Perry County, Arkansas Genealogy

United States Arkansas  Perry County

Guide to Perry County, Arkansas ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
Perry County Courthouse PO Box 358; Perryville, AR 72126-0358 Phone: 501.889.5126 County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate and land records from 1882.

Parent County

 * 1840--Perry County was created 18 December 1840 from Conway County. County seat:  Perryville

Boundary Changes
See an interactive map of Perry County boundary changes.

Record Loss
1881 All records except one small chancery volume destroyed by fire.

Places/Localities
Town/city records in the FamilySearch Catalog'

Neighboring Counties
Conway •  Faulkner  •  Garland  •  Pulaski  •  Saline  •  Yell  •

History Timeline
Emphasis for this timeline is on events that affected migration, records, or record-keeping. Unless otherwise mentioned, the events below were taken from the Perry County page on the website, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture.


 * 1808 - Aaron Price, the first recorded white settler in the area, is purported to have settled on the Fourche La Fave River eight to nine miles downstream from present-day Perryville
 * 1840 December 18 - Perry County was created from Pulaski, Conway, Hot Spring, and Yell counties.
 * 1879 March 3 - Perry County petitioned Congress in 1875 for an appropriation to improve navigation on the Fourche La Fave River. The act was approved on March 3, 1879
 * 1879 - German Catholic families settled in east Perry County, naming their community New Dixie.
 * 1912 - African American families settled in the Toad Suck community, also known as Redemption
 * 1912-1914 - Several Lithuanian families immigrated to the United States from 1904 to 1910 because of the Russo-Japanese War and settled near Bigelow.
 * 1915 - A group of Italian immigrants arrived in the east end of the county, bringing their wine-making skills to a region of Perry County that resembled Italy.
 * 1930s - The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) employed local citizens for their many county work projects. This encouraged people to stay in the area.
 * 1930s (late)-1940s (early) - Migration to California to find work  was so extensive that the region around Fresno and Dinub in California became known as “Little Perry County.”

Biographies

 * Family Biographies from The History of Perry County, Arkansas (1889) published by Goodspeed are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.

Guardianship

 * Probate Records 1882-1955 Perry County portion of the collection: : Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * Includes Administration bonds 1882-1905; Appraisements 1882-1910; Dockets 1882-1893; Guardian Bonds 1882-1905; Inventories 1882-1944; Letters of administration 1882-1943; Probate records 1882-1902; Wills 1890-1995.

Local Histories

 * Womack, Patsy. Living the times : 1776-1976, a Bicentennial tribute to Perry County. Salt Lake City, Utah : Digitized by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 2014.
 * Online at FamilySearch Catalog (Free)


 * Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland, and Hot Spring Counties, Arkansas. Chicago, Nashville, and St. Louis, USA: Goodspeed Publishing, 1889. Online at: Ancestry.com ($)

Maps

 * Map of 1889 Perry County, Arkansas with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)

Civil War

 * - 3rd Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry (Confederate), Company B
 * - 10th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate),
 * - 20th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Confederate), Company F
 * - 3rd Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry (Union), Companies B and C

Probate Records
Online Probate Records
 * 1783 – 1998 Arkansas Wills and Probate Records 1783-1998 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1817 – 1979 at FamilySearch — images
 * Probate Records 1882-1955 Perry County portion of the collection: : Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * Includes Administration bonds 1882-1905; Appraisements 1882-1910; Dockets 1882-1893; Guardian Bonds 1882-1905; Inventories 1882-1944; Letters of administration 1882-1943; Probate records 1882-1902; Wills 1890-1995.

Marriage

 * 1881-1922 - Perry County Marriage Index 1881-1922 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1882-1960 - Perry County Marriage Books A-G and 17 Index 1882-1960 in at FamilySearch - free.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Societies
River Valley Genealogy Society Researchers interested in CONWAY, FAULKNER, PERRY, POPE, YELL AND VAN BUREN COUNTIES. Farm Bureau Building 201 E. Shady Lane Morrilton, Arkansas
 * Website has a list of researched Surnames and recommended links.