Randolph County Obituaries and Death Records
Randolph County obituary records are held at the combined clerk office in Pocahontas and supplemented by volunteer databases, the Randolph County Heritage Museum, and state-level archives in Little Rock. This page covers the main sources for finding death notices and related historical records in this northeast Arkansas county. Marriage licenses in Randolph County date from 1837, and the court files built up over the following generations make this a solid county for genealogy research in the region.
Randolph County Courthouse and Clerk
The Randolph County Courthouse is at 107 W. Broadway, Pocahontas, AR 72455. The combined County Clerk and Circuit Clerk office shares a phone number: (870) 892-5522. This office handles marriage licenses dating from 1837, probate records, court records, and land records. The single-office setup makes contact straightforward since one call reaches both the county and circuit clerk functions.
When researching obituaries, the probate and estate files held by the circuit clerk are among the most useful records. When someone in Randolph County died with property, an estate case was opened. Those files typically name the deceased, give a date of death, list heirs, and sometimes include burial details. For deaths where no published notice survives, the probate file often provides the same core information you would get from a formal obituary.
For certified copies or to request a specific file, contact the office at (870) 892-5522. Staff can explain the current fee schedule and the process for accessing older records. Some older files may be on paper or microfilm rather than in a digital system, so calling ahead to ask about availability before making a trip saves time.
Note: CourtConnect is the Arkansas judiciary's public access portal. You can search Randolph County probate and civil cases by name for free without creating an account.
Randolph County Heritage Museum
The Randolph County Heritage Museum in Pocahontas is a local resource for historical research that goes beyond what county court records alone can provide. Local museums in Arkansas often hold donated family papers, scrapbooks, newspaper clipping collections, and photographs that are not cataloged in any statewide database. For obituary research in the early and mid-1900s, a visit to or inquiry with the Heritage Museum can sometimes turn up materials that fill gaps in the official record.
Museum staff and volunteers may also have knowledge of which local cemeteries have been transcribed, what years of local newspapers are available nearby, and whether specific family collections are held in their archive. Reaching out before visiting is the most efficient approach. Explain what time period and family names you are researching, and they can let you know if the museum has anything relevant.
ARGenWeb and Free Online Databases
The ARGenWeb Randolph County page is a free genealogy resource maintained by local volunteers. It hosts transcribed cemetery listings, marriage records, census data, obituaries, and family histories for this county. The collection reflects decades of volunteer contributions and can surface records that are not in national databases. No registration is required to browse the materials.
The screenshot below shows the ARGenWeb Randolph County page, a volunteer genealogy resource covering cemetery records, obituaries, and family history materials for this northeast Arkansas county.
The ARGenWeb Randolph County section links to locally contributed burial lists, obituary indexes, and family history files that supplement the major subscription genealogy platforms.
GenealogyTrails also hosts Randolph County obituary transcriptions contributed by volunteers. These cover a range of time periods and are free to access. Searching both ARGenWeb and GenealogyTrails before moving to paid databases gives you the widest coverage of free resources for this county.
FamilySearch Randolph County Records
The FamilySearch Randolph County Genealogy wiki organizes available digitized collections and explains what has been indexed. FamilySearch holds Arkansas probate records from 1817 to 1979 and wills and probate records from 1783 to 1998, both free to use. The Arkansas Death Index from 1914 to 1950 on FamilySearch covers roughly 594,000 statewide entries and includes Randolph County deaths. You can use the index to confirm a death and get the certificate number, then order the actual certificate from the health department.
Ancestry.com has digitized Arkansas death certificates from 1914 to 1969. If you have a subscription, you can access actual scanned certificates. The CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies in Little Rock provides free in-person Ancestry access along with Newspapers.com, Fold3, and HeritageQuest. They also hold county records on microfilm for all 75 Arkansas counties including Randolph.
For deaths before 1914, the Arkansas State Archives "In Remembrance" database covers 1819 to 1920 and draws from church records, cemetery transcriptions, mortality censuses, and newspaper obituary columns. The database is free and searchable online at archives.arkansas.gov. It is the main tool for finding Randolph County deaths from the county's early decades.
Death Certificates and Vital Records
Arkansas death certificates are held at the state level. The Arkansas Department of Health Vital Records office in Little Rock handles all requests for certificates from February 1, 1914 forward. The fee is $10 for the first certified copy and $8 for each additional copy of the same record ordered at the same time. Walk-in service runs Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM, with same-day processing. Mail requests take about 4 to 6 weeks.
Under Arkansas Code Title 20, Chapter 18, death certificates are restricted for 50 years from the date of death. Records older than 50 years are available to the general public. Immediate family members can request recent certificates with a valid government-issued photo ID. The department offers an online death certificate search for deaths between 1935 and 1961 at their website.
The Arkansas State Archives holds printed indexes of death certificates from 1914 to 1948 and 1967 to 1971. These can help you confirm a certificate exists and get the index information before submitting a request. The Arkansas Digital Archives hosts digitized newspapers and indexes that may include materials from the Pocahontas area.
Note: The Arkansas Genealogical Society publishes the Arkansas Family Historian quarterly and maintains resources and contacts for county-level research. If you need guidance on Randolph County specifically, the society can connect you with local volunteers who know the county's records well.
Cemetery Records in Randolph County
Cemetery records often fill gaps when obituary notices and death certificates are unavailable. Find A Grave and BillionGraves both host user-submitted photographs and transcriptions from Randolph County cemeteries. These are free and searchable by name. The ARGenWeb Randolph County page also links to locally transcribed burial records that may cover rural cemeteries not found in the national databases.
For older deaths in the 1800s, cemetery transcriptions are sometimes the only surviving record of a burial date and location. The mortality schedules from 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 also cover Randolph County and are available through the Arkansas State Archives and FamilySearch. These census-linked death records can help you place a person in the county during those decades and confirm they were alive during the previous census year.
Nearby Counties
Randolph County is in the far northeast corner of Arkansas. Families here sometimes had ties that crossed into neighboring counties or even into Missouri:
If Randolph County records are incomplete for a particular family, checking the adjacent counties and nearby Missouri county records is a reasonable next step.