Florida Census Records -   Statewide Records that exist for Florida 1830, 1840, 1850 ,1860 ,1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. The Southern Genealogist's Exchange Society has published statewide indexes to the 1830 and 1840 territorial censuses and the 1850 federal census of the new state of Florida.
  There are Industry and Agriculture Schedules (lists do not exist for all counties for each year) availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Union Veterans Schedules were conducted in 1890. Census of surviving Union veterans of the Civil War or their widows, listing service information, any service-connected disability, and current address.

See Also Researching in Census Records - What is the name, age, sex, color, occupation, and birthplace of each person residing in this house? Which of these individuals attended school or was married within the year? Who among them is deaf and dumb, blind, insane, “idiotic,” a pauper, or a convict? Is there anyone in the household over twenty years of age who cannot read and write? What is the name of the slave owner? How many slaves belong to the owner? What is the tribe of this Indian? What were the places of birth of the person’s parents? In what year did this person immigrate to the United States and, if naturalized, what was the year of naturalization? For answers to these and other questions, researchers look to census records......

Spanish: The Spanish took a number of censuses during their periods of colonial control (1565-1763 and 1784-1821). Most have been published, though some may be hard to find. "The 1783 Spanish Census of Florida" was published in four consecutive issues of the Georgia Genealogical Magazine, beginning with no.39 (Winter 1971). The Spanish Census of Pensacola, 1784-1820: A Genealogical Guide to Spanish Pensacola" by William S. Coker and G. Douglas Inglis, reproduces ten valuable censuses and population lists, one or another taken roughly every four years. Most of these documents are in Spanish, but on occasion they can richly repay careful research. For further understanding of the Spanish period generally, see chapters 2-6 of Paul S. George's A Guide to the History of Florida (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1989).

  State Schedules: The state of Florida conducted its own censuses in 1845, 1855, and every ten years from 1875 through 1945. Unfortunately, very few enumeration schedules have survived.

In the holdings of the Florida State Archives are some fragmentary census returns of families with school-aged children. One for Franklin County dates from 1855, and another for Franklin from 1866 has been published; see "Franklin County Children Ages 5-18 in 1866," The Florida Armchair Researcher 1 (Spring 1984): 7-8. The archives has census returns for 1867 from Hernando, Madison, Orange, and Santa Rosa counties. The 1875 Alachua County census also survives at the state archives.

Fortunately, Florida accepted partial funding from the federal government for a census taken as of 1 June 1885. There were schedules for population, agriculture, manufactures, and mortality. They are arranged alphabetically by name of county and thereunder numerically by type of schedule. Arrangement within the schedules is by enumeration district, precinct, or city. Thirty-five of the thirty-nine counties of the state in 1885 are included on the thirteen rolls of National Archives Microfilm Publication M845 (the schedules for Alachua, Clay, Columbia, and Nassau appear to have been lost). The Putnam County Genealogical Society Quarterly Journal has published fully indexed transcriptions of the 1885 Putnam County population schedules, and several similar projects are reported to be in progress, so a query to local genealogical or historical societies might yield good things.

The Florida State Archives has the original schedules of the state censuses of 1935 and 1945, accessible alphabetically by county and thereunder by numbered election precincts. The schedules give name, address (and whether inside or outside city limits), age, sex, race, relation to family, place of birth, degree of education, and occupation. There is no index to these records. A personal visit is required.

Excerpts From the Book "Family History Made Easy"

   There are numerous ways to determine the location in which to concentrate research for an ancestor. One of the most popular and productive is the census.
Alice Eichholz, Ph.D., In Ancestry’s Red Book: American State,County and Town Sources

    Since 1790, the U.S. government has taken a nationwide population count every ten years. Unique in scope and often surprisingly detailed, the census population schedules created from 1790 to 1920 are among the most used of records created by the federal government. Over the course of two centuries the United States has changed significantly, and so has the census. From the six basic questions asked in the 1790 census, the scope and categories of information have changed and expanded dramatically.

