Mississippi Probate Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection includes probate records filed in Mississippi county courts. A few records may go beyond 1930, but most records in this collection were created between the 1850 and 1930. The records include wills, administrations, inventories, court minutes, guardianships and other records of estates.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records: Probate records may include wills, petitions, inventories, accounts, decrees, and other court documents. • 2

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The name of a relative or place of residence

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use a Probate record to identify adoptions, guardians, heirs and relatives
 * Use a will to approximate a death date, then find a death certificate
 * Use the information in the probate record to substitute for civil birth and death records for earlier years
 * Use the information to locate census, christenings, marriage and land records
 * Use the occupations to find employment or military records

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the state of Mississippi.
 * Mississippi Guided Research
 * Mississippi Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Betty Couch Wiltshire, comp. Mississippi index of wills 1800-1900 Bowie, Maryland : Heritage Books, Inc., c1989 FS Library 976.2 P22w

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.