Marion County Mississippi Genealogy & History Network

Welcome to Marion County MSGHN

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

To share your Marion 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 Marion County, Mississippi...

Marion County has a history older than the state of Mississippi. Founded in 1811, six years before Mississippi was established as the 20th state, Marion County was named after General Francis Marion, a Revolutionary War hero known as the “Swamp Fox.”

Columbia, the county seat, was first named Lott's Bluff. When incorporated in 1819, the name was changed to Columbia, after the South Carolina home of its first settlers, John and William Lott. It was the state’s fourth municipality.

Columbia served as the temporary state capital from November 1821 until early 1822, when the fifth session of the Mississippi Legislature met there. Among the orders of business, legislators inaugurated Governor Walter Leake as the third governor of Mississippi and selected LeFleur’s Bluff, now known as Jackson, as the permanent capital.

The county has a total area of 548.58 square miles, of which 542.34 square miles is land and 6.24 square mile (1.14%) is water. The population recorded in the 1820 Federal Census was 3,116. The 2010 census recorded 27,088 residents in the county.

Neigboring counties are Jefferson Davis County (north), Lamar County (east), Pearl River County, (southeast), Washington Parish, LA (south), Walthall County (west), and Lawrence County (northwest). Communities in the county include Columbia, Bunker Hill, Cheraw, East Columbia, Foxworth, Goss, Hub, Improve, Jamestown, Kokomo, Morgantown, and Sandy Hook.

Marion County, Mississippi Records

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