Logan County Obituary Records Lookup
Logan County obituary records are held at two courthouses, since the county has separate seats in Paris and Booneville. This page covers where to find death notices and obituary records for Logan County, including the circuit clerk, historical society, county museum, and free genealogy databases. Knowing which courthouse your ancestor's records are likely at will save you time and reduce back-and-forth with county staff.
Two Courthouses in Logan County
Logan County is one of the few Arkansas counties with two county seats. Paris serves the northern part of the county and Booneville serves the southern part. The Circuit Clerk is located at 15 S. Broadway Avenue, Paris, AR 72855 with phone (479) 963-2164. Records for the northern district run through Paris, and records for the southern district run through Booneville. If you are not sure which part of the county your ancestor lived in, you may need to check both offices.
Probate records are filed at whichever courthouse covered the district where the person lived. Estate cases, wills, guardianship records, and administration bonds all go through the probate court for that district. These are the richest sources for obituary research in Logan County because they document the death in detail and name all surviving family members.
Marriage records are also split by district. If you are trying to confirm a family connection to support your obituary research, knowing which courthouse holds the relevant marriage file will speed up the process. Contact the Paris or Booneville office based on where the family was located.
Online Court Records and Probate Access
Online access to Logan County court records is available through Arkansas CourtConnect. This free state judiciary portal lets you search by name and pull case summaries for many probate and circuit court filings. It covers both districts in Logan County and works from any browser without a subscription. For older filings or full case files, you would need to contact the appropriate courthouse directly.
FamilySearch holds digitized Arkansas probate records from 1817 to 1979. Logan County is included in these statewide collections. The records are free to search and often turn up estate filings that list the deceased by name, give a date of death, and name all legal heirs. Wills and administration bonds in these collections can provide details that no newspaper obituary would include.
For the FamilySearch Logan County research guide, the Logan County, Arkansas Genealogy page provides an overview of what record types are available and where to find them. It is a useful orientation document before you start digging into individual records.
Note: Arkansas Code Section 25-19-105 governs public access to government records across the state, including Logan County court and probate filings.
ARGenWeb and Genealogy Trails
The ARGenWeb Logan County page is a free volunteer-maintained resource with transcribed records, cemetery data, and county-specific genealogy guides. The ARGenWeb project has been running for decades and the Logan County page has accumulated materials that are not available through any national database. Transcribed obituaries, cemetery surveys, and links to local archives are all part of what the page offers.
The screenshot below shows the ARGenWeb Logan County page, a long-running volunteer genealogy resource for the county.
The ARGenWeb Logan County page connects researchers to free transcribed obituaries, cemetery listings, and genealogy materials compiled over many years by local volunteers.
GenealogyTrails also hosts a collection of transcribed Logan County obituaries contributed by researchers. These free records span various years and are searchable by name. Checking both the ARGenWeb and GenealogyTrails collections early in your search can help you confirm a death date or narrow down the time period before you go looking in official records.
Logan County Historical Society and Museum
The Logan County Historical Society is at P.O. Box "B", Paris, AR 72855. The Logan County Museum is at 202 North Vine Street, Paris, AR 72855, phone 479-963-3936, email logancomuseum@gmail.com. The museum and historical society are local resources that hold materials not found anywhere online. Local histories, donated family papers, clippings, and photograph collections all pass through institutions like these.
When you have searched the county records and the free online databases and still cannot find what you need, the historical society and museum are the next place to look. Society members who have spent years researching Logan County families may know of a specific family history publication, church register, or local index that answers your question. The museum may also hold runs of local newspapers on microfilm that include obituary columns going back many decades.
The Logan County Library at 301 N. Vine Street, Paris, AR 72855, phone (479) 963-2336, is another resource worth checking. Libraries often hold newspaper microfilm and local genealogy vertical files that supplement what the historical society has. Call ahead to confirm what they have before visiting.
Note: The Encyclopedia of Arkansas has a Logan County article that provides context useful for placing your research in the right historical period.
Death Certificates and State Vital Records
Arkansas death certificates are handled at the state level, not the county courthouse. The Arkansas Department of Health Vital Records office in Little Rock processes all requests. Certificates go back to 1914. Older records may be incomplete because statewide registration was not fully established before that year.
Death certificates are restricted for 50 years under state law. After that period ends, they become accessible to the general public. Immediate family members can request copies for recent deaths with proper identification and payment of the applicable fee. The vital records office accepts mail requests, and some certificate types can be submitted online.
For deaths before 1914, you will need to rely on Logan County's local sources. Church registers, funeral home logs, newspaper death columns, and probate filings are the primary alternatives. The Logan County Library may have microfilm of local newspapers with obituary columns from the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Arkansas Digital Archives has digitized some historical Arkansas publications and may include Logan County papers.
Cemetery Records for Logan County Research
Cemetery records are a reliable secondary source for Logan County obituary research. Find A Grave and BillionGraves both have volunteer-contributed listings for cemeteries throughout the county. These databases are free and searchable by name. Entries typically include the full name, birth and death years, and sometimes a headstone photograph. The stone itself may give the cause of death, surviving spouse, or military service information that is not found anywhere in the written record.
Logan County has many small rural and church cemeteries that predate any formal indexing. Local genealogy volunteers have surveyed many of these sites and compiled hand-written or typed lists of burials. The Logan County Historical Society and Museum may hold some of these surveys. Checking with them before assuming a cemetery is not indexed is worth the effort.
Cities in Logan County
Logan County has two county seats: Paris and Booneville. Other communities in the county include Scranton, Magazine, and Subiaco. None of these cities meet the population threshold for a dedicated city page on this site. When contacting the courthouse, note which part of the county your ancestor lived in so staff can direct you to the correct district's records.
Neighboring Counties
Logan County sits in west central Arkansas. If your research leads to neighboring areas, these counties border Logan and have their own records collections:
Families in this part of the Arkansas River Valley often moved between counties for work and family. Cross-county probate and land records can help fill in the full picture when Logan County records alone are not enough.