Providence County, Rhode Island Genealogy

United States Rhode Island  Providence County

Guide to Providence County Rhode Island ancestry, family history, and genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
Providence County Courthouse 250 Benefit Street Providence, RI 02903 Phone: 401.277.671

Probate Judge has probate records Family Court has divorce records; Municipal Court has court records; Recorder Deeds has land records; Town and City Clerks have birth, marriage and death records (22 towns in Providence Co) Towns Organized Before 1800; Cranston 1754, Cumberland 1746-7, Foster 1781, Gloucester 1730-1, Johnston 1759, North Providence 1765, Providence 1636, Scituate 1730-1, Smithfield 1730-1

There is no county government. The government is located at town and state levels.

Quick Facts
Named for the Divine Providence.

16 June 1729: Renamed Providence County.

Parent County
1703: Formed as Providence Plantations County.

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Rhode Island County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Rhode Island County Boundary Maps" (1643-1963) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss

 * Lost census: 1890

Cemeteries
Poccassett Cemetery, Cranston, Rhode Island

Directories
Fold3 ($) has Providence City Directories 1861-1924 available online.

Ethnic, Religious and Political Groups
Cottrol, Robert J. The Afro-Yankees : Providence's Black Community in the Antebellum Era - Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press 1982. (Contributions in Afro-American and African Studies, 0069-9624; no. 68) FHL 974.52 F2c 

Newspapers

 * 1778-1784, 1799-1828 - The Providence Gazette at Google News - free.


 * 1779-1781 - The American Journal and General Advertiser at Google News - free.


 * 1785-1795 - The Providence Gazette and Country Journal at Google News - free.


 * 1799-1801 - The Providence Journal at Google News - free.

Probate
The probate records of Providence, 1670 to 1730, have been published. See Frank Calef's index to Providence probate records of 1663 to 1775.

Vital Records

 * 1740s-1760s - Drowne, Henry Russell. "Some Vital Records of Providence, R.I.," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 46, No. 1 (Jan. 1915):80-81. Digital versions at Internet Archive - free; New York Family History ($); . Includes baptisms, marriages.

See also How to order Rhode Island Vital Records, order electronically online or download an application for Rhode Island Birth Certificate, Marriage Certificate, Death Certificate Application to mail.

Societies, Libraries and Museums
See also a List of Rhode Island Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies

Websites

 * Providence County, RI History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Rhode Island Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Rhode Island Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * The Providence County RIGenWeb Project, an member of The RIGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Providence County.
 * FamilySearch Catalog for Providence County