   Early censuses were essentially basic counts of inhabitants; but as the nation grew, so did the need for statistics that would reflect the characteristics of the people. In 1850, the focus of the census was radically broadened. Going far beyond the vague questions previously asked of heads of households, the 1850 census enumerators were instructed to ask the age, sex, color, occupation, birthplace, and other questions regarding every individual in every household. Succeeding enumerations solicited more information; by 1920, census enumerators asked twenty-nine questions of every head of household and almost as many questions of everyone else in the residence. (Only a very small segment of the 1890 census remains; a fire in the Commerce Department destroyed the vast majority of the original records for that year. Because of privacy considerations, census records less than seventy-two years old are not available to the general public; thus, the 1920 census is the most recent available to the public.)

   Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do the U.S. federal censuses. The population schedules are successive “snapshots” of Americans that depict where and how they were living at particular periods in the past. Once home sources and library sources have been exhausted, the census is often the best starting point for further genealogical research. Statewide indexes are available for almost every census; they are logical tools for locating individuals whose precise place of residence is unknown. While some inaccuracies are to be expected in census records, they still provide some of the most fascinating and useful pieces of personal history to be found in any source. If nothing else, census records are important sources for placing individuals in specific places at specific times. Additionally, information found in the census will often point to other sources critical to complete research, such as court, land, military, immigration, naturalization, and vital records.

   The importance of census records does not diminish over time in any research project. It is always wise to return to these records as discoveries are made in other sources because, as you discover new evidence about individuals, some information that seemed unrelated or unimportant in a first look at the census may take on new importance.

   When you can’t find family, vital, or religious records, census records may be the only means of documenting the events of a person’s life. Vital registration—the official recording of births, deaths, and marriages—did not begin until around 1920 in many areas of the United States, and fires, floods and other disasters since have destroyed some official government records. When other documentation is missing, census records are frequently used by individuals who must prove their age or citizenship status (or that of their parents) for Social Security benefits, insurance, passports, and other important reasons.

How to Find Census Records
   All available federal census schedules (those made from 1790 to 1920) have been microfilmed and are available at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.; at the National Archives’ regional archives; at the Family History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS church) in Salt Lake City and LDS family history centers throughout North America, “The Family History Library and Its Centers”); at many large libraries; in genealogical society libraries; and through companies that lend microfilmed records. Some state and local agencies have census schedules for the state or area they serve. Generally, microfilm copies may be borrowed through interlibrary loan.

Starting With the Census
   It is usually best to begin a census search in the most recently available census records (1920) and to work from what is already known about a family. With any luck, birthplaces and other clues found in these more recent records will point to locations of earlier residence.

Back to top

Florida Church Records - 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.

See Also Research In State Church & Cemetery Records - Church records rank among the most promising of genealogical records available. Indeed, for periods before the advent of civil registration of vital statistics (a very late development in many American states), church records rank as the best available sources for information on specific vital events: birth, marriage, and death. They are also among the most under-used major records in American genealogy. Part of the reason lies in the number of denominations-there are hundreds of them. Identifying and locating the records of these various churches makes even professional genealogists hesitate......

The Episcopalians by 1845 had parishes at Apalachicola, Jacksonville, Key West, Pensacola, and Tallahassee in addition to others in several smaller towns. In 1840 Florida Presbyterian churches were divided among the Florida, Georgia, and Alabama Presbyteries. An incomplete but voluminous list of Florida churches in existence fifty years ago is the WPA volume Preliminary List of Religious Bodies in Florida. A microfiche edition is available from the Florida State Archives, and the original survey forms from which the volume was compiled are now in the state library's Florida Room. Church records are also to be had in the holdings of most libraries and archival depositories throughout the state, and denominational representatives should be consulted for repositories peculiar to their particular persuasions.

