Grant County Obituaries and Death Notices
Grant County obituary records go back to the county's formation in 1869, with marriage, divorce, probate, court, and land records all maintained from that year. Sheridan is the county seat, and the clerk's office there handles the full range of historical records for this central Arkansas county. This page covers the county clerk, the local museum and historical society, online genealogy databases, and other resources where Grant County death notices, probate filings, and related records can be found.
Grant County Clerk and Circuit Clerk
The Grant County Clerk's office is a dual office that serves as both County and Circuit Clerk. The office is located at 101 W. Center Street, Suite 106, P.O. Box 364, Sheridan, AR 72150. Phone numbers are 870-942-2551 and 870-942-3564. The office website is at grantcountyar.com.
The Circuit Clerk serves as ex-officio recorder for Grant County. The office issues marriage licenses, records deeds, mortgages, and liens, and maintains court records and proceedings. The range of records available is broad. Marriage records date from 1869, divorce records are on file, probate records go back to 1869, court records date from 1869, and land records start in 1869. All of these record types can contain death-related information useful for obituary research.
Probate records are especially valuable. When someone died in Grant County and left property, an estate case was opened. Those cases name the deceased, record the death date, list heirs, and often include affidavits, inventory lists, and other documents that contain more biographical detail than a newspaper notice. Court records can also tie to a death if a person was involved in litigation that was resolved after their passing.
Note: Staff does not conduct research; you will need to search the records yourself or know the specific case information before contacting the office.
Grant County Museum and Historical Society
The Grant County Museum and Historical Society is located at 202 W. Pine Street, Sheridan, AR. The phone number is (870) 942-4497. The museum is a strong local resource for obituary research and holds a collection that goes well beyond what is available through official county records.
The museum maintains local history archives, an obituary clippings collection, family histories and genealogies, cemetery records, and school records. The obituary clippings collection is particularly relevant for researchers who want to find published notices rather than just probate filings. Cemetery records can tell you where a person was buried even when no newspaper obituary survives. Family history files donated by county residents over the years often contain personal documents, letters, and Bible records that include death dates and family connections.
If you are stuck on a Grant County ancestor and the official records have not turned up what you need, a visit or call to the museum is a logical next step. Staff and volunteers who work there often know the county's records better than anyone else in the region.
Grant County Library
The Grant County Library is located at 210 E. Oak Street, Sheridan, AR 72150. Phone is (870) 942-4436. The library maintains a local history collection, a microfilm reader, Arkansas history books, and limited online database access. For obituary research, the local history collection may include newspaper files, scrapbooks, and other materials that contain death notices for county residents.
Public libraries in smaller counties often hold materials that are not available anywhere else, including local newspapers on microfilm, donated family history binders, and community publications that ran obituary columns. The Grant County Library is worth a visit or a call before you go straight to the courthouse for records research.
ARGenWeb and Free Online Databases
The ARGenWeb project has a dedicated Grant County page with free genealogy resources at argenweb.net/grant/. The page includes cemetery listings, marriage records, census records, obituaries, and military records contributed by volunteers over the years.
The screenshot below is from the ARGenWeb Grant County page, a volunteer genealogy resource for this central Arkansas county.
The ARGenWeb page connects researchers to transcribed records and county-specific links compiled by volunteers over several decades of local genealogy work.
FamilySearch holds Arkansas Probate Records covering Grant County as part of the statewide collection spanning 1817 to 1979. Those records are free and include wills, administration bonds, letters testamentary, and guardian records. For more recent cases, the Arkansas judiciary's public access portal, CourtConnect, lets you search Grant County probate and civil cases by name or case number.
Death Certificates and Vital Records
Arkansas death certificates are filed with the state, not with the county. The Arkansas Department of Health Vital Records office handles all official death certificate requests. Certificates for deaths from 1914 forward are on file. For deaths before 1914, probate records, church records, and cemetery surveys are your best alternatives.
Death certificates are restricted for 50 years from the date of death under Arkansas law. After that period, records become available to the public. Immediate family members can request certificates for recent deaths with valid photo identification. Fees apply based on the number of copies needed.
The Encyclopedia of Arkansas has a Grant County article that provides historical context useful for placing obituary research in the right time frame. Understanding when the county was formed, how it grew, and when major events occurred can help you figure out which record series to check first.
Genealogy Resources and Research Tools
The Arkansas Genealogical Society maintains a network of county-level volunteers and a library of published resources. If you reach a dead end with Grant County research, the society can often point you to a local contact or a resource you may not have tried. Membership also gives you access to their indexed collections and publication library.
The Arkansas Digital Archives has digitized historical newspapers from across the state. Local papers from Sheridan and the Grant County area may be included. Obituary columns in small-town papers often contained more personal information than larger city papers, so searching those archives is worth the effort if you know roughly when a person died.
The Arkansas State Archives holds statewide historical collections and may have Grant County funeral home records or other local materials transferred to the state system. Their online catalog is searchable and can tell you what collections are available before you make a research trip.
Nearby Counties
Grant County sits in central Arkansas and borders several other counties. Research in these neighboring counties can fill gaps when Grant County records are incomplete:
Central Arkansas families often crossed county lines for work, church, and family ties. Checking adjacent counties is a standard part of thorough genealogy research for this region.