Jefferson County
Mississippi Genealogy & History Network

Welcome to Jefferson County MSGHN

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

To share your Jefferson 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 Jefferson County, Mississippi...

Jefferson County is located along the Mississippi River in southwest Mississippi. 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 pleasent 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 included the area that is now Jefferson 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 seige.

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, in honor of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, and sixteen days later was split. The northern portion became Claiborne County while the southern portion remained Jefferson County.

Untill 1825, the County Seat was located at Greenville near the mouth of Cole's creek. Today the County Seat is Fayette. There remains nothing of Greenville today.

The county has a total area of 527.19 square miles, of which 527.19 square miles is land and 7.81 square mile (1.48%) is water. The population recorded in the 1800 Federal Census was 2,940. The 2010 census recorded 7,726 residents in the county.

Neigboring counties and parishes are Claiborne County (north), Copiah County (northeast), Lincoln County (southeast), Franklin County (south), and Adams County (southwest), and Tensas Parish, LA (west). Communities in the county include Fayette, Church Hill, Harriston, Lorman, Perth, Red Lick, Union Church, and Rodney.

Jefferson County, Mississippi Records

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