Pasco County was created in 2 Jun 1887 and was formed from Hernando County. The County was named after Samuel Pasco, who served as a Confederate soldier in the Civil War and then in the United States Senate from 1887 to 1899. The County Seat is Dade City. See also County History for more historical details.
Pasco County Cities and Towns include Dade City, New Port Richey, Port Richey, San Antonio, Zephyrhills St. Leo. CDPs Include Bayonet Point, Beacon Square, Crystal Springs, Dade City North, Elfers, Holiday, Hudson, Jasmine Estates, Lacoochee, Land O' Lakes, New Port Richey East, Odessa, Shady Hills, Trinity, Wesley Chapel, Wesley Chapel South, Zephyrhills North, Zephyrhills South, Zephyrhills West
PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.
Pasco County Clerk of the Circuit Court / County Clerk has Marriage Records from 1887, Land Records from 1876, Probate Records from 1882 and Court Records from 1877 and is located at 38053 Live Oak Ave., Dade City, Florida 33523 (800) 368-4274, The Clerk of the Circuit Court is also the County Clerk. His office is located in the County Courthouse. The office of the Clerk is created in Article V and Article VIII of the Florida Constitution. The Clerk is an officer of the court of justice whose responsibilities are mandated by the Constitution as well as state and local laws. Under a 1973 reorganization of the judicial system, the clerk of courts in each county was made, and remains, custodian of all records of all predecessor courts, whether justice of the peace, city, county, probate, civil, or criminal.
You may also search the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) which covers Florida and surrounding states. Many pioneers and settelers bought land from the government instead of individuals.
Below is a list of online resources for Pasco County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Pasco County Court Records by clicking the link below:
Florida Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.
Click Here to Search Florida Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
Office of Vital Statistics, Dept of Health, P.O. Box 210, 1217 Pearl Street, Jacksonville, FL 32231-0042;
(904) 359-6900 Ext. 1029, Fax: (904) 359-6993.
Birth Certificates: has custody of birth records filed from January 1917 to date. Scattered birth records from 1865 through 1916 are also held by the bureau, and some city health departments have some additional scattered records (e.g., Jacksonville, 1893-1913; Pensacola, 1897-1916).
Cost: $9.00 for computer certification & $14.00 per
photocopy
certification (1930 to present), payment is payable to the Office of Vital Statistics. Additional copies of the same record are $4.00 each. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $9.00/$14.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Death Certificates: From 1917 - present. Death records begin about 1877, but the first state law mandating registration of deaths was passed in 1899, and records before 1917 are spotty. It is always well to check with city health departments.
Cost: $5.00 per certificate. Additional copies of the same record are $4.00 each. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $5.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Marriage & Divorce Certificates: has custody of marriage, divorce, and annulment records filed after 6 June 1927. For records prior to that date, and there are thousands of them, query the clerk of courts in the county where the license or decree was issued. Numerous divorces and resulting name-changes are to be found in Names and Abstracts from the Acts of the Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida, 1822-1845 (Pass-A-Grille Beach, Fla.: William A. and Janet B. Wolfe, 1985). Copies of marriage license applications are available only from the clerk of courts in the county courthouse. Standard request forms for copies of state-held records are necessary and available as indicated above.
Cost: $5.00 per certificate. Additional copies of the same record are $4.00 each. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $5.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Order Online: You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering below
Processing Time:: Allow 3 to 6 weeks for the search
by mail for Birth, Marriage, Divorce or Death Records. MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY.
Order In Person: To order your copy through your local County Health Department Vital Statistics office click here for a list of the 67 County Health Departments. WALK-IN SERVICE is available at 1217 Pearl Street, Jacksonville, Florida, between 8:00 am - 4:30 pm. Orders prepaid by Noonmay be picked up after 3:30 p.m. Orders prepaid after Noon may be picked up after 10:00 a.m. the next workday. Each requestmust be accompanied by picture identification Certifications for photocopies rush service requires an additional fee of $10. Order By Mail: Turn around is estimated at 3 to 6 weeks from the day the request is received. Mail to the following address: Office of Vital Statistics, Dept of Health, P.O. Box 210, 1217 Pearl Street, Jacksonville, FL 32231-0042. Please include return address on envelope and application form.
Below is a list of online resources for Pasco County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Pasco County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE - Search over 82 million death records and get genealogical information crucial to your family research. New content added weekly! Most comprehensive SSDI site online!
Research Death records In The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of historical Florida newspaper articles about deaths. Search for local articles about an old family friend that died many years ago or a celebrity that committed suicide. Historical newspapers contain a wealth of information about the deceased.
