My name is Gerald Westmoreland and I welcome you to Jefferson County Roots. Our goal here is to aid genealogical researchers with resources and materials related to Jefferson County, Mississippi at no cost to the researcher. This site is FREE and will ALWAYS be FREE to all researchers! We are proud to be a part of the Mississippi Genealogy & History Network.

I am in the process of bringing more Jefferson County resources to this web-site as quickly as possible. If you have any questions, suggestions or comments, please email me at geraldwestmoreland@live.com. If you have Jefferson County information you are willing to share, please let me know. Good luck in your pursuit of those elusive ancestors!

The following is part of what you will find here on Jefferson County Roots so far.

• Over 10,000 Jefferson County marriage records. That's a lot of marriage info. Be sure to check for your Jefferson County ancestors.
• Jefferson County Cemetery List. We have a pretty good listing of Jefferson County Cemeteries, but I'm sure we've missed some. How about giving us a hand by sending information on the cemeteries we're missing.
• McBride Cemetery burial listing with photos of each tombstone. This cemetery is located in the McBride Community on Hwy 552 about 4 miles north of Hwy 28.

Jefferson County is located along the Mississippi River in southwest Mississippi. The entire region was covered in a forest of various species of pines, oaks, dogwoods, magnolias, gum, willow, cottonwood, sycamore, elm, cypress, ash, cedar, and other hardwood trees. With rich lands, an abundance of water, plenty of wild game, plentiful timber, and a pleasent climate, the area was ideal for settlement. By 1795 settkers were arriving in large numbers.

The French claimed the area from the time of La Salle's exploration of the Mississippi River until 1763. The English claimed it from 1763 till 1781 and Spain claimed it from 1781 to 1798. In 1785 Georgia claimed it as her western lands, organized the County of Bourbon and sold territory in this region. This was the time that Thomas Cumming, Nicholas Long, Thomas Glasscock, A. Gordon and othersbought all of the territory which included the area that is now Jefferson County.

Prior to the coming of the European explorers and settlers, Native American tribes lived in the area. Tribes of the area included the Natchez, the Tensas, the Muskhogean, and the Choctaw. Early settlers lived in fear of Indian uprises - understandably so - the Indian's home lands were under siege.

Prior to the coming of the European explorers and settlers, Native American tribes lived in the area. Tribes of the area included the Natchez, the Tensas, the Muskhogean, and the Choctaw. Early settlers lived in fear of Indian uprises - understandably so - the Indian's home lands were under seige.

In 1798, the United States created the Mississippi Territory. The Mississippi governor organized the Natchez District into two counties, Adams and Pickering. Pickering County included the area which later became Claiborne and Jefferson Counties. The name of Pickering County was changed to Jefferson County on 11 January 1802, in honor of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, and sixteen days later was split. The northern portion became Claiborne County while the southern portion remained Jefferson County.

Untill 1825, the County Seat was located at Greenville near the mouth of Cole's creek. Today the County Seat is Fayette. There remains nothing of Greenville today.

For more information check out the Jefferson County Records link

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