Lafayette County Obituary Records
Lafayette County obituary research benefits from a well-preserved record set and a dedicated local historical society. Records here are extant from 1827 with no known courthouse disasters, giving researchers an unusually complete run of historical material. The Lafayette County Historical Society publishes the "Lafayette Lookback" newsletter twice a year, and a free online obituary collection from local funeral homes is available through GenealogyBuff.com. This page covers the county clerk, circuit clerk, historical society, and online databases that hold Lafayette County death notices and probate records.
Lafayette County Clerk
The Lafayette County Clerk is located at 2 Courthouse Square, Lewisville, AR 71845. Phone is (870) 921-4633. The clerk maintains marriage records from 1848 and probate records. Looking deeper, the records extend back even further: marriage records from 1828, probate records from 1828, wills from 1846, administrator bonds from 1859, guardian records from 1859, and cemetery records are all available.
Records are extant from 1827 and are reported to be in good condition. There are no known courthouse disasters that would have caused major record loss, which is notable for a county this old. That means you have a reasonable chance of finding records going back nearly two centuries if your ancestor lived in Lafayette County during its early years.
An important note for planning your research: the office does NOT conduct research. Staff will assist in locating materials, but you must conduct your own search once you are pointed to the right records. Bring the full name of the person you are researching, the approximate year, and the type of record you need.
Note: For death certificates from 1914 forward, contact the Arkansas Department of Health Vital Records office, not the county clerk.
Lafayette County Circuit Clerk
The Lafayette County Circuit Clerk is located at 3 Courthouse Square, Lewisville, AR 71845. Phone is (870) 921-4878. The circuit clerk maintains court records from 1828, land records from 1828, and divorce records prior to 1950. Online access to more recent court cases is available through the Arkansas judiciary's public access system.
Go to CourtConnect and select Lafayette County to search cases by party name, case number, or case type. The system covers civil, criminal, domestic, and probate divisions. Estate and probate cases are the most directly relevant to obituary research, as they document deaths, name heirs, and often include supporting affidavits or inventory documents.
For older court and probate records, an in-person visit to the circuit clerk's office or a formal mail request is required. Copy fees apply for certified and uncertified documents. Calling ahead to confirm procedures and payment methods is recommended before making a trip.
Lafayette County Historical Society
The Lafayette County Historical Society is a strong local resource for obituary and genealogy research. Secretary Wilda Knight can be reached at P.O. Box 758, Lewisville, AR 71845 or by phone at 870-921-5252. The society meets on the third Sunday of each month at 2:30 PM at the courthouse annex.
The society publishes "Lafayette Lookback" biannually in May and November. The publication contains genealogies, county history, cemetery lists, and church records. For a researcher working on Lafayette County families, back issues of the "Lafayette Lookback" can contain information that does not appear in any online database. The society can provide information on how to access back issues or purchase current publications.
Membership is $15 per year for individuals and $20 per year for couples. Joining gives you direct access to the society's resources and connects you with members who know Lafayette County's records and history well. In a small county, that kind of local knowledge is often more useful than any database.
Free Online Obituary Collections
One of the most useful free resources for Lafayette County obituary research is the Lafayette County Obituary Collection hosted on GenealogyBuff.com. This collection comes from various funeral homes in Stamps, Lewisville, Bradley, and Buckner. Funeral home records typically include the full name, date of death, cause of death, age, and next of kin, giving researchers more detail than a typical newspaper notice.
The screenshot below is from the ARGenWeb Lafayette County page, a volunteer genealogy archive for this southwest Arkansas county.
The ARGenWeb Lafayette County page links to free transcribed records and county-specific genealogy resources contributed by local volunteers over the years.
The ARGenWeb project also maintains a Lafayette County page with additional free records. Volunteers have contributed cemetery surveys, transcribed records, and local history links to that archive. These sites are not comprehensive but often hold material that does not appear in commercial databases.
FamilySearch Probate and Will Records
FamilySearch has digitized Lafayette County Probate Records from 1828 to 1925 and Will Records from 1846 to 1925. Both collections are free to search and include wills, administration bonds, letters testamentary, and guardian records. That date range covers most of the county's existence up to the mid-20th century.
Probate records are one of the most detailed sources for obituary research. When someone died with property in Lafayette County, an estate case was opened. Those cases name the deceased, record the death date, list heirs, and often include affidavits and inventory lists that contain biographical detail not found in a newspaper notice. Checking FamilySearch before filing a formal courthouse request can tell you what probate material survives and help you request the right documents.
The Lafayette County Library is located at 219 E. 3rd Street, Lewisville, AR 71845. Phone is (870) 921-4757. The library has a local history collection and staff can provide research assistance for questions about county records and resources.
Local Funeral Home Records
Local funeral homes are a key source for Lafayette County obituary research. Active funeral homes that have served the county include A.O. Smith Funeral Homes in Stamps and Hamilton-Davis Funeral Home, also in Stamps. These businesses serve communities in Stamps, Lewisville, Bradley, and Buckner. Some older records from these and other local funeral homes may have been contributed to the GenealogyBuff.com collection or donated to the Lafayette County Historical Society.
If you need detail on a death from the mid-1900s or earlier, contacting the historical society first to see if they hold funeral home records for the relevant period can save time. The Arkansas State Archives holds funeral home collections for some Arkansas counties, and their online catalog is searchable.
Genealogy and Historical Resources
The Arkansas Genealogical Society maintains a statewide network of county-level volunteers. If you reach a dead end with Lafayette County research, the society can often point you to a local contact or a resource you have not yet tried. Membership provides access to their library and publication indexes.
The Arkansas Digital Archives has digitized historical Arkansas newspapers and may include papers from Lewisville or Stamps. For issues not available digitally, the CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies in Little Rock holds microfilm collections from across the state.
GenealogyTrails Arkansas and Arkansas Genealogy both host free transcribed records contributed by volunteers and are worth checking for Lafayette County material alongside the major commercial and nonprofit databases.
Nearby Counties
Lafayette County is in the southwest corner of Arkansas near the Texas and Louisiana borders. Bordering counties with their own records collections include:
Southwest Arkansas families often had ties to northeast Texas and northwest Louisiana as well. Cross-checking neighboring states is a standard step for families in this border region.