Carroll County
Mississippi Genealogy & History Network

Welcome to Carroll County MSGHN

Welcome to the Carroll County Mississippi Genealogy & History Network website providing free information to genealogical and historical researchers.

To share your Carroll County, Mississippi genealogy or history information, send an email to msghn@outlook.com - we will be pleased to include it here. If you have information to share for other Mississippi Counties, visit the Mississippi Genealogy & History Network state website and choose the appropriate county.

About Carroll County, Mississippi...

Carroll County is located in the Delta Region of Mississippi. It was organized by the Mississippi legislature on December 23, 1833 from land ceded by the Choctaw Indians under the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek 1830. Carroll County is named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton [photo], the last surviving signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. It is the setting for the Porter Wagoner song "The Carroll County Accident" and, continuing the music theme, the county is mentioned in the song "Ode to Billy Joe" made famous by Bobbie Gentry.

In 1870, large portions of Carroll County were used to form three others counties – Leflore, Grenada, and Montgomery – reducing the count to its present size of 634 square miles.

Many important people have lived in Carroll County.  J.Z. George, U.S. Senator and author of the Mississippi Constitution; H.D. Money, U.S. Senator; Elizabeth Spencer, author; John Hurt, bluesman; and others, like Admirals John S McCain, Sr. & Jr., and Senators John McCain and Trent Lott, have roots in Carroll County.  Many items belonging to the McCains are on display in the Merrill Museum in Carrollton.

Greenwood Leflore, the last Choctaw chief to rule east of the Mississippi River lived at Malmaison, his plantation home which burned in 1942.  The Choctaw Indians recently purchased the site and plan to restore it to its original state.  The architect who designed Malmaison, James Harris, also designed and oversaw the building of the Carrollton Courthouse, which is still in use.

The county has a total area of 634.54 square miles of which 627.73 square miles is land and 6.81 square mile (1.07%) is water. The population recorded in the 1840 Federal Census was 10,481. The 2010 census recorded 10,597 residents in the county.

Neighboring counties are Grenada County (north), Montgomery County (east), Attala County (southeast), Holmes County (south), and Leflore County (west). Carroll County has two County Seats - Carrollton and Vaiden. Other communities in the county include North Carrollton, Avalon, Black Hawk, Coila, McCarley, Teoc, and Valley Hill.

Carroll County, Mississippi Records

Carroll County MSGHN has many records here on our website. Marriage Records, Cemetery listings, tombstone photos, and more. Look at the Carroll County Data links for a list of available data.

Birth Records - The Mississippi Department of Health maintains records of births after November 1, 1912 on file. This was the year Mississippi began keeping official birth records. You can obtain official copies of birth certificates by mail by using this birth record application on their website. If you just have to order by internet or phone, or use a credit card, you can use VitalCheck, a third party records company recognized by the Mississippi Dept. of Health. Since there are no official birth records before November 1, 1912 for births prior to that date you will need to determine birth information from census records, bible records, baptismal records, cemetery tombstones, etc.

Death Records - The Mississippi Department of Health maintains births recorded after November 1, 1912 on file. This was the year Mississippi began keeping official death records. You can obtain official copies of death certificates by mail by using this death record application on their website. If you just have to order by internet or phone, or use a credit card, you can use VitalCheck, a third party records company recognized by the Mississippi Dept. of Health. Since there are no official death records before November 1, 1912 for deaths prior to that date you will need to determine death information from census records, bible records, funeral home records, cemetery tombstones, etc.

Marriage Records - We have thousands of Carroll County marriage records here on our website. These dates will assist you greatly in obtaining a copy of the original marriage license. The Mississippi Department of Health can provide you with this for marriages that took place between January 1, 1926 to June 30, 1938, and for January 1, 1942 to present by mail by using this marriage record application on their website. If you just have to order by internet or phone, or use a credit card, you can use VitalCheck, a third party records company recognized by the Mississippi Dept. of Health.

All existing Carroll County marriage records for any date not listed above (and for the dates listed above for that matter) may be obtained from the Carroll County Circuit Clerk's office.

Divorce Records - Prior to 1859, divorce proceedings were introduced as private bills in the Mississippi State Legislature. References to these can be found in the books Index of Mississippi Session Acts 1817 - 1865 and Index to the Laws of the Mississippi Territory. These books can be found at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History as well as many other genealogy repositories and libraries across the state. After 1859, Carroll County divorce proceedings were filed in the Carroll County Chancery Clerk's office.