Mississippi Archives and Libraries

Mississippi Wiki Topics

Beginning Research

Guided Research Research Strategies Record Finder

Record Types

Adoption Bible Records Cemeteries Census Church Records Colonial Records Correctional Institutions Court Records Crime & Punishment Directories Emigration & Immigration Genealogies Land & Property Military Records Naturalization & Citizenship Newspapers Obituaries Occupation & Business Records Online Collections Periodicals Probate Records Taxation Vital Records Voter Records

Mississippi Background

Biography Further Reading Gazetteers History Maps Migration

Cultural Groups

African Americans Indigenous Peoples Cultural Groups Swedish American

Local Research Resources

Archives & Libraries Societies Find a FamilySearch center

United States

U.S. Archives and Libraries

Mississippi

Mississippi Archives and Libraries

Online Resources

• 1820-1951 Mississippi, State Archives, Various Records, 1820-1951 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images
• Mississippi Digital Library

Mississippi Online Genealogy Records

Links to online databases and indexes that may include vital records, biographies, cemeteries, censuses, histories, immigration records, land records, maps, military records, naturalizations, newspapers, obituaries, or probate records.

These repositories preserve sources, maintain indexes, and provide services to help genealogists document their ancestors who lived in Mississippi.

Wiki Articles on Major Repositories in Mississippi

National Archives at Atlanta · Mississippi Department of Archives and History · Mississippi Genealogical Society · Mississippi Historical Society · Evans Memorial Library · McCardle Research Library · Mississippi State University Mitchel Library · University of Mississippi Williams Library · University of Southern Mississippi · Briscoe Center for American History Austin TX · Dallas Public Central Library TX · Mobile Municipal Archives AL

National Repositories

National Archives at Atlanta 5780 Jonesboro Road Morrow, Georgia 30260 USA Phone: 770-968-2100 Fax: 770-968-2547 Website Email Records from over 100 federal agencies and courts in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Also includes Vice Admiralty Courts of SC, evolution of federal courts, Constitutional rights, Revolutionary War, Civil War, reconstruction, World Wars I and II, and space exploration. Microfilms for censuses, diplomatic missions, military service records, bounty-land applications, passenger arrival lists, naturalizations, American Indians, and African Americans.

Statewide Repositories

Mississippi Department of Archives and History
200 North Street
Jackson, MS 39201 USA
Telephone: 601-576-6850
Website
Email

This is the best place to start genealogy research in Mississippi. Researchers can find original records from every Mississippi county here. They also have newspapers, genealogies, and county histories. A useful guide is:

*Thomas W. Henderson and Ronald E. Tomlin, Guide to Official Records in the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (Jackson, Mississippi: Mississippi Department of Archives and History, 1975). WorldCat 865859264; FS Library Book 976.2 A3h.

*An Official Guide to the Historical Materials in the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, prepared in 1911-1912 by the Director, Dunbar Rowland, LL.D., is available on-line in its entirety at Google books.

Wiki articles describing parts of their online collections are found at:

*Mississippi State Archives, Various Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Mississippi Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 5301
Jackson, MS 39216 USA
Website
Email

Mississippi Historical Society
PO Box 571
Jackson, MS 39205-0571 USA
Telephone: 601-576-6849
Email

Their collection is now part of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History above.

Regional Repositories

Evans Memorial Library
105 North Long Street
Aberdeen, MS 39730 USA
Telephone: 622-369-4601
Fax: 622-369-2971
Website
Email

This is an outstanding regional library with records of the deep South, including Mississippi and Alabama oral histories, church records, newspapers, maps, military records, Chickasaw Indians, African Americans, fraternal histories, scrapbooks, manuscripts and photos. One of the largest genealogy collections in the South - could be called "the Fort Wayne Library of the South."

McCardle Research Library
Old Courthouse Museum
1008 Cherry St
Vicksburg, MS 39183 USA
Telephone: 601-636-0741
Website
Email

Regional and local genealogy for early Mississippians, and American Civil War records including local history, histories of Warren County families, local cemetery records, census records, business directories, civil war manuscripts, maps, marriage records, and tax records.

Mississippi State University Mitchel Library
P.O. Box 5408
395 Hardy Rd
Mississippi State, MS 39762-5408 USA
Telephone: 662-325-7679
Website
Email

The Mississippi State University Libraries has digitized and made available in its Digital Collections the Orville Babcock Diaries and the Letters of Pvt. Arthur McKinstry. The Babcock and McKinstry materials are a part of the overall Ulysses S. Grant Collection, which is housed at the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library on the first floor of Mitchell Memorial Library at MSU's Starkville campus.

They also have books, manuscripts, maps, biographies, and genealogies.

University of Mississippi Williams Library
P.O. Box 1848
1 Library Loop
University, MS 38677 USA
Telephone: 662-915-7408
Website
Email

They have an excellent collection of records about Mississippi such as logging, early settlers, oral histories, manuscripts, and local histories.

University of Southern Mississippi
McCain Library and Archives
P.O. Box 5148
Hattiesburg, MS 39406-5148 USA
Phone: (601) 266-4345
Fax: (601) 266-4409

Outside of Mississippi Repositories

Briscoe Center for American History
University of Texas at Austin
2313 Red River Street
Austin, Texas 78705 USA
Telephone: 512-495-4532
Website

This collection is as large as the Texas state archives including newspapers, biographies, private collections, the American South, military history, Western Americana, photos, and the Natchez Trace Collection papers from Mississippi and Louisiana.[5] Their collections help with ethnic research about Latinos, African Americans, Germans, Swedes, Texas pioneers, the American South including plantations and slavery, and official Spanish documents of the Mexican state of Coahulia y Texas.[6] Military records cover all conflicts involving Texas such as the Texas Revolution (1836), Indian wars, and the American Civil War.[7]

Dallas Public Central Library
1515 Young St.
Dallas, TX 75201-9987 USA
Telephone: 214-670-1400
Website

Outstanding genealogical collection with records for more than Texas, including Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, the South, Mid-Atlantic, and New England states. 111,700 volumes, 64,500 microfilms, 89,000 microfiche, and over 700 maps, marriage, probate, deed, tax abstracts, films of originals for some states, and databases.

Mobile Municipal Archives
P.O. Box 1827
457 Church Street
Mobile, Alabama 36633-1827 USA
Telephone: 251-208-7740
Fax: 251-208-7428
Website
Email

Includes records of early Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida settlers: Spanish, French, and Anglo especially during the Spanish period. This is the premier library for Gulf Coast settlers from Louisiana to Florida.

Guidebook

• Mississippi Genealogical Society (Jackson, Mississippi), Survey of Records in Mississippi Court Houses (Jackson, Mississippi: Mississippi Genealogical Society, 1957. WorldCat 865951131; FS Library Book 976.2 P2m and FS Library fiche 6100939. Describes Mississippi county records.

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.