Clover Family Research Compendium

Created, Edited, and Maintained By June Clover Byrne

Arkansas Historical Overview and Research Tips

            Prior to the Louisiana purchase in 1803, land which is now Arkansas was primarily populated by Indians and a few scattered French families. The French established the Arkansas Post in 1786 which was the first white settlement in what is now Arkansas.  It was the administrative center of the area until 1821, when Little Rock became the capital. The land was passed back and forth between Spain and France for a while until it was acquired by the United States in 1803 and became part of the Louisiana Territory. In 1812, the Missouri Territory was formed out of this and included what is now Arkansas. Arkansas became a separate territory in 1819 and a state in 1836.  It seceded from the Union in 1861 and was readmitted in 1868.

          Clark County, where our Clover group ended up, was formed in 1819 from Arkansas County.  This geographical area would have been in Arkansas County, Missouri Territory before 1819. A good map to see what Clark County looked like in 1819 can be found at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~arrandol/ARterritory1819.jpg Caddo Township was formed at the time Clark County was formed. There is some doubt as to the exact date that the Clovers arrived, but they could have come before Clark County was formed, so researchers need to check the earliest Arkansas County records also.  I have not done so and they are NOT included here. The Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790 to 1920, by William Thorndale and William Dollerhide, (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1987), 34.  This shows a map of Arkansas as it was in the 1830 census.  According to this, Miller County was actually in Texas, and ceased to exist when Red River County, Texas was created in 1836.  This would indicate that Isaac Clover was probably in what is now Texas, not in Arkansas despite the apparent census record. Present day Miller County, Arkansas was created in 1874 from part of Lafayette County.

        This site has an excellent discussion of the moving boundaries of Clark County.It is on a Newberry Library site and details changes of all Arkansas County. If you are also interested in other states, they are there too.  

http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/statepages/Arkansas.html#individualchrono

http://historical-county.newberry.org/website/Arkansas/viewer.htm

Clark County, Arkansas Research

Clark County, Arkansas was created: 15 December 1818 from Arkansas County.
Progeny Counties: Dallas 1845, Hot Spring 1829, Pike 1833, Union 1829 County Boundary Changes: Line with Pulaski changed 30 October 1823, line with Hot Spring and Dallas changed 3 April 1868, part added to Pike 22 April 1873 and line changed 8 March 1877, line with Montgomery changed 24 April 1873.

County Records: In 1906, Dougald McMillan declared the county records complete.

Census Problems

          The 1810 and 1820 Territorial Censuses of Arkansas did not survive which is aggravating because it would certainly help out with some problems of the earliest Clovers.  The good news about researching in Clark County is that it is one of the earliest counties, has records surviving from its inception and has had no courthouse fires.  The bad news is that one set of marriage licenses is missing and all we have are the entries from an early index.  The missing marriages seem to have been about 1833 to 1835. We at least have the marriages, if not the dates.

Clark County, Arkansas Resources

           One of the great references for Clark County is a set of two books available at any Family History Center on microfiche for a small sum.  These two volumes are:

          Pauline Williams Wright and Barbara McDow Caffee, compilers, Clark County, Arkansas; A Genealogical Source Book, Volume 1, (Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press, Inc, 1982) The book is reproduced on a set of four microfiche, FHL no. 6010780. If you order it into your local Family History Center, it will cost you less than a dollar.  Contents: Marriages thru 1900; divorce petitions thru 1900; Probate records, May 1827 to October 1838; letters of administration, 1838-1856; wills books A and B, [1827-1838, 1855-1867]; probate book A, 1840-1847; guardianships, 1840-1846; tax records, 1866-1868 and delinquent tax sale, map of Clark County as of 1981; pioneers sketched in Goodspeed, 1890; ministers' credentials, ca. 1836-1879; gleanings from deed book A. Complete index.

            Pauline Williams Wright and Barbara McDow Caffee, compilers, Clark County, Arkansas; A Genealogical Source Book, Volume 2, (Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press, Inc, 1982). The book is reproduced on a set of five microfiche, FHL no. 6038467. If you order it into your local Family History Center, it will cost you less than a dollar. Contents:  Probate records, [these are loose probate records various dates], listing of slaves from probate records; county court records, 1845-1858; teachers' licenses, 1911-1923. Complete index.

            You can check the listing of records on the catalog of the Family History Library at www.familysearch.org to see what records actually exist so that you can compare with the above.  You will see that it is not absolutely complete. However, it is a wonderful resource that I wish were available for all the counties I research.

Map of the Townships of Clark County, Arkansas and date of formation. Note that Clark County was formed in 1818 and was originally part of Arkansas County.  The whole area was part of Missouri before Arkansas was formed. 

The oldest probate, circuit court, criminal court and later tax records are currently deposited at the Ouachita Baptist University in their Special Collections. See their website at http://www.obu.edu/library/countyrecords.htm They have indexes for various records available on line.  This is a wonderful resource and they will check these records for a fee.  See also my comments on court, probate and tax records. 

One of the important concepts in studying these frontier areas, is that of the roads.  Traveling in a wagon with a family, no one took off cross country. They followed established roads.  Thanks to Rhonda Clover for telling me about this fascinating article on NE Arkansas early roads.  http://www.couchgenweb.com/lawrence/military.htm

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Copyright 2006 June Clover Byrne

Page last updated 11 April 2010

Contact me at junebyr@yahoo.com