Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Wednesday’s Wonderful Collection - Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission records, MS.000800

The Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission was established in 1949 as part of the Arkansas Water Pollution Control Act 472 of 1949. Over the years, it has gone through several changes, including a reorganization in 1991. The Commission consists of 13 members, six from specific State Agencies, and seven appointed by the Governor. They serve as the environmental policy-making body for the state of Arkansas.

The Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission records consist of 54 cubic foot boxes containing case records, permit applications, and miscellaneous files and maps.

·         Case Files
o    North Central Arkansas Landfill Authority (Box 1)
o    North Central Arkansas Landfill Authority (Box 2)
o    Mobley Construction Company (Box 3)
o    J.P. Price Lumber Company
o    Beazer East, Inc.
o    Black Rock Asphalt Plant
o    Guardsman Products
o    Gaylon Chandler Hog Farm
o    Acme Brick Company
o    Superwood Corporation
o    Great Lakes Corporation
o    Riceland Foods
o    Northwest Arkansas Recovery
o    Albermarle Corporation
o    Sunray Services (Box 4)
o    Sunray Services (Box 5)
o    Sunray Services (Box 6)
o    Sunray Services (Box 7)
o    Sunray Services (Box 8)
o    Fred Hale Hog Farm (Box 9)
o    Kenny Munn Pork Farm (Box 10)
o    Riceland Foods
o    Kent O'Neal
o    Matthews International Corporation
o    Malvern Water Works
o    Anna Carden Farm
o    Carter Resources (Box 11)
o    Green Bay Packaging
o    Malvern Water Works
o    NGC Energy Resources Limited
o    Conagra Frozen Foods
o    Arkansas Medical Services (Box 12)
o    Arkansas Medical Services (Box 13)
o    City of Little Rock (Box 14)
o    Arkansas Medical Services
o    Riceland Foods, Lonoke
o    Riceland Foods, McGehee
o    Riceland Foods, Corning
o    Riceland Foods, Wheatley
o    NGC Energy Recsources Limited
o    Environmental Tire Disposal, Inc.
o    Doug Luningham Farm
o    Jefferson County Waste Tire Processing
o    Northwest Arkansas Recovery, Inc.
o    Kenny Munn Enterprises, Inc.
o    Kenny Munn Pork Farm
o    Williamette Industries, Inc.
o    Environmental Tire Disposal, Inc. (Box 15)
o    Great Lakes Chemical Company South Plant
o    Lectra Circuits, Inc.
o    Northwest Arkansas Recovery, Inc.
o    City of Dover
o    Anthony Forest Products Company
o    Arkansas Medical Services (Box 16)
o    Arkansas Medical Services (Box 17)
o    City of Cabot
o    Huntco Steel, Inc.
o    Riceland Foods, Hazen
o    Albermarle Corporation
o    Bakery Feeds, Inc.
o    Noram Gas Transmission Company
o    Arkansas Mortuary Service, Inc.
o    Frit Industries, Inc.
o    Mississippi River Transmission Corporation
o    U.S. Army Pine Bluff Arsenal (Box 18)
o    U.S. Army Pine Bluff Arsenal (Box 19)
o    U.S. Army Pine Bluff Arsenal (Box 20)
o    U.S. Army Pine Bluff Arsenal (Box 21)
o    U.S. Army Pine Bluff Arsenal (Box 22)
o    U.S. Army Pine Bluff Arsenal (Box 23)
o    U.S. Army Pine Bluff Arsenal (Box 24)
o    U.S. Army Pine Bluff Arsenal (Box 25)
o    Tracey Mosley, Pine Bluff Arsenal-International Paper Company (Box 26)
o    Pyramid Rock and Timber
o    Lion Oil Company
o    Sporting Goods Properties, Inc.
o    Frit Industries, Inc.
o    Relian Energy Gas
o    Ozarks Headwaters Group of the Sierra Club
o    International Paper Company
o    Arkansas Terminaling and Trading (Box 27)
o    Asbestos Handlers, Inc. (Box 28)
o    Value Line Company
o    Opie McPherson
o    Village Market Store
