Monroe County, Mississippi Genealogy

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

Description
This county was named for James Monroe. Monroe County is located in the northeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Monroe County Courthouse 301 S. Chestnut Street Aberdeen, MS 39730 Phone: 662-369-8143 Monroe County Website Clerk Circuit Court has marriage and court records. Clerk Chancery Court has divorce records, probate and land records from 1821.

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:

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

Cemeteries

 * Evans, William Augustus. Monroe County, Mississippi Cemetery Records. Columbus, Miss.: Lowndes County Department of Archives and History, 1980. [This volume was originally compiled in the 1930s. The unpublished manuscript is located at Evans Memorial Library in Aberdeen, Miss. African-American cemeteries were not surveyed.]
 * Cantrell, Ann. Cemetery Inscriptions of North Lamar County, Alabama. Cullman, Ala.: Gregath Pub. Co., 19936-96. 2 vols. - Although the primary focus of this volume is neighboring Lamar County, Alabama, several Monroe County cemeteries are included.

Census Records
Federal Census
 * 1660-1820 U.S. Census Reconstructed Records, 1660-1820 at Ancestry $
 * 1850  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and some images
 * 1850 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1860 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

State Census
 * 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 $
 * 1815-1817 Territorial census returns 1815-1817 - Monroe County Collection at FamilySearch - images only
 * 1841 State Census returns 1841 - Monroe County Collection at FamilySearch - images only
 * 1880 State Census returns 1880 - Monroe County Collection at FamilySearch - images only  (lists all males over 21 and then all females over 21)  *Note the event place listed in the below index is incorrect but it is the correct film

Church Records

 * 1910-1919  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Kennedy, Jerry D. Christian Churches in Amory, Mississippi, 1840-1992. Amory, Miss.: The author, 1992.

Baptist Church Records of the New Hope Primitive Baptist Church, Monroe County, Mississippi, 1819-September 1955. Available on microfilm at Mississippi State University. BX6480.N496 C58

Evans, William Augustus. A History of First Baptist Church, Aberdeen, Miss., 1837 to 1945, Inclusive. Aberdeen, Miss.: First Baptist Church, 1945.

Hathcock, Fairybelle Tubb. "New Hope Primitive Baptist Church," Journal of Monroe County History, vol. 2 (1975-76): 38-46.

Minutes Of the Sixteenth Anniversary Of the Primitive Baptist Buttahacha Association (orig. spelling). Online at Primitive Baptist Online.

''Sulphur Springs Primitive Baptist Church, Monroe County, Mississippi. Minutes, May 1859-Dec. 6, 1955''. Available on microfilm at Mississippi State University. BX6480.S85 M56 1969

Episcopal St. John's Episcopal Church, Aberdeen


 * 1850-1885 - St. John's Episcopal Church, Aberdeen, Baptism Index 1850-1885. Batch at FamilySearch
 * 1851-1895 - St. John's Episcopal Church, Aberdeen, Marriage Index 1851-1895. Batch at FamilySearch

Methodist ''Church Records of the Prairie Methodist Charge. Aberdeen, Monroe County, Mississippi''. 2 microfilm reels, negative. (Prairie, Strong, Hamilton, Friendship). Records borrowed by Mrs. A.C. Honnoll, Caledonia, Miss., February 1957. Available on microfilm at Mississippi State University. BX8481.P73 C58

Lann, Felix, comp. Methodism in Aberdeen: A Scrapbook of Historical Sketches from 1836 to 1957. Ed. by Carolyn Evans Sauter for the Sesqui-Centennial Homecoming, First United Methodist Church, Aberdeen, Mississippi, April 6, 1986. Aberdeen, Miss.: First United Methodist Church, 1986.

Vallarian, Rebecca. God Is So Good!: A History of the Methodist Church in Smithville, Mississippi. Smithville, Miss.: Smithville United Methodist Church, 2004.

Whitaker, W. Kirby. Greenbrier United Methodist Church, Becker, Mississippi, 1850-1975. Amory, Miss.: The author, 1975.

Wright, Brynda Martin, comp. We Are One in the Spirit. Amory, Miss.: First United Methodist Church, 1991. - Cover subtitle: A History of First United Methodist Church, Amory, Mississippi.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African Americans 
 * 1863-1866  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only
 * 1865-1872  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only
 * 1936-1942 Ex-Slave narratives 1936-1942 - Monroe County Collection at FamilySearch - images only
 * The Freedmen's Bureau Marriage Records at Mississippi Department of Archives and History - index and transcription

Funeral Homes

 * E. E. Pickle in Amory

Local Histories
Aberdeen, MS: TomBigbee Country, 2002. Centennial Committee on the History of Nettleton, 1888-1988: 100 Years. Nettleton, Miss.: The committee, 1988.

Coleman, Brent. The Gulf Ordnance Plant at Prairie (MS), 1942-1945, The Gulf Ordnance Story: A Special edition of TomBigbee Country Magazine.

Crawford, Sam Wilburn. Something Good About the Thirties. s.l.: s.n., 1983. - This book is about the city of Aberdeen.