Click Here to Search Florida Voter Lists & Census Records! - Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable.
Below is a list of online resources for Pasco County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Pasco County Census Records by clicking the link below:
Florida Census, 1820-90: This collection contains the following indexes: 1820 Census Index (Pensacola and Escambia River Areas); 1825 Leon County Census Index; 1830 Federal Census Index; 1840 Federal Census Index; 1840 Pensioners List; 1850 Federal Census Index; 1850 Slave Schedule; 1860 Federal Census Index; 1860 Slave Schedule; 1870 Federal Census Index; 1890 Veterans Schedule; 1890 Naval Veterans Schedule; Early Census Index, Vol. 1-2.
Florida State Census, 1885: This database is an index with corresponding images of the 1885 Florida State Census
Maps are an excellent source for beginning your research, because they provide much useful information at a glance. Many historic maps show individual buildings and are especially useful because they also record owners' names and features in the surrounding community. More detailed maps reveal property acreage and estate names. By examining a series of maps, you will be able to date changes in your property over time.
Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Ohio and other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for Florida showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for Florida showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. The Florida Department of Transportation has county maps the show the locations of churches, cemeteries, roads, ect... free for viewing or download here
Below is a list of online resources for Pasco County Maps. Email us with websites containing Pasco County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Florida Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.
Below is a list of online resources for Pasco County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Pasco County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Florida (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
Early tax rolls, especially between census years, can be a gold mine for the fortunate researcher. Most existing rolls can be found in the counties of origin, but the Flordia State Archives also has some bound volumes sent to the state comptroller during the period 1829-81. Normal information includes the taxpayer's name, land ownership, number of white males (above taxable age, 21) and slaves, horses, wagons, and other taxable items of personal property such as jewelry, watches, musical instruments, and carriages. Many of the counties' records in the series are incomplete, but there are some in the Florida State Archives that the originating counties no longer have. This valuable resource is not indexed. It must be searched in the county, at the Florida State Archives, or both.
Below is a list of online resources for Pasco County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Pasco County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
The Repositories
in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical
and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical
Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly,
quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies
should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are
usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived
materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be
more generalized and over look the smaller details that local
societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to
look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy
section and may have some resources that are not located at
archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums
in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years
gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All
these places are vitally important to the family genealogist
and must not be passed over.
Below is a list of online resources for Pasco County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Pasco County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Florida State Records Center, 4319 Shelfer Road, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250; (850)245-6750; Hours: By Appointment Only
Florida Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Click Here to Search Florida Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.
As in most former frontier societies, early Florida church records are hit-and-miss, but they can be valuable when located. The Roman Catholic faith accompanied the earliest Spanish settlers to Florida, and by 1822 the Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, and Presbyterians were also active in the new territory. By 1845 the Baptists had split into the Missionary and Primitive varieties (probably totaling more than 5,000 Florida members), and all of the above groups had become more or less well organized Methodists had two churches in Fernandina as early as 1822 (under the South Carolina Conference) and more than 10,000 members by statehood.
Cemetery records are held by most Florida libraries and archives. One important compiled source is the WPA Register of Deceased Veterans Buried in Florida, which covers fifty-one of the sixty-seven counties. Access to the massive amount of cemetery information scattered throughout the state is being facilitated by a continuing cemetery location project of the Florida State Genealogical Society.
Below is a list of online resources for Pasco County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Pasco County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of Florida obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a Florida newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from Indiana.
Click Here to Search Florida Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.
When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Pasco County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Pasco County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
Florida Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
The first residents of Pasco County were Indians. Authorities agree that the peaceful Timucuans may have lived here in the 1200's. Indian mounds and traces of artifacts near fresh water springs seem to bear out this theory.
Around the year 1750, fragments of tribes from the Southwest migrated to Florida and became known as the Seminoles. The French settlers at Fort Caroline on the east coast of Florida generally enjoyed good relations with the Indians, but the Spanish were not so lucky. By the time the Spanish sold Florida to the U.S. in 1819, adventurers, run-away slaves, and renegade Indians sparsely populated the territory.
The Indians were aggressive during this period, and Andrew Jackson led soldiers into Florida to subdue them. As a result, a series of forts were established to protect and settle the area in Tampa, the north Pasco-Sumter area, and Ocala.
In 1835 the Seminoles massacred General Dade and his troops and the Seminole war began in earnest. It lasted seven years and hundreds of settlers and Seminoles were killed. In 1837 General Jessup may have had as many as 2,000 soldiers and dependents living in the vicinity of Fort Dade, north of the present site of Dade City.
