Harrison County
Mississippi Genealogy & History Network

Welcome to Harrison County MSGHN

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

To share your Harrison 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 Harrison County, Mississippi...

Harrison County is located located on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Harrison County was organized on February 5, 1841 from Hancock, Jackson, and Perry Counties. It was named in honor of United States President William Henry Harrison.

In 1969 the county was severely damaged by Hurricane Camile, Catastrophe came again in 2005 when the county was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

The county seats are Gulfport and Biloxi, both located on the coastline.

The county has a total area of 976.15 square miles of which 580.98 square miles is land and 395.17 square miles (40.48%) is water. The population recorded in the 1850 Federal Census was 4,875. The 2010 census recorded 187,105 residents in the county.

Neighboring counties are Stone County (north), Jackson County (east), and Hancock County (west). Communities in the county include Biloxi, D'Iberville, Gulfport, Long Beach, Pass Christian, Lyman, Saucier, Cuevas, De Lisle, Howison, Lizana, and Woolmarket.

Harrison County, Mississippi Records

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