o    Gold Creek Landing Mobile Home Park
o    Crawford County Pallets
o    Simpson Press, Inc.
o    Warren Rogers
o    Tyler's Concrete Septic Tanks
o    Oxley Timber Company
o    Larry Hughes Hog Farm
o    Larry Hughes vs Purina Mills
o    River Valley Repo Center vs Purina Mills
o    Todd and Willie Mooney
o    T.V. Wallis
o    Valve Line Company (Circuit Court) (Box 29)
o    Valve Line Company (Box 30)
o    Valve Line Company (Box 31)
o    RINECO Chemical (Box 32)
o    James Boyette
o    Fort Smith Railroad Company
o    Great Lakes Chemical Company
o    H.H.H. Mining Company
o    GNB Technologies
o    Fulton County Landfill, Inc.
o    Tyson Foods, Inc.
o    Pine Tree Farms
o    Jay O'Neal
o    Paul Bone
o    Double H. Construction
o    Robinson Hog Farm
o    J. and M One Stop
o    Burris Oil Company
o    Reynolds Metal Company
o    Reynolds Metal Company (Box 33)
o    Reynolds Metal Company (Box 34)
o    Bonds Excavating
o    Bonds Excavating (Box 35)
o    Guy King and Songs
o    U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service
o    Fred Egeston Hog Farm
o    Larry Hughes Swine Farm (Box 36)
o    Great Lakes Chemical (Box 37)
o    Harris Concrete Pumps
o    Ron Lewis, La Ron Company
o    ALKAR, Inc.
o    Mid-South Reclamation Industries, Inc.
o    A.P. and L. Entergy, Pine Bluff
o    Littlefield Oil Company
o    Pine Bluff Arsenal Department of the Army
o    Central Termite and Pest Company
o    Maurice Hill Handimart
o    Mildred Barnes
o    Hot Spring County
o    Cecil Dale, Paris Exxon
o    Hank Sparks, Sparky '66
o    Dennis Bailey, Bailey Superstore
o    Lee Mullens, Mullens Garage
o    John Egeston Hog Farm
o    City of West Memphis City Shop
o    Bill or Stella Brewer, Brewer's Grocery
o    Tommy Partee
o    West-Arkansas Oil Company Dyer Texaco
o    Campbell Oil Company Speedi One Stop #2
o    Barrett Aviation, Inc.
o    Troutman Oil, Inc.
o    Richard Stringham Capitol Services Company
o    Richard Stringham Shamu Aviation
o    Scott Branch HES, Inc.
o    Robert Jernigan Sulphur Springs Grocery
o    Thomas Petroleum, Inc.
o    Safety-Kleen Corporation
o    Odom's Tennessee Pride
o    Southers Baths, Inc.
o    B and J Equipment Company
o    Royale Vista Inn
o    TSC Inc. Plaza Mini Mart (Box 38)
o    Rock J. Yelenich Rocky's One Stop #3
o    The Fentress Corporation Texaco Max Mart #6
o    Owen Contracting Company
o    Harper Development, Inc.
o    Value Line Company
o    Pat Hernden, Pecten Environmental Services
o    Bill Crawford, Crawford Builders
o    Jerry Agee
o    Arkansas State Police
o    Jacksonville Waste Water Utility
o    Diamond Excavating
o    Harold McDonald Mac's General Contractor
o    Charlie Foster
o    John Lester Oil Company
o    Harper Development, Inc.
o    Sharp Realty Land Company Island Development
o    Trans. Chemical, Inc.
o    Ludwig, Inc.
o    Cecil R. Dale Patterson Grocery
o    Davis Petroleum Services, Inc.
o    Arthur Green Benton Packing Company
o    Sebastian Lake Utility Company
o    Waste Management Tontitown Landfill (Box 39)
o    Dale and Mary Wilson (Box 40)
o    Tcris, LLC Ensco
o    Burris Oil Company, Inc.
o    Cenco, Inc.
o    Bald Knob School District
o    John Benson Wastewater
o    Swift Chemical Company, Inc.
o    Patterson Oil Company, Inc.
o    West Helena Class 1 Landfill
o    RLH, Inc. Class 1 Landfill
o    Pulaski Transformer Company James McKay
o    Ouachita National Forest Cold Springs Work Center
o    Clarence Kent
o    Northwest Arkansas Recovery, Inc.
o    Ritchie and Associates, Inc.
o    Delmar (Tom) Smith Rolloff Services, Inc.
o    Camden Regional Airport
o    City of West Helena Class 1 Landfill
