Lee County Genealogy Records
Lee County genealogy records begin in 1873, when this east Arkansas delta county was formed from portions of Phillips, Monroe, Crittenden, and St. Francis counties. The county seat is Marianna, and the courthouse holds marriage registers, probate files, and land records for family history research in this part of the Arkansas delta near the Mississippi River.
Lee County at a Glance
Lee County Courthouse Genealogy Records
The Lee County Clerk's office is at 15 E. Chestnut Street, Marianna, AR 72360, phone (870) 295-7715. The Clerk holds marriage records from 1873 and probate records from 1873. Lee County was created on April 17, 1873, from parts of Phillips County, Monroe County, Crittenden County, and St. Francis County. The Circuit Court Clerk at the courthouse holds divorce filings, court records, and land records from 1873. Birth and death records at the county level begin in 1914.
Lee County was formed from four parent counties, so pre-1873 records for this area are spread across multiple courthouses. Phillips County (at Helena) has the most important pre-formation records for Lee County research, as Phillips County covered this area of the delta from 1820. For families in the Lee County area before 1873, checking Phillips County courthouse records is the primary step. Monroe County records (at Clarendon), Crittenden County records (at Marion), and St. Francis County records (at Forrest City) also hold relevant pre-formation materials depending on the township.
Lee County is part of the Arkansas delta and has a significant African American genealogy heritage given the county's cotton-farming history. The Freedmen's Bureau records from 1865 to 1872, held at the National Archives at Fort Worth, cover this part of east Arkansas and include labor contracts, marriage registers, and ration records from the Reconstruction period. These records predate Lee County's organization and are filed under the parent county jurisdictions, particularly Phillips County.
Note: Lee County was formed in 1873 from four parent counties — Phillips, Monroe, Crittenden, and St. Francis — so pre-1873 family records are distributed across those four courthouses.
Lee County Genealogy on FamilySearch
The FamilySearch Lee County wiki lists available records and links to digitized collections. Marriage records from 1873 are in the statewide Arkansas marriage index on FamilySearch. Probate records are indexed for the county, and census records run from 1880 through 1940.
The 1880 census is the first complete federal census for Lee County, taken seven years after the county was formed. It names every household member with ages, birthplaces, and occupations and is the starting point for most Lee County family research. For African American families in Lee County, the 1880 census is especially important because it captures families who had been enslaved before the Civil War and who are now documented as named individuals in their own households. Cross-referencing the 1880 census against Freedmen's Bureau records from 1865 to 1872 can help trace these families back to the pre-war period.
FamilySearch has indexed the antebellum Slave Schedules for the parent counties of Phillips, Monroe, Crittenden, and St. Francis. These schedules list enslaved people by age and sex under the enslaving household's name and are searchable on FamilySearch. Comparing these against the 1870 and 1880 census population schedules is the standard approach for tracing enslaved ancestors into the post-war period in the Lee County area.
ARGenWeb Lee County Resources
The ARGenWeb Lee County page provides free genealogical resources compiled by volunteers. Cemetery surveys, family history submissions, and historical documents for this east Arkansas delta county are available on the site.
Lee County cemeteries include both the family graveyards of plantation families and community cemeteries that document African American families from the post-Civil War period. The ARGenWeb volunteers have transcribed a range of these burial sites, preserving records of graves that are sometimes in areas subject to flooding or development.
The ARGenWeb Lee County page provides cemetery records, family history submissions, and genealogical resources for researchers tracing east Arkansas delta families.
Family histories on the ARGenWeb site for Lee County sometimes trace both white and Black families through multiple generations in this part of the delta. For African American genealogy research, the family history submissions can provide oral tradition connections and private family documents that bridge gaps in the official record base.
Vital Records and State Archives
The Arkansas Department of Health holds birth and death records for Lee County from 1914. The state marriage index starts in January 1917. For events before those dates, the county courthouse in Marianna is the primary official source. Birth certificates cost $12 and death certificates are $10 per copy from the state.
The Arkansas State Archives in Little Rock holds Confederate pension files, military records, and microfilmed county materials for Lee County. Federal records including Freedmen's Bureau materials are at the National Archives at Fort Worth, 501 W Felix Street, Fort Worth, TX 76115, phone (817) 831-5620.
Nearby Counties
Lee County borders Phillips County, St. Francis County, Crittenden County, Monroe County, Woodruff County, and Cross County. The four parent counties of Phillips, Monroe, Crittenden, and St. Francis hold pre-1873 records for Lee County families.