My name is Gerald Westmoreland and I welcome you to Lincoln County Roots. Our goal here is to aid genealogical researchers with resources and materials related to Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County information you are willing to share, please let me know. Good luck in your pursuit of those elusive ancestors!

This recently added information is only part of what you will find here on Lincoln County Roots.

• Moak / Sasser Cemetery burial listing with photos of each tombstone. Take Highway 583 south to Fox Road & turn right. Go to Shady Grove Road. At intersection.
• Clear Branch Cemetery burial listing with photos of each tombstone. From Brookhaven take Old Hwy 51 north to Tarver Trail NE. Turn right and go to Clear Branch Lane NE and turn left. Go 1/8 mile and it's on the right.
• New Sight Cemetery burial listing with photos of each tombstone. From Brookhaven take US 51 north to New Sight Drive and turn north. Go to intersection with Bee Lane. 314000N, 0902653W.
• Hillcrest Cemetery burial listing with photos of each tombstone. Just south of Wesson on the east side of US 51 beside Hillcrest Church of Christ.
• Nearly 10,000 Lincoln County marriage records. Be sure to check for your Lincoln County ancestors. These marriage dates are important if you wish to get a copy of the marriage license at the Lincoln County Courthouse.
• Lincoln County Cemetery List. Some cemeteries on the list have complete burial listings with photos of every tombstone. I'm sure there are some cemeteries in Lincoln County that are not on the list. How about giving us a hand by sending information on the cemeteries we're missing.

Lincoln County, the sixty-first county to be formed in Mississippi, is located in the south-western portion of the state. It was created after the Civil War, during the military reconstruction era on April 7, 1870. It was named in honor of the martyred 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln County was formed from parts of Lawrence, Copiah, Pike, Franklin, and Amite Counties. Like so many Mississippi counties, Lincoln County suffered a courthouse fire in 1893. Most county records prior to that year were destroyed.

The county seat is Brookhaven, a city named for Brookhaven, New York, on Long Island, the home of Samuel Jayne, who settled in the area about 1818. Jayne operated a grist mill on the Bogue Chitto River and built a one-room store for the settlement. He also became the defacto postmaster by handing out the mail coming from Natchez.

Until May of 1857 Summit was the northern most terminus for the railroad. At this time the railroad was built into Brookhaven. During the short time that Brookhaven was the most northern railroad stop, progress and business in the town showed marked increase. Many businesses were founded and trade flourished.

Whitworth College was founded here in 1856 and opened in 1858. Named after the man who donated land and buildings to the school, Rev. Milton J. Whitworth, the Methodist school graduated two classes prior to the Civil War. During the war the school was used as a hospital, but when it reopened in 1886 it consisted of four brick buildings. In 1923 Whitworth College was leased to the Millsaps College System, but in the 1930's the school was closed.

Other Lincoln County communities include: Auburn, Bogue Chitto, East Lincoln, West Lincoln, Loyd Star, Red Star, Ruth, Nola, and Woolworth. In it's first census in 1870 there were 10,184 residents listed. In the last federal census in 2000 the population was 33,166.

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