I guess I'm looking for someone who knows about the history of Arkansas, how/whether births were registered back in the 1820s and how/where to search for birth records.
I am in Australia and have a William Wilson (born about 1828) who came to New South Wales in about 1852 as a result of the gold rush here. He subsequently married my great-great-grandmother and never returned to America.
On one of his children's birth certificates, William gives his birthplace as "Prescott, Nevada, Arkansas". This is interesting as my research indicates that neither Nevada County nor the city of Prescott were established until after William left. I guess he had contact with his family and so, when his daughter was born, knew that the place where his family lived was, by then, called "Prescott, Nevada".
Anyhow, the 1850 Census shows a William Wilson of the correct age living with dad, step-mum and siblings in Red Land. After extensive searching, I've decided this is probably my William Wilson. His father is Thomas Wilson, born about 1801 in Pennsylvania.
I have two questions:
First, does anyone have any knowledge of/connection to this family?
Second, I would like a birth certificate for William however it seems that there was no public registration of births at that time in this area. So we are left with the churches. Being in Australia, I haven't been able to find how I might be able to find a church record of William's birth and/or baptism. Is this possible or is it likely the birth wasn't registered? I think there was at least one church in the area in 1828 but have no idea how to go about looking for records.
Any and all assistance will be gratefully received.
Many thanks,
Felicity