Jefferson Davis County MSGenWeb

The creation of Jeff Davis County was authorized by a legislative act of March 31, 1906 and approved May 9 of that same year. It was the result of residents of western Covington County and eastern Lawrence County complaining about the difficulty of traversing rivers and streams to get to their respective county seats. These areas were combined to form a new county named in honor of Jefferson Davis, the only President of the Confederate States of America. The county was the seventy-seventh county to organize in Mississippi.

A special election held in April, 1906, determined that the county seat would be located at Prentiss, in the central part of the county. Prentiss was established in 1903, when the area was still Lawrence County. Some sources claim that Prentiss was named for Sargent Smith Prentiss, the gifted Mississippi orator. Other sources claim that Prentiss was named in honor of Prentiss Webb Berry, a prominent landowner in the area who founded the town when the Mississippi Central Railroad was built here in 1903.

Jeff Davis County, Mississippi Records...

Jefferson Davis County MSGHN has records here on our website. Marriage Records, Cemetery listings, tombstone photos, and more. Check out the Menu at the top for links to all of the available data here.

Birth Records - The Mississippi Department of Health maintains records of births after November 1, 1912. This was the year Mississippi began keeping official birth records. You can order official copies of birth certificates on their website. For births before November 1, 1912 you will need to determine birth information from census records, bible records, baptismal records, cemetery tombstones, etc.

Death Records - The Mississippi Department of Health maintains deaths recorded after November 1, 1912 on file. This was the year Mississippi began keeping official death records. You can order official copies of death certificates on their website. Since there are no official death records before November 1, 1912 for deaths prior to that date you will need to determine death information from census records, bible records, funeral home records, cemetery tombstones, etc.

Continued...