My name is Tammy Howard-Westmoreland. Welcome to Covington County Roots. Our purpose is to provide free resources for genealogical and historical researchers. 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.

If you have information relating to Covington County that you are willing to share with other researchers, let me know. Just email me at
tr.westmoreland@gmail.com and I will be pleased to place it here on our site. If you have information for other Mississippi counties, please consider clicking on the Mississippi Genealogy & History Network link in the Main Menu and contact the appropriate County Director. Thanks for visiting and good luck with your research!

The following is part of what you will find here on Covington County Roots.

• Williamsburg General Cemetery burial listing with photos of each tombstone. From Collins take US 84 west to Mike Conner Lake Road and turn left. Take the first road to the right. 313719N, 0893640W.
• 1820 Covington County census extraction. Lists the names of heads of households. Also includes the number of white males and female in each household by age groups.
• Davis Cemetery burial listing with photos of each tombstone. From Seminary, take Hwy 589 south to Mae Lott Road. Turn right and go to Atwood Norris Road. Turn left and go about 1/4 mile. 313144N, 0893317W.
• Miller Cemetery burial listing with photos of each tombstone. From Seminary take Seminary Sumrall Road west to Seminary-Mike Conner Road west to about 1 1/2 to 2 miles past McGowen Circle. 313324N, 0893724W.
• Hemeter Cemetery burial listing with photos of each tombstone. From Collins, take US 49S to Seminary-Williamsburg Road. Turn right and go to Lyons Road. Take a left and go about 1/2 mile. 313520N, 0893419W.
• Thousands of Covington County marriage records. That's a lot of marriage info. Be sure to check for your Covington County ancestors. These dates are critical to getting a certified copy of a marriage record from the Covington County Couthouse

Covington County, located in the south-central portion of Mississippi was formed on January 5, 1819 and was originally called Bainbridge County. It was soon renamed in honor of General Leonard Covington, U.S. Army officer and Congressman who was killed in the War of 1812.

In 1826 all that part of Covington lying east of the center of Range 14 was taken to form part of Jones County. In 1906 a part of Covington was taken to form Jefferson Davis County.

Williamsburg, located in the western part of the county, was the original county seat and was named for Thomas H. Williams, who was one of the two first United States Senators from Mississippi. In 1899, the citizens of Williamsburg discovered that the railroad was going to be built through Covington County, but not through Williamsburg. As a result, a number of them moved to the railroad line and formed Williamsburg Depot. In 1906 the little village had grown large enough to incorporate into a town they named Collins, which was named for Fred W. Collins, the United States Marshall for the Southern District of Mississippi in 1891-1893 and 1897-1902, and from 1910 until his death in 1912. Being centrally located, Collins was chosen to become the new County Seat, with a courthouse being built at a cost of $117,000.

In spite of the fact that a tornado largely destroyed the town in 1912, Collins had been growing steadily on the back of the local timber industry. However, similar to gold rush towns of the west, for Collins when the timber ran out, the growing ran out. As a result, Collins declined during the depression era.

Other Covington County communities include: Mt. Olive, Seminary, Ora, Hot Coffee, and Sanford. In its first census in 1820 there were 2,330 residents listed. In the last federal census in 2000 the population was 19,407.

M.S. (Mike) Conner the forty-fourth Governor of Mississippi was elected from Covington County. He served from 1932 until 1936. NFL football star Steve "Air" McNair was from Covington County and is buried in the county. Actor Gerald McRaney, star of Simon and Simon, Promised Land, and Major Dad, is also from Covington County.

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