Providence County, Rhode Island Genealogy

United States Rhode Island  Providence County

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 twns 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.

Record Loss

 * Lost census: 1890

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

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.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Websites

 * The Providence County RIGenWeb Project, an member of The RIGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Providence County.
 * Family History Library catalog for Providence County