Saint Augustine's Roman Catholic Cathedral Parish records beginning in 1594 are maintained by the parish's current archivist at St. Augustine Catholic Diocese, 11625 St. Augustine Rd., Jacksonville, Florida. It includes marriages, baptisms, and burial

Florida Cemetery Records - 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. The information will be published, but queries on locations and published surveys may in the meantime be directed to Cemetery Survey Chairman, Florida State Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 10249, Tallahassee, FL 32302. It is important to note that this is a directory of cemeteries and published records, not of personal names

   Cemetery records and gravestone inscriptions are a rich source of information for family historians. Cemetery and other sources of information associated with death include:

Back to top

Florida Land Records - Spanish Land Grants - The state archives holds a vast body of records created about 1820-22 for the use of the federal government in affirming or denying earlier Spanish grants of land. In many cases these are the only surviving references to some of the pre-territorial residents of the area. The indexed documents are filed by claimant, and the amount of information they contain varies greatly, but the affidavits often tell when an individual arrived in Florida and how many were in his family, including names and ages. The acreage granted often depended on the number of "heads" in the family.
The original fragile records, largely in Spanish, are extant, but the WPA made a five-volume transcript, Spanish Land Grants in Florida, which includes Spanish Grants, British Grants and Private Land Claims, is available at the Flordia State Archives and in a number of libraries, as well as in an inexpensive microfiche edition from the archives.

See Also Researching in Land Records - Land records provide two types of important evidence for the genealogist. Prior to the Civil War, more than eighty-five percent of all Americans owned or leased land. Therefore, almost every researcher, whether a seasoned professional or weekend hobbyist, has required land records to document the existence, association, or movement of an individual or ancestral family. Most beginning genealogists underestimate the importance of using land records to pin persons to specific locales. In the South, which has far fewer vital records than New England, the land records are even more crucial to genealogical success. For answers to these and other questions, researchers look to Land records......

Armed Occupation Act Records
In 1842, during the Second Seminole War, the federal government granted lands south of the line dividing Townships Nine and Ten South (a line running east and west about three miles north of Palatka) to individuals who agreed to claim, populate, and hold-by force of arms, if necessary-some of the undeveloped lands of East Florida. More than 1,000 persons responded, cleared the minimum five acres of their 160-acre grant, and lived on the property for the required five years. The records give the date an individual arrived in the territory, marital status, location of the grant holding, and the like.

Division of State Lands Records
The Land Ordinance of 1785 decreed a land-survey system known as the rectangular system of survey, and Florida was the first state, and remains the only state on the Eastern Seaboard, to be surveyed in orderly squares rather than under the old English system of "metes and bounds" utilized in the thirteen original "state-land" states. The original surveyors' field notes and plats have been transferred to the state archives, along with the original tract books and records of all grants of land from the state to the initial grantee, whether by purchase or otherwise. A fascinating and valuable resource, the notes and other files depict for the careful researcher the topography, settlements, and even the houses of the early territorial period and beyond. Preliminary Inventory of the Land-Entry Papers of the General Land Office, at the National Archives, lists Florida records beginning in 1825.

Homestead Files
The homestead applications filed by Florida settlers, between 1881-1905, have been transferred to the Florida State Archives. Information contained includes name of applicant, place of residence at time of application, tract description, and number of acres granted. There is a surname index. Other homestead records included in this Record Group 598 include tax receipts required to prove that claimants were paying taxes on their claims, unindexed miscellaneous and legal records concerning homesteads, and correspondence of the State Land Office, 1858-1913.