Elliott, Jack D., II and Wells, Mary Ann. Cotton Gin Port: A Frontier Settlement on the Upper Tombigbee. Jackson, Miss.: Quail Ridge Press for the Mississippi Historical Society, 2003.

Evans, William Augustus. Mother Monroe: A Series of Historical Sketches of Monroe County; Pioneer Times in Monroe County: From a Series of Letters Published in the Aberdeen Weekly 1877 and 1878; Who's Who in Monroe County Cemeteries. Hamilton, Miss.: Mother Monroe Pub. Co., 1979. - The Mother Monroe section of the book was originally published as a series of articles in the Aberdeen Examiner between 1936 and 1939.

Howell, George W. It Happened at the City Hall in Aberdeen: Political Activity During the Reconstruction Years, December 5th, 1865 to May 5th, 1876. Aberdeen, Miss.: G. W. Howell, 1961.

Lancaster, Jane Fairchild. Hamilton: Take Your Place in History as the First County Seat of Monroe. Amory, Miss.: Amory Advertiser, 1975.

Leftwich, George J. Cotton Gin Port and Gaines' Trace. s.l.: s.n., 19--? - This is a reprint of pages 263-70 of vol. 7 (1903) Publications of Mississippi Historical Society.

Monroe County Book Committee. A History of Monroe County, Mississippi. Dallas, Tex.: Curtis Media, 1988.

Monroe County, Mississippi: A Pictorial History. Limited ed. Humboldt, Tenn.: Rose Pub. Co., 1999.

Morgan, Ruth Basinger. A Place Called Darracott. Family charts by Nell Basinger Flicker; maps by Julia Lepicier; cover by Cecil Thompson. Aberdeen, Miss.: Allmond Ptg. Co., 1978.

Parish, Ray. The Tubb Family of Monroe County, Mississippi and Their Kin. Pascagoula, Miss.: The author, 1987. - Although this is primarily a family history, it contains a lot of information about the formation of Tubbs Crossroads which later became Hatley, Miss.

Peacock, Lucille. Historical Sketches of Aberdeen, Mississippi. Aberdeen, Miss.: The author, 1961.

Pierce, Jessie. History of Smithville and Surrounding Territory. Amory, Miss.: The author, 1958.

Puckett, E.F. "Reconstruction in Monroe County," in Reconstruction in Northern Counties of Mississippi. Oxford, Miss.: University of Mississippi, Department of History, 1907-1911. - The essay on Monroe County is dated 1909. This is a nine volume compilation.

Rodabough, John E. A History of the Negroes of Aberdeen and Monroe County, Mississippi, 1790-1916. Thesis (M.A.). Mississippi State University, 1964.

Rollins, Bertie Shaw. A Brief History of Aberdeen and Monroe County, Mississippi, 1821-1900. Aberdeen, Miss.: s.n., 1957.

Stone, James Herbert. Cotton Gin Port, Mississippi: The History of a Tombigbee River Town. University, Miss.: University of Mississippi, 1969.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
 * Maps of Mississippi (1785-1918)

Boyd, Gregory A. Family Maps of Monroe County, Mississippi (Deluxe Edition) with Homesteads, Roads, Waterways, Towns, Cemeteries, Railroads, and More. Norman, Okla.: Arphax Publishing, 2007. Available online at Google Books ($).

Military Records
Multiple Wars
 * 1769-1951 Military grave registrations - Monroe County Collection at FamilySearch - images only
 * 1844 Register of Military Commissions - Monroe County Collection at FamilySearch - images only
 * 1848-1860 Register of Military Commissions - Monroe County Collection at FamilySearch - images only

Mexican-American War 
 * 1846-1848  How to Use this Collection;  at FamilySearch — index and images

Civil War 
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images at partner site
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images at partner site
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry free index
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry free index
 * 1889-1942  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only
 * 1900-1974  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only


 * - 2nd Regiment, Mississippi State Cavalry
 * Company C - Martin’s Company
 * Company F - Johnson’s Company
 * Company H - J.V. Harris Guards
 * - 2nd Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry
 * Company I - Lula White Rebels
 * - 2nd Battalion, Mississippi State Cavalry (Harris's)
 * Company C - Moore’s Company
 * - 5th Regiment, Mississippi Infantry
 * Company A - Red Rovers
 * - 6th Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry
 * Company C - Pardue’s Company
 * - 9th Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry
 * Company F - Mann’s Company
 * - Perrin's Battalion, Mississippi State Cavalry
 * Company F - Montgomery’s Company
 * - 11th Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry
 * Company K - Martin’s Company
 * - 11th Regiment, Mississippi Infantry
 * Company I - Van Dorn Reserve

World War I
 * 1917-1919   at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1917-1918  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Newspapers
North Mississippi Advocate. Aberdeen, Miss.: E.H. Vance. - began with July 14, 1838 issue; short-lived.

Southern Tribune, and Aberdeen Commercial. Pontotoc, Miss.: C.A. Bradford &amp; W.W. Leland, 1842-? - [This was published in Aberdeen between Jan. 30 and July 24, 1845.]

