Forrest County, Mississippi Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for Nathan B. Forrest. The County has Hattiesburg as its seat and the County was created 1908. The County is located in the south area of the state.

County Courthouse
Forrest County Courthouse 641 Main St; PO Box 951; Hattiesburg, MS 39401 Phone: 601.545.6014 Clerk Circuit Court has marriage records from 1893 and court records from 1906. Clerk Chancery Court has divorce, land, probate and military records.

Parent County
1906--Forrest County was created 19 April 1906 from Perry County. County seat: Hattiesburg

Boundary Changes
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.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Neighboring Counties

 * Covington
 * Jones
 * Lamar
 * Pearl River
 * Perry
 * Stone

Census

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

Church Records
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Hattiesburg

Maps

 * Maps of Mississippi (1785-1918)
 * Family Maps of (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.

Civil War

 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch.org — index/images
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch.org — index/images
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
 * 1889-1942 - at FamilySearch — images
 * 1900-1974 - at FamilySearch — images

Probate Records
Online Records
 * 1780 – 1982 Mississippi Wills and Probate Records 1780-1982 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1781 – 1930 at FamilySearch — images

Marriage

 * 1800 - 1911 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1776 - 1935 Mississippi Marriages, 1776-1935 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1826 - 1900 Mississippi Marriages, 1826-1900 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1826 - 50 Mississippi Marriages, 1826-50 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * to 1825 Mississippi Marriages to 1825 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1892-1917 - Forrest County Marriage Books 1-6A Index 1892-1917 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1900-1920s - Forrest County, Mississippi Marriages. Courtesy: Melba's Southern Families - free.
 * 1921-1925 - Forrest County, Mississippi Marriage Index. Arranged by: Brides | Grooms. Courtesy: MSGenWeb - free.

Genealogy Societies and Libraries
See also a List of Mississippi Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies

Hattiesburg Area Historical Society, 27 W Front St, Hattiesburg 39401-3461

McCain Library & Archives, University of Southern Mississippi, Southern Station, Box 5148, Hattiesburg, MS 39406-5148 ... Telephone: (601) 266 - 4345. Hours 8-5, Monday through Friday. Not open on evenings or weekends.

Websites

 * Forrest County, MS History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Mississippi Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Mississippi Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * USGenWeb Forrest County, Mississippi project. Has maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
 * Forrest County Genealogy (Mississippi Genealogy)
 * Forrest County Genealogy (Mississippi Genealogy)