Subsequent Land Transactions
Deeds after the first grants are recorded generally through the clerk of the courts in the county seat

• Land Records from All States
• Search County Property Records
• Search County Land Patents

Excerpts From the Book "Family History Made Easy"

   Prior to the Civil War, more than eighty-five percent of all Americans owned or leased land. Therefore, almost every researcher, whether a seasoned professional or weekend hobbyist, has required land records to document the existence, association, or movement of an individual or ancestral family. While many researchers may feel a sense of historical excitement when finding an ancestor in a land deed, many also fail to understand the importance of such a document and how land can be used to make vital links between generations; they are not aware that it can bridge distant origins and help solve even the most difficult problems. E. Wade Hone, In Land and Property Research in the United States

U.S. House of Representative Private Claims, Vol. 1, Vol. 2 or Vol. 3

   The right to own land has always been one of the great incentives for living in the United States. Yet researchers often overlook the importance of land records as a source of family history information. Written evidence of people’s entitlement goes back in time further than virtually any other type of record family historians might use.

   Land records meet the needs of researchers in different ways and contain a variety of genealogical and historical data. They are a major source of information for many family histories and provide primary source material for local history as well. They are closely related to probate and other official court records and should be investigated in connection with them. Land and property are leading issues in the settlement of estates, and the majority of civil cases in the courts deal with real and personal property. Although land records rarely yield vital statistics, in many instances they provide the only proof of family relationships. Often they include the names of heirs of an estate (including daughters’ married names and a widow’s subsequent married name) and refer to related probates and other court cases by number and court name. In some places where other records are scarce, the land records take on extra importance. Occasionally these documents disclose former residences and more often provide the new address of the grantors or heirs at the time of the sale of the property.

   Land records provide two types of important evidence for the family historian. First, they often document family relationships. Second, they place individuals in a specific time and place, allowing the researcher to sort people and families into neighborhoods and closely related groups. One of land records’ most important qualities is that they are sometimes the only records that allow us to distinguish one person of a common name from another.

   The National Archives has bounty-land warrant files, donation land entry files, homestead application files, and private land claim files relating to the entry of individual settlers on land in the public land states. There are no land records for the original thirteen states or for Maine, Vermont, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, and Hawaii. Records for these states are maintained by state officials, usually in the state capital. Searching for the record of a particular land grant from the federal government requires contacting both the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the National Archives (NARA).

Back to top

Florida Military Records - Florida has had a militia since its earliest territorial days. When voters lined up to register for the young state's first election, every able-bodied man over twenty and under forty-five was enrolled in the militia before being allowed to vote; only age and infirmity excused the prospective voter from his military obligation.

See Also Researching in Military Records - 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.......

Home guard (state militia) units were under state command during the Civil War, and their personnel and other records were never provided to Confederate officials. Most of the records that survived the war were placed in the State Arsenal, which has recently transferred them and other treasures to the Florida State Archives. Including records as early as the 1820s, as well as muster rolls from the Second Seminole, Mexican, and Civil Wars, this new accession constitutes a major source for Florida researchers. Later records include documents of the Florida Militia, Florida State Troops, and Florida National Guard covering the period 1870s-1917. World War I induction lists and a card roster of Floridians who served, 1917-19, add to the value of this record group (RG 197).

Important and newly discovered lists of territorial militia officers and men for the period 1826-30 have appeared in the fall 1987 and winter 1989 issues of The Florida Genealogist. As in so many other areas, there are some militia rolls and related files that never reached the state archives. They can sometimes be found, often to the amazement of their custodians, in the miscellaneous courthouse files and county commission minutes of the older counties. Again, personal search is the only way to find them.

The site U.S. Wars list conflicts dating from earliest to 1865. Wars covered that are availibele are:

Revolutionary War - Because Florida remained loyal to the Crown during the Revolution, Fritot's Pension Records of Soldiers of the Revolution Who Removed to Florida (Jacksonville: Jacksonville Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, 1946) remains among the few genealogically valuable references to later Floridians who had served during that conflict.

Search Revolutionary War 1775-83 Service Records, Rejected Pensions, Loyalists Records, 1775-1783 Pay Rolls, Courts-Martial, Officers, Pension Index, 1841 Pensioner Census

• 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.
• Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M881. Compiled service records of soldiers who served in the American Army during the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783.
• Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, from NARA publication M804.

