Monroe County
Mississippi Genealogy & History Network

Welcome to Monroe County MSGHN

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

To share your genealogy or history information submit it to msghn@outlook.com and we will be pleased to include it here.

About Monroe County, Mississippi...

Monroe County, Mississippi is a county in the northeast portion of the state on the border with Alabama. In the 2020 census, the population was 34,180. The county seat is the city of Aberdeen.

The county is named in honor of James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States. Part of the county east of the Tombigbee River originally made-up part of the Alabama Territory, belonging to Marion County, until new lines of demarcation put it in the State of Mississippi in 1821.

In 1922, the Commissioner of Agriculture for the county published a report in a local newspaper which described in some detail the soil conditions and agriculture of the county. He described the areas as the Black Lands and the soil as black lime, a "stiff" soil, derived from the Selma chalk formation and extremely rich in potassium and phosphorus. Sweet clover is an indigenous wild ground cover in the county.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 772 square miles, of which 765 square miles is land and 7 square miles is water. The population of Monroe County in 1820 was 2,721. By 2020 the population had grown to 34,180.

Neighboring counties are Lowndes County (south), Clay County (southwest),Chickasaw County (west), Lee County (northwest), Itawamba County (north), Lamar County, Alabama (east), and Marion County, Alabama (northeast)

Communities in the county includes Aberdeen, Amory, Hatley, Nettleton (partly in Lee County), Smithville, Gattman, Hamilton, Athens, Bartahatchie, Becker, Bigbee, Binford, Bristow, Central Grove, Darracott, Flinn, Gibson, Greenwood Springs, Lackey, Mormon Springs, Muldon, Parham, Prairie, Quincy, Riggins, Sipsey Fork, Splunge, and Strong

Ghost towns in the county include Bolivar, Camargo, and Cotton Gin Port.

Monroe County, Mississippi Records

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