Bradley County, Arkansas Genealogy

United States

Arkansas

Bradley County

 

Guide to Bradley 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: Warren Organized: December 18, 1840 Parent County(s): Union Neighboring Counties Ashley  • Calhoun  • Cleveland  • Drew  • Union See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

The county was named for Captain Hugh Bradley, who served with Andrew Jackson and fought in the War of 1812. It is located in the southern area of the state.

County Courthouse

Bradley County Courthouse
101 E Cedar Street
Warren, AR 71671
Phone: 870.226.3464
Bradley County Website

County Clerk has marriage records from 1846 and probate records from 1850;
Clerk Circuit Court has divorce, court, court and land records.

Bradley 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	1846	1914	1841	1841	1850	1830
*State birth and death records began in 1914. Limited compliance until 1920s

Record Loss

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

Boundary Changes

1840--Bradley County was created 18 December 1840 from Union County. County seat: Warren 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
Hermitage	Warren (county seat)
Towns
Banks
Unincorporated communities
Hilo Ingalls Jersey	Johnsville Moro Bay Sumpter	Vick
Townships
Clay Eagle Marion	Moro Ouachita Palestine	Pennington River Washington

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 Bradley County page on the website, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture.

• 1686 - The first French permanent settlement, Arkansas Post, was set up by Henri de Tonti.
• 1763 - The Treaty of Paris marked the end of the French-Indian War and of French imperialism in North America.
• 1801 - Spain surrendered control of Louisiana Territory to France.
• 1803 - France sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States.
• 1803 - The United States government purchased over 800,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River from France in the Louisiana Purchase.
• 1900-1910 - Warren, the county seat, became home to three large milling operations and as a result of the lumber business, Warren’s population doubled

Resources

Cemeteries

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

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1850	3,829	—
1860	8,388	119.1%
1870	8,646	3.1%
1880	6,285	−27.3%
1890	7,972	26.8%
1900	9,651	21.1%
1910	14,518	50.4%
1920	15,970	10.0%
1930	17,494	9.5%
1940	18,097	3.4%
1950	15,987	−11.7%
1960	14,029	−12.2%
1970	12,778	−8.9%
1980	13,803	8.0%
1990	11,793	−14.6%
2000	12,600	6.8%
2010	11,508	−8.7%
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 1841-1933 Bradley County portion of the collection: Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979: Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)- How to Use this Collection
  • Includes Dockets 1880-1907; Guardian bonds and letters; Letters of administration 1841-1858; Probate records 1841-1880; Wills 1860-1933

Local Histories

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

• 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 ($); At various libraries (WorldCat). Bradley County history begins on Page 740 in Vol. 2.

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Arkansas (1813-1925)
• Family Maps of Bradley County, Arkansas Genealogy (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
• FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Military Records

Civil War

Regiments. Men in Bradley County served in various regiments and companies. Those listed below were specifically formed in this county:

- 2nd Battalion, Arkansas Calvalry (Confederate) , Company B

- 6th Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry (Confederate) , Company A

- 8th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate)

- 20th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Company H

- 26th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Company D

Men from this county served in the 3rd Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry (Union), Company C

Online Records

• 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 Bradley newspapers in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat
• FamilySearch. Do a Bradley 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 1841-1933 Bradley County portion of the collection: Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979: Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)- How to Use this Collection
  • Includes Dockets 1880-1907; Guardian bonds and letters; Letters of administration 1841-1858; Probate records 1841-1880; Wills 1860-1933

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 $
• 1852 - 1853, 1883 - 1923 - Bradley County Marriage Books C-K Index 1852-1853, 1883-1923 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
• 1853 - 1950 - Bradley County Marriage Books A-U Index 1853-1950 in Arkansas, County Marriages, 1837-1957 at FamilySearch - free.- How to Use this Collection
• 1860 - 1976 - Arkansas Church Marriages, 1860-1976 at FamilySearch — index and images- 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 Bradley 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

Libraries

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

Societies

Listed below are societies in Bradley County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Arkansas Societies.
Bradley County Genealogical Society
P. O. Box 837
Warren, AR 71671

Websites

• ARGenWeb ]. Free. Data may be submitted by individuals or complete transcriptions
• USGenWeb. Free. Data may be submitted by individuals or may be complete transcriptions
• 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 ($)
• CyndisList. Free. Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
• 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.