Madison County, Mississippi Genealogical Records Information

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Madison County History and Information

Madison County Facts

Click HERE to see full size D.O.T. County Map

Madison County was established January 29, 1828, and named for James Madison, fourth President of the United States. Embraced within the territory ceded by the Choctaws in 1820, and long known as the "New Purchase," it was originally a part of the old county of Hinds. In 1823 Hinds surrendered a large section of its area to form the county of Yazoo, and five years later, that portion of Yazoo lying east of the Big Black River, was taken to form the county of Madison. The act creating the county recites that

"So much of the county of Yazoo as lies east of the Big Black River, beginning on the east bank of said river, where the Hinds County line strikes the same; thence with the said line to Pearl River; thence up said river to the Choctaw boundary line; thence with said boundary line, to where it strikes the Big Black; thence down the Big Black River to the beginning." December 23, 1833, the county was enlarged by adding "the territory south of the line drawn from the western boundary of Leake County, through the center of township 12 of range 5 east, and extended west to the old Choctaw boundary, and thence west to the Big Black River, and west of Leake County."

February 22, 1840, the present boundary line between Madison and Hinds counties was established.

Madison County had a population of 3,675 whites and 11,238 slaves as early as 1837, and had 89,746 acres under cultivation in 1836. Many of the old settlements of the region, such as Runnelsville, Williamsburg, Madisonville, Livingston and Vernon, are now extinct or moribund. The first courts of the county were held at Beattie’s Bluff, on the Big Black River, and boats ascended the river to this point. The following men were appointed commissioners to select and lay out a county seat, and contract for the erection of county buildings: Jonah R. Doak, Robert Carson, Sr., Archibald McGehee, John P. Thompson and William Wilson. The first permanent county seat was located at the old town of Livingston, situated about 15 miles southwest of Canton, and at one time the most important town in the county. It began to decay when the county seat was changed to Madisonville. The present county site was finally established at Canton, near the center of the county. Some of the other important towns in the county are Madison, Ridgeland, Flora, Sharon and Miliville. In the northeast corner of the county formerly stood the old historic home of Governor McWillie, "Kirkwood," long known as one of the most beautiful and hospitable homes in the South, and a refuge for its war-worn sons during the War for Southern Independence. General Quitman, Governors Matthews, Foote, Pettus, and McRea, President Davis and many others of note have been entertained within its portals.

Madison County is bordered by Attala County (north), Leake County (east), Scott County (southeast), Rankin County (south), Hinds County (southwest) and Yazoo County (west). Cities and Towns include Canton, Flora, Madison, Ridgeland .

See Extended History for More information. The Official County Website is located at ?. Madison County, Mississippi History Books at Amazon.com

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Madison County Court Records

See Also Mississippi Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records

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

Madison County Clerk of Circuit Court has Marriage Records from 1830 and Court Records from 1828 and is located at P. O. Drawer 1626, Canton, Mississippi 39046; Phone: 859-4365, Fax: 859-5875 .
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.

Madison County Chancery Court Clerk has Land Records from 1828 and Probate Records from 1828 and is located at P. O. Box 404, Canton, Mississippi 39046; Phone: 859-1177, Fax: 859-5875.
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.

There are a few online marriage databases which include: Mississippi Marriages 1767-1935; Mississippi Marriages to 1825; Mississippi Marriages 1826-1850 and Mississippi Marriages 1826-1900. Omline Land records include Mississippi Land Records; Land Claims in Mississippi Territory, 1789-1834 and the BLM Land Records which covers the State of Mississippi. May pioneers and settelers bought land from the government instead of individuals. Online court records include Mississippi Court Records, 1799-1835

Click Here to Search Mississippi Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records! - Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.

Below is a list of online resources for Madison County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Madison County Court Records by clicking the link below:

Madison County, Mississippi Court Books at Amazon.com
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.
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Madison County Vital Records

See Also Research In Census Records

Click Here to Search Mississippi Voter Lists & Census Records! - Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable.

   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 Madison County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Madison County Census Records by clicking the link below:

Madison County Maps & Atlases

   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 Madison County Maps. Email us with websites containing Madison County Maps by clicking the link below:

Madison County Military Records

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 Madison County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Madison County Military Records by clicking the link below:

Madison County, Mississippi Military Books at Amazon.com
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.
Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War (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.
Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Filesi (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, from NARA publication M804.
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.
View, Print Copy & Save Original Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900 from the State of Mississippi (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Pension applications for service in the U.S. Army between 1861 and 1917, grouped according to the units in which the veterans served.
Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Mississippi (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Compiled service records of Confederate soldiers from Mississippi units, labeled with each soldier's name, rank, and unit, with links to revealing documents about each soldier
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Madison County Tax Records

See Also Research In Tax Records

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 Madison County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Madison County Tax Records by clicking the link below:

Madison County Genealogical Addresses

See Also Other Mississippi Genealogical Addresses

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 Madison County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Madison County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

Mississippi Society, Sons of the American Revolution, 529 Pawnee Way, Madison, MS 39110
Dancing Rabbit Creek Genealogical Society, 114 East Franklin Street, Carthage MS 39051
Local Mississippi Researchers, Find a local researcher or become a local researcher.
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 State Records Center, 929 High Str, Jackson, MS 39201; (601) 354-7688
Mississippi Historical Society, PO 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.
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Madison County Church & Cemeteries

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.

There are many churches and cemeteries in Madison County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Madison County Tombstone Transcription Project. The Mississippi Department of Transportation has county maps the show the locations of churches and cemeteries free for viewing or download here.

Below is a list of online resources for Madison County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Madison County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

Click Here to Search Mississippi Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.

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 Madison County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Madison County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

Madison County, Mississippi Family Books at Amazon.com
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County History

Madison County was named for James Madison (1750-1836) of Virginia, Secretary of State in the Jefferson Administration and the fourth President of the United States (1809-1817). Madison County, Mississippi Territory, now a county of Alabama, had been named for him twenty years earlier. Madison Parish, Louisiana, was named for him, as were the Madison counties in Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Madison County, Arkansas, and its county seat were named for Madison County and Huntsville, Alabama. County seats named for James Madison are the cities and towns of Madison in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconson; Madisonville in Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas; and Fort Madison in Iowa. Madisonville, presumably, was named for the county. Livingston may have been named for Robert R. Livingston (1746-1813) of New York, one of the drafters of the Declaration of Independence and one of the negotiators of the Louisiana Purchase; more likely, it was named for Edward Livingston (1764-1836), who at that time was a United States Senator from Louisiana and who had enlisted the pirates Jean and Pierre Lafitte to aid Andrew Jackson during the War of 1812.

Canton is said to have been given its name for a Chinese family who lived there, or because it is thought to oppose Canton, China, on the globe. Similar reasons are given for the names of the county seats called Canton in Georgia, New York, Ohio, South Dakota and Texas.

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