Mississippi Enumeration of Educable Children - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
These records are lists of children compiled by Mississippi counties and school districts for the years 1850-1892, 1908 to 1957.

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.

School records helped local governments determine funding needs for individual schools. The information is usually reliable.

Record Content
Key genealogical facts found in the collection include:


 * County, town, and school district of enumeration
 * Race
 * School Status (regularly attending, enrolled, or withdrawn from school)
 * Parents' names
 * Name of child
 * Age
 * Month of birth
 * Gender
 * School and ward
 * Address

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

Search the Collection
To search the collection by name, fill in your ancestor’s name in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about those in the list to what you already know about your own ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks. If you are unable to locate your ancestor, you may want to browse the images in the county where they resided: ⇒Select the Browse link in the initial search page ⇒Select the "County name" category ⇒Select the "Year" category which takes you to the images

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

Using the Information
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.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * 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.
 * 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.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Related Websites

 * Mississippi Department of Archives &amp; History – Genealogical Research at the Archives
 * Perry County, Mississippi Genealogy and History

Related Wiki Articles
Mississippi

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. 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. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

Collection Citation Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation