Covington County
Mississippi Genealogy & History Network

Welcome to Covington County MSGHN

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

To share your Covington 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 Covington County, Mississippi...

Covington County, located in the south-central portion of Mississippi was formed on January 5, 1819 and was originally called Bainbridge County. It was soon renamed in honor of General Leonard Covington, U.S. Army officer and Congressman who was killed in the War of 1812.

In 1826 all that part of Covington lying east of the center of Range 14 was taken to form part of Jones County. In 1906 a part of Covington was taken to form Jefferson Davis County.

Williamsburg, located in the western part of the county, was the original county seat and was named for Thomas H. Williams, who was one of the two first United States Senators from Mississippi. In 1899, the citizens of Williamsburg discovered that the railroad was going to be built through Covington County, but not through Williamsburg. As a result, a number of them moved to the railroad line and formed Williamsburg Depot. In 1906 the little village had grown large enough to incorporate into a town they named Collins, which was named for Fred W. Collins, the United States Marshall for the Southern District of Mississippi in 1891-1893 and 1897-1902, and from 1910 until his death in 1912. Being centrally located, Collins was chosen to become the new County Seat, with a courthouse being built at a cost of $117,000.

In spite of the fact that a tornado largely destroyed the town in 1912, Collins had been growing steadily on the back of the local timber industry. However, similar to gold rush towns of the west, for Collins when the timber ran out, the growing ran out. As a result, Collins declined during the depression era.

M.S. (Mike) Conner the forty-fourth Governor of Mississippi was elected from Covington County. He served from 1932 until 1936. NFL football star Steve "Air" McNair was from Covington County and is buried in the county. Actor Gerald McRaney, star of Simon and Simon, Promised Land, and Major Dad, is also from Covington County.

The county has a total area of 415 square miles, of which 414 square miles is land and 1 square mile (0.28%) is water. The population recorded in the 1820 Federal Census was 2,230. The 2010 census recorded 19,568 residents in the county.

Neighboring counties are Smith County (north), Jones County (east), Forrest County (southeast), Lamar County (south), Jefferson Davis County (west), and Simpson County (northwest). Communities in the county include Collins, Mount Olive, Seminary, Dry Creek, Eminence, Hopewell, Leaf River, Lone Star, Lux, Okahay, Ora, Rock Hill, , Salem, Sanford, Sunset, and Williamsburg.

Covington County, Mississippi Records

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