Below is a list of some of the Mills from Arkansas in the 1800's who were sentenced to jail in Ft. Smith Arkansas.

I have the actual records from the National Archives Branch Southwest Region,Ft. Worth (NRFFA) and am going to scan the records to put in the Mills My Family web site and also add to sources for the Mills family tree in Ancestry.com.

Some of the Mills sent to Fort Smith were Thomas Isaac Mills sons. There was a write up in a newspaper which told about the Cabin Courthouse in Mena, Polk Co. Arkansas where Thomas Isaac Mills lived during his duration as a judge in Mena from 1874-1878. Thomas Mills and Nancy E. Lawrence Mills lived in this cabin while he was a judge. The newspaper article stated "The log cabin at this time was occupied by Thomas Mills who had six sons some of whom were known as outlaws." The Newspaper,Hope Star which contains the article Unique Courthouse at Mena Has Strange History is in 2 pdf files, pages 1 and 2 of the article. The 2 files were uploaded and placed in the history section of the MyFamily Mills website.

I hesitated informing ancestors about our descendants criminal pasts,but there is information to be found about our ancestors in the official court records pertaining to our ancestors. For instance one document dated May 1888 which was written by a district attorney and presented to a grand jury states "That George Mills, a white man and not an Indian on the 1st day of January A.D. 1888, at the Choctaw Nation in the Indian County, within the Western District of Arkansas aftersaid, One Head of Cattle of the Value of ten dollars". So, from that information we learned that George Mills was not Indian. (Unless George Mills would not admit to having Indian blood, which many people back in the 1800's denied their Indian blood for fear of being kicked off their land and sent to a reservation). *George Mills was charged with Larceny.

Fort Smith Criminal Records

NARA's Southwest Region (Fort Worth) (NRFFA), 501 West Felix Street, Building 1, Fort Worth, TX 76115-3405 PHONE: 817-334-5525, FAX: 817-334-5621, EMAIL: ftworth.archives@nara.gov

Last First Charge Year Jacket Aka Et al Unk

Mills Andrew J. Larceny 1880 141 M420
Mills Andrew J. Assault 1884 141 M420

Mills Cobb Assault 1884 141 E M420

Mills Thomas IRL 1866 141 M420
Mills Thomas Rob Mail 1872 141 M420
Mills Thomas Larceny 1892 403 M420
Mills Thomas Larceny 1892 349 Colbert, Hardy M420
Mills Tom Larceny 1892 256 Colbert, Hardy M420

Mills Warren C. Liquor 1890 460 M420

Mills Jack Assault 1884 141 Mills, Cobb M420
Mills Jack Assault 1884 141 M420
Mills Jack Larceny 1887 141 AKA Mills, George M420

AKA - As known as

Et Al- Et al. is a Latin abbreviation for "and other persons". It is used when referring to a number of people, i.e., Robert Cummings, et al. It is typically used in the caption of court documents following the first named party, to signify that more than one individual is aligned on one side of the case, i.e., Robert Cummings et al. vs BP Oil Company

M420-Location of Microfiche and number in NARA

Outlaw Arkansas Mills