# content
The Ancestor Hunt regularly adds and updates new collection links, as well as searches for and fixes broken links.
(This page's most recent update is April 2025)

Institutional records are another class of collections that should be part of one’s genealogy research repertoire. Although most of your ancestors may not have spent time in an institution, I’ll bet that almost every family tree has several that have. So they are worth your effort to research.

Here are a few good primers for searching institutional records:

FamilySearch – Institution and School Records

Finding Your Ancestors in Poor House or Poor Farm Records

Researching Ancestors in Asylums

What kind of institutions and types of records can we discover?

Poorhouse

Poor Farm

Orphanage

Orphan Train

Mental Hospital

Workhouse

Almshouse

Institutional School

Sanitarium

Asylums

Correctional institutions

Acquiring records from each of these types of institutions may be difficult because of privacy concerns, but they are worth the effort.

Below you will find free online institutional records you can use to help you discover more about your relatives who have spent time in an institution.

Note: Some links listed take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. To take full advantage make sure that you are logged in to FamilySearch. The results may be different if you are signed in, rather than not.

Arkansas Free Online Institutional Records

Arkansas County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Arkansas, Arkansas School for the Blind

Arkansas, Arkansas State Convict Farm #3 1930 Index of Prisoners

Arkansas, Arkansas State Convict Farm #8 1930 Index of Prisoners

Arkansas, Arkansas State Lunatic Asylum 1900 Census Pages 323a-324b

Arkansas, Arkansas State Lunatic Asylum 1900 Census Pages 325a-326b

Arkansas, Arkansas State Lunatic Asylum 1900 Census Pages 327a-329b

Arkansas, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918 – 1920

Arkansas, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920, Indexed by County

Arkansas, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, Prisoners, Insane, In Hospitals, 1917-1918

Ashley County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Baxter County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Benton County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Benton County, Poor Farm Cemetery

Boone County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Bradley County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Calhoun County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Carroll County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Chicot County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Clark County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Clay County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records

Clay County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Cleburne County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Cleveland County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Cleveland County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records For Cleveland County and Surrounding Counties 1918 – 1920

Columbia County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Conway County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Craighead County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Crawford County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Crittenden County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Cross County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Dallas County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Desha County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Dorsey County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Drew County, Arkansas Baptist Orphanage 1930 Census

Drew County, Arkansas Baptist Orphan’s Home

Drew County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Faulkner County, Poor Farm Cemetery

Faulkner County, Sheriff’s Pauper Book, 1880-1897

Faulkner County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Franklin County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Fulton County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Garland County, 1930 Interstate Orphan Home Census

Garland County, Poor Farm Cemetery

Garland County, State Penitentiary Index

Garland County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Grant County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Greene County, 1900 Poor Farm Census

Greene County, 1910 Poor Farm Census

Greene County, 1920 Poor Farm Census

Greene County, 1930 County Farm Census

Greene County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Prisoners 1918-1970

Greene County, Prisoners Confined in the Greene Co., AR Jail

Greene County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Hempstead County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Hot Spring County, Arkansas State Penitentiary List of Inmates 1918-1920

Hot Spring County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Howard County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Independence County, Poor Farm Cemetery

Independence County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Izard County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Jackson County, Register of Poorhouse Inmates

Jackson County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Jefferson County, Arkansas State Convict Farm #1 1930 Index of Convicts

Jefferson County, Arkansas State Convict Farm #2 1930 Index of Prisoners

Jefferson County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Johnson County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Lafayette County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Lawrence County, Arkansas State Penitentiary List of Inmates 1918-1920

Lawrence County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Lee County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Lincoln County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Little River County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Logan County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Lonoke County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Lovely County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Madison County, Poor Farm Cemetery

Madison County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Marion County Index to Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Marion County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Miller County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Mississippi County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Monroe County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Montgomery County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Nevada County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Newton County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Ouachita County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Perry County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Phillips County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Pike County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Poinsett County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Polk County, County Poor Farm Cemetery

Polk County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Pope County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Prairie County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Pulaski County, 1920 Methodist Orphan Home Census

