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Smith County, Mississippi welcomes those researching their family histories. Below are listed some of the help and resources that the county offers. Smith County lost many of its old historical courthouse records to fire. The oldest official records in Smith County are from 1912, as the latest courthouse burned in 1911.
The Smith County Courthouse in Raleigh, Mississippi has available county historical records. Smith County Chancery Clerk's Office houses land and divorce records from 1912. The Circuit Clerk's Office has marriage records from 1912 to the present. There are also county newspapers from 1936.
Courthouse hours are Monday thru Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Chancery Clerk...................................601 782-9811
Circuit Clerk........................................601 782-4715
Smith County, Mississippi Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 356
Raleigh, MS 39153
601-426-6749 or 601-782-9497
Lncwebb@hughes.net or gwstuart@netscape.net
The Smith County Genealogical Society has published many historical publications that are available thru the Society. There is a Smith County History Book available that contains many individual family histories. A second history book is in progress at this time. These reference books and many others are available for patron and visitor use at the Floyd J. Robinson Memorial Library. For more printable information about the Smith County Genealogical Society, follow this link.
Floyd J. Robinson Memorial Library
105 Main St
Raleigh, MS 39153
Phone: 601-782-4277
The Floyd J. Robinson Memorial Library located in Raleigh, Mississippi, has a genealogy section that contains County History Books, Cemetary Books, a book of land titles from the early 1900's, and there are individual family histories that have been donated to the library. Genealogy records from the other branch libraries in the county have been moved to Raleigh.
Available records on the library computer are marriage, birth, and death records and some census from the 1800's is available. They have subscriptions to Heritage Quest and Ancestry available to patrons and visitors.
Library hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday: 10 a.m. - 6.p.m.
Thursday: 12 - 6 p.m.
2nd Saturday of the Month: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. to coincide with the Smith County Genealogy Meeting.
HELPFUL GENEALOGY LINKS:
Smith County Genealogical Society
Smith County Mississippi RootsWeb
Smith County GenWeb
MSGenWeb Site - Mississippi Genealogical & Historical Societies
Vital Records Information - Mississippi
Vital Records Information - Mississippi Counties
Mississippi Supreme Court | Chancery Clerk List
Mississippi Public Records
MSGenWeb Home Page
Mississippi Genealogy - Cemeteries, Census, Vital Records and more
Mississippi City/Towns List
USGenWeb Census Project
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The first thing you need to do in getting started searching your family tree is to talk to your family. Ask your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, anyone who is willing to share with you.
The genealogy questions you will want to ask are:
1. when they were born and where
2. where did they grow up
3. when and where they were married
4. what were their parents names
5. when did their parents marry and where
6. where are their parents buried and when did they pass away (name of cemetery, city, state)
7. are there any other family members buried there or close by
8. who were their Aunts and Uncles
9. do they know when/where they were born, married, lived, buried
10. ask them who their oldest living relative is
11. make plans to visit this person as soon as possible
What next? Take the info you know and now the detective work begins. Now you start looking for records. One of the first places you should start is with the census records. You will start to learn where your family lived and in what counties. Then you will take this information to search for other genealogy documents such as obituary notices, tax records, land records, wills etc... Each piece of information will add another piece to the puzzle.
Read more about basic genealogy research here.
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