil War, Evans moved to Arkansas, engaging in farming and horse trading. He married Martha Ann Satterfield in 1872, with whom he had two…
Biography of Barzalia Elliott of Fork Township
Barzalia Elliott, born March 15, 1828, in South Carolina, is a farmer and stockman in Fork Township, Faulkner County, Arkansas. He moved to Alabama in 1856, where he married Eliza Coffman, having six children, four surviving. Eliza died in 1867, and Barzalia later married Louisa Wilcox, with whom he had nine children, six surviving. He moved to Arkansas in 1859, working as a blacksmith before serving in the Confederate army during the Civil War. After the war, he resumed blacksmithing and eventually bought a 300-acre farm, developing it significantly. Elliott, a member of the Missionary Baptist Church and the Masonic…
Biography of Uriah G. Dickens, M. D. of Faulkner County
Uriah G. Dickens, M.D., born June 9, 1852, in Carroll County, Tennessee, is a respected physician in Faulkner County, Arkansas. He is the son of Uriah and Susan Dickens, who moved from North Carolina to Tennessee in 1833 and then to Arkansas in 1860. Uriah, the tenth of eleven children, was educated in common schools and studied medicine under Enoch Davis. He began his practice in 1877, eventually settling near Preston. In 1872, he married Mary Francis Polk, a descendant of James K. Polk, and they have six children. Dr. Dickens, also a farmer, is a member of the Masonic…