Lawrence County Court Records
The
Lawrence County Court records cover the judicial and administrative history of
Northeast Arkansas from 1815 to the 1970s. The collections listed below are
merely a sample of NEARA’s holdings! In order to search the records that have
been indexed so far, please contact the Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives at 870.878.6521, or by emailing northeast.archives@arkansas.gov. The indexes to these records are not
available online.
MSNE.0032 Probate records: These records can relate to
adoptions, guardianships, insanity, or estates. Most commonly, it is the
administration of the estate of a deceased person. Information that can be
found in the documents includes family members, detailed inventories, debts to
or of the estate, who handled the estate, what happened to the assets, and who
assumed the care for children.
MSNE.0070 & MSNE.0071
Court Cases:
Civil, criminal, and chancery court cases are all present in this collection.
Cases are from both the Powhatan courthouse and Walnut Ridge courthouse.
Civil cases covers lawsuits like
debt, damages, personal injury, removal of minor disabilities, breach of
contract, and more.
Criminal cases include any
indictments for law breaking such as gaming, assault, murder, manufacturing
liquor without a license, Sabbath breaking, and more.
Chancery court typically deals with
property so it handles divorce, property dispute, debts or liens, foreclosure,
breach of contract, partition of property, and more.
MSNE.0018 Bonds: In order to serve in many
county positions, it was necessary to post a bond. These bonds cover a variety
of county level jobs from 1815-1866 including coroners, constables, sheriffs,
and tax collectors. There are also bonds for free blacks in the antebellum
period.
MSNE.0038 County records: These 900+ ledger books
contain the administrative record of Lawrence County including listings of
county officials, payments made by the county, road development, school
administration, taxes, and more. Available
on microfilm.
MSNE.0081 Pistol Permits: In 1923 there was a new gun
law that required registering firearms. County clerks were responsible for
overseeing the application process.
MSNE.0082 Tavern Permits: The sale of alcohol has
always been a contested issue in Arkansas. These records show the change in laws
overtime as well as indicating the major merchants in Lawrence County.
MSNE.0007 Confederate
Pensions:
Counties were responsible for the distribution of pensions to Confederate
veterans and their widows. These records track payments given and the eligibility
of applicants.
