Mississippi County, Arkansas Genealogy

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

Description
The county was named for the Mississippi River, which borders the county to the east. It is located in the northeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Mississippi County Courthouse 200 W Walnut, # 204 Blytheville, AR 72315 Phone: 870.763.3212 Mississippi County Website County Clerk has military records from 1850 and probate records from 1865; Clerk Circuit Court has divorce and court records from 1866 and land records from 1865.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

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 Mississippi County page on the website, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture.


 * 1800s - The population of the county continued to be sparse through the beginning of the 1800s.
 * 1811-1812 - the New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811–1812, which created the “sunk lands” caused by water rushing into the depressions left by the force of the quakes caused population growth to stop.
 * 1833 November 1 - The present Mississippi County was created.
 * 1950-2010 - The population of Mississippi County peaked at over 82,300 in 1950. It is currently (2010) at 46,480.

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places
 * 1875-1899 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection

Court Records

 * 1865-1899 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1865-1941 (*); Chancery and Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1866-1910 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1901-1939 (*); Chancery Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1918-1944 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images

African Americans

 * 1866-1868 — Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, Osceola at FamilySearch.org — browsable images only; Letters sent and registers of claims, marriages, contracts and indentures

Funeral Homes

 * 1937-1957 (*); at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * Carney Funeral Home and Cemetery Blytheville
 * Cobb Funeral Home in Blytheville
 * Faith Funeral Service in Manila
 * Howard Funeral Service in Leachville and Manila
 * Jarrett Funeral Home in Blytheville
 * McDonald-Horne Funeral Home in Blytheville
 * Roller-Swift Funeral Home in Osceola
 * Taylor and Kimbrough Funeral Home in Joiner
 * Tri-City LLC Crematory Funeral Home in Manila
 * Wilson Funeral Homes in Blytheville and Osceola
 * Wolfe Brothers Funeral Home in Blytheville

Guardianship

 * Probate Records 1865-1952 Mississippi County portion of the collection: : Arkansas Probate Records, 1817-1979 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images) - How to Use this Collection
 * Includes Administration and guardian bonds and letters 1869-1906; Probate records 1865-1879; Wills 1898-1952; Wills, letters of administration and guardianship 1866-1909.

Local Histories

 * Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Northeast Arkansas. (Mississippi County, Vol I & Vol II, Ch XX, pp448-570). 1889. Chicago: The Goodspeed Publishing Co. Vol I Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; Vol II Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; Vol I & II Online at: Internet Archive, Hathitrust — index & images


 * History of Mississippi County, Arkansas. 1962. By Mabel Flanningan Edrington. Ocala, Florida : Ocala Star-Banner. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library


 * A Pictorial History of Arkansas, From Earliest Times to the Year 1890. (Mississippi County, pp991-994). 1890. by Faye Hempstead. St. Louis: N.D. Thompson Publishing Co. Online at: Internet Archive

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Arkansas (1813-1925)
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
 * Arkansas State Archives State Maps Collection at Arkansas Digital Archives

Civil War

 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1890-1963 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1891-1939 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1901-1929 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection

Newspapers

 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * Courier News. Blytheville, Arkansas, United States Of America. Database created from microfilm copies of the newspaper. Online at: Ancestry.com ($)

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1783-1998 Arkansas Wills and Probate Records 1783-1998 at Ancestry.com — index and images ($)
 * 1817-1979 (*) at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images
 * 1865-1893 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1866-1925 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1904-1952 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Marriage

 * 1779-1966 Arkansas, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
 * 1860 - 1976 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1861 - 1921 - Mississippi County Marriage Books A-K Index 1861-1921 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1866 - 1921 - Mississippi County Marriage Books A-K, 3-23 Index 1866-1921 in at FamilySearch - free. - How to Use this Collection
 * 1917-1969 Arkansas, Marriage Certificates, 1917-1969 at Ancestry.com - index and images ($)

Death

 * 1914-1969 Arkansas, Death Certificates, 1914-1969 at Ancestry.com - index and images ($)
 * 1935-1961 Arkansas, Death Index, 1935-1961 at MyHeritage - index and images ($)

Divorce

 * 1923-1969 Arkansas, Divorces, 1923-1969 at Ancestry.com - index ($)

Voter Records

 * 1868-1910 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection

Archives
s

Family History Centers

 * Blytheville Arkansas Family History Center

Websites

 * ARGenWeb. Free. Data may be submitted by individuals or complete transcriptions
 * USGenWeb Archives. Free. Data may be submitted by individuals or may be complete transcriptions
 * RootsWeb resources. Free. Data may be submitted by individuals or may be complete transcriptions
 * Genealogy Trails. Free. Data may be submitted by individuals or complete transcriptions
 * Linkpendium. Free. Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
 * CyndisList. Free. Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
 * - The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records