Leake County Mississippi Genealogy & History Network

Welcome to Leake County MSGHN

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

To share your Leake 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 Leake County, Mississippi...

Leake County is located almost dead-center of the state of Mississippi. Leake County was organized on December 23, 1833 and was named in honor of Walter Leake, a prominent Mississippi politician who served in many offices in the state including Governor, Senator, and Supreme Court Judge.

The county seat of Carthage was established in 1834 by the Harris family. The city was named for their hometown of Carthage, Tennessee. Carthage was originally to have been called Leakesville. On July 31, 1834, the Board of Police selected Carthage as the county seat of Leake County. The land on which the original settlement was built was donated in June, 1835 by Thomas L. Harris and his wife, Matilda.

The first courthouse was built in 1836, serving for forty-one years when a brick structure was erected. A new courthouse was built in 1910. On April 20, 1837, the first post office was established. Carthage drew up its first Charter of Incorporation in 1876. The charter was amended in 1910 to make the town a municipal corporation with powers to be carried out by a mayor and a board of aldermen.

The county has a total area of 585.39 square miles of which 582.71 square miles is land and 2.68 square miles (0.46%) is water. The population recorded in the 1840 Federal Census was 2,162. The population peaked in 1940 with 24,570 souls counted. The 2010 census recorded 23,805 residents in the county.

Neighboring counties are Attala County (north), Winston County (northeast), Neshoba County (east), Newton County (southeast), Scott County (south), and Madison County (west). The city of Carthage is the county seat. Other communities in the county include Lena, Sebastopol (mostly in Scott County), Walnut Grove, Redwater, Standing Pine, Edinburg, Good Hope, Madden, Midway, Ofahoma, and Thomastown.

Leake County, Mississippi Records

Leake County MSGHN has many records here on our website. Marriage Records, Cemetery listings, tombstone photos, and more. Look at the Leake 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  ...READ MORE