o    Eaton-Moery Environmental Services, Inc.
o    Land Management Company, Inc.
o    Royal Chevrolet
o    Lloyd Brewer Dirtworks, Inc.
o    Freshour Construction (Box 41)
o    Ludwig, Inc.
o    Eaton-Moery Environmental Services, Inc.
o    Johnson Oil Company
o    John David Lindsey Development
o    Rawhide Trailers, Inc. Bonanza Trailers
o    City of Charleston - Clint Skiver (Box 42)
o    Searcy Board of Public Utilities
o    Kenneth Marvin
o    Diamond State Oil
o    Ouachita State Highway Department
o    John Lester Oil Company
o    Hillside Bayou Mobile Home Park William Laslo
o    A. Jones Investments Wildwood and Pleasant Forest Subdivisions
o    Port Cities Oil
o    Homeport Land Company
o    John Buckhalter and David Bass, Buckhalter, Haas
o    Transitech, Inc.
o    Rustown Homes, Inc., Krestmont Estates Subdivision
o    Bob Devor Waukesha Road Dirt Pit
o    City of Little Rock
o    John Reddish Auction Marketing Service, Inc.
o    Joel Burgos J.B. Burgos Company
o    William Perry
o    Clint Skiver Development of Arkansas, Inc.
o    Waste Corporation of Arkansas, Inc.
o    B. and J. Coal Company
o    HLV Development (Box 43)
o    Co-Bar Contracting, Inc. Faulkner Crossing Project
o    Co-Bar Contracting, Inc. Elderidge Ranch Project
o    Crystal Condominiums, Inc.
o    S. and W. Environmental Solutions Disposal Facility
o    Raymond Smith Estate Warm Springs Mini Mart
o    City of Fort Smith
o    Shiloh Marina
o    Hazardous Materials Management, Emergency Response and Training, Inc.
o    Southland Septic Service, Inc.
o    Donald Shamsis D.J.'s Convenience Store
o    Arkansas Aluminum Alloys, Inc.
o    J. and P. Flash Market, Inc.
o    Fayetteville Shale Land Farm Central Arkansas Disposal
o    Flash Market, Inc.
o    Yelenich Family Trust, Rocky's One Stop 3
o    Clean Harbors, El Dorado
o    Wishbone, Inc. Tri-Oaks
o    Mayflower Aggregates (Box 44)
o    Les Rogers, Inc.
o    R. and R. Dirtworks, Inc.
o    Gray Turney
o    Terry Gheta
o    Paladino Construction, Inc.
o    Albermarle Company (Box 45)
o    Enedino Rodriguez
o    Gaylord Container Corporation International Paper Company
o    City of West Memphis Utility Commission
o    L and L Oil Company
o    L and L Oil Company (Box 46)
o    El Dorado Chemical Company (Box 47)
o    Coonrod Construction Company
o    Pollution Management, Inc.
o    Marine Terminals of Arkansas
o    Marine Terminals of Arkansas (Box 48)
o    Vulcan Materials Company
o    Diamond Lakes Oil Company as assignee of Thomas Oil Company (Box 49)
o    Waste Management Tontitown Landfill (Box 50)
o    Waste Management Tontitown Landfill - Marsall Dale Evans (Box 51)
o    Tokusen USA , Inc. (Box 52)
o    Ash Grove Cement Company
o    Crow Creek Raceway, Inc.
o    Johnson Oil Company Hamilton's (Murray's) Grocery
o    Rivercity Energy Company (Box 53) 54.0 Cubic feet
o    Eaton - Moery Evironmental Services, Inc.
o    Two Lane Blacktop Drag Strip
o    Parker Solvents Company, Inc.
o    Shiloh Marina
o    Stephenson Oil Company, Inc.
o    BFI Waste Systems of Arkansas
o    Entergy Arkansas, Inc., Southwestern Electric Power Company and Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation (Box 54)
o    Farmer Cedar Chemical Facility, Helena-West Helena
o    Gerdau MacSteel
o    J. and A. Mining
o    Georgia Pacific
o    Kids vs. Global Warming
o    Anthony Forest Products Company
o    Pet Solutions
o    Mike Murfik Bull Market
o    SGC Carbon
o    Martin Operating Partnership
o    West Fraser, Inc.
o    International Paper Company
o    Albermarle Corporation
o    Deltic Timber Company
o    Eagle View Properties



