Mississippi Obituaries

Mississippi’s newspapers began around 1800 in Natchez. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) holds the state’s largest collection of Mississippi newspapers on microfilm, reaching well past 1922, and has put hundreds of thousands of pages online.

Recent Mississippi obituaries (2000 to today)

Most obituaries published since about 2000 are online. Daily papers post paid death notices and family-written obituaries in an Obituaries section, usually hosted by Legacy.com, and keep them online with a guest book. The largest daily papers in Mississippi are:

• Clarion Ledger (Jackson)
• Sun Herald (Biloxi)
• Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (Tupelo)
• Hattiesburg American
• Commercial Dispatch (Columbus)

Legacy.com’s Mississippi page searches the obituaries of most of these papers and many smaller ones at once. Funeral homes also post obituaries on their own websites, often before the newspaper does and sometimes instead of it: search the person’s name with the town and “obituary” or “funeral home.” For obituaries no longer online, ask your public or state library: many offer NewsBank or ProQuest databases with the full text of recent newspapers, free with a library card.

Mississippi obituaries in historic newspapers

Natchez, the territorial capital, had the first Mississippi newspapers around 1800, and through the early 1800s its papers reported deaths along the river and in the planter class. As the state’s population moved north and east in the 1830s, after Choctaw and Chickasaw removal, county weeklies multiplied.

Vicksburg, Jackson and Meridian became newspaper centers later in the 1800s. Yellow fever epidemics, Civil War casualties and floods all appear in Mississippi death notices. Published compilations of Mississippi newspaper obituaries from 1862 to 1885 can help bridge gaps where papers are missing.

MDAH contributed digitized papers from 1836 to 1922 to Chronicling America through the Mississippi Digital Newspaper Project. Papers from the 1930s and 1940s are mostly available only on microfilm at MDAH in Jackson.

Where to find older Mississippi obituaries

Digitized Mississippi newspapers

• Digitized Newspapers, Mississippi Department of Archives and History — How to search the Mississippi newspapers MDAH has digitized.

Archives and libraries

• Research, Mississippi Department of Archives and History — Newspaper microfilm, finding aids and research help in Jackson.
• Mississippi Newspapers, FamilySearch Research Wiki — Volunteer-maintained guide to Mississippi newspaper archives, indexes and microfilm, with local links.

Also search the nationwide archives: Chronicling America, FamilySearch, Find a Grave, Newspapers.com. See all nationwide obituary resources.

Mississippi death records

Mississippi has registered deaths statewide since 1912. MSDH issues certified copies to family and others with a legal interest. MDAH in Jackson holds older records and the state's newspaper microfilm.

• Mississippi State Department of Health, Vital Records — the office that issues Mississippi death certificates, with ordering instructions and fees.
• Where to Write for Vital Records: Mississippi — the CDC’s summary of where to order, current fees and which years the office holds.
• Mississippi Vital Records, FamilySearch Research Wiki — free death indexes and certificate collections, with the years each covers.

Tips for finding an obituary in Mississippi

• Use MDAH microfilm. MDAH has the largest collection of Mississippi newspapers, well beyond the years now digitized.
• Check Memphis and New Orleans papers. North Mississippi deaths appeared in Memphis papers; Gulf Coast deaths in New Orleans papers.
• Remember 1912. Statewide registration began in 1912; earlier deaths depend on newspapers and church records.
• Look beyond the word “obituary.” Older papers reported deaths under headings like “Died,” “Deaths,” local news and personals columns, funeral notices and cards of thanks, and often listed married women under the husband’s name (“Mrs. John Smith”). See death notices vs. obituaries.

Common questions