Izard County Obituaries and Death Records
Izard County obituary records are kept at the county offices in Melbourne, the county seat, and through a set of online genealogy resources and state archives. Searching for death notices and burial records in this north-central Arkansas county takes you through records going back to 1889, along with older materials held at the Arkansas State Archives. This page covers the main offices, archives, and databases for Izard County obituary research.
Izard County Clerk and Circuit Clerk
The Izard County Clerk's office is at P.O. Box 327, Melbourne, AR 72556. The phone number is (870) 368-4316. The Clerk maintains marriage records from 1889, probate records from 1889, and land records from 1889. These records cover the period from the county's formal organization through the present day.
Probate records are the most useful set for obituary research. When someone died with property in Izard County, an estate case was usually opened. Those filings name the deceased, note the date of death, list surviving heirs, and often describe what property was held. For deaths before newspapers published regular obituary columns, probate records can be the only formal written record of a death.
The Circuit Clerk is at 1 Court Square, Melbourne, AR 72556, also reachable at (870) 368-4316. Court records at the circuit level include civil, criminal, divorce, and land records. Online access to court cases is available through Arkansas CourtConnect, the state judiciary's free search system. You can search by name or case number from any location at no charge.
Note: For mail requests, include the full name, approximate dates, and the type of record needed. Standard copy fees of $0.25 per page and $5.00 for certified copies apply at most Arkansas county offices.
ARGenWeb Izard County Resources
The ARGenWeb volunteer genealogy network maintains a county page for Izard County at argenweb.net/izard/. Volunteers have contributed transcribed records, cemetery listings, and other local history materials. This is a free resource that has been built up over many years and often covers materials that are not in the major commercial databases. For a rural county like Izard, the volunteer-contributed materials can be especially valuable for deaths in the early and mid-1900s.
The screenshot below shows the ARGenWeb Izard County page, a free genealogy resource with volunteer-compiled obituary records and cemetery listings.
The ARGenWeb page for Izard County provides links to transcribed death records, cemetery indexes, and county history materials from local researchers.
The FamilySearch wiki page for Izard County genealogy is at familysearch.org. This page lists available record sets, explains what years are covered, and links to digitized collections searchable through FamilySearch for free. It is a useful orientation page if you are new to researching this county.
Izard County Library and Historical Society
The Izard County Library is at 103 E. Main Street, Melbourne, AR 72556. The phone number is (870) 368-4071. The library is the main local contact point for historical obituary research. Staff can direct you to newspaper microfilm, local history collections, and any obituary indexes the library maintains. For a small county library, the range of available materials can vary, so calling ahead before a research visit is a good idea.
The Izard County Historical Society can be contacted through the library. Historical societies in rural Arkansas counties often maintain collections of obituary clippings, cemetery transcriptions, and donated family papers that are not indexed anywhere online. If standard databases come up empty on a particular family, reaching out to the historical society is a practical next step.
The Arkansas State Archives in Little Rock may hold records for Izard County from the 1800s. The Archives "In Remembrance" database covers Arkansas deaths from 1819 to 1920 and pulls from church records, cemetery records, and newspaper obituaries. It is free to search online and worth checking before you contact the county offices.
State Vital Records and Death Certificates
Arkansas death certificates are filed with the Arkansas Department of Health Vital Records office, not at the county level. Records begin February 1, 1914. The first certified copy is $10.00. Each additional copy ordered at the same time is $8.00. Walk-in service is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the state office in Little Rock. Mail requests take 4-6 weeks.
Under Arkansas Code Title 20, Chapter 18, death certificates are restricted for 50 years. After that period, they are public records. Family members can access recent certificates with proper photo identification. Online ordering is available through VitalChek with additional service fees.
Printed indexes of Arkansas death certificates from 1914 to 1948 and 1967 to 1971 are held at the Arkansas State Archives. These printed indexes are searchable by name and can help you identify the certificate number before ordering from the Department of Health. The Arkansas Digital Archives holds digitized newspapers and other materials that may include death columns from Melbourne-area papers in earlier decades.
Online Genealogy Databases for Izard County
FamilySearch is the strongest free database for older Izard County records. Arkansas Probate Records from 1817 to 1979 and Arkansas Wills and Probate Records from 1783 to 1998 are both available at no cost. The Arkansas Death Index 1914 to 1950 has around 594,000 entries and is searchable by county. The Arkansas Deaths and Burials collection covering 1882 to 1929 adds another layer. Together, these collections cover most of the pre-1950 death record window at no charge.
Ancestry holds digitized Arkansas Death Certificates from 1914 to 1969 as actual certificate images. If you do not have an Ancestry subscription, the same records are available free at Arkansas State Archives research rooms. HeritageQuest is free with most Arkansas library cards. For newspaper obituary searches, Newspapers.com and GenealogyBank index historical Arkansas papers on subscription and may have coverage of Melbourne-area publications.
The Arkansas Genealogical Society and their publication "Arkansas Family Historian" cover records across all 75 counties. For Izard County, connecting with the society can link you to researchers who know the local record landscape. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas also has county-level articles that provide historical context for placing obituary records in time and place.
Cities in Izard County
Melbourne is the county seat and the main population center in Izard County. It does not meet the population threshold for a dedicated city page on this site. Other communities in the county include Calico Rock, Horseshoe Bend, and Ash Flat. Records for these smaller towns are generally handled through the county offices in Melbourne. Calico Rock sits on the White River and has a small historic district, with older death records handled through county court files.
Nearby Counties
These counties share borders with Izard County and may hold related records:
North-central Arkansas families often had ties across several counties. Checking neighboring counties is worth the effort when Izard County records do not cover the time period or individual you are researching.