Friday, April 17, 2020

Today's puzzles are both paintings of early Arkansas!


You can enjoy the puzzles here or at jigsawplanet.com Also, if you want to make the puzzles easier or harder, you can adjust the number of pieces at the top each puzzles with the "Play As" drop down menu!

Arkansas Post by Annie Hatley, 1904. This is a color oil painting that hangs at the Arkansas History Commission in Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas. The dimensions (not including frame) are 27 1/2 x 39 1/2 in. Arkansas Post, the first permanent settlement made by Europeans in lower Mississippi Valley, was established by the French in 1686.





Our other selection is First Courthouse in Randolph County by A. A. Paxton, 1908. This inscription is on the back of the painting.  "This house, the home of Soloman Hewitt, was the scene in 1815 of the first court held in Lawrence county, Territory of Missouri. The House was located on the east side of Spring River about two miles above the mouth of the Elevenpoint. Davidsonville later became the Lawrence county seat. In 1835 Randolph county was formed from a part of Lawrence County."


Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Wednesday’s Wonderful Collection - Ed Reichardt store records 1859-1890, MS.000378


Edward Reichardt was born in Asch, Bohemia in 1844. He was the youngest of a large family that immigrated to the United States in 1854. A member of the City Council, he also served as director of the Little Rock Cotton and Produce Exchange from its creation, and was elected treasurer of the Electric Light Company. He was a retail grocer for many years as well as a cotton buyer. He was part owner of the Rock Street railway bridge that crossed the Arkansas River and part owner of the first street railway in Little Rock. He married Pauline Brandt in 1872.
This collection consists of accounting records for Ed Reichardt's grocery store, including a steamer log, cash books, trade names index, daily account books, yearly accounting records, receipt books, and cotton day books.

·         Steamer cargo and discharge list (Box 1)
o    1859-1866
·         Cash books
o    1871-1873
o    1876 June-1877 December
·         Trade names indexes
o    Undated
o    Undated
o    Undated
o    Undated
·         Day books
o    1872 April 18-1872 June 1 (Box 2)
o    1872 September 19-1872 November 9
o    1872 November 11-1873 September 31
o    1873 March 3-1873 April 24
o    1873 April 25-1873 June 26
o    1873 June 27-1873 August 27
o    1873 August 27-1873 October 31
o    1873 November 1-1874 January 2
o    1874 February 5-1874 March 7
o    1874 March 9-1874 May 9 (Box 3)
o    1874 May 11-1874 August 3
o    1874 September 23-1875 January 14
o    1875 January 15-1875 May 6 (Box 4)
o    1875 December 17-1876 May 10
o    1876 October 4-1877 April 16
o    1878 August 16-1879 January 4 (Box 5)
o    1879 January 6-1879 May 8
o    1879 September 1-1880 February 24 (Box 6)
o    1880 February 26-1880 October 22
o    1880 October 25-1881 June 10 (Box 7)
·         Receipt books
o    1879 October 9-1879 November 7
o    1881 March 16-1882 April 18
o    1882 January 20-1882 October 12
o    1882 October 13-1882 November 9
o    1882 December 22-1883 April 3
o    1882 October 28-1883 February 3
o    1883 April 3-1883 July 23
·         Account ledgers
o    1871-1873 (Box 8)
o    1875-1876 (Box 9)
o    1876-1877 (Box 10)
o    1878-1879 (Box 11)
o    1880 June 17-1880 December 30 (Box 12)
o    1890 (Box 13)
·         Cotton day books (Box 14)
o    1875 October 4-1875 December 16
o    1876 September 9-1877 November 7
o    1877 November 9-1878 March 22
o    1878 March 23-1879 January 2
o    1880 November 12-1881 April 27


Friday, March 27, 2020

Genealogy Tips: Researching Immigrants


Photos: 1918 registration documents, courtesy of the Arkansas State Archives.

Researching your immigrant ancestors’ stories can be a long, drawn-out process. For many researchers, it helps to have a strong oral family history to use as a starting point. However, in some cases, such stories have been lost over time.