Mississippi Advertiser. Aberdeen, Miss.: W.E. Smith. - vol. 1, no. 1 was dated Mar. 5, 1842. A new series began with vol. 1, no. 1 on May 4, 1844. It ceased publication in 1848.

The Weekly Independent. Aberdeen, Miss.: A. Marschalk. - Available issues begin with vol. 3, no. 42 (Jan. 8, 1848 and run through December 1853.

Monroe Democrat. Aberdeen, Miss.: W.D. Chapman &amp; Co. - Available issues begin with vol. 4, no. 48 (April 19, 1848) and run through vol. 9, no. 31 (Dec. 22, 1852).

Sunny South. Aberdeen, Miss.: M.C. Gallaway &amp; Franc M. Paul. - Vol. 1, no. 1 was dated Jan. 10, 1856. It ran through 1863.

Tri-Weekly Examiner. Aberdeen, Miss.: S.A. Jones, 1866.

The Aberdeen Examiner. - Began publication April 28, 1866 and ran until it merged with The Amory Advertiser to form Monroe Journal in 2008.

The Aberdeen Weekly. Aberdeen, Miss.: T.T. Deavenport. - It began in 1878 and ran through vol. 57, no. 36 (Sept. 7, 1933). It was published as the Weekly Ledger from May 6 to June 24, 1897.

Aberdeen News-Herald. Aberdeen, Miss.: Virginia M. King. - It began in 1964 and ran through vol. 15, no. 15 (July 20, 1978).

Amory Advertiser. Amory, Miss.: Monroe Pub. Co. - It is unknown what date this newspaper began publication but it ran until it merged with the Amory News to form the Amory News-Advertiser in 1940.

Amory News-Advertiser. Amory, Miss.: Theron D. Harden. - It ran from vol. 23, no. 8 (May 2, 1940) until it shortened its name back to Amory Advertiser in 1973.

Amory Advertiser. Amory, Miss. - This was formed by the shortening of the name of Amory News-Advertiser and ran until it merged with the Aberdeen Examiner to form Monroe Journal in 2008.

Monroe Journal. Tupelo, Miss.: Journal Publishing. - Formed by the merger of the Aberdeen Examiner and Amory Advertiser in 2008. It maintains offices in both towns, but is published in Tupelo.

Other Records
 State Archives
 * 1820-1951   at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images - incomplete - Topics covered: Ex Slave Narratives, list of military veterans,  Military grave registrations, Naturalizations and some Land records.

VOTER List
 * 1871-1967 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Probate Records
Online Records


 * 1780-1982 Mississippi Wills and Probate Records 1780-1982 at Ancestry $
 * 1871-1916 Executor's record (Monroe County, Mississippi), 1871-1916 Index Mixed estate and probate court files (Monroe County, Mississippi), 1821-1916. Arranged by case number.
 * 1781-1930 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only

School Records

 * 1850-1892; 1908-1957   at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records

 * 1816Territorial tax rolls 1816 - Monroe County Collection at FamilySearch - images only
 * 1816-1892  at FamilySearch index and images - incomplete
 * 1822-1892 County tax rolls 1822-1892 - Monroe County Collection at FamilySearch - images only
 * 1848 Nickles, Lillian Plant. 1848 Tax Assessment Roll: Aberdeen, Athens, Camargo, Cotton Gin Port, and Monroe County, Mississippi. Aberdeen, Miss.: The author, 1960.

Marriage

 * 1776-1935 Mississippi Marriages, 1776-1935 at Ancestry $
 * 1800-1825 Mississippi Marriages to 1825 at Ancestry$
 * 1800-1911 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1821-1850 Jones, Elizabeth C. Monroe County, Mississippi Marriages [1821-1825 and 1834-1850]. Aberdeen, Miss.: The author, 1962.
 * 1821-1858 Thomas, Betty Wood. Mississippi Marriages: Lowndes County, 1830-1868; Monroe County, 1821-1858. s.l.: s.n., 1979.
 * 1858-1979 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1776-1935 Mississippi Marriages, 1776-1935 Nicholas Russell Murray, Hunting for Bears, 1982. 3 vols. (Computer indexed marriage records)
 * 1821-1916 Monroe County Marriage Books 1-28 Index 1821-1916 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
 * 1826-1850 Mississippi Marriages, 1826-50 at Ancestry $
 * 1826-1900 Mississippi Marriages, 1826-1900 at Ancestry $

Death

 * 1822-1921  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index, some images


 * 1912-1943  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Divorce

 * 1901-1950 Divorce records (Monroe County, Mississippi), 1901-1950 at FamilySearch - images only

Libraries

 * Evans Memorial Library 105 N. Long Street Aberdeen, MS 39730 Website Excellent local genealogy collection

Societies
Monroe County Historical Society 30062 Sandhill Rd Aberdeen, MS 39730 Website

Aberdeen Genealogical Society General Delivery Aberdeen, MS 39730

Websites

 * Mississippi Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Monroe County Mississippi Genealogy and History Network
 * Monroe County, Mississippi Genweb
 * – 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.