Mississippi's official nickname is "The Magnolia State." It is located in the deep south of the United States and is bordered by Tennesse on the north, the Gulf of Mexico on the south, Alabama to the east, Lousiana to the southwest and Arkansas to the northwest.. The Mississippi River was discovered in 1540 by the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, but was claimed by France in 1699. The French surrendered the Mississippi area to Great Britain in 1763 following the French and Indian War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris. After the American Revolution Britain ceded this area to the United States and, on April 7, 1798, the Mississippi Territory was organized. Mississippi was admited to the Union as the 20th state on December 10, 1817.

Today Mississippi covers 48,434 square miles of land, has 82 counties and ranks 35th in population. The State Capitol, and largest city, is Jackson.

The genealogical records held here are for use by the general public. These records have been submitted to the USGenNet Data Repository by volunteers and researchers just like you for permanent on-line free-access.