Claiborne County
Mississippi Genealogy & History Network

Welcome to Claiborne County MSGHN

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

To share your Claiborne 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 Claiborne County, Mississippi...

Claiborne County is located along the Mississippi River south of the Big Black River. The entire region was covered in a forest of various species of pines, oaks, dogwoods, magnolias, gum, willow, cottonwood, sycamore, elm, cypress, ash, cedar, and other hardwood trees. With rich lands, an abundance of water, plenty of wild game, plentiful timber, and a pleasant climate, the area was ideal for settlement. By 1795 settlers were arriving in large numbers.

The French claimed the area from the time of La Salle's exploration of the Mississippi River until 1763. The English claimed it from 1763 till 1781 and Spain claimed it from 1781 to 1798. In 1785 Georgia claimed it as her western lands, organized the County of Bourbon and sold territory in this region. This was the time that Thomas Cumming, Nicholas Long, Thomas Glasscock, A. Gordon and others bought all of the territory which is now Claiborne County.

Prior to the coming of the European explorers and settlers, Native American tribes lived in the area. Tribes of the area included the Natchez, the Tensas, the Muskhogean, and the Choctaw. Early settlers lived in fear of Indian uprises - understandably so - the Indian's home lands were under siege.

In 1798, the United States created the Mississippi Territory. The Mississippi governor organized the Natchez District into two counties, Adams and Pickering. Pickering County included the area which later became Claiborne and Jefferson Counties. The name of Pickering County was changed to Jefferson County on 11 January 1802 and sixteen days later was split, and the northern portion became Claiborne County. Claiborne County was named after the first Republican Governor, William C.C. Claiborne.

Gibson's Landing was chosen for the county seat even though this area was largely a wild woodland. Also called Gibson's Port or Gibson's Fort, the territorial legislature officially named the county seat Port Gibson in 1803.

The county has a total area of 501 square miles, of which 486 square miles is land and 15 square miles (2.91%) is water. In 1799 there were 779 people living along the Bayou Pierre River, 158 people living near the mouth of the Big Black River, and 80 people living at Walnut Hill. In 1816, when Mississippi was still a territory, there were 295 families living in Claiborne County. The population recorded in the 1810 Federal Census was 3,102. The 2010 census recorded 9,604 residents in the county.

Neighboring counties and parishes are Warren County (north), Hinds County (northeast), Copiah County (southeast), Jefferson County (south), and Tensas Parish, Louisiana (west). Communities in the county include Port Gibson, the county seat, Alcorn (partly), Carlisle, Grand Gulf, Hermanville, Pattison, and Russum.

Claiborne County, Mississippi Records

Claiborne County MSGHN has many records here on our website. Marriage Records, Cemetery listings, tombstone photos, census records, and more. Look at the Claiborne 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 Claiborne 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 Claiborne County marriage records for any date not listed above (and for the dates listed above for that matter) may be obtained from the Claiborne 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, Claiborne County divorce proceedings were filed in the Claiborne County Chancery Clerk's office.