Indian Wars - The Flordia State Archives holds a reference copy of the sixty-three reel National Archives microfilm number M1086, Compiled Service Records of Volunteers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Florida During the Florida Indian Wars, 1835-1858. There is no state index, but participants are included in the master Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During Indian Wars and Disturbances, 1815-1858 (M629, forty-two reels).

The Mexican War - Florida had recently been through the Second Seminole War and had been a state just over a year when "Polk's War" with Mexico began. Yet the five-company quota assigned to Florida was quickly filled. Very little attention has thus far been paid to the new state's part in the Mexican War.. There is also a microfilmed alphabetical master index (National Archives film M616) to compiled service records that can prove helpful.

Civil War -  Florida seceded from the Union on 10 January 1861, remained an independent nation until 22 April, and ended the Civil War with the only Confederate capital east of the Mississippi not captured and occupied by federal forces. More than 16,000 Floridians served in the Civil War (15,000 Confederate and 1,290 Union).
The Florida State Archives has reference copies of the National Archives microfilm consolidated index to compiled service records of Confederate soldiers (M253) as well as the Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Florida (M251; index, M225) and the index and files of Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Florida (M225 and M400).

Florida granted pensions to Confederate veterans and their widows under laws passed in 1885, 1887, and 1889. In 1915 a peak total of 5,134 veterans and widows were on the rolls. The Flordia State Archives has a collection of some 12,775 approved and rejected pension applications. The files are indexed by both veterans' and widows' names. Available from the archives is Computer-Based Register and Index to the Florida State Board of Pensions' Confederate Service Pension Applications, 1885-1954. Inquirers, in person or by mail, may order copies of pertinent files, which generally include original and supplemental applications, full name, date and place of birth, service unit, wounds received, date and place of enlistment and discharge, county of residence when applying, and length of residence in the state. Widows' records add maiden name, date and place of marriage, and date and place of the veteran's death. The archives' central reference unit will report whether a pension is on file and quote copy costs.

Search Civil War Soldiers, Service Records, Regiments, General Officers, Battle Summaries, Pension Index: 1861-1934, CSA Field Officers and the War of the Rebellion

• 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.
• Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900 from the State of Florida (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Pension applications for service in the U.S. Army between 1861 and 1917, grouped according to the units in which the veterans served.
• Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Florida (The National Archives): NARA M251. View, Print Copy & Save Original Compiled service records of Confederate soldiers from Florida units, labeled with each soldier's name, rank, and unit, with links to revealing documents about each soldier.
• Case Files of Applications from Former Confederates for Presidential Pardons ("Amnesty Papers"), 1865-67 from the State of Florida (The National Archives): NARA M1003. View, Print Copy & Save Original Applications for pardon submitted to President Andrew Johnson, 1865-67, by former Confederates excluded from earlier amnesty proclamations.

The Spanish-American War - Most of the Florida volunteers in the infantry units of what John Hay called this "splendid little war" moved smartly about the state, into and out of training camps and guard detachments, but never left it. Several hundred of them are listed, with capsule unit histories, in part 3 of Soldiers of Florida. The section is unindexed but can serve to alert researchers to further resources. A 13-reel National Archives and Records Administration microfilm publication (M1087), Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served in the Florida Infantry During the War with Spain, is generally more reliable; access to the records is facilitated by a 126-roll index (M871). The Florida Department of Military Affairs Special Publication No.3 is Mobilization Lists, Florida State Troops and Naval Militia, Spanish-American War, 1898-1899.

Excerpts From the Book "Family History Made Easy"

   Military and pension records are among the most useful sources available to genealogists because of the detail they offer. These records are important because they may provide an ancestor’s date of birth, place of residence, the names and addresses of family members, and other details that can round out a picture of his or her life. Judith Prowse Reid, Head, Local History and Genealogy, Library of Congress

   Military records have originated at the federal, state, and local levels. Whether created in time of war or in time of peace, these records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served in the military forces of the United States. Almost every American family, in one generation or another, has seen one or more of its members serve in America’s armed forces. From regimental histories, which provide blow-by-blow accounts of a unit’s participation in military actions, to the personal details contained in the service and pension files of individual men and women, military records provide valuable information concerning a large and significant portion of the American population. And because military records have been preserved and made available at and through a number of research institutions, much information awaits the well-prepared researcher.

