Boone County Obituary Records
Boone County obituary records and death notices are well supported by a strong library genealogy department, a historical society, and several online databases. The county seat of Harrison serves as the hub for records going back to 1869. Whether you are tracing a family from the Ozark hills or looking for a recent death notice from the Harrison area, this page covers the offices, collections, and databases that hold Boone County obituary information along with the practical details you need to access them.
Boone County Clerk and Courthouse
The Boone County Clerk is located at 100 N Main Street, Harrison, AR 72602. Phone is 870-741-8428. The clerk maintains marriage and probate records from 1869. That start date puts the county's record-keeping just after the Civil War, covering the period when families were resettling and many deaths went unrecorded in newspapers. Probate files from this era are often the only detailed death records available.
Probate filings are useful for obituary research because they name the decedent and often include the date of death, the names of all heirs, and descriptions of property left behind. For someone who died with land or personal property in Boone County, an estate case was almost always opened. Those records are part of the permanent courthouse archive.
You can search current and recent Boone County court filings through CourtConnect, the Arkansas judiciary's public case search portal. Older records not in the digital system must be requested directly from the clerk's office in Harrison. Staff can locate specific volumes and advise on fees.
Boone County Library Genealogy Department
The Boone County Library Genealogy Department in Harrison is one of the more comprehensive county library genealogy collections in the state. The department is staffed by Genealogist Tina Farmer, available Monday through Wednesday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. You can reach Tina at 870-741-5913 ext 4 or by email at tinafarmer@boonecountylibrary.org.
The collection includes Arkansas census records on microfilm, the Boone County Headlight newspaper on microfilm from 1923 to 2002, and Harrison Daily Times microfilm available for loan. The genealogy book collection covers most Arkansas counties with emphasis on marriage records, cemetery records, and history books. Revolutionary War and Civil War records are also available. Mountain Meadows Massacre records are part of the collection as well.
A microfilm rental program lets researchers borrow census and other films. Copy fees are 10 cents per page for black and white and 25 cents per page for color. Genealogy materials cannot be checked out but are available for in-library use. The Boone County Headlight microfilm in particular covers a long run of the county's main newspaper and is one of the best sources for obituary columns from the early and mid-1900s.
Note: The library collection is especially strong for the period covered by the Headlight microfilm. That run from 1923 to 2002 covers most of the 20th century and likely contains thousands of obituary notices not indexed anywhere online.
Boone County Official Website and Local Resources
The county government website provides current contact information for courthouse offices and local services. It is a good starting point for finding the latest phone numbers and hours before you call or visit.
The screenshot below shows the Boone County government website, a resource for current county office contacts and public information.
The county website at boonecountyar.com lists current contacts for the county clerk, circuit clerk, and other offices that hold records relevant to obituary research.
The Boone County Historical and Railroad Society operates the Boone County Heritage Museum in Harrison. The society preserves the historical heritage of the county and maintains collections that may include materials not available at the courthouse or library. Contacting the museum can turn up local resources that do not appear in any database search.
ARGenWeb and Online Obituary Databases
The ARGenWeb project maintains a Boone County page with links to locally indexed records, cemetery lists, and contact information for researchers. Volunteer contributors have transcribed records and built indexes that cover portions of the county's historical death records for free.
The screenshot below is from the ARGenWeb Boone County page, a long-running volunteer genealogy resource for the area.
The Boone County ARGenWeb page at argenweb.net/boone links to transcribed obituary indexes and county-specific databases compiled by volunteers over many decades of community research effort.
FamilySearch covers Boone County records through the USGenWeb Archives project and its own Arkansas collections. The Arkansas Death Index 1914 to 1950 is the fastest way to locate a death certificate number for that period. FamilySearch also holds Arkansas probate and court records collections useful for older research. All of these are free to search online.
Arkansas State Archives and Statewide Resources
The Arkansas State Archives maintains the "In Remembrance" database covering Arkansas deaths from 1819 to 1920. This free index pulls from multiple source types including newspaper obituaries, cemetery records, mortality schedules from the census, church death registers, and county record collections. For Boone County ancestors who died before the state started keeping death certificates in 1914, this is often the best single resource.
The Arkansas State Archives also holds printed death certificate indexes from 1914 to 1948 and 1967 to 1971 and the Arkansas Gazette Obituaries Index from 1819 to 1879. The Arkansas Digital Archives has digitized newspapers from across the state, and some Harrison-area papers may be included. That is worth checking before assuming a particular issue is unavailable online.
The CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies in Little Rock holds county records on microfilm for all 75 Arkansas counties, including Boone County. If you need a newspaper run that the Harrison library does not hold, the Butler Center is the next stop. Hours are Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 6 PM and Saturday from noon to 4 PM.
Death Certificates and Vital Records
Arkansas death certificates are filed at the state level by the Arkansas Department of Health Vital Records office in Little Rock. Records go back to February 1, 1914. The fee is $10.00 for the first copy and $8.00 for each additional copy. Walk-in service is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Mail requests take four to six weeks. Online orders go through VitalChek.
Under Arkansas Code Title 20, Chapter 18, death records more than 50 years old become public records accessible to anyone. For more recent deaths, access is limited to immediate family, legal representatives, and those with a direct and tangible interest. The Arkansas Department of Health also provides a free online search for deaths occurring between 1935 and 1961, which can help identify whether a certificate exists before you submit a paid request.
Cities in Boone County
Harrison is the county seat and the main population center in Boone County. Other communities include Omaha, Alpena, Diamond City, and Lead Hill. None of these cities meet the threshold for a dedicated city page on this site. Records for all Boone County communities are held at the Harrison courthouse, the county library, and through the historical and railroad society. When searching for a death record from any Boone County town, the county-level resources described on this page are the right starting point.
Nearby Counties
Families in the Ozark region of north Arkansas often had ties that crossed county lines. The following counties border Boone County and maintain their own records:
Checking neighboring counties is worth the effort when Boone County records are thin or when your research leads to families that moved across the Ozarks over multiple generations.