Facts on Local Court Records

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    There is no effective substitute for an on-site search of county courthouse records. County level records have not yet been centralized. No single county's records have been significantly abstracted or transcribed, making a courthouse visit essential. County records vary widely from county to county in both quality and quantity.

   These original Provincial Records records are divided according to the historical powers that ruled Mississippi during its early development. The French Provincial Records, covering the French Dominion date from 1678–1763 and are housed in Paris, France, at the Archives du Ministers du Colonies, Series C13a.
   The English Provincial Records, dating from 1763 through 1783, cover the term of British Dominion and are at the British Public Records Office in London.
   The Spanish Provincial Records are located in Seville, Madrid, and Simancas in Spain. Transcripts and microfilm copies of selections of all of these colonial records are found at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and are known as the Provincial Records (RG 24–26).

   It is important to make the distinction that probate records are maintained by the chancery court, but that the chancery court has additional responsibilities for other records. These tasks include keeping official records of land titles, mortgages, and other documents customarily recorded at the courthouse.

   The term “circuit” developed in 1817 when the state set up judges to rotate in a particular geographic area to make determinations in civil matters. These courts have not deviated greatly from their earliest mission. Marriage licenses, voter registrations, declarations and naturalizations, criminal court minutes, and in some cases the coroner's book are maintained by the circuit court. These records are available to the public at the county courthouse and may also be found on microfilm at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and through the FHL.

  Although Mississippi Territory had influences from different European countries, it was English law that it looked to for guidance even from the beginning; this law separated courts of law and equity as Mississippi distinguished the chancery court from the circuit court.

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Facts on Local Probate Records

   The office of the probate judge is the county office where the most significant genealogical records are created and maintained in Mississippi. A variety of records are housed in this office.

   Although Mississippi Territory had influences from different European countries, it was English law that it looked to for guidance even from the beginning; this law separated courts of law and equity as Mississippi distinguished the chancery court from the circuit court.

   Courts of probate were originally created by the state constitution in 1817 as “orphans' courts,” with responsibilities encompassing probate matters and guardianship. By 1832, the actual name had become “probate court” and was administered by the “chancery clerk.” An amendment passed in 1857 abolished all chancery courts, with probate function then coming under the jurisdiction of the circuit courts. And so it remained until 1869 when the chancery courts were reinstated.

   The chancery court in Mississippi encompasses a wide range of duties. One responsibility of the clerk of the chancery court was to act as judge of probate, keeping records of wills and testaments that are probated. Other functions include claims against an estate being administered; taking proof of wills and admitting wills to probate; and appointing guardians for minors, people of unsound minds, and convicts. These records are on file at the county courthouse, and many are also on microfilm at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

   Record books are only one source of material in Mississippi. Loose papers associated with the estate are also located in some county courthouses, with scattered microfilm copies at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

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Tips for General Court Records

Excerpts From the Book "Family History Made Easy"

   Even today, few people escape mention in court records at some time during their lives as witnesses, litigants, jurors, appointees to office, or as petition signatories. However, Americans of a few generations ago also expected to attend local court proceedings when they were in session.
Arlene H. Eakle, Ph.D. “Research in Court Records”
In The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy

   American court files mirror U.S. history. Buried away in courthouses and archives everywhere are the dreams and frustrations of millions of citizens. The chances are great that your ancestors have left a detailed record of at least some aspects of their lives in court records.

   Most of us don’t think of court records as the rich source of personal history that they are. But America’s English heritage established a tradition of court processes in which the people have a right to participate actively—and we always have. With relative freedom from royal supervision and with court enforcement of religious as well as civil laws, American courts tried many matters that were not subject to court action in other parts of the British empire and that are now considered too minor to warrant criminal action.

   When a person dies, every state has laws that provide for public supervision over the estate that is left, whether or not there is a will. The term “probate records” broadly covers all the records produced by these laws, although, strictly speaking, “probate” applies only when there is a will.

   Family historians use probate case files far more than any other kind of court record. Probate case files are logical sources because they tend to include so much personal data, and because Americans have depended on the courts to settle their estates since North America was colonized. According to Val Greenwood in his Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, “All records which relate to the disposition of an estate after its owner’s death are referred to as probate records. These are many and varied in both content and value, but basically, they fall into two main classes: testate and intestate” (page 255). Probate case files generally provide names, addresses, and biographical data for the deceased, but frequently provide the same information for other relatives named in the papers. Relationships, maiden names of wives, married names of daughters, past residences, and place of origin in a native country are just a few of the details that can be discovered in probate files. And probate files can be found in courthouses and archives across the United States.

   When requesting probate information from the county clerk, it is important not to limit yourself by asking for a person’s “will.” The clerk will usually take you at your word and not copy other papers in the probate file that may have equally important information if there is no will.

   Even if your ancestor is not mentioned in a probate case, consider all of the other procedures which might have resulted in him or her appearing in court records:

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