Hancock County
Mississippi Genealogy & History Network

Welcome to Hancock County MSGHN

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

To share your Hancock 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 Hancock County, Mississippi...

Hancock County is located on the South-Western portion of Mississippi Gulf Coast. Hancock County was organized on December 14, 1812 and was named in honor of John Hancock, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. The county is home to the John C. Stennis Space Center. In 2005 the area was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

The county seat is Bay St. Louis, located on the coastline.

The county has a total area of 552.53 square miles of which 476.88 square miles is land and 75.65 square mile (13.69%) is water. The population recorded in the 1820 Federal Census was 1,594. The 2010 census recorded 43,929 residents in the county.

Neighboring counties are Pearl River County (north), Harrison County (east), and St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana (west). Communities in the county include Bay St. Louis, Waveland, Diamondhead, Kiln, Pearlington, Shoreline Park, Bayou Caddy, Clermont Harbor, and Lakeshore.

Hancock County, Mississippi Records

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