Conway Obituary Records
Conway obituary records are well preserved across several local institutions, with the Faulkner County Museum holding some of the most detailed funeral home archives in central Arkansas. The museum sits in the historic jail building in downtown Conway and maintains records from Doolin Funeral Home and Roller-McNutt Funeral Home going back decades, alongside obituary files, city directories, and telephone books from the 1920s forward. If you are searching for a death notice tied to Conway or Faulkner County, this page covers the main local, county, and state resources available to you.
Faulkner County Museum Collections
The Faulkner County Museum is a standout resource for Conway obituary research. It is located on the Historic Faulkner County Courthouse Grounds in downtown Conway, housed in the historic jail built in 1896. You can reach the museum at 501-329-5918 or by email at fcm@conwaycorp.net. Mailing address is P.O. Box 2442, Conway, AR 72033-2422. Hours run Monday through Thursday, 9 am to 4 pm.
The special collections here are particularly strong for death record research. The museum maintains Doolin Funeral Home records, Roller-McNutt Funeral Home records, and obituary files alongside city directories and telephone books dating to the 1920s. Funeral home ledgers typically contain the full name, date of death, cause, age, and next of kin. That level of detail often exceeds what you find in a newspaper obituary from the same period.
Beyond funeral home materials, the museum holds local school yearbooks, the Fausett Studio Photograph Collection, the Crank Studio Photograph Collection, family history publications, and surname and subject files. These resources can help identify relationships and verify family details when an obituary gives only partial information.
The screenshot below shows the Faulkner County government website, which provides access to county office contacts and records information for Conway and Faulkner County.
The Faulkner County website provides contact information for county offices including the clerk and circuit clerk, both of which maintain records relevant to obituary and genealogy research.
Faulkner County Clerk and Probate Records
Conway is the county seat of Faulkner County. The Faulkner County Clerk maintains marriage and probate records from 1873. Probate filings are a strong secondary source for obituary research. Every time someone in Conway died with property, an estate case was opened at the courthouse. Those cases are public record and often contain more detail than a published death notice.
You can search Faulkner County probate filings through CourtConnect, the Arkansas judiciary's public access portal. Search by name and pull up case summaries. Estate filings typically name the deceased, note the date of death, and list heirs. For researchers working from out of state, the online system can save a trip to the courthouse.
Online databases for Faulkner County include the Faulkner County ARGenWeb project, GenealogyTrails for Faulkner County, and the Faulkner County Administrations and Estates 1880-1904 collection on FamilySearch. The Log Cabin Democrat, Conway's local newspaper, has archives available online and through microfilm at local libraries.
Note: Marriage records from 1873 and probate records from 1873 are held by the Faulkner County Clerk. For certified copies of any county record, contact the clerk directly with the name and approximate date of the record you need.
Online Conway Obituary Databases
Several free and subscription databases cover Conway and Faulkner County death records. FamilySearch holds the Arkansas Death Index 1914 to 1950, with roughly 594,000 indexed deaths including Faulkner County records. The Arkansas Deaths and Burials collection covers 1882 to 1929 and 1945 to 1963. Actual digitized death certificates from 1914 to 1969 are available at no cost through FamilySearch.
The Arkansas Digital Archives has digitized historical newspapers and provides access to the In Remembrance database, which covers deaths from 1819 to 1920. For researchers looking at Conway-area deaths before state registration began in 1914, this database can point you to the collection that holds the record. The database shows the name, the source, and the record date.
The Conway FamilySearch Center provides local access to FamilySearch databases and can assist with research requests in person. Staff can access records not easily found online and help navigate the FamilySearch collection structure for Arkansas.
Arkansas State Archives and Conway Records
The Arkansas State Archives at One Capitol Mall, 2nd Floor, Little Rock, AR 72201 is the state's main repository for historical death records. Phone is (501) 682-6900. The Archives maintains the In Remembrance database covering deaths from 1819 to 1920, printed death certificate indexes for 1914 to 1948 and 1967 to 1971, and mortality census schedules from 1850 through 1880.
For Conway researchers, the mortality schedules are a useful tool for deaths that occurred before organized vital records were kept. The 1850 through 1880 mortality censuses list everyone who died in the twelve months before each census. If your ancestor died in Faulkner County during one of those census years, there is a chance they appear in the mortality schedule even if no obituary was published.
The Archives accepts research requests by mail and email. If you submit a written request, include as much detail as possible: full name, approximate year of death, county, and any known family members. Staff can search the Archives collections and respond with what they find.
Death Certificates for Conway
Arkansas death certificates are maintained at the state level by the Arkansas Department of Health Vital Records office at 4815 W. Markham, Little Rock, AR 72205. Phone is 800-637-9314. The office holds records from February 1, 1914 through the present.
The fee structure is $10.00 for the first certified copy and $8.00 for each additional copy of the same record ordered at the same time. A $10.00 non-refundable search fee applies if no record is found. Walk-in service provides same-day issuance Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Mail requests take four to six weeks. You can also order through VitalChek at www.vitalchek.com or by phone at 866-209-9482.
Under Arkansas Code Ann. ยง 20-18-304, death certificates are restricted for 50 years. After that they become public records. An online death index covers deaths from 1935 to 1961. For deaths outside that window, submit a formal request to the Vital Records office.
Local Research Resources in Conway
The Arkansas Genealogical Society maintains a network of county-level volunteers and publishes the Arkansas Family Historian quarterly. Members can access research guides and connect with researchers who specialize in Faulkner County records. The society can help identify which local funeral homes served Conway and where their records ended up.
The CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies in Little Rock holds newspaper microfilm for many Arkansas papers, including central Arkansas titles that covered Conway news. If a Conway-area obituary appeared in a Little Rock paper rather than the Log Cabin Democrat, the Butler Center may have that issue on microfilm.
Harding University, located in Searcy and serving central Arkansas, has library resources that include genealogy databases and Arkansas history materials. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas provides local history context that can help you identify institutions and organizations mentioned in older obituaries.
Nearby Cities
Other qualifying Arkansas cities with obituary pages on this site include:
For courthouse resources and county-level records in the Conway area, start with the Faulkner County page, which covers the clerk office, circuit clerk, and genealogy organizations serving the county.