Florida became a state in 1845, and activities at the fort began winding down. In about 1849 a dozen families were living on plantations in the area that later became Dade City. Florida had been admitted as a slave state to the Union. But in Pasco, ownership of two or three slaves qualified a farm as a "plantation".
Pioneer life in Pasco was a struggle. The climate, mosquitoes, and yellow fever were enemies. But the farmers persevered, cleared land, and managed to provide for themselves and their families. In 1855 a stagecoach line operated between Tampa and Palatka along the old Army trails.
The Civil War began in 1861. Although Florida as a Confederate state, Pasco County was too far away to be much affected. Men from Pasco served on both sides. Bayport, in Hernando County, was shelled during the war and a skirmish with the militia was fought. After the war the population began to increase in all directions.
In 1887 Pasco County became a county carved from the larger Hernando Territory. It was named in honor of Samuel Pasco, a U.S. Senator. About 1890 several things happened to change the economic future of Pasco County.
The Spaniards had brought citrus to Florida in the 1500's. Indians were fond of the sour orange and cultivated them in a limited way. Because of the casual manner of cultivation, the fruit grew in groves. Citrus was enjoyed locally but limited transportation facilities and the lack of refrigeration made the citrus industry unprofitable. When the railroad came to Pasco County all that changed.
While Dade City was a thriving community at the turn of the century, life on the west coast had not come so far. The earliest settlers we know of lived in the Seven Springs area from around 1830. These brave people struggled through many hard times including the Seminole War years.
In 1878 the first families settled in the Hudson vicinity and a community in Sampling Woods (Elfers) began to thrive. In 1883 Captain Richey and his family resided at the south of the Pithlachascotee River. He ran a mail boat to Tarpon Springs and freight service from Anclote to Cedar Key, an important port on the west coast. In the first census of 1890, 3,872 whites, 376 blacks and one Indian resided in Pasco County.
There are six municipalities in Pasco County
DADE CITY, County seat, Incorporated in 1889 In 1887 when Pasco County was formed from Hernando County, Dade City was named temporary county seat. There followed a hotly contested battle between other towns for the honor. According to courthouse records, the bitter battle ended when 765 voters turned out and Dade City became the permanent county seat by a vote of 432.
SAN ANTONIO, Incorporated 1889 Founded as a Catholic Colony by Irish and German immigrants. Four Benedictine sisters from Pittsburgh, five Benedictine priests and four brothers from North Carolina established St. Leo Abbey that is now St. Leo College.
ST. LEO, Incorporated in 1891 St. Leo was also founded as a Catholic Colony by a small order of monks who arrived to establish a monastery and Catholic elementary school.
ZEPHYRHILLS, Incorporated 1914 First established as a colony for Civil War Veterans, it was considered an ideal site because the land was fertile, there was an abundance of water and the rolling hills were cooled by 'zephyr-like' breezes.
NEW PORT RICHEY, Incorporated 1924 In 1882 a Captain Aaron McLaughlin Richey came to Florida from Missouri. He built a house on the west coast of Pasco Co at the south of the Pithlachascotee River and named the site Port Richey. Other settlers soon followed. They planned and developed a city they named New Port Richey.
PORT RICHEY, Incorporated 1925 No one seems to know why the two towns bearing Captain Richey's name were incorporated separately. One story goes that despite their proximity, an impenetrable thicket separated the two towns.
THE HISTORY of PASCO COUNTY By J. A. HENDLEY
I was born, at an early period of my existence, in Farmington, Kentucky, a small town in the western part of the state, known as the Pennoroyal district. Farmington was noted for some of the bravest men in the Civil War (most of them never came back), nice farms, fine women, good horses, and cattle. The Home Guards and Gorillas—they were called—made a football of that part of the county during that terrible war of bloodshed. It was a divided country, feuds caused by the war arose and many were killed and property destroyed, but the younger generation have inter-married until the feudal days have been forgotten, let them rest.
I was always a lawyer, such as I was. At fourteen years of age I was practicing in the courts presided over by esquires, same as justices of the peace in this state. My first case was one in which I defended a boy friend, Joe Bridges by name, who was charged of fraudulently beating another boy in a horse trade. I stood before the jury barefooted, with pants rolled up to my knees. Dozens of boys rigged just as I was came to court to hear Jeff defend Joe for his alleged misdeeds. From that day until I retired a few years ago I have been at it most of the time. I studied law at Washington and Lee University, graduating in 1878.
