Statewide Mississippi Census records that exist are 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930 and 1940.
There are Industry and Agriculture Schedules 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. The Union Veterans Schedules exist for 1890.
Mississippi became the 20th state in 1817. The first federal census after that point was taken in 1820. There are three printed variations of those census records, but none include slave information.
1830 records for Pike County are missing, but tax records were used to supplement the Gillis index for that time. There are transcriptions of those records, but the originals should be consulted for accuracy. Researchers should also note that the ages and names of pensioners are listed in the 1840 census records.
From the 1870 census onward, Native Americans, Chinese, and African Americans were listed in census records, along with their citizenship status.
The 1890 census records have been lost, except for the Mississippi Union veterans lists.
The Mississippi Department of Archives and History holds the original state census copies for 1850 to 1880. It also holds copies of all of the federal census records.
Certain original industry and agriculture census records were lost after they were microfilmed. Some other repositories hold reels of census records on microfilm. Several national organizations also have copies of federal census records on file.
In 1792, the Natchez District was enumerated. Those records have been put into print. Spanish Colonial enumerations were also taken in the following years: 1784, 1787, 1788, 1794.
Those records are located in “The Cuban Papers,” or “Papeles Procedentes de Cuba.” Those records can be found in Seville, Spain at the General Archives of the Indies.
The Mississippi Territory legislature had census reports taken several times between the years of 1798 and 1817. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History holds those records.
The “Armstrong Roll of 1831″ was a special census taken after the “Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek” was agreed upon. It was a Choctaw treaty, and it was the last major exchange of land between the Europeans and the Native Americans. The census record lists members of the Choctaw tribe, as well as slaves and white settlers who married Choctaws.
The “Educable Children Records” was a record taken of each county’s school-aged children. Most of those records can still be found in the superintendent of education’s office in each county.
However, some of them are on file at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. The records at the archives are not indexed. They are arranged according to county.
Missing Mississippi Censuses
Mississippi census records that are missing include the following:
- Enumerations for Pike County are missing in 1830
- Schedules are missing for Hancock County, Sunflower County, and Washington County in 1860.
Mississippi State and Territorial Census
- Territorial census different intervals from 1798 until 1817.