How to Find Military Records
   To locate military records for any individual, it is essential to know when and where in the armed forces he or she served and whether that person served in the enlisted ranks or was an officer. (If you don’t have that identifying information, some potential solutions are discussed below.)
As in any research project, it is important to study carefully whatever is already known about the subject of interest. Families and communities frequently pass down stories of military heroes from generation to generation. In most cases, these stories retain some fact, but, with the passage of years and in the process of retelling, accuracy fades. At any rate, family stories should not be overlooked for clues at the start of a military search.

   When and where did the individual live? Did the family keep evidence of military service? Certificates, letters, journals, diaries, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, photographs, medals, swords, and other memorabilia kept in private collections may provide the basic facts needed to begin searching in military record collections.

Military Time Lines
   Creating a historical time line can be especially useful for determining if and when the subject might have served in the military. By compiling a chronological list of the known dates and places of residence of an individual from birth through adulthood, it is frequently easy to discover the possibility of military service. Was the individual the right age to be eligible for the draft or to serve voluntarily in the Civil War? Is it likely that the person served on the Northern rather than the Southern side, or vice versa? For records from the colonial period to more recent military engagements, the place of residence is key to finding an individual’s records.

Evidence of Military Service in Hometown Records
   There are a number of public records that are potentially valuable in discovering the military history of a veteran. It has been a long-standing American tradition to foster patriotism by honoring local sons and daughters who have defended the ideals of their country. Hometown military heroes are frequently noted on public monuments, and local newspaper files may yield surprisingly detailed accounts of a community’s well-known and less-famous military personnel.

Military History
   Commercial enterprises and historically oriented groups and institutions have regularly published local histories. As a rule, these histories will include glowing accounts of the area’s involvement in military activities. Some volumes provide biographical sketches of military leaders, while others attempt to list all of the community’s participants in various military conflicts. Locally focused histories have been published at various times for virtually every state and county in the United States. Do not overlook them as an important research aid. P. William Filby’s A Bibliography of American County Histories is a list of five thousand such sources.

   In addition to the standard histories, local public libraries and historical societies usually preserve and make available other types of publications that document the military history of the geographical areas they serve. Historical agencies collect biographies, letters, diaries, journals, and all sorts of memorabilia from military units and servicemen and -women. The personal accounts found in some collections are a fascinating means of stepping back in time. Firsthand accounts afford a better understanding of the day-to-day drudgery, loneliness, fears, and satisfactions of military life.

Evidence of Military Service in Cemeteries
   Cemeteries provide yet another local source of information regarding individuals who served in the armed forces. Almost every cemetery in the United States contains some evidence of military events and veterans. Cemetery records and grave markers frequently identify military dead by name, rank, and unit designation. If a man or woman died elsewhere while in the service, the body was frequently brought home for burial; cemetery records often note the place and date of death.

Evidence of Military Service in Court Records
   Court records are yet another potential source for identifying those who served in the military. Most counties formally recorded and indexed the names of their citizens who were discharged from the military. In some local courts, “military discharges” will be found indexed separately, and in others the military records may be oddly interspersed with deeds, naturalizations, or other categories of documents. The contents of military records may vary greatly from one courthouse to another. Some will provide biographical information, while others may simply list names and the event or names and date of certificate issue.

Military Records in the National Archives
   Federal military documents that have been classified as archival material are in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration. Not all records created by military agencies are judged to be permanently valuable. Generally, only records of historical or administrative importance are kept.

