The County of Bolivar was created February 9, 1836 from the Choctaw Cession of 1830 during the administration of Governor Charles Lynch. It was named for General Simon Bolivar, a South American patriot. It contained 40 townships with an area of 1440 square miles. Its present area is 879 square, miles.
The County is now divided into two judicial districts, the line of division running north and south. Rosedale, situated on the Mississippi River, is the county seat of the first district, and Cleveland, situated on the main line of the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad, is the county seat of the second district.
The first county seat of Bolivar County was located at Bolivar Landing, and again, it was located at a point on a high sand ridge about two miles northwest of the present town of Beulah, this site being known to this day as "the old courthouse field." Subsequently, the county seat was removed to Prentiss on the Mississippi River opposite Napoleon, Arkansas.
The first settlers of Bolivar County were planters who found the forty to sixty foot deep Delta soil to be rich and fertile. The land had to first be laboriously cleared of the evergreen, cane and bamboo, but once cleared, the settlers found rivers, bayous, and lakes filled with edible fish, such as perch, jack, trout, bass, and big river catfish weighing as much as 200 pounds. Game, such as wild ducks, turkeys, deer, and quail were found in large numbers. The levee system was first implemented during the 1850's to the 1860's.
The first settlement in Bolivar County was Georgetown, located in the southern part of the county. Georgetown was a river landing, and was located on a plantation called Timber Lake Place, and belonging to John L. MARTIN of Kentucky.
Bolivar County is bordered by Coahoma County (north), Sunflower County (east), Washington County (south) and Desha County, Arkansas (west) . Cities and Towns include Alligator, Benoit, Beulah, Boyle, Cleveland, Duncan, Gunnison, Merigold, Mound Bayou, Pace, Renova, Rosedale, Shaw, Shelby and Winstonville
.
The County Courthouse was burned by Federals in 1863 and entombed by flood in 1865.
PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information. Dates following a slash indicate those materials jointly held by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and the FHL
Bolivar County Clerk of Circuit Court has Marriage Records from 1866 and Court Records from 1836 and is located at P. O. Box 670, Cleveland, Mississippi 38732;
Phone: 843-2061, Fax: 846-5880 . Duties of the Circuit Clerk include
Receivin and fileing all law suits, indictments, motions and other related papers in all Civil and Criminal Cases filed in the Circuit or County Courts and issues all process including summons and subpoenas,
Draws Jurors and qualifies Juries,
Keeps a record of all Judgments and Executions,
Issues marriage licenses and keeps records of marriages.
Bolivar County Chancery Court Clerk has Land Records from 1836 and Probate Records from 1861 and is located at P. O. Box 789, Cleveland, Mississippi 38732;
Phone: 843-2071, Fax: 846-5880
The Chancery Clerk occupies perhaps the most unique and diverse office in all of Mississippi government. The various duties given the Chancery Clerk by statute, or assumed voluntarily by the individual Clerk, cover a wide range of vitally important functions. Some of the duties and functions of the Chancery Clerk are recording the official minutes. As public recorder, the Clerk handles the recording and storage of several types of documents and maintains various indexes that aid people in researching these records. The primary records are deeds and mortgages relating to real property, but the Clerk also records federal tax liens, Lis Pendens ( notices of pending lawsuits ) and military discharges. The Clerk is in charge of the storage and authorized disposal of older land rolls, tax receipts and many other County records after their active use lifespan. As Clerk of the Chancery Court, the Clerk handles a multitude of tasks such as matters of estates, guardianships, conservatorships, divorces, child custody, adoption, property disputes and other matters of equity.
Below is a list of online resources for Bolivar County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Bolivar County Court Records by clicking the link below:
Mississippi Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.
Click Here to Search Mississippi Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
Bolivar County Health Department has Birth
and Death
Records from November of 1912 .and is located at 711 Third Street,
Cleveland, MS 38732; Phone: 662-843-2706. You may go to any county health department in the State of Mississippi to obtain a certificates can be issued while you wait.
Contact Chancery Clerk for County Divorce Records (See Bolivar County Court Records for Address and Phone number) in the county where divorce was granted, and Contact Clerk of Circuit Court Judge For County Marriage Records (See Bolivar County Court Records for Address and Phone number) in county where license was issued
Mississippi Department of Health is located in the Underwood Building, 571 Stadium Drive, just off North State Street near Woodrow Wilson Avenue in Jackson, Mississippi. The phone number is 601.576.7981. They have the following records:
Birth Certificates: The Mississippi Department of Health began filing birth certificates in November of 1912 for persons born in Mississippi.
For earlier records, contact the Mississippi Department of Archives and History at (601) 576-6876.The certified copy of the birth certificate is available for $12.00 for the first copy and $3.00 for each additional copy ordered at the same time. You can download an application online for Birth Certificates.
Death Certificates: The Mississippi Department of Health began filing death certificates in November of 1912 for persons who died in Mississippi. For earlier records, contact the Mississippi Department of Archives and History at (601) 576-6876. The fee for a certified copy of a death certificate is $10.00. Each additional copy ordered at the same time is $2.00. You can download an application online for Death Certificates. You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates much quicker by ordering HERE. Click Here to Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE
Marriage Certificates: The Mississippi Department of Health began filing Marriage records from January 1, 1926 to June 30, 1938, and for January 1, 1942 to present. for marriages that occurred in Mississippi. (Information for marriages prior to 1926 must be obtained from the Clerk of Circuit Court office in the county where the marriage license was issued.).The fee for a search of the records and a certified copy is $10.00. Additional copies ordered at the same time are $2.00 each. You can download an application online for Marriage Certificates.