So, how do genealogists reconstruct immigration stories?

The key is to start with an individual’s life after coming to the United States. But, what if the immigration date, or the immigrant’s country of origin is not known?  This information can often be discovered by referring to the genealogist’s old standby – census records.

From 1850 to 1940, one of the key questions asked by the U.S. Census Bureau was: “Where were you born?” This question gives researchers a starting point, to discover countries of origin in the census data. From 1900 to 1930, the Census also asked, if an individual was naturalized (that is, being granted citizenship) and from 1910 to 1920, the Census included arrival dates.

Most importantly, these records can be used to find where the individual was living at a particular point in time. This clue can help researchers find documents at the local level.  Perhaps surprisingly, such documents can include naturalization. Before 1906, any municipal, county, state or federal court could grant U.S. citizenship. Even now, there exists no comprehensive, nationwide index for these early naturalizations.

For Arkansas, the earliest naturalization records date back to when the state was part of the Louisiana Territory in the early 1800s. The Arkansas Territory was formed in 1819 from the southern portion of Missouri Territory and became a state in 1836. Knowing where an individual lived, and when, will help narrow the choices of where to look for possible naturalization and immigration records.

Another helpful tip is to learn about U.S. immigration history and its process before diving into individual research. Immigration laws changed over time, so knowing the history of immigration will help you understand what documents existed and where those records may be kept.

In the U.S., citizenship historically has been a two-step process. Immigrants first completed and filed a declaration of intent, then completed a petition for naturalization. Those documents led to orders granting citizenship, which were generally approved five years or more after the filing of the declaration of intent. This may sound straightforward, but complications showed up in practice. An immigrant might file his or her declaration in one state, then finish the petition in another state, or another district within the same state. Records might not be kept in one location, and counties often did not create separate, dedicated registers or ledger books to record such documents. That means immigration documents can be found recorded in virtually any municipal, county, state or federal court record book.

No complete nationwide index for early naturalizations exists, but there was an attempt made in the 1930s to create one. It was the work of the Immigration and Naturalization Records Indexing Project, a service division for the Works Progress Administration. The project was ambitious but not complete. It covered the years 1810 to 1906 and listed every immigration document that its staff could find. The information was organized in three categories: counties with records; name of the book where documents were recorded or filed; and the page number of the record. This process created an index of record cards phonetically organized through the Soundex system; a searchable database of this resource is available through FamilySearch.org. The project covers immigration records up to the date that the federal government took over the naturalization process on Sept. 27, 1906, but be advised: Even then, it took lower courts time to stop approving naturalization documents.

The Arkansas State Archives holds many county records created before the Indexing Project. They include declarations of intent that reveal where the person came from and when they arrived in the U.S. The State Archives also has some petitions, which includes information about the petitioner’s family.

Records for after 1906 can be found on Ancestry.com, a research database the Arkansas State Archives offers for free at its Little Rock facility. Immigration records are also available at the National Archives. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services may also have duplicate records, including certificates of citizenship granted from 1906 to 1956.

Other records may be available, including enemy alien registrations. Following the U.S. entry into WWI, non--naturalized individuals born in the Central Powers nations, including Germany, Turkey, Austria and Bulgaria, were required to register with the U.S. government as a national security measure. The information on these Enemy Alien Registration affidavits included: the non-naturalized resident’s name, date and place of birth, parents’ names and their birthplaces, parents’ residences, the resident’s place of residence, U.S. arrival date, spouse’s name and birthplace and maiden name, if applicable.

The Arkansas State Archives preserves many alien enemy registration affidavits from immigrants who had moved to eastern Arkansas. Alien registration records may also be found online at FamilySearch and the National Archives.

Some naturalization records may be available in Pulaski County for foreign-born soldiers who were naturalized at Camp Pike during World War I. Many foreign-born men signed up to serve the U.S. during World War I in the hopes of earning their citizenship. To encourage immigrant enlistments, the U.S. Congress passed laws that expedited military naturalizations. The measure worked – about 18 percent of WWI soldiers in the U.S. Army were foreign-born.

For more information about Arkansas history, visit archives.arkansas.gov. Although the Arkansas State Archives is closed to the public due to COVID-19, staff are still accepting research requests and answering questions. Research requests are available online or by calling 501-682-6900.