   A wonderful array of federal military records are available in major libraries and archives and through microfilm rental programs. (Heritage Quest, a division of AGLL, Inc., PO Box 329, Bountiful, UT 84011-0329, is a source of rental microfilms.) With sufficient identifying information, you may request a search of the registers of enlistments or the compiled military service records. The minimum information required for a search is (1) the soldier’s full name, (2) the war in which he or she served or period of service, and (3) the state from which he or she served. For the Civil War, you must also indicate whether the person served in Union or Confederate forces. A separate copy of the form must be used for military service, pension, and bounty-land warrant applications. Submit requests for information about individuals who served in the military before World War I on NATF form 80 (Order for Copies of Veterans Records). Write to the National Archives and Records Administration, General Reference Branch, Washington, DC 20408 to obtain copies of NATF form 80. Always ask for “all records” for an individual.

   Make requests for information about U.S. Army officers separated from the service after 1912 on standard form 180 (Request Pertaining to Military Records) and send it to the Military Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63132.

U.S. Military Records
   By far the most comprehensive study of military records and how to use them is found in James C. Neagles’s U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources, Colonial America to the Present. Neagles’s guide addresses primary and secondary military sources and accessibility, including the following information-rich sources:

Records of state militias and the National Guard
Records of the army, navy, and other branches of the U.S. military
Records of the military academies
Post-service records
Pensions
Bounty-land grants
Bonuses and family assistance
Soldier’s homes
Military burials
Military installations
Censuses of veterans
Conscription
Civilian affairs

Back to top

Florida Vital Records - The Bureau of Vital Statistics of the State Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, P. O. Box 210, Jacksonville, FL 32231, has custody of birth and death 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).

See Also Researching in Vital Records - Vital records, as their name suggests, are connected with central life events: birth, marriage, and death. Maintained by civil authorities, they are prime sources of genealogical information; but, unfortunately, official vital records are available only for relatively recent periods. These records, despite their recent creation in the United States, are critically important in genealogical research, often supplying details on family members well back into the nineteenth century.......

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. Some years ago, for example, the St. Augustine Health Department deposited with the historical society library a number of “death certificates and burial permits” written on scraps of paper, prescription blanks, etc., for the late 1870s and early 1880s with its local historical society library.

Applications for central-registry birth and death records must be submitted on standard forms available from the bureau at the above address. Under a statutory revision effective in 1987, “all birth records...shall be considered confidential documents....” Birth certificates, computer certifications, and birth cards are available only to the registrant (if of the legal age of eighteen) or to his or her parent, guardian, or other legal representative. Death records are still issued to anyone paying the required fee, but the cause-of-death section of the original certificate is deemed confidential and will not be supplied.

If the bureau cannot supply a record, it is sometimes productive to have a search made at the local health department as some early Florida records simply did not get to Jacksonville. It is also well to scan the periodical and genealogical society literature for items such as the West Florida Genealogical Society's 460-page Early Pensacola Vital Records, Volume 1: 1891-1899 (Pensacola: West Florida Genealogical Society, 1987).

Florida adoption records are confidential. The original papers are filed with the clerk of the circuit court in the county where the adoption took place. Medical background on the birth family is given to the adoptive family at adoption. It can be obtained by the adoptee at age eighteen from the Family and Children Services Program, Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, 1323 Winewood Boulevard, Tallahassee, FL 32301, which also has a file on each adoption. Since October of 1980 it has been possible, when both the adoptee and the birth parent desire it and have submitted waivers of confidentiality, for a reunion to be arranged. Initial contact by searching adoptees should be with the department above. Unsettling to many genealogists is the state's practice of sealing original birth certificates in the case of step-parent adoptions and issuing “amended” certificates showing the step-parent as the parent. Adoptions are governed by chapter 63, Florida Statutes, which are amended yearly. They and the latest legislative session updates should be consulted at the outset of the search.

The Bureau of Vital Statistics 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.

