Mississippi, Tippah County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
The collection includes deeds, chattel deeds (or moveable personal property), and probate case files for the years 1836 to 1923. The records are usually handwritten or handwritten on preprinted pages.

Record Content
Information found in this collection may include:


 * Dates transactions (deeds) occurred, were written up, and recorded
 * Names of grantors (sellers), grantees (buyers), and witnesses
 * Residences of grantor(s) and grantee(s)
 * Occupations of both grantor(s) and grantee(s)
 * Persons mentioned as a minor
 * Exact relationships stated in deeds for property sold or given away
 * Legal documents such as Citations to Settle
 * Court Orders
 * County estate ledgers
 * Summons

Probate records include petitions, inventories, accounts, and decrees

Information generally found in entries may include:


 * Name of testator or deceased
 * Names of heirs such as spouse, children, and other relatives or friends
 * Name of executor, administrator, or guardian
 * Names of witnesses
 * Residence of testator
 * Document and recording dates (There are used to approximate event dates, i.e. a will was usually written near time of death.)

How to Use the Record
To begin your search it is helpful to know the following:


 * The place of residence
 * The approximate death or probate date
 * The name of the deceased

Search the Collection
To search the collection ⇒Select the Browse link in the initial search page ⇒Select the "County" category ⇒Select the "Record Type, Date Range and Volume" category which takes you to the images

Search the collection by 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.

As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors. The following examples show ways you can use the information:


 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and census records.
 * Use probate records to identify heirs and relatives or to learn about adoptions or guardianship of any minor children and dependents.
 * Use the document (such as the will) or the recording dates to approximate a death date.
 * Use the information in the probate record to substitute for civil birth and death records since the probates exist for an earlier time period.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * You may be able to use the probate record to learn about


 * Land transactions
 * Guardianships of underage children
 * Previous marriages


 * Occupations listed can lead you to employment records or other types of records such as military records. *Search for the land transactions of a couple and their children. The parents may have sold or given property to a son or daughter. Such transactions confirm relationships that might not be found in other records.
 * Search for records of people in the county who shared a surname. These may have been the couple’s parents, uncles, or other relatives. Your ancestor may have been an heir who sold inherited land that had belonged to parents or grandparents.
 * To find later generations, search the land records a few years before and after a person’s death. Your ancestor may have sold or given land to his or her heirs before death, or the heirs may have sold the land after the individual died. For daughters, the names of their husbands are often provided. For sons, the given names of their wives may be included. Heirs may have sold their interest in the land to another heir even though the record may not indicate this. Continue this process for identifying each succeeding generation.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Some counties were subdivided or the boundaries changed. Consider searching neighboring counties as well since that courthouse may have been more convenient for the person.
 * One deed does not usually give sufficient information about a couple and their children. A careful study of all deeds for the person or the family will yield a richer return of information.
 * For each parcel of land owned, you should obtain two documents: (1) the deed that documents when ownership transferred to the individual or the family and (2) the deed that documents when ownership was transferred to someone else.
 * Witnesses and neighbors, even those with a different surname, may have been relatives, in-laws, or even a widowed mother who has remarried. You may want to check the records of these witnesses and neighbors, especially if they are frequently found in your ancestor’s land records.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after 1900.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another record.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
 * Search the indexes for the “parent” county to find the original purchase of a parcel of land. You may also need to search a neighboring county since that courthouse may have been more convenient for the person to record the deed.
 * Check the land records of the people mentioned in your ancestor’s deeds to see if a different residence was ever mentioned for them.
 * Make a list of all residences mentioned in the records within a year or two of when your ancestors came to the county—regardless of surname. Then search the records of places that seem likely or that occur frequently.
 * Create a database for other people with the same surname who lived in the county. Doing this may help you identify which individuals were related. If your ancestor’s records do not contain the information you need, a county database might give you a more complete picture.
 * Search other areas of the index. For example, if the land was sold for taxes, the entry may be in the grantor index under “S” for “sheriff,” under “T” for “tax collector” or “treasurer,” under the names of those officials, or even under the county name. County histories or other records may give the names of these county officials.

Additional Information About These Records
Each type of record within the county was created for a different purpose.

Probate records were used to legally dispose of a person’s estate after his or her death. If the deceased had made a will, the probate process transferred the following from the deceased to an executor or executrix: the legal responsibility for payment of taxes, care and custody of dependent family members, liquidation of debts, and transfer of property title to heirs. If there was no will, the transfer went to an administrator or administratrix. A guardian or conservator was appointed if the deceased had heirs younger than 21 or if the heirs were incompetent due to disability or disease.

Land transactions were recorded to document the transfer of land ownership, establish legal rights to land, track responsibilities for tax revenues, and designate persons to serve in various functions of the county, such as maintaining public roads in the early times.

The information given in county land records is quite reliable, although there may be errors made while transcribing the county’s copy from an original deed.

Information in the probate proceedings is also quite reliable, but realize that there is still a chance of misinformation. The records may omit the names of deceased family members or those who had previously received an inheritance. In some cases, the spouse mentioned in the will was not the parent of the children mentioned. Also, some wills do not name family members.

Tippah County was founded in 1836 and named after Pontotoc, a Chickasaw Indian Chief. It once encompassed portions of Benton, Union, Alcorn, and Prentiss Counties. Ripley is the County Seat. See Tippah County, Mississippi History, Records, Facts, Genealogy and Ancestry and Tippah County, Mississippi at e-ReferenceDesk: Tippah County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

Court House: P.O. Box 99 County Courthouse Ripley, MS 38663-0099

Related Websites

 * MSGenWeb Tippah County Page
 * Tippah County MS History and Genealogy at Genealogy Trails
 * Tippah County Cemeteries (Find A Grave)

Related Wiki Articles

 * Mississippi Land and Property
 * Mississippi Probate Records
 * Tippah County, 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.

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