Pulaski County, 1930 Arkansas School for the Deaf

Pulaski County, Arkansas School for the Blind 1930 Census

Pulaski County, Arkansas State Penitentiary 1880 Index of Prisoners (A – J)

Pulaski County, Arkansas State Penitentiary 1880 Index of Prisoners (K – Z)

Pulaski County, Arkansas State Penitentiary List of Inmates 1918-1920

Pulaski County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1936-1938

Pulaski County, State Hospital Cemetery AKA Arkansas State Hospital Cemetery

Pulaski County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Randolph County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Saline County, Benton Cemetery #1 AKA Arkansas State Hospital Cemetery

Saline County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Scott County, Arkansas State Penitentiary List of Inmates 1918-1920

Scott County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Searcy County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Sebastian County, Elmwood Cemetery AKA Poor Farm Cemetery

Sebastian County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Sevier County, County Court Orphan Records, 1830-1879

Sevier County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Sharp County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

St. Francis County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Stone County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Union County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Van Buren County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Washington County, Poorhouse Cemetery

Washington County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

White County, Poor House Cemetery AKA Fairgrounds Cemetery

White County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Woodruff County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Yell County, Penitentiary Records

Yell County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

For all Free Arkansas Collection Links in 24 Genealogy Categories, go to the By Location Page, click on Arkansas, and then click on the category of interest.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

# contentMap.en
The Ancestor Hunt regularly adds and updates new collection links, as well as searches for and fixes broken links.
(This page's most recent update is April 2025)

Institutional records are another class of collections that should be part of one’s genealogy research repertoire. Although most of your ancestors may not have spent time in an institution, I’ll bet that almost every family tree has several that have. So they are worth your effort to research.

Here are a few good primers for searching institutional records:

FamilySearch – Institution and School Records

Finding Your Ancestors in Poor House or Poor Farm Records

Researching Ancestors in Asylums

What kind of institutions and types of records can we discover?

Poorhouse

Poor Farm

Orphanage

Orphan Train

Mental Hospital

Workhouse

Almshouse

Institutional School

Sanitarium

Asylums

Correctional institutions

Acquiring records from each of these types of institutions may be difficult because of privacy concerns, but they are worth the effort.

Below you will find free online institutional records you can use to help you discover more about your relatives who have spent time in an institution.

Note: Some links listed take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. To take full advantage make sure that you are logged in to FamilySearch. The results may be different if you are signed in, rather than not.

Arkansas Free Online Institutional Records

Arkansas County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Arkansas, Arkansas School for the Blind

Arkansas, Arkansas State Convict Farm #3 1930 Index of Prisoners

Arkansas, Arkansas State Convict Farm #8 1930 Index of Prisoners

Arkansas, Arkansas State Lunatic Asylum 1900 Census Pages 323a-324b

Arkansas, Arkansas State Lunatic Asylum 1900 Census Pages 325a-326b

Arkansas, Arkansas State Lunatic Asylum 1900 Census Pages 327a-329b

Arkansas, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918 – 1920

Arkansas, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920, Indexed by County

Arkansas, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, Prisoners, Insane, In Hospitals, 1917-1918

Ashley County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Baxter County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Benton County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Benton County, Poor Farm Cemetery

Boone County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Bradley County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Calhoun County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Carroll County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Chicot County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Clark County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Clay County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records

Clay County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Cleburne County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Cleveland County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Cleveland County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records For Cleveland County and Surrounding Counties 1918 – 1920

Columbia County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Conway County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Craighead County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Crawford County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Crittenden County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Cross County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Dallas County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Desha County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Dorsey County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Drew County, Arkansas Baptist Orphanage 1930 Census

Drew County, Arkansas Baptist Orphan’s Home

Drew County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Faulkner County, Poor Farm Cemetery

Faulkner County, Sheriff’s Pauper Book, 1880-1897

Faulkner County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Franklin County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Fulton County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Garland County, 1930 Interstate Orphan Home Census