Checks or Money Orders should be made payable to "Vital Records." Please do not send cash. Fees are non refundable. Additional fees are required for expedited service. Mail all Applications to: Mississippi Vital Records, P.O. Box 1700, Jackson, MS 39215-1700. You can download an application online for Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates or Death Certificates. You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates much quicker by ordering HERE
Below is a list of online resources for Bolivar County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Bolivar County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE - Search over 82 million death records and get genealogical information crucial to your family research. New content added weekly! Most comprehensive SSDI site online!
Federal Population Schedules that exist for Mississippi are 1820, 1830 (Partial), 1840, 1850, 1860 (Partial), 1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. In
1817 Mississippi became the twentieth state to enter the union;
therefore, the first federal population census available is
that of 1820.
Variations of this census appear in three printed forms, none
of which include slave or miscellaneous information.
Enumerations for Pike County are missing in 1830, but the Gillis
index used extant tax records to supplement their index. Transcriptions
are subject to error; use these reprints simply as a guide to
the original records.
A significant addition to the 1840 census supplies the names
and ages of pensioners. Schedules are missing for Hancock, Sunflower,
and Washington counties in 1860.
By 1870, with slavery abolished, all blacks, natives, and Chinese
were included, along with information regarding citizenship.
With the destruction of the 1890 population schedules, only
the schedules enumerating Union veterans are available for Mississippi. There are free downloadable and printable Census forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms and U.K. Census Extraction Forms
Below is a list of online resources for Bolivar County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Bolivar County Census Records by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Alabama and other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for Mississippi showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for Mississippi showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries . You can view a list of maps for other states and State Department of Transportation Maps at County Maps. The Alabama Department of Transportation has county maps the show the locations of churches, cemeteries, roads, ect... free for viewing or download here
Below is a list of online resources for Bolivar County Maps. Email us with websites containing Bolivar County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Mississippi Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.
Below is a list of online resources for Bolivar County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Bolivar County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Mississippi (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
Local
county courthouses maintain original tax records, both real
and personal. Microfilm copies of the earlier records are found
in the Mississippi Department of Archives and History where
the collection is extensive, but there are gaps. Although not
many, some counties have published selected years of tax rolls.
Below is a list of online resources for Bolivar County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Bolivar County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
The Repositories
in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical
and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical
Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly,
quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies
should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are
usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived
materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be
more generalized and over look the smaller details that local
societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to
look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy
section and may have some resources that are not located at
archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums
in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years
gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All
these places are vitally important to the family genealogist
and must not be passed over.
Below is a list of online resources for Bolivar County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Bolivar County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Bolivar County Historical Society, 1615 Terrace Road, Cleveland, MS 38732, (601) 843-8204
Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Ph. (601) 576-6850, fax (601) 576-6964 Physical Address: 200 North Street, Jackson, MS 39201 Mailing Address: P. O. Box 571, Jackson, MS 39205-0571
Mississippi Genealogical Society, PO Box 5301, Jackson, MS 39296-5301
Mississippi Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Click Here to Search Mississippi Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.
Below is a list of online resources for Bolivar County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Bolivar County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Bolivar County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Bolivar County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
Mississippi Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
Bolivar County was established by the Mississippi Legislature Feb. 9, 1836. The county was named for Simon Bolivar, the famed South American Liberator.
The first Bolivar County courthouse was a frame building erected in 1841, at a cost of $595. Over the next 30 years, the county seat of government was moved several times, finally coming to rest in Rosedale, in the early 1870. A courthouse was built there in 1872-1873. Rosedale originally was known as Floreyville, but the name was changed to Rosedale in 1876.
Bolivar County had 2,577 residents in 1850, and 10,471 in 1860. The vast majority of the county’s pre-Civil War populace was made up of slaves.
The Civil War brought a temporary end to what had been a period of tremendous material progress in Bolivar County. The county suffered numerous assaults by Union troops. At Prentiss, the county seat during the Civil War, invading Union forces burned much of the town including Bolivar County’s first brick courthouse. While the county’s able-bodied men were off fighting for the losing cause of the Confederacy, their homes and property were destroyed.
Cleveland, which originally was called Sims, was settled in the early 1880s. It was incorporated in 1886. Because of the great distance from the new towns in eastern Bolivar County to the county seat at Rosedale and the difficulty of making the trip, residents of the eastern towns were soon clamoring for the creation of a Second Judicial District. In 1900, Bolivar County’s Second Judicial District was established with Cleveland as its county seat. The first courthouse in Cleveland was completed the following year.
The two present-day Bolivar County courthouses were both built in the early 1920s. Flood seep-water wrecked the foundation of the courthouse in Rosedale, and a new courthouse was built there in 1922-1923. The Second Judicial District courthouse at Cleveland was torn down to make way for a new courthouse built in 1923-1924.
In 1924, Delta State Teachers College was chartered, and the new school was located in Cleveland. Since it opened in 1925, Delta State has grown into a multi-purpose university with over 3,200 students
