Perry County Genealogy Records
Perry County genealogy records begin in 1841, when this central Arkansas county was formed from Conway County. The county seat is Perryville, and the courthouse holds marriage registers, probate files, and land records for family history research in this small county along the Fourche LaFave River.
Perry County at a Glance
Perry County Courthouse Genealogy Records
The Perry County Clerk's office mailing address is PO Box 358, Perryville, AR 72126, phone (501) 889-5126. The Clerk holds marriage records from 1841 and probate records from 1841. Perry County was created on December 18, 1840, from Conway County, with courthouse records beginning in 1841. The Circuit Court Clerk at the courthouse holds divorce filings, court records, and land records. Birth and death records at the county level begin in 1914.
Perry County is one of the smaller and less populated counties in Arkansas, and its genealogical record base reflects that. The county's founding families came primarily from the adjacent Conway County area and from older southern states, settling along the Fourche LaFave River and its tributaries. Perryville has been the county seat since the county's formation, and the courthouse in Perryville holds the continuous record from 1841 forward.
For research before 1840, Conway County records at Morrilton are the parent source. Conway County itself is one of the older organized counties in Arkansas, with records going back to 1825. The Conway County courthouse at Morrilton holds the documentation for the Perry County area during the pre-formation period. Because Conway County records start in 1825, they provide a relatively deep record base for researchers tracing families who were in central Arkansas in the early Arkansas Territory period.
Note: Perry County was formed in 1840 from Conway County. Pre-1840 family records for the Perry County area are held in the Conway County courthouse at Morrilton.
Perry County Genealogy on FamilySearch
The FamilySearch Perry County wiki lists available records and links to digitized collections. Marriage records from 1841 are in the statewide Arkansas marriage index on FamilySearch. Probate records are indexed for the county, and census records run from 1850 through 1940.
The 1850 census is the first complete federal census for Perry County, naming every household member with ages, birthplaces, and occupations. It captures the county about a decade after its formation and documents the founding generation of families in Perryville and the surrounding townships. Birthplace data in 1850 and 1860 commonly shows Tennessee, Kentucky, and the Carolinas for Perry County families, pointing researchers back to the Appalachian and upper South states.
FamilySearch has indexed Civil War pension files for Perry County veterans on both sides of the conflict. Perry County's central Arkansas location put it in a disputed zone during the war, and families often had members in both Confederate and Union forces. The pension files from both sides contain detailed family history statements that supplement courthouse records from the 1860s, which are sometimes incomplete due to wartime disruption.
ARGenWeb Perry County Resources
The ARGenWeb Perry County page provides free genealogical resources compiled by volunteers. Cemetery surveys, family history submissions, and historical documents for this central Arkansas county are available on the site.
Perry County cemeteries document families from the 1840s through the present. The ARGenWeb volunteers have transcribed a range of these burial sites, preserving stone readings from both the county seat area in Perryville and the more remote rural townships. For a small county, the cemetery transcriptions are especially valuable because they often preserve family information not otherwise documented in official records.
The ARGenWeb Perry County page provides cemetery records, family history submissions, and genealogical resources for researchers tracing central Arkansas families in the Perryville area.
Family histories on the ARGenWeb site for Perry County trace families from Conway County and older southern states through their settlement in this small central Arkansas county. Some compiled genealogies follow family lines across the Conway County-Perry County boundary, which is relevant since the two counties share a parent-daughter relationship and many families have roots in both.
Vital Records and State Archives
The Arkansas Department of Health holds birth and death records for Perry County from 1914. The state marriage index starts in January 1917. For events before those dates, the county courthouse in Perryville 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 Perry County. Federal records are at the National Archives at Fort Worth, 501 W Felix Street, Fort Worth, TX 76115, phone (817) 831-5620.
Nearby Counties
Perry County borders Conway County, Faulkner County, Pulaski County, Saline County, Garland County, and Yell County. Conway County is the parent county and holds pre-1840 records for Perry County families. The Conway County courthouse at Morrilton is the first stop for earlier research in this area.