Baxter County, Arkansas Genealogy

United States

Arkansas

Baxter County

 

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

Arkansas Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Mountain Home Organized: March 24, 1873 Parent County(s): Fulton, Izard, Marion, and Searcy Neighboring Counties Fulton  • Howell (MO)  • Izard  • Marion  • Ozark (MO)  • Searcy  • Stone See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption Morning on the Buffalo River which runs through four Counties in Arkansas

County Information

Description

The county was named for Elisha Baxter, the tenth governor of Arkansas. It is located in the northern area of the state.

County Courthouse

Baxter County Courthouse
Courthouse Square
1 E 7th Street
Mountain Home, AR 72653
Phone: 870.425.3475
Baxter County Website

County Clerk has marriage, divorce, land and court records.

Baxter County, Arkansas

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Major Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1914	1873	1914	1874	1876	1874	1830
*State birth and death records began in 1914. Limited compliance until the 1920s

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

1873--Baxter County was created 24 March 1873 from Fulton, Izard, Marion, and Searcy Counties. County seat: Mountain Home 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:

Cities
Briarcliff Cotter Gassville	Lakeview Mountain Home (county seat)	Norfork Salesville
Towns
Big Flat (partly in Searcy County)
Unincorporated communities
Buford	Clarkridge	Gamaliel
Census-designated places
Midway
Townships
Bayou Township Big Flat Buckhorn Buford Greenwood Grover	Independence Logan Lone Rock Matney Mill Mountain Home	North Fork Pigeon Union Whiteville

History Timeline

Emphasis for this timeline is on events that affected migration, records, or record-keeping. Unless otherwise mentioned, the events below were taken from the Baxter County page on the website, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture.

• 1808 - The Osage relinquished their claims to this area to the United States.
• Most of the pioneers moving into the area before the Civil War were from Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
• 1819 - The county’s earliest recorded town was Big Clarkridge.
• Baxter was not yet a county during the Civil War
• 1873 - March 24 - Governor Baxter formed Baxter County.

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Baxter, Arkansas online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com ARGenWeb ARGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project Arkansas Gravestones Interment.net Billion Graves
TombstoneTranscriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com Billion Graves Arkansas Cemetery Records by Accessgenealogy FamilySearch Places
See Arkansas Cemeteries for more information

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1880	6,004	—
1890	8,527	42.0%
1900	9,298	9.0%
1910	10,389	11.7%
1920	10,216	−1.7%
1930	9,519	−6.8%
1940	10,281	8.0%
1950	11,683	13.6%
1960	9,943	−14.9%
1970	15,319	54.1%
1980	27,409	78.9%
1990	31,186	13.8%
2000	38,386	23.1%
2010	41,513	8.1%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Church Records

• 1875-1899 - Nebraska, Church Records, 1875-1899 at FamilySearch — index- How to Use this Collection

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places

Guardianship

• Probate Records 1873-1949 Baxter County portion of the collection: Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979
  • Includes Accounts 1874-1889; Administration records 1873-1944; Guardian records 1890-1949; Wills 1873-1931.

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Baxter County. They may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more about local histories, see Arkansas Local Histories.

• History of Baxter County. [1939?] By Frances H. Shiras. S.l. : J. W. Daniel and Shiras Bros. Print Shop. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; At various libraries (WorldCat).
• History of Baxter County, 1873-1973. c1973. By Mary Ann Messick. Mountain Home, Arkansas : Montain Home Chamber of Commerce. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; At various libraries (WorldCat).

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Arkansas (1813-1925)
• FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Military Records

Civil War

• 1861-1865 - Arkansas Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index- How to Use this Collection
• 1890-1963 - Arkansas Confederate Soldier Home,1890-1963 at FamilySearch — index and images- How to Use this Collection
• 1891-1939 - Arkansas Ex-Confederate Pension Records, 1891-1939 at FamilySearch — index and images- How to Use this Collection
• 1901-1929 - Arkansas Confederate Pensions, 1901-1929 at FamilySearch — index and images- How to Use this Collection

Newspapers

Finding More Arkansas Newspapers Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Baxter newspapers in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat
• FamilySearch. Do a Baxter County, Arkansas Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see, FamilySearch Catalog Places Search).
• Fayetteville Democrat at Ancestry.com ($)
• Fayetteville Daily Democrat at Ancestry.com ($)
• Daily Fayetteville Democrat at Ancestry.com ($)
• Northwest Arkansas Times at Ancestry.com ($)
• Courier Times at Ancestry.com ($)

Probate Records

Online Probate Records

• 1783 – 1998 Arkansas Wills and Probate Records 1783-1998 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
• 1817 – 1979 Arkansas Probate Records 1817-1979 at FamilySearch — images- How to Use this Collection
• Probate Records 1873-1949 Baxter County portion of the collection: Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979- How to Use this Collection
  • Includes Accounts 1874-1889; Administration records 1873-1944; Guardian records 1890-1949; Wills 1873-1931.
• 1837-1931 - Baxter County Arkansas list of will book testators SAMPUBCO - Browsable index of testators of wills. - free

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index 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.

Vital Records

Birth

Birth Records reveal
Yes or Maybe ⇒	Y	M
Name of Child
Birth Date and Place
Parent's Names
Mother's Maiden Name
Parent's Ages
Father's Occupation
Current Residence
Name of Doctor or Midwife

In 1877, a few county and city clerks started keeping birth and death records.

In 1914, the state law required all county clerks to record births and forward them to the state.

• Arkansas Births and Christenings, 1812-1965 at FamilySearch. (Free, index only)
  • Small file, but worth searching. Most entries were user-submitted.

See also: • Arkansas Online Genealogy Records, • How to Find Arkansas Birth Records and • Arkansas Vital Records—Birth.

Marriage

• 1779-1966 - Arkansas, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
• 1837 - 1957 — Arkansas, County Marriages, 1837-1957 at FamilySearch Historical Records — Free; Index- How to Use this Collection
• 1873 - 1921 - Baxter County Marriage Index 1873-1921 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
• 1860 - 1976 - Arkansas Church Marriages, 1860-1976 at FamilySearch — index and images- How to Use this Collection
• 1873 - 1921 - Baxter County Marriage Index 1873-1921 in Arkansas, County Marriages, 1837-1957 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 - Arkansas, County Voter Registration Records, 1868-1910 at FamilySearch — index and images- How to Use this Collection

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Baxter County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Arkansas Archives and Libraries.

Family History Centers

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.

• Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator

Local Centers and Libraries

• Mountain Home Arkansas Family History Center
  

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Baxter County. For state-wide library facilities, see Arkansas Archives and Libraries.

Societies

Listed below are societies in Baxter County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Arkansas Societies.
Baxter County Historical and Genealogical Society
Baxter County Heritage Center
808 South Baker Street
Mountain Home, AR
Telephone: 870.425.2551
Website

• Their website links to: Sheriffs Biographies; Archival Program, which includes County, Township, and Local Government Records, School Records, Birth, Marriage and Death Records and much more.

Websites

• USGenWeb. Free. Data may be submitted by individuals or complete transcriptions
• USGenWeb Archives. Free. Data may be submitted by individuals or may be complete transcriptions
• resources at RootsWeb . Free. Data may be submitted by individuals or may be complete transcriptions
• Linkpendium. Free. Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
• CyndisList (no link for Baxter County). Free. Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
• FamilySearch Catalog - The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records

This website requires a paid subscription for full access.