My name is Gerald Westmoreland and I welcome you to Lawrence County Roots. Our goal here is to aid genealogical researchers with resources and materials related to Lawrence 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 Lawrence 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 Lawrence 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 Lawrence County Roots so far.

• Over 13,000 Lawrence County marriage records. That's a lot of marriage info. Be sure to check for your Lawrence County ancestors.
• Lawrence County Cemetery List. We have burial listings with tombstone photos for many Lawrence County cemeteries. If you know of a cemetery in Lawrence County that is not on the list give us a hand by sending the information.
• Bethshan Cemetery burial listing with photos of each tombstone. Highway 184 west of Monticello on north side of the highway across the highway from Seed Sowers church. 313324N, 0900905W.
• Newsom / Bush Cemetery burial listing with photos of each tombstone. About 2 miles south of New Hebron on Hwy 43, about 100 yards east of Hwy. Cemetery is a little difficult to get to, but is well kept. 314318N, 0895854W.
• Stephens Cemetery burial listing with photos of each tombstone. Take Hwy 43 north from Silver Creek to Stephens Cemetery Road. Turn left and go several miles. Cemetery is very well kept. 313910N, 0900130W.

Lawrence County was one of the fourteen territorial counties represented in the constitutional convention of 1817. It was organized as the twelfth Mississippi county on December 22, 1814, from its parent county Marion. Having once been a much larger county, Lawrence County gave up territory in 1819 to Covington and Marion Counties. In 1870 part of its western area was given in formation of the new county of Lincoln and in 1906 the eastern portion was used in the organization of Jefferson Davis county.

Lawrence County was named in honor of American Naval hero James Lawrence who was the Captain of the USS Chesapeake during the War of 1812. Captain Lawrence was best known for his dying command "Don't give up the ship!" during the memorable battle with the English Navy on Lake Erie.

The town of Monticello, settled in 1798, was named after the home of Thomas Jefferson. It became the county seat in 1815. Monticello lies on the western bluff of the Pearl River about 50 miles south of Jackson, which dissects the county north to south. It served as a port for river steamers running to and from New Orleans as late as 1904.

In the 1820's Monticello was chosen to be the State Capitol of Mississippi, however the State Legislature changed its mind the next day. Monticello enjoyed much prosperity in its early years, but around 1860 the railroad was built through Brookhaven, twenty-three miles to the west. As a result, much of the business enjoyed by Monticello moved to Brookhaven.

Hiram G. Runnels of Monticello became Mississippi Governor in 1833. Another Monticello native, Charles Lynch, became Governor in 1836. Lawrence County also produced Kendra King, Miss Mississippi 2006, professional athletes Erick Dampier, Al Jefferson, and Major Everett, and former U.S. Secretary of Education, Rod Page.

About the ads......we have included sponsor ads on this site to help cover a small part of the expense of gathering, maintaining, and presenting free genealogy information to everyone. Computers, servers, gasoline, camera equipment, etc. really adds up fast.....and we are not wealthy people. Displaying ads for which we recieve a few cents everytime a visitor clicks on one is just a way to try to recover a little of the expense. If you would like to make a small donation send it to 585 Oak Grove Rd, Prentiss, MS 39474. Products and/or services advertised here are not endorsed by this website or MSGHN. Our Genealogical information is FREE and will ALWAYS be FREE to any researcher. Thank you for understanding.