Mississippi Enumeration of Educable Children - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
This collection includes records from the years 1850-1957.

Record Description
These records are lists of children compiled by Mississippi counties and school districts.

The listing of school-aged children in Mississippi dates back to 1850, though some counties took another 100 years to adopt the practice. In some areas the records are referred to as school censuses. The records are usually compiled on a yearly basis.

For a list of records by localities and dates currently published in this collection, select the Browse.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to original source of the data and images published on FamilySearch.org Historical Records. It may include the author, custodian, publisher, or archive for the original records.

Information about creating source citation for FamilySearch Historical Collections is listed on the wiki article Help:How to create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections.

Record Content
Key genealogical facts found in the collection include:


 * County
 * Town
 * School District
 * Race
 * School Status (Regularly attending, Enrolled, or Withdrawn from school)
 * Names of parents or guardians
 * Name of child
 * Age
 * Month of birth
 * Sex
 * Ward
 * Address
 * As of 1885, records include the name of the parent or guardian of the students

How to Use the Record
School records can be very helpful as they can often be used as a reliable substitute for birth records or they can lead you to birth records. To begin your search it is helpful to know the following:


 * Name of the child
 * Age or approximate birth date
 * Parents names
 * Residence

Compare the information in the school record to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination.

When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestor. For example:


 * Use the age to calculate an approximate birth date.
 * Use the age or birth date along with the parents’ names and residence to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.

It is often helpful to extract the information on all children with the same parents. If the surname is unusual, you may want to compile the entries for every person of the same surname and sort them into families based on the names of the parents. Continue to search the birth records to identify other relatives such as cousins who attended the same school or other nearby schools.

Keep in mind:


 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after 1885.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from record to record.

Why this Record Was Created
School records helped local governments determine funding needs for individual schools.

Record Reliability
The information is usually reliable.

Related Websites

 * Mississippi Department of Archives &amp; History – Genealogical Research at the Archives
 * Kemper County 1890 Enumeration of Educable Children
 * Perry County, Mississippi Genealogy and History

Related Wiki Articles

 * Mississippi

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should also list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: Help:How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections.

Citation Example for a Record in This Collection
"Mississippi Enumeration of Educable Children, 1850-1892, 1908-1957" digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 28 March 2012), Mississippi Enumeration of Educable Children, 1850-1892, 1908-1957 &gt; Monroe &gt; 1878 &gt; Image 5 of 314; entry for Jim Dryer age 16; citing School Records, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson, Mississippi, United States.