Crawford County Obituary Database
Crawford County obituary records go back to the 1800s, and this northwest Arkansas county has a well-documented history through its circuit clerk office in Van Buren, published historical funeral records, and online genealogy databases. Whether you are looking for a recent death notice or a 19th-century burial record, this page points you to the right offices, archives, and databases for Crawford County obituary research.
Crawford County Circuit Clerk in Van Buren
The Crawford County Circuit Clerk is located at 300 Main St., Room 22, Van Buren, AR 72956. You can reach the office at (501) 474-1821. The circuit clerk maintains court and land records from 1877 and divorce records. Probate filings pass through this office, and those records are one of the most useful secondary sources for obituary research. When someone died with property in Crawford County, an estate case was opened, and those files name the deceased, document the date of death, and list heirs.
Van Buren is the county seat of Crawford County and serves as the central courthouse location for all county residents. If you are searching for a death that occurred anywhere in the county, the Van Buren courthouse is where the records were filed. The circuit clerk handles court filings while the county clerk maintains marriage and other administrative records. Knowing which office holds which record type will save you time when you call or visit.
The image below shows the Van Buren city website, which includes links to local services and offices relevant to obituary research in Crawford County.
Van Buren serves as the seat of Crawford County, and the city website links to county services including courthouse offices where probate, court, and land records relevant to obituary research are maintained.
Published Funeral Records and Historical Obituary Collections
Crawford County has an unusually strong set of published resources for obituary research. "Obituaries and Death Notices Extracted from the Van Buren Press" by Fran Alverson Warren covers death notices from local newspapers and is one of the first places to check for Crawford County deaths in the 1800s and early 1900s. Libraries that hold Arkansas genealogy collections may have this publication.
"Funeral Records of Crawford County, Arkansas" by George Julian Hawkins, published in 1995 and 1996, covers actual funeral home records from the county. Funeral logs typically include the full name of the deceased, date of death, cause of death, age, and next of kin. This level of detail makes funeral home records a step above a standard newspaper obituary notice for genealogical purposes.
"Old Obituaries, Crawford County, Arkansas, 1824-1874" by Louise Taylor Scroggins reaches back to the very early years of the county. If you have a Crawford County ancestor who died before the Civil War, this is one of the few published resources that may include them. Marriage Book A covering 1877 to 1880, along with early gazette records from 1829 to 1842 and 1860 to 1875, rounds out the historical record landscape for early Crawford County research.
Online Obituary Databases and Genealogy Resources
The USGenWeb Archives Project hosts submitted Crawford County obituaries contributed by individual researchers. These are transcribed from newspapers, funeral home records, and family documents. Coverage is uneven but the collection has been building for many years and may include records not available through commercial databases.
The Crawford County ARGenWeb page maintains a Newspaper Article Index that covers local publications and links to a Genealogy Records Search tool for birth, cemetery, marriage, and obituary records. A Recorded Document Search tool is also available for deeds, mortgages, death certificates, liens, and cemetery plots. These free tools are a good starting point before investing time in subscription services.
The Crawford County Health Unit is located at 2040 Chestnut Ave., Van Buren, AR 72956, phone (479) 474-6391. This office can assist with local vital records inquiries, particularly for deaths in the county. For official death certificates, the state office in Little Rock handles all formal requests, but the local health unit can help with questions about local records and procedures.
Note: FamilySearch holds Arkansas probate records and death certificates for Crawford County. The Arkansas Death Index 1914-1950 covers roughly 594,000 deaths statewide and is searchable free of charge.
Vital Records and State Archives
Death certificates for Crawford County residents are filed with the Arkansas Department of Health Vital Records in Little Rock. Records go back to February 1914. The fee is $10 for the first certified copy and $8 for each additional copy. Walk-in service at the state office is available Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Mail requests require government-issued photo ID and typically take four to six weeks to process.
The Arkansas State Archives "In Remembrance" database indexes Crawford County deaths from 1819 to 1920. This database pulls from church records, mortality censuses, newspaper obituaries, and local court records held at the archives. It is free, searchable online, and can surface records for Crawford County residents who died before statewide death registration began in 1914.
Under Arkansas Code Title 20, Chapter 18, death certificates are restricted for 50 years from the date of death. After that period, records are open to the public. Immediate family members can request recent certificates with proper ID. The Arkansas Digital Archives also holds digitized historical newspapers that may include Crawford County obituary columns from the early 1900s.
Genealogical Research Tools
The CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies in Little Rock holds newspaper microfilm for all Arkansas counties, including Crawford County. In-library access to Ancestry.com and Newspapers.com is available. If your research requires working through old newspaper runs page by page, the Butler Center is one of the best places in the state to do it. They maintain the Arkansas Gazette archive from 1867 to 1991.
The Arkansas Genealogical Society publishes quarterly research materials and can connect you with county-level volunteers familiar with Crawford County records. For a broader northwest Arkansas research perspective, the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale holds regional collections that may include Crawford County materials.
For online searching, Arkansas CourtConnect provides public access to probate and civil case records by name. Crawford County filings are included. This free tool is the most efficient way to determine whether a probate case exists for a person before contacting the courthouse directly.
Qualifying Cities in Crawford County
Crawford County includes Van Buren, which meets the population threshold for a dedicated city page on this site. Van Buren is the county seat and the main population center for Crawford County. The city page has more specific information about obituary research resources located within Van Buren itself. Other communities in the county include Alma, Mulberry, and Cedarville. Records for these communities are all filed through the Van Buren courthouse.
Nearby Counties
Crawford County borders the following Arkansas counties, all with their own courthouse records:
Families in northwest Arkansas often had ties across these county lines. If a Crawford County obituary record is missing or incomplete, checking neighboring counties is a productive next step.