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This database is an index to individuals who were married in the state of Arkansas from 1933-1939. Information that may be found in this database for each entry includes groom's full name, bride's full name, their marriage date, license date, county of marriage, marriage certificate number, and the volume number in which the certificate is located. Marriage records are great sources for genealogists because they document an individual in a particular place and time as well as provide details about that person's marriage. Please note that this index is not complete and may contain inaccuracies.

This database contains marriage information from selected areas of Arkansas from 1820-1949. A complete list of which counties are included in this index is provided below. Please note that not all counties are included. Information that may be found in this database for each individual includes their name, spouse's name, and marriage date and location. Marriage records are great sources for genealogists because they document an individual in a particular place and time as well as provide details about that person's marriage.

This database of Arkansas marriages to 1850 contains over 18,000 names. Each entry includes groom, bride, marriage date, county, and state. Every name is indexed so you can search for one name, or two names that are linked.

This database is an index to divorces that were filed in Arkansas from 1923-1927 and 1934-1939. Information that may be found in this database includes plaintiff's name, defendant's name, date of divorce, county of divorce, and reference information for locating the divorce certificate, including a volume number, docket number, and certificate number (the certificate number will only be listed for the 1934-1939 divorces).

This collection contains marriage records from select Arkansas counties. Years include 1779-1992. Information includes the names of the bride and groom, marriage date, and marriage location. NOTE: not all counties are covered for all years.

This collection of Arkansas marriage records from 1837-1957 comes from records kept by Arkansas Courts of Common Pleas and county clerks. Information, when available, includes the bride and groom, their ages and residences, marriage date, license date, marriage county, and film number.

This collection contains marriage records from select Arkansas counties. Years include 1851-1900. Information includes the names of the bride and groom, marriage date, and marriage location. NOTE: not all counties are covered for all years.

This database is an index to approximately 594,000 deaths that occurred in Arkansas between 1914 and 1950. In addition to providing the name of the deceased, the index provides the date of death, county of death, gender, race, age at time of death, volume number, and certificate number. Note that some entries may not contain all of this information.

With the information provided in this index you may be able to obtain a copy of a death certificate. The volume and certificate numbers are especially important for doing this. Death certificates can be very valuable because of the amount of information they provide (see extended description). Death certificates may be obtained from the Arkansas Department of Health. Please visit their website for more information on how to order a death certificate.

Statewide registration of births and deaths in Arkansas did not begin until February 1914. Compliance was not complete for approximately three decades. The Division of Vital Records, Arkansas Department of Health, 4815 West Markham Street, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201, has records from that date. Some local vital records for Little Rock and Fort Smith and maintained by the Arkansas History Commission. When requesting copies, include a statement of purpose and relationship.

Taken from Wendy Bebout Elloitt, "Arkansas," Red Book ed. Alice Eichholz. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004).

Modern (post-1910) death records, though comparatively recent, are steadily increasing in value. People are living longer, and death records often provide information about birth as well as death.

Modern death certificates have not been standardized throughout the United States; but, like birth certificates, most of them contain the same types of information. Most contemporary death certificates include the deceased's name, sex, race, date of death, age at the time of death, place of death, date of birth, place of birth, marital status, name of spouse, Social Security number, occupation, residence, father's name, mother's name, cause of death, and place of burial. Records from some states provide the birthplace of the deceased's parents. The Social Security number is not always included, but, when it is, it can be invaluable because other records (subject to right-of-privacy laws) may be accessible if you have the Social Security number.

As any experienced researcher knows, death records are only as accurate as the knowledge of the person who provided the information. Many informants are unaware of the name of parents or are unsure about dates and places of birth. Always try to find additional information about parents and dates and places of birth whenever possible.

Taken from Johni Cerny, "Research in Birth, Death, and Cemetery Records," The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy, ed. Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Incorporated, 1997).