Garland County, Poor Farm Cemetery

Garland County, State Penitentiary Index

Garland County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Grant County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Greene County, 1900 Poor Farm Census

Greene County, 1910 Poor Farm Census

Greene County, 1920 Poor Farm Census

Greene County, 1930 County Farm Census

Greene County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Prisoners 1918-1970

Greene County, Prisoners Confined in the Greene Co., AR Jail

Greene County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Hempstead County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Hot Spring County, Arkansas State Penitentiary List of Inmates 1918-1920

Hot Spring County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Howard County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Independence County, Poor Farm Cemetery

Independence County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Izard County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Jackson County, Register of Poorhouse Inmates

Jackson County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Jefferson County, Arkansas State Convict Farm #1 1930 Index of Convicts

Jefferson County, Arkansas State Convict Farm #2 1930 Index of Prisoners

Jefferson County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Johnson County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Lafayette County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Lawrence County, Arkansas State Penitentiary List of Inmates 1918-1920

Lawrence County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Lee County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Lincoln County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Little River County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Logan County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Lonoke County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Lovely County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Madison County, Poor Farm Cemetery

Madison County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Marion County Index to Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Marion County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Miller County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Mississippi County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Monroe County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Montgomery County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Nevada County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Newton County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Ouachita County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Perry County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Phillips County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Pike County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Poinsett County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Polk County, County Poor Farm Cemetery

Polk County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Pope County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Prairie County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Pulaski County, 1920 Methodist Orphan Home Census

Pulaski County, 1930 Arkansas School for the Deaf

Pulaski County, Arkansas School for the Blind 1930 Census

Pulaski County, Arkansas State Penitentiary 1880 Index of Prisoners (A – J)

Pulaski County, Arkansas State Penitentiary 1880 Index of Prisoners (K – Z)

Pulaski County, Arkansas State Penitentiary List of Inmates 1918-1920

Pulaski County, Arkansas State Penitentiary Records 1936-1938

Pulaski County, State Hospital Cemetery AKA Arkansas State Hospital Cemetery

Pulaski County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Randolph County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Saline County, Benton Cemetery #1 AKA Arkansas State Hospital Cemetery

Saline County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Scott County, Arkansas State Penitentiary List of Inmates 1918-1920

Scott County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Searcy County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Sebastian County, Elmwood Cemetery AKA Poor Farm Cemetery

Sebastian County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Sevier County, County Court Orphan Records, 1830-1879

Sevier County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Sharp County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

St. Francis County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Stone County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Union County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Van Buren County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Washington County, Poorhouse Cemetery

Washington County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

White County, Poor House Cemetery AKA Fairgrounds Cemetery

White County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Woodruff County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

Yell County, Penitentiary Records

Yell County, State Penitentiary Records 1918-1920

For all Free Arkansas Collection Links in 24 Genealogy Categories, go to the By Location Page, click on Arkansas, and then click on the category of interest.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

# preview.content
[sc name="intro_april_2025" ][/sc]

Institutional records are another class of collections that should be part of one’s genealogy research repertoire. Although most of your ancestors may not have spent time in an institution, I’ll bet that almost every family tree has several that have. So they are worth your effort to research.

Here are a few good primers for searching institutional records:

FamilySearch – Institution and School Records

Finding Your Ancestors in Poor House or Poor […]

# summary
[sc name="intro_april_2025" ][/sc]

Institutional records are another class of collections that should be part of one’s genealogy research repertoire. Although most of your ancestors may not have spent time in an institution, I’ll bet that almost every family tree has several that have. So they are worth your effort to research.

Here are a few good primers for searching institutional records:

FamilySearch – Institution and School Records

Finding Your Ancestors in Poor House or Poor […]

# summaryMap.en
[sc name="intro_april_2025" ][/sc]

Institutional records are another class of collections that should be part of one’s genealogy research repertoire. Although most of your ancestors may not have spent time in an institution, I’ll bet that almost every family tree has several that have. So they are worth your effort to research.

Here are a few good primers for searching institutional records:

FamilySearch – Institution and School Records

Finding Your Ancestors in Poor House or Poor […]