Rankin County
Mississippi Genealogy & History Network

Welcome to Rankin County MSGHN

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

To share your Rankin 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 Rankin County, Mississippi...

Rankin County is located in the center of Mississippi along the banks of the Pearl River. Rankin County was formed on February 4, 1828 and was named in honor of Mississippi Congressman Christopher Rankin.

In 1829, Daniel and Mary Fore deeded forty acres for the county seat in Brandon. A two-stroy frame courthouse was built in 1833. This and other buildings were used for county government until 1853, when a new courthouse was built. After it burned in 1924 the present courthouse was completed in 1925.

Rankin County is home to the Jackson / Evers International Airport. Rankin County is also home to Country Music star Faith Hill who is from the Star community.

The county has a total area of 806.09 square miles of which 774.52 square miles is land and 31.57 square miles (3.92%) is water. The population recorded in the 1830 Federal Census was 2,083. The 2010 census recorded 141,617 residents in the county.

Neighboring counties are Madison County (north), Scott County (east), Smith County (southeast), Simpson County (south), Copiah County (southwest) and Hinds County (west). The City of Brandon is the county seat. Other communities in the county include Flowood, Jackson (mostly in Hinds County, small portion in Madison County), Pearl, Richland, Florence, Pelahatchie, Puckett, Fannin, Johns, Leesburg, Piney Woods, Sandhill, Star, Whitfield, Cato, Crossgates Farm, Value, and Robinhood/Shady Lakes.

Rankin County, Mississippi Records

Rankin 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 Rankin 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 Rankin County marriage records for any date not listed above (and for the dates listed above for that matter) may be obtained from the Rankin 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, Rankin County divorce proceedings were filed in the Rankin County Chancery Clerk's office.