African American Resources for Florida
| Florida Wiki Topics |
|
| Beginning Research |
| Record Types |
|
| Florida Background |
| Cultural Groups |
| Local Research Resources |
Introduction[edit | edit source]
A list of resources for researching African American ancestors in Florida.
| Adopt-a-wiki page | |
|
This page adopted by: The FLGenWeb Project who welcome you to contribute. |
|---|---|
| Adopt a page today | |
Online Resources[edit | edit source]
Record Collections
Lists of Sources
Research Strategy[edit | edit source]
History[edit | edit source]
Resources[edit | edit source]
Biographies[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
- Access Genealogy: Florida African American Cemeteries. This is a list of African American cemeteries in many of the counties in Florida. Some have links to transcripts of the tombstones in the cemetery.
- Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society. Key West African Cemetery. This report details the evidence of an African cemetery at Higgs Beach in Key West, Florida, and describes how it was located. Includes facsimiles of historical records, maps, and photos. In 1860, the U.S. Navy intercepted three American-owned slave ships taking Africans to Cuba. Now refugees, the Africans were taken to Key West before being sent to Liberia. Many died and were buried at Higgs Beach.
Census Records[edit | edit source]
- Florida, State Census, 1867-1945 ($) - information usually includes name, residence, age, gender, race, relation to family, marital status, birthplace and parents' birthplace, occupation, and degree of education
- 1885 Florida State Census, 1885 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- 1935 Florida State Census, 1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- 1945 Florida State Census, 1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- 1880 Census African Born Blacks and Mulattos USGenWeb - lists name, relationship, year born, sex, race,and birth place.
Church Records[edit | edit source]
Emancipation Records[edit | edit source]
Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]
Genealogies[edit | edit source]
Land and Property[edit | edit source]
Plantation[edit | edit source]
Sankofagen: Florida plantations and slave labor sites
Law and Legislation[edit | edit source]
Oral Histories[edit | edit source]
Other Records[edit | edit source]
Military Records[edit | edit source]
- Documents Relating to the Military and Naval Service of Blacks Awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor from the Civil War to the Spanish-American War, (Washington [District of Columbia]:The National Archives, 1973), on 4 microfilm reels (now digitized) - FHL films 1601548-1601551.
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
Probate Records[edit | edit source]
Reconstruction Records[edit | edit source]
Freedman’s Bank[edit | edit source]
An excellent source is the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company (visit the African American Freedman's Savings and Trust Company Records page to learn more). This company was created to assist African American soldiers of the Civil War and freed slaves. Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company signature cards or registers from 3 March 1865 to 25 July 1874 may list the name of the depositor, date of entry, age, birthplace, residence, complexion, name of employer or occupation, wife or husband’s name, death information, children’s names, name of father and mother, brothers’ and sisters’ names, remarks, and signature. Early books sometimes contained the name of the former master or mistress and the name of the plantation. Copies of death certificates were sometimes attached to the entries. The collection is organized alphabetically by state, then city where the bank was located, then date the account was established, then account number.
Online collections of Freedman's Bank records:
- 1865-1874 United States, Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- 1965-1871 U.S., Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1871 at Ancestry ($)
- 1866-1872 Registers of Signatures of Depositors, 1866-1872 (FHL film 928575 item 4) - Freedman's Savings and Trust Company (Tallahassee, Florida)
Freedmen's Bureau[edit | edit source]
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was created by the US government in 1865 until 1872 to assist former slaves in the southern United States. The Bureau created a wide variety of records extremely valuable to genealogists. Such documents include censuses, marriage records, and medical records. These records often include full names, former masters and plantations, and current residences.[1] For 1865 and 1866, the section on abandoned and confiscated lands includes the names of the owners of the plantations or homes that were abandoned, confiscated, or leased. It gives the county and location, a description of the house, the number of acres owned, and the number of cabins of former slaves. These films do not appear to contain the names of former slaves.
To find Freedmen's Bureau records:
- DiscoverFreedmen - the search on this site will utilize all of the Freedmen's Bureau records on FamilySearch, including:
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau Claim Records,1865-1872 — How to Use this Collection
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau Hospital and Medical Records, 1865-1872 — How to Use this Collection
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau Labor Contracts, Indenture and Apprenticeship Records, 1865-1872 — How to Use this Collection
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872 — How to Use this Collection
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau Ration Records,1865-1872 — How to Use this Collection
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau Records of Persons and Articles Hired, 1865-1872 — How to Use this Collection
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Freedmen's Court Records, 1865-1872 — How to Use this Collection
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Land and Property Records, 1865-1872 — How to Use this Collection
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen's Complaints, 1865-1872 — How to Use this Collection
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Superintendent of Education and of the Division of Education, 1865-1872 — How to Use this Collection
Other FamilySearch collections not included:
- United States Freedmen's Bureau Miscellaneous Records,1865-1872 — How to Use this Collection
- United States Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen, 1865-1872 — How to Use this Collection
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1872 Images — How to Use this Collection
School Records[edit | edit source]
Slavery Records[edit | edit source]
- Access Genealogy. Florida Slave Narratives. Interviews with former slaves done during the 1930s,
- Florida: Leon County Enslaved Persons and Slaveholders is a database of enslaved persons extracted from Leon County inventories and appraisal books 1853-1865.
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
Birth[edit | edit source]
- Florida Births and Christenings, 1880-1935 at FamilySearch; Index — How to Use this Collection
Marriage[edit | edit source]
- Florida Marriages, 1830-1993 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
The Freedmen's Bureau (1865-1872) was created by the US government to assist former slaves in the southern United States. One of their responsibilities was to record the marriages (past and present) of the former slaves. These records can be found in the collections below and include the lists of marriages that occurred previously, marriage certificates, and marriage licenses. The information contained on the records may include the name of the husband and wife/groom and bride, age, occupation, residence, year or date of marriage, by whom, number of children, and remarks.
- United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- U.S., Freedmen’s Bureau Marriage Records, 1846-1867 at Ancestry
Death[edit | edit source]
- Florida Death Index, 1877-1998 at FamilySearch; Index — How to Use this Collection
- Florida Deaths, 1877-1939 at FamilySearch; Index — How to Use this Collection
