Paragould Genealogy Records
Paragould genealogy records are held by Greene County, with courthouse records going back to 1834 and the Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives at Powhatan serving as a supplementary repository for the broader region.
Paragould at a Glance
Greene County Courthouse Records
Paragould is the county seat of Greene County. The Greene County Clerk's office is at 320 W. Court Street, Paragould, AR 72450, phone (870) 239-6311. The Clerk holds marriage records from 1834 and probate records from 1834. Greene County was formed in 1833 from Lawrence County, with courthouse records beginning in 1834. The Circuit Court Clerk holds land records and court files. Birth and death records at the county level begin in 1914.
Greene County sits in the flat agricultural land of northeast Arkansas and has been one of the primary farming counties in the region since the early nineteenth century. The county was formed from Lawrence County, and pre-1833 records for the Paragould area are in the Lawrence County courthouse at Walnut Ridge, which has records going back to 1815. Greene County in turn was the parent county for Craighead County (formed 1859), so researchers tracing families that later moved to Jonesboro may find their earlier records in Greene County at Paragould.
The Paragould City Clerk at City Hall holds city records including ordinances and historical documents.
The Paragould City Clerk maintains city records. Greene County genealogy records are at the courthouse at 320 W. Court Street.
Library, NEARA, and Other Resources
The Paragould Community Library holds a local history collection and genealogy resources including online database access. The Greene County Historical Society preserves county history including Paragould-area families and holds historical archives, photographs, and publications.
The Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives (NEARA) at the historic Lawrence County Courthouse in Powhatan, phone (870) 878-6528, serves the broader northeast Arkansas region including Greene County. NEARA holds materials relevant to Greene County research, and because Lawrence County is the parent county for Greene County, the Powhatan collections include pre-1833 documentation for families in the Paragould area. NEARA is especially useful for tracing families back through the Lawrence County connection to the earliest settlement of northeast Arkansas.
The Arkansas Department of Health holds birth and death records from 1914. The Arkansas State Archives in Little Rock holds Confederate pension files and microfilmed county materials for Greene County. Federal records are at the National Archives at Fort Worth, 501 W Felix Street, Fort Worth, TX 76115, phone (817) 831-5620.
Nearby Cities
Cities near Paragould with genealogy pages include Jonesboro. Jonesboro is the Craighead County seat to the south, and Craighead County was formed in part from Greene County. Pre-1859 records for part of the Jonesboro area may be in the Greene County courthouse in Paragould.