• Ordering Vital Records Online - Getting documents by mail can take a long as six weeks or more. Through VitalChek Express Certificate Service you can get Birth, Marriage, Divorce & Death Certificates Signed, Sealed, & Delivered in as few as three business days!
  

  Birth Certificates

  Death Certificates

  Marriage Certificates

  Divorce Records

• 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.

Facts on Birth Records - Most early birth records contain very little biographical information. Typical early New England town and church records, for example, give little information beyond the name of the child, date and place of birth, and parents’ names. Some localities listed only the name of the father.

While early birth records can be discouragingly lacking in information, by the mid-nineteenth century birth records in the United States began to include more information. Even though births were not widely recorded during the early years of America’s existence, the records that do exist may be the only source of a birth date for an individual and should always be consulted.

Delayed births are also important vital registrations that you should consider for obtaining biographical information. When Social Security benefits were instituted in 1937, individuals claiming benefits had to document their birth even if the state of their birth did not require registration when they were born. Individuals who were not registered with state or county agencies at the time of their birth often applied for a delayed birth registration. Obtaining passports, insurance, and other benefits also required proof of age.

Applications were accompanied with full name, address, and date and place of birth; father’s name, race, and place of birth; and evidence to support the facts presented. The evidence could be in the form of a baptismal certificate, Bible record, school record, affidavit from the attending physician or midwife, application for an insurance policy, birth certificate of a child, or an affidavit from a person having definite knowledge of the facts. Delayed birth records are usually filed and indexed separately from regular birth registrations, and it may be necessary to request a separate search for them.

• Search All U.S and Foriegn Birth, Marriage and Death Records
• Search County Birth Records
• Order Birth Certificates Online

Facts on Marriage Records - Because of the importance of the legal distribution and control of property, most states and counties began to record marriages before births and deaths. The recording of a marriage is a two-step process. Traditionally, couples apply for a license to marry, and the applications are usually filed loose among other applications or in bound volumes. Marriage returns are filed once the marriage has taken place. The latter document is the proof of a marriage (not the license application).

Marriage applications are often filled out by both the bride and groom and typically contain a significant amount of genealogical information. They may list full names of the bride and groom, their residences, races, ages, dates and places of birth, previous marriages, occupations, and their parents’ names, places of birth, and occupations.

Marriage certificates are issued by counties after the marriage ceremony is completed, and these are usually found among family items. While the certificates tend to have less biographical data than the application, the name of the individual officiating at the wedding may lead you to religious records by revealing the denomination. The religious records, in turn, may reveal the names of witnesses and other useful information.

Early American records sometimes include marriage bonds, which served as a protection for the future children of the marriage. A bond obligated a prospective groom to pay the bond if he were discovered to be a bigamist or imposter or otherwise ineligible to contract a valid marriage. As long as the marriage was legal, the bond was void. Bonds generally include the groom’s name, name of the surety, the sum, and the date of the agreement.

• Order Marriage Certificates or Divorce Records Online
• Search U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900
• Search County Marriage Records
• Search County Divorce Records

Facts on Death Records - Early death records in the United States provide little more than the name of the deceased, the date of death, and the place of death. Obituaries and cemetery, court, and other records often provide more information about the deceased than do most official death records created before the last quarter of the 1800s.

By 1900 death records included more details. They often include the name of the deceased; date, place, and cause of death; age at the time of death; place of birth; parents’ names; occupation; name of spouse; name of the person giving the information; the informant’s relationship to the deceased; the name and address of the funeral director; and the place of burial. Race is listed in some records, and modern death certificates generally include a Social Security number.

• Order Death Certificates Online
• Social Security Death Index
• Obituary Collection
• Search County Death Records
• 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 Alabama.
• America's Obituaries (1977 to current) at Genealogybank.com - Obituaries contain helpful information such as names, dates, places of birth, death, marriage and family information. Over 28 million obituaries make this the most complete collection from the 20th and 21st centuries - includes over 1,100 U.S. newspapers. New content added daily!

Back to top