African American genealogical research often presents additional difficulties because record keeping for Black individuals was limited before the Civil War. For this reason, a separate section devoted to African American resources is appropriate, similar to the approach taken for Native American research, which faces comparable challenges. The resources linked from this page provide the principal sources currently available for researching Black genealogy in Mississippi.
Although progress has been made in recent years, African American genealogy still requires careful, methodical work. New publications, bibliographies, and guides issued by genealogical societies and interest groups have improved access to relevant information, but the first step remains the same: organizing personal materials and applying standard research practices.
Researching African American families involves two broad periods, divided by the Civil War. Methods used for tracing enslaved individuals differ significantly from those used for white families or free African Americans before emancipation. After the war, African Americans appear in most of the same record types as white families, and research techniques largely converge.
- National Archives
- Archives
- Societies
- Biography
- Mississippi African American Cemeteries
- Hosted at Ancestry.com
- Access Genealogy’s Cemetery Records
The most complete coverage of Cemetery records available on the web. They are broken down by county. We do know know if there are African Americans in these cemeteries, so you should browse them for ancestors also.
- Mississippi African American Census Records
- Hosted at Christine’s Genealogy Website
- 1860 Noxubee County, Mississippi Mortality Schedule
- 1870 Noxubee County, Mississippi Mortality Schedule
- 1860 Noxubee County, Mississippi Slave Census
- 1886 Natchez Census
- Access Genealogy’s Census Records
Providing the most complete coverage of census records available on the web. We’ve broken the list down by county, and take a careful look at the index page where we explain which records are missing from the census data and may never be recovered. - Church Records
- Court Records
- History
- Adams County Mississippi Slave Record Book
- Military Records
- Military Records (hosted at AccessGenealogy)
- World War I Records
- Hosted at Ancestry.com
- World War II Records
- Mississippi World War II Army – Air Corps Casualty List
- Mississippi World War II Navy – Marines Casualty List
- African Americans in World War II
- Hosted at Ancestry.com
- African-American Civil War Soldiers & Sailors
- Black Confederate Pensioners, Marshall County
- Military Records (hosted at AccessGenealogy)
- Surnames
- Vital Records
I am trying to find information on my ancestors Harriet Johnson or Henrietta Richardson who had a son, Eugene Crockett with Benjamin Crockett in 1894. I am trying to find information on who Benjamin Crockett’s parents were or who Harriet Johnson’s parents were. I think that their parents may have been slaves and I appreciate any help someone can lend in pointing to me where I can get an obituary for Benjamin Crockett (Wilkerson/Amite County) and Harriet Johnson (name could be Henrietta Richardson as which is listed in the 1930 and 1940 census report). I am just trying to find any information that would give me an idea of who their parents were and what state they were born in. Right now Wilkerson/Amite County is where I place them both because my grandfather, Eugene Crockett was born in Centerville, MS. Any help you can provide is appreciated. Carlos Benjamin Crockett ([email protected])
Rankin County is not shown in the list of counties. Rankin County was established in 1838, and a large population of former slaves lived in Rankin on the 1870 census.