Lee County, Arkansas Genealogy

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

County Facts
County seat: Marianna
Organized: April 17, 1873
Parent County(s): Phillips, Monroe, Crittenden and St. Francis[1]
Neighboring Counties
CrittendenMonroePhillipsSt. FrancisTunica (MS)Woodruff County
See County Maps
Courthouse
ArkansasLeeCourthouse.jpg
Location Map
Ar-lee.png

County Information

Description

Lee County was created on 17 April 1873[2] and was named for General Robert E. Lee, who served as General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States in 1865.[3] Its county seat is Marianna.[4] It is located in the east-central area of the state.[5]

County Courthouse

Lee County Courthouse
15 E Chestnut Street
Marianna, AR 72360
Phone: 870-295-7715
Lee County Website

County Clerk has marriage, probate and tax records from 1873.
Clerk Circuit Court has divorce, military and court records from 1873.[6]

Lee County, Arkansas

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Government County Records[7]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1914 1873 1914 1873 1873 1873 1830
*State birth and death records began in 1914. Limited compliance until the 1920s

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

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:[9]

Cities
Towns
Unincorporated communities
Townships
  • Big Creek
  • Council
  • Fleener
  • Hampton (Moro)


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 Lee County page on the website, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. [10]

  • 1700-1900 - In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, French explorers, hunters, and their American counterparts entered the wilderness via the Mississippi, L’Anguille, and St. Francis rivers.
  • 1790s (late) - Permanent settlers soon replaced hunters; one of the first was Sylvanus Phillips, who moved near the mouth of the St. Francis.
  • 1815 - Growth in the lower St. Francis was made possible by federal surveys that became the basis for the Public Land System.
  • 1838-1848 - Initially, most settlements, such as Walnut Bend and Council Bend, were confined to the Mississippi River, but within a few years, settlers moved into the interior.
  • 1873 April 17 - Lee County was established.
  • 1920-2010 - The population of Lee County peaked in 1920 at 28,800 aand is prsently (2010) at a low of 10,400.

Resources

Bible Records

Biographies

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Lee, Arkansas online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)
List of Cemeteries in the County
See Arkansas Cemeteries for more information

Census Records

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1880 13,288
1890 18,886 42.1%
1900 19,409 2.8%
1910 24,252 25.0%
1920 28,852 19.0%
1930 26,637 −7.7%
1940 26,810 0.6%
1950 24,322 −9.3%
1960 21,001 −13.7%
1970 18,884 −10.1%
1980 15,539 −17.7%
1990 13,053 −16.0%
2000 12,580 −3.6%
2010 10,424 −17.1%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Church Records


List of Churches and Church Parishes

Court Records

Directories

Emigration and Immigration

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

Funeral Homes

Genealogies

Guardianship

Land and Property Records

Online Land Indexes and Records


Local Histories

Local histories are available for Lee County. They may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more about local histories, see Arkansas Local Histories.

Maps and Gazetteers

Woodruff CountySt. Francis CountyCrittenden CountyMonroe CountyPhillips CountyTunica CountyDeSoto CountyAR LEE.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Migration

Military Records

Civil War

Naturalization and Citizenship

Newspapers

Finding More Arkansas Newspapers Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Lee newspapers in online catalogs like:


Obituaries

Other Records

Periodicals

Probate Records

Online Probate Indexes and Records


School Records

Social Security Records

Tax Records

Vital Records

Birth

Birth Records reveal
Yes or Maybe
Y M
Name of Child Green check.png
Birth Date and Place Green check.png
Parent's Names Green check.png
Mother's Maiden Name Green check.png
Parent's Ages Green check.png
Father's Occupation Green check.png
Current Residence Green check.png
Name of Doctor or Midwife Green check.png

In 1877, a few county and city clerks[11] started keeping birth and death records.

In 1914, the state law required all county clerks to record births and forward them to the state.

ArrowGreen.svg.png

See also: • Arkansas Online Genealogy Records, • How to Find Arkansas Birth Records and • Arkansas Vital Records—Birth.

Marriage

Death

Divorce

Voting Records

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Lee County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Arkansas Archives and Libraries.

FamilySearch Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

  • FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
  • FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Lee County. For state-wide library facilities, see Arkansas Archives and Libraries.

Museums

Societies

Listed below are societies in Lee County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Arkansas Societies.

Tri-County Genealogical Society
405 S Midway
P.O. Box 580
Marvell, AR 72366
Phone: 870-829-2971
Email: cndavison4@gmail.com
Website
Covers Lee, Monroe, and Phillips Counties, Arkansas. Publication: Tri-County Genealogy.

Websites

Research Guides

References

  1. The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002).
  2. Individual County Chronologies, https://digital.newberry.org/ahcb/documents/AR_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm
  3. Genealogy Trails History Group, “Lee County, Arkansas Genealogy and History”, http://genealogytrails.com/ark/lee/
  4. The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002).
  5. Wikipedia contributors, "Lee County, Arkansas," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lee_County,_Arkansas&oldid=1166835205 (accessed August 31, 2023).
  6. The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002).
  7. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Lee County, Arkansas. Page 68 At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 66.
  8. The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002).
  9. Wikipedia contributors, "Lee County, Arkansas," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_County,_Arkansas, accessed 3 September 2018.
  10. Blake Wintory, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture, (http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=783&type=Category&item=Counties&parent=Counties%2c+Cities%2c+and+Towns&grandparent= : accessed January 14, 2016), “Lee County.”
  11. such as Sebastian County (Fort Smith) and Pulaski County (Little Rock) (No entry in FamilySearch Catalog found for Pulaski County nor for Little Rock, Aug 2014)
  12. Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/0/0d/Igiarkansasem.pdf.