Lincoln County, Mississippi Genealogy

United States

Mississippi

Lincoln County

Guide to Lincoln County, Mississippi ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Mississippi Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Brookhaven Organized: 7 April 1870 Parent County(s): Franklin, Lawrence, Copiah, Pike and Amite Neighboring Counties Amite  • Copiah  • Franklin  • Jefferson  • Lawrence  • Pike  • Walthall See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

This county was named for Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln County is located in the southwest area of the state.

County Courthouse

Lincoln County Courthouse
300 S. 2nd Street
PO Box 555
Brookhaven, MS 39601-3321
Phone: 601-835-3479
Lincoln County Website

Clerk Chancery Court has divorce, probate, and court records from 1893.
Clerk District Court has marriage records from 1893.

Lincoln County, Mississippi Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1 Nov 1912	1893	1 Nov 1912	1893	1894	1893	1810
Statewide registration started in Nov 1912 for births and deaths. General compliance by 1921.

Record Loss

1893 Some records were destroyed. For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see: Burned Counties. By Michael John Neill. Online at: Family History Circle. When the Records are Gone. By Arlene Eakle. Online at: Tennessee Genealogy Blog. Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki.

Boundary Changes

1870 Lincoln County was created 7 April 1870 from Franklin, Lawrence, Copiah, Pike and Amite Counties. County seat: Brookhaven For animated maps illustrating Mississippi county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Mississippi County Boundary Maps" (1785-1918) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Cities
Brookhaven
Towns
Wesson‡
Hamlets
Bogue Chitto
Unincorporated communities
Auburn Caseyville	East Lincoln Norfield	Ruth
Ghost towns
Woolworth

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Lincoln County, Mississippi online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com MSGenWeb MSGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project MSInterment Billion Graves
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com Billion Graves FamilySearch Places
See Mississippi Cemeteries for more information

 

• Cemeteries in Brookhaven, Mississippi plus 10 in the county

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1870	10,184	—
1880	13,547	33.0%
1890	17,912	32.2%
1900	21,552	20.3%
1910	28,597	32.7%
1920	24,652	−13.8%
1930	26,357	6.9%
1940	27,506	4.4%
1950	27,899	1.4%
1960	26,759	−4.1%
1970	26,198	−2.1%
1980	30,174	15.2%
1990	30,278	0.3%
2000	33,166	9.5%
2010	34,869	5.1%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

For tips on accessing Lincoln County census records online, see: Mississippi Census.

• 1660-1820 U.S. Census Reconstructed Records, 1660-1820 at Ancestry $
• 1792-1866 Mississippi, State and Territorial Census Collection, 1792-1866 at Ancestry $
• 1805-1890 Mississippi, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1805-1890 at Ancestry $

Church Records

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Mississippi denominations, view the Mississippi Church Records wiki page.
List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places

Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

• Redstar

Land and Property Records

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Mississippi Land and Property for additional information about early Mississippi land ownership. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.

• 1893-1901 Deeds, 1893-1901; index, 1894-1971

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Lincoln County. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories see the wiki page section Mississippi Local Histories.

• One hundred and sixty acres of paradise and a mansion on the hill, or growing up in Lincoln County, Mississippi during the 1910s and 1920s

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
• Maps of Mississippi (1785-1918)
• Family Maps of Lincoln County, Mississippi Genealogy (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.

Military Records

Civil War

• 1861-1865 Mississippi, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch
• 1861-1865 Mississippi, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch
• 1861-1865 U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
• 1861-1865 U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
• 1889-1942 Mississippi, Confederate Records, 1889-1942 at FamilySearch
• 1895-1936 Confederate pension records, 1895-1936
• 1900-1974 Mississippi, Confederate Veterans and Widows Pension Applications, 1900-1974 at FamilySearch

World War I

• 1917-1919 Mississippi, World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch — index
• 1917-1918 Mississippi, World War I Army Veterans, Master alphabetical index, 1917-1918 at FamilySearch — index and images

Probate Records

Probate records are held by the Lincoln County, Mississippi Genealogy Clerk of Court and are housed at the Lincoln County, Mississippi Genealogy Courthouse. Microfilmed records can be found online at Mississippi Probate Records, 1781-1930. See the wiki page Mississippi Probate Records for information about how to use probate records.

Content: Probate Records may give the decedent's date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence.

Record types: Wills, estates, guardianships, naturalizations, and adoptions.

Online Records

• 1780-1982 Mississippi Wills and Probate Records 1780-1982 at Ancestry $
• 1781-1930 Mississippi Probate Records 1781-1930 at FamilySearch
• 1875-1921 Chancery records, 1875-1921

Tax Records

Mississippi tax records replace missing censuses and provide lists of residents during years between censuses. There may be gaps of several years. For more information, see Mississippi Taxation.

• 1881-1898 County Tax Rolls at FamilySearch

Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. Mississippi law did not require keeping birth or death records until 1912. Births and deaths are kept by the Mississippi Bureau of Vital Statistics. Marriage records are kept by the county. See also How to order Mississippi Vital Records or order electronically online.

See Mississippi Vital Records for more information on getting Mississippi records.

Marriage

• 1776-1935 Mississippi Marriages, 1776-1935 at Ancestry $
• 1800-1825 Mississippi Marriages to 1825 at Ancestry $
• 1800-1911 Mississippi, Marriages, 1800-1911 at FamilySearch
• 1826-1850 Mississippi Marriages, 1826-50 at Ancestry $
• 1826-1900 Mississippi Marriages, 1826-1900 at Ancestry $
• 1858-1979 Mississippi, County Marriages, 1858-1979 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1893-1922 Lincoln County Marriage Books 1-11 Index 1893-1922 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch

Death

• 1822-1921 - Mississippi Deaths and Burials, 1822-1921 at FamilySearch — index, some images
• 1912-1943 - Mississippi, Death Certificate Index, 1912-1943 at FamilySearch — index

Research Facilities

Family History Centers

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes.

• For current information about a center near you, go to the Family History Center Map

• Red Star Mississippi Family History Center

Museums

• Lincoln County Historical and Genealogical Museum and Jewish Heritage Museum
  227 South Church Street
  Brookhaven, MS
  Website

Societies

Southwest Mississippi Genealogical Society
Website

Websites

• Mississippi Genealogy Network Community on Google+
• Mississippi Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• Genweb Lincoln County, Mississippi Project
• FamilySearch Catalog – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.