In this large farming community we had only three months school. In 1879 a young man by the name of H. L. Finney and I came home from High School, built what we called the Farmington Institute. We issued great circulars describing the school building, and offering the young people a high school education. The response was overwhelming and our school was a grand success from the start. I sold my interest to another school teacher and went to western Texas.
There I organized Mitchell county and was elected to first prosecuting attorney. The adjoining unorganized counties were attached to Mitchell county for Judicial purposes, thus giving me a territory as prosecutor as large as Florida south of Dade City to Key West.
Later on I wanted to see my father and mother who still lived at Farmington, where he practiced medicine for fifty years. In 1881 I went home and found quite a number of young men planning to come to Florida. I sent in my resignation as prosecuting attorney to the governor of Texas, and joined the boys in the trip to Florida.
We all settled in that portion of Hernando county, now Pasco county, on the hills north of Blanton. The following named persons were the first new comers, as we were called, with the exception of the Ravisees, McCrays and Cochranes, to-wit: R. L. Seay, Charley Seay, H. L. Anderson, Robert L. Anderson, Charley Wray, W. L. Hendley, J. A. Hendley, M. L. Gilbert, William Sherill, Jacob Sherill, James Black, Dan Boone, Bill Kemp, A. A. Boone and Dr. Thomas Seay and family. Dr. J. F. Roberts and family came later on. The boys all engaged in orange culture. William Sherill and J. A. Hendley planted orange groves and operated a saw mill, about the first circular saw mill brought to this country. Our saw mill was located on the Levi Eiland farm about three miles west of Dade City. Hutto hauled the mill for us from Wildwood through the deep sand, with eight yokes of oxen.
Our end of the county was represented by J. A. Hendley in the constitutional convention of 1885. Pasco county was at one time a part of Hillsborough county. Later on the territory comprising Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties was cut off from Hillsborough and made a new county called Hernando. This end of Pasco county east beyond San Antonio was called Fort Dade in honor of Major Dade, who with his entire army was massacred by the Indians near Bushnell, Florida. This part of the county was called the “clabber end,” for what reason I don't know unless it was because clabber milk entered so much into the diet of the people in this part of the county.
We had two water mills that ground our meal and grits. One of these mills was located a little south of Chipco—now called Blanton. The other was farther south near the J. W. Hudson farm. Levi Eiland built these two mills in 1874 and 1875. One of them was operated by John Howell, who later sold to L. Fortner, who was running the mill when I came to this country. Columbus Gant owned the other mill. Gant's mill ground corn meal and grits, and he also had a cotton gin and press where the farmers had their cotton ginned before taking it to market. The power of these mills was furnished by dams fed by springs and high water level ponds. Before these mills were established the old-time cracker had a steel mill something on the order of an old-fashioned coffee mill on which he ground his dally bread and hominy. He had no money but always had something to eat. Commercial fertilizers were unknown to the citizens of that day. They had a few orange trees planted around near their houses and in the yard and used cattle to fertilize their orange trees and potato patches. They made the finest vegetables and oranges that the heart could wish. Many of the blighting insects of today were practically unknown.
Political subdivisions of that time were Hudson, Anclote, Hammock Creek, Darby, Wesley Chapel, Wake Forest and R. M. Wilson's store, called Fort Dade.
Courthouse History
The county’s first courthouse was Pasco County was created from parts of Hernando County in 1887. The name honors Florida’s United States Senator, Samuel Pasco. A temporary county seat was located inDade City (originally Hatton),renamed for Major Francis Dade, whose troops had been massacred not far from here by Seminoles in 1836. A referendum was held in 1889 to select a permanent site, at which time Dade City prevailed over Gladstone (San Antonio), Pasadena, and several other locations.
The county's first courthouse was built by H. W. Coleman and W. A. Ferguson, who donated space to the county until a permanent structure could be erected. In 1909James Lee and H. C. Griffin constructed a frame building at a cost of $7,000. This was replaced in 1909 by the structure depicted here, which was designed by famous courthouse architect, EdwardColumbus Hosford of Eastman, Georgia. (Mr. Hosford designed many other county courthouses for Florida, Georgia and Texas.) The courthouse was built by Mutual Construction Company of Louisville, Kentucky. The Pasco County Commission minutes reflect that it was accepted for use by the county on January 3, 1910 after they had previously refused acceptance on December 16, 1909 "on grounds, not fully completed." The commission plans to honor the architect by placing a historic marker on the grounds of the courthouse. It was long thought that Artemus Roberts was the architect, but in fact he was the Superintendent of construction.
