Holmes County, Mississippi Genealogy

Guide to Holmes 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 David Holmes. The County has Lexington as its seat and the County was created 1833. The County is located in the west central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Holmes County Courthouse PO Box 239; Lexington, MS 39095 Phone: 662.834.2281; Clerk Chancery Court has divorce records from 1894, probate and land records from 1833 and burial records. Clerk Circuit Court has marriage and court records.

Parent County
1833--Holmes County was created 19 February 1833 from Yazoo County. County seat: Lexington

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
1884--A courthouse fire destroyed many of the records, but the deeds were housed in a separate building and Will Book I was rescued.

Populated Places
Lexington is the county seat located in the center of the county. Lexington is also the largest city in Holmes county.

Cruger and Tchula are on western side of the state. Cruger is the northern most city in Holmes county. Tchula is on the western border of the county and is connected to Lexington via the Tchula/Lexington highway (modern day hwy 12).

The cities that border the eastern edge of the county from the north to the south are West, Durant, Goodman, and Pickens. These cities follow stops on the Illinois Central railroad line. Durant is connected to Lexington via the Durant/Lexington highway (modern day highway 12).

Census records often reference these highways located between cities according to the city from which you are traveling towards the county seat of Lexington.

The largest population growth occured between the 1870's during the post-civil war era and 1910. Railways were numerous in the cotton economy of the mississippi delta region.

Neighboring Counties

 * Attala
 * Carroll
 * Humphreys
 * Leflore
 * Madison
 * Yazoo

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 $


 * 1866 -, courtesy: FamilySearch - free.


 * 1880 -, courtesy: FamilySearch - free.

Church Records
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

230 Swan Drive, Greenwood, MS 38930-6929 (662) 453-2236

Court

 * Court records, 1862-1937; indexes, 1904-1909 Viewable

Land and Property

 * Land records, 1824-1959; indexes, 1832-1903, 1824-1959 Viewable

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 Holmes 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 Holmes County. Holmes County, MSGenWeb site has rosters for the various companies.


 * - 1st Battalion, Mississippi Sharpshooters
 * Company B - Red Rebels
 * - 1st Regiment, Mississippi Light Artillery
 * Company D - Wofford’s Battery
 * - 3rd Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry
 * Company A - Kyle’s Company
 * - 4th Regiment, Mississippi Infantry
 * Company C - Red Invincibles
 * Company G - Nelson Grays
 * - 12th Regiment, Mississippi Infantry
 * Company F - Durant Rifles [also listed as Co. I]


 * Military records, 1861-1920

World War I

 * Military records, 1861-1920

Probate Records
Online Records
 * 1780 – 1982 Mississippi Wills and Probate Records 1780-1982 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1781 – 1930 at FamilySearch — images
 * Probate records, 1833-1888, 1893-1977; indexes, 1833-1977, 1833-1977 Viewable

Taxation

 * 1833-1873 -, 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 $
 * 1884-1916 - Holmes County Marriage Books G-H and 1-14 Index 1884-1916 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1884-1967 Marriage records, 1889-1951; index to marriages, 1884-1967 Index

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

Websites

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