Nevada County Obituary Search
Nevada County obituary and death records go back to 1871, when the courthouse in Prescott began keeping marriage, probate, and land records. Whether you are searching for a published death notice from a Prescott newspaper or need to confirm a death date through a probate case or cemetery record, this page covers the County Clerk, Circuit Clerk, local library, historical society, and free online tools that hold Nevada County obituary records. The county's records have survived intact since 1871, making it a solid research base for southwestern Arkansas genealogy.
Nevada County Clerk Office
The Nevada County Clerk is located at 215 E. 2nd Street, Prescott, AR 71857. The phone number is (870) 887-3115. The clerk maintains marriage records from 1871, probate records from 1871, cemetery records, and land records from 1871. When you visit, staff will assist you in locating the right records. Researchers conduct their own review of files, and payment is required for copies. Ask about current copy fees when you call, as rates can vary by document type.
Probate records from 1871 are the key resource here for obituary research. Estate cases document the death, list heirs, and often contain sworn statements that reveal more about the deceased than a newspaper notice ever would. If you know your ancestor owned land or left any property in Nevada County, there is a real chance an estate case was opened that can confirm the death date and family connections.
Cemetery records are also maintained through the clerk's office. That is somewhat unusual and makes Nevada County a stronger-than-average source for burial documentation at the county level. Check what is available in the cemetery records files before moving on to outside databases.
Circuit Clerk Records
The Nevada County Circuit Clerk is at the same address on E. 2nd Street in Prescott, reachable at (870) 887-3115. Circuit records include court filings from 1871, divorce records, and land records from 1871. The circuit court also holds a Justice of the Peace Docket from 1872 to 1914 and Circuit Court Records from 1871 to 1953. County Court Records run from 1871 to 1876. Probate records from 1871 to 1922 are also held in this collection.
Online access to these records is available through Arkansas CourtConnect, the statewide public access portal. You can search by name and pull up case summaries for probate and civil filings. This is a useful starting point if you cannot travel to Prescott in person. Identify case numbers online, then request document copies from the courthouse.
Note: The Justice of the Peace Docket from 1872 to 1914 is a rarely-cited resource that can document deaths and estates from a period before formal state death records began. If you are researching a Nevada County ancestor who died before 1914, this docket is worth asking about specifically when you contact the clerk.
GenealogyTrails and Online Obituary Resources
GenealogyTrails maintains a Nevada County page with transcribed obituary records contributed by volunteers. The site hosts death notices, newspaper clippings, and family history records that are indexed and searchable at no cost. This is one of the primary free online sources for Nevada County obituary research and is worth checking early in your search before accessing subscription databases.
The Arkansas State Archives "In Remembrance" database covers Arkansas deaths from 1819 to 1920 and indexes records from newspapers, church publications, cemetery transcriptions, and county documents. Nevada County records may appear in this index, particularly for deaths in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
The ARGenWeb volunteer network also covers Nevada County. The screenshot below shows the ARGenWeb Nevada County page, which links to free genealogy resources for the area.
The ARGenWeb Nevada County page provides links to cemetery records, transcribed documents, and family histories contributed by researchers familiar with southwestern Arkansas genealogy.
Nevada County Historical Society and Library
The Nevada County Historical Society can be contacted through the Nevada County Library. The society maintains local history archives, cemetery records, and family histories that are not digitized or available through any online database. If your research hits a wall with the online sources, reaching out to the historical society is a practical next step. Local volunteers often know which records exist and where they are stored.
The Nevada County Library is located at 201 E. 2nd Street, Prescott, AR 71857. The phone is (870) 887-5846. Arkansas public libraries provide in-library access to genealogy databases at no charge, including Ancestry Library Edition and HeritageQuest Online. The library is also the contact point for the historical society, so a single visit can cover both resources.
The Arkansas Genealogical Society in Little Rock publishes the Arkansas Family Historian and provides statewide research guidance. Their membership network includes county-level researchers who know local records and can assist with Nevada County inquiries.
FamilySearch Resources
FamilySearch has a Nevada County Genealogy wiki page at FamilySearch Nevada County Genealogy. That wiki page outlines the record types available for the county, their date ranges, and where to access them. It is a good reference to read before starting a detailed search because it maps out the landscape of what survives and what does not.
FamilySearch also holds Arkansas-wide collections that include Nevada County records. The Arkansas Death Index 1914-1950 contains approximately 594,000 deaths indexed by name, date, county, gender, race, and age. That index is free to search and can be used to locate a death certificate number before ordering from the state. Arkansas Probate Records and wills collections on FamilySearch also cover this period and may include Nevada County estate files.
The Arkansas Digital Archives provides access to digitized newspapers from across the state. Southwestern Arkansas papers from Prescott and nearby towns may be included. Obituary columns in local papers from the mid-twentieth century are a key source for families whose records fall in the gap between 1914 and the most recent decades.
Death Certificates for Nevada County
All official Nevada County death certificates are held by the Arkansas Department of Health Vital Records office in Little Rock. Records start February 1, 1914. The fee is $10 for the first copy and $8 for each additional copy of the same record ordered at the same time. Walk-in service is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Mail requests take four to six weeks to process.
Death certificates are restricted for 50 years under Arkansas Code Title 20, Chapter 18. After that restriction ends, certificates become public records. Certificates from 1914 through 1969 are available as digitized images at the Arkansas State Archives reading room and through Ancestry.com. Printed indexes covering 1914 through 1948 can confirm a death and certificate number before you request a copy.
Cities in Nevada County
The county seat of Nevada County is Prescott, where both the County Clerk and Circuit Clerk are located. Prescott does not meet the population threshold for a dedicated city page on this site. Other communities in the county include Rosston, Bluff City, and Bodcaw. All records for these smaller towns are maintained at the Prescott courthouse.
Nearby Counties
Nevada County is in southwestern Arkansas and shares borders with several counties that have their own courthouse records. If research leads you beyond Nevada County, these neighbors have accessible archives:
Southwestern Arkansas families often moved between counties and across the Louisiana state line. If a Nevada County search does not produce the record you need, checking adjacent counties and Louisiana border parishes may fill the gap.