Franklin County, Mississippi Genealogy

Guide to Franklin 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 Benjamin Franklin. The County has Meadville as its seat and the County was created 1809. The County is located in the southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Franklin County Courthouse PO Box 297; Meadville, MS 39653 Phone: 601.384.2330 Franklin County Circuit Court Clerk PO Box 267 Meadville, MS 39653 Phone: 601.384.2314  Clerk Chancery Court has court land and probate records. Clerk Circuit Court has military records. Clerk Circuit Court also has marriage records.

History
Brief History (Pre-1817) of Franklin County, Mississippi, USGenWeb for Franklin County, Mississippi

Parent County
1809--Franklin County was created 21 December 1809 from Adams County. County seat:  Meadville

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.


 * 01 Mar 1808 Mississippi Territory authorized the creation of Franklin County from Wilkinson County, but the creation never took effect and it was not mapped. (HRS Miss., St. and Co., 17)
 * 21 Dec 1809 Franklin was created by the Mississippi Territory from Adams, Amite, and Wilkinson counties. (Miss. Terr. Stat., p. 97)
 * 22 Dec 1809 FRANKLIN lost to JEFFERSON. (Miss. Terr. Stat., p. 99)
 * 03 Dec 1810 FRANKLIN gained from AMITE. FRANKLIN boundary with WILKINSON was redefined [no change]. (Miss. Terr. Stat., p. 99)
 * 09 Dec 1811 FRANKLIN lost to creation of MARION. (Miss. Terr. Stat., pp. 104-105)
 * 12 Feb 1819 FRANKLIN lost to AMITE. (Miss. Laws 1819, 1st sess., p. 14)
 * 29 Jun 1822 FRANKLIN gained from JEFFERSON. (Miss. Laws 1821-1822, 5th sess. adj., p. 274)
 * 21 Jan 1823 FRANKLIN lost to JEFFERSON and lost to creation of COPIAH. (Miss. Laws 1822-1823, 6th sess., ch. 36/p. 100 and ch. 49, secs. 1, 7/pp. 117-118)
 * 07 Apr 1870 FRANKLIN lost to creation of LINCOLN. FRANKLIN boundary with AMITE was redefined [no change]. (Miss. Laws 1870, reg. sess., ch. 55, secs. 1-2, 8/pp. 129, 132)
 * 10 May 1871 FRANKLIN lost to AMITE. (Miss. Laws 1871, reg. sess., ch. 264/p. 647)
 * 04 Apr 1873 FRANKLIN gained from AMITE. (Miss. Laws 1873, reg. sess., ch. 50/p. 202)
 * 09 Feb 1875 FRANKLIN gained from LINCOLN. (Miss. Laws 1875, reg. sess., ch. 29/p. 56)

See Mississippi: Individual County Chronologies, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries

Record Loss
1877--Some records were lost in a fire.

Neighboring Counties

 * Adams
 * Amite
 * Jefferson
 * Lincoln
 * Wilkinson

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 $


 * 1810 -, courtesy: FamilySearch - free.


 * 1816 -, courtesy: FamilySearch - free.


 * 1820 -, courtesy: FamilySearch - free.


 * 1833 -, courtesy: FamilySearch - free.


 * 1841 -, courtesy: FamilySearch - free.


 * 1845 -, courtesy: FamilySearch - free.


 * 1870 -, courtesy: FamilySearch - free.


 * 1880 -, courtesy: FamilySearch - free.

Church Records
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Franklin

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


 * Men from Franklin County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Franklin County.


 * - 4th Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry
 * Company I - Stockdale Rangers
 * - 7th Regiment, Mississippi Infantry
 * Company A - Franklin Rifles
 * Company K - Quitman Rifles
 * Company E - Franklin Beauregards

World War I

 * 1917-1919 - at FamilySearch — index

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

Taxation

 * 1810-1887 -, courtesy: FamilySearch - free.

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 $
 * 1816-1899 - Marriages On-Line Index: Franklin County, Mississippi. Courtesy: MSGenWeb - free.
 * 1818-1928 - Franklin County Marriage Books 1-6 Index 1818-1928 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

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

Websites

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