Webster County, Mississippi Genealogy

United States

Mississippi

Webster County

Guide to Webster 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: Walthall Organized: 1874 Parent County(s): Montgomery, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Oktibbeha Neighboring Counties Calhoun  • Chickasaw  • Choctaw  • Clay  • Grenada  • Montgomery  • Oktibbeha See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

This county was named for Daniel Webster. Webster County is located in the central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Webster County Courthouse
Hwy 9 N
PO Box 398
Walthall, MS 39771
Phone: 662-258-4131
Webster County Website

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage and court records.
Clerk Chancery Court has divorce, probate and land records from 1800s.

Webster 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	1874	1 Nov 1912	1879	1873	1874	1810
*Statewide registration started in Nov 1912 for births and deaths. General compliance by 1921.

Record Loss

2013 Webster County, Mississippi, suffered a courthouse fire. Old records stored on the third floor were lost, including early court case files and the earliest deed books. Records in the vault and in the office were not lost. 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

1874 Webster County was created 6 April 1874 from Montgomery, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Oktibbeha Counties. County seat: Walthall 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
Eupora
Towns
Maben‡	Mathiston‡
Villages
Mantee	Walthall (county seat)
Unincorporated communities
Alva Bellefontaine Clarkson Cumberland Dancy	Embry Fame Hohenlinden Old Greensboro Pellez	Sapa Spring Valley Ticky Bend Tomnolen

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

Resources

Cemeteries

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

 

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1880	9,534	—
1890	12,060	26.5%
1900	13,619	12.9%
1910	14,853	9.1%
1920	12,644	−14.9%
1930	12,128	−4.1%
1940	14,160	16.8%
1950	11,607	−18.0%
1960	10,580	−8.8%
1970	10,047	−5.0%
1980	10,300	2.5%
1990	10,222	−0.8%
2000	10,294	0.7%
2010	10,253	−0.4%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

For tips on accessing Webster 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 $

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

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

African Americans

• The Freedmen's Bureau Marriage Records at Mississippi Department of Archives and History - index and transcription

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.

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Webster 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)

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

World War I

• 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 Webster County, Mississippi Genealogy Clerk of Court and are housed at the Webster 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

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.

• 1874-1896 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 $
• 1800-1825 Mississippi Marriages to 1825 at Ancestry $
• 1800-1911 Mississippi, Marriages, 1800-1911 at FamilySearch
• 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 — index and images
• 1874-1918 Webster County Marriage Books 1-4, 7-8, 12, 14 Index 1874-1918 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch

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 Webster County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Mississippi Archives and Libraries.

Family History Centers

Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local Family History Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• 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.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Libraries

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

Societies

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

Websites

• Mississippi Genealogy Network Community on Google+
• Mississippi Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• Mississippi GenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
• Webster County Mississippi Genealogy and History Network
• Webster County MS Genealogy and resources
• 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.