Two search methods are available on this site: the four indices or lists - the List of Cases, List of Personal Names, List of Place Names, and Subject Index - and the commercial search engine PicoSearch.

Searching by Case Name or Date

Click on the List of Cases link. The cases are arranged in chronological order. You can scroll down and see a complete list of the cases, then click on the case name you want. For each case, this data base contains scans of each of the original documents, a verbatim transcript of the text of the documents, and a summary or abstract of what the case is about. You can hyperlink from the summary to information about the persons, places, and terms for mentioned in the case.

Searching by Personal Name

Click on the List of Personal Names link. You will see alphabetic hyperlinks. Click on the first letter of the last name you are seeking, and you will go to an alphabetical list of names beginning with that letter. Scroll down through the list to find the name you seek. There you will find links to the cases in which the person's name appears. If available, biographical information about the person may also appear in the List of Personal Names, with citations to other sources. Persons with no known last names, such as slaves and Native Americans are listed by first name only.

Searching by Place Names

Click on the List of Places link. You will see places mentioned in the cases listed in alphabetical order. You can scroll down to find the place you are seeking. There you will find links to the cases in which the place name appears. One factor to bear in mind when searching for county names is that county boundaries in territorial Arkansas changed constantly up to and after statehood. We plan to provide maps to show how the counties changed prior to statehood.

Searching by Subject

Click on the Subject Index link. You will see terms listed in alphabetical order, along with the cases in which the terms appear. Included in the Subject Index are general index categories, such as causes of action (e.g. "debt," "divorce," "trespass") and terms such as "women," "slaves," Indians," etc. that cannot be retrieved by free word searching.

Searching the Glossary of Terms

The first time a legal term is mentioned in a particular case it is linked to a definition in the Glossary of Terms.

Searching with PicoSearch

PicoSearch, a commercial search engine, allows you to search by free word and will retrieve all cases in which the word appears.