Holmes County, Mississippi Genealogy

United States

Mississippi

Holmes County

Guide to Holmes County, Mississippi ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Mississippi Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Lexington Organized: 19 February 1833 Parent County(s): Yazoo Neighboring Counties Attala  • Carroll  • Humphreys  • Leflore  • Madison  • Yazoo See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

This county was named for David Holmes. Holmes County is located in the west-central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Holmes County Courthouse
1 Court Square
P.O. Box 239
Lexington, MS 39095
Phone: 662-834-2281
Holmes County Website

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.

Holmes County, Mississippi Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1 Nov 1912	1884	1 Nov 1912	1862	1833	1833	1810
*Statewide registration started in Nov 1912 for births and deaths. General compliance by 1921.

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. For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see: Burned Counties. By Michael John Neill at 24-7 Family History Circle. When the Records are Gone. By Arlene Eakle at Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Blog. Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki.

Boundary Changes

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

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Cities
Durant	Lexington (county seat)
Towns
Cruger Goodman	Pickens Tchula	West
Unincorporated communities
Acona Brozville Coxburg Ebenezer Egypt Eulogy Franklin	Good Hope Gwin Howard Ituma Marcella Mileston Montgomery	Oregon Owens Wells Pluto Quofaloma Richland Thornton Tolarville
Ghost towns
Oswego

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Holmes County, Mississippi online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com Tombstone Project MSInterment Billion Graves MSGenWeb
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com Billion Graves MSGenWeb FamilySearch Places
See Mississippi Cemeteries for more information

 

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1840	9,452	—
1850	13,928	47.4%
1860	17,791	27.7%
1870	19,370	8.9%
1880	27,164	40.2%
1890	30,970	14.0%
1900	36,828	18.9%
1910	39,088	6.1%
1920	34,513	−11.7%
1930	38,534	11.7%
1940	39,710	3.1%
1950	33,301	−16.1%
1960	27,096	−18.6%
1970	23,120	−14.7%
1980	22,970	−0.6%
1990	21,604	−5.9%
2000	21,609	0.0%
2010	19,198	−11.2%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

For tips on accessing Holmes County census records online, see: Mississippi Census.

• 1660-1820 U.S. Census Reconstructed Records, 1660-1820 at Ancestry $
• 1792-1866 Mississippi, State and Territorial Census Collection, 1792-1866 at Ancestry $
• 1805-1890 Mississippi, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1805-1890 at Ancestry $
• 1866 1866 State Census Returns at FamilySearch
• 1880 1880 State Census Returns at FamilySearch

Church Records

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Mississippi denominations, view the Mississippi Church Records wiki page.
List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

230 Swan Drive, Greenwood, MS 38930-6929
Phone: 662-453-2236

Court Records

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

Land and Property Records

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Mississippi Land and Property for additional information about early Mississippi land ownership. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.

• Land records, 1824-1959; indexes, 1832-1903, 1824-1959 Viewable at FamilySearch.org.

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Holmes County. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories see the wiki page section Mississippi Local Histories.

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
• Maps of Mississippi (1785-1918)
• Family Maps of Holmes County, Mississippi Genealogy (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com . Free surname search.

Military Records

Civil War

• 1861-1865 Mississippi, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch
• 1861-1865 Mississippi, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch
• 1861-1865 U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry $
• 1861-1865 U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry $
• 1889-1942 Mississippi, Confederate Records, 1889-1942 at FamilySearch
• 1900-1974 Mississippi, Confederate Veterans and Widows Pension Applications, 1900-1974 at FamilySearch

Regiments. Men in 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:

- 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

• 1861-1920 Military records, 1861-1920
• 1917-1919 Mississippi, World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch — index
• 1917-1918 Mississippi, World War I Army Veterans, Master alphabetical index, 1917-1918 at FamilySearch — index and images

Probate Records

Probate records are held by the Holmes County, Mississippi Genealogy Clerk of Court and are housed at the Holmes County, Mississippi Genealogy Courthouse. Microfilmed records can be found online at Mississippi Probate Records, 1781-1930. See the wiki page Mississippi Probate Records for information about how to use probate records.

Content: Probate Records may give the decedent's date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence.

Record types: Wills, estates, guardianships, naturalizations, and adoptions.

Online Records

• 1780-1982 Mississippi Wills and Probate Records 1780-1982 at Ancestry $
• 1781-1930 Mississippi Probate Records 1781-1930 at FamilySearch
• Probate records, 1833-1888, 1893-1977; indexes, 1833-1977, 1833-1977 Viewable at FamilySearch.

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
• 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records

Mississippi tax records replace missing censuses and provide lists of residents during years between censuses. There may be gaps of several years. For more information, see Mississippi Taxation.

• 1833-1873 County Tax Rolls at FamilySearch

Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. Mississippi law did not require keeping birth or death records until 1912. Births and deaths are kept by the Mississippi Bureau of Vital Statistics. Marriage records are kept by the county. See also How to order Mississippi Vital Records or order electronically online.

See Mississippi Vital Records for more information on getting Mississippi records.

Marriage

• 1776-1935 Mississippi Marriages, 1776-1935 at Ancestry $
• 1800-1911 Mississippi, Marriages, 1800-1911 at FamilySearch
• 1800-1825 Mississippi Marriages to 1825 at Ancestry $
• 1826-1850 Mississippi Marriages, 1826-50 at Ancestry $
• 1826-1900 Mississippi Marriages, 1826-1900 at Ancestry $
• 1858-1979 Mississippi, County Marriages, 1858-1979 at FamilySearch for various counties — index and images
• 1884-1916 Holmes County Marriage Books G-H and 1-14 Index 1884-1916 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
• 1884-1967 Marriage records, 1889-1951; index to marriages, 1884-1967 Index

Death

• 1822-1921 - Mississippi Deaths and Burials, 1822-1921 at FamilySearch — index, some images
• 1912-1943 - Mississippi, Death Certificate Index, 1912-1943 at FamilySearch — index
• 1912-1943 Reclaim the Records: Mississippi Death Index at Archive.org - images of index

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Holmes County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Mississippi Archives and Libraries.

Family History Centers

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.

• Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator

Local Centers and Libraries

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Holmes County. For state-wide library facilities, see Mississippi Archives and Libraries.

Societies

Listed below are societies in Holmes County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Mississippi Societies.

Websites

• Mississippi Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• USGenWeb Holmes County, Mississippi project. Has maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
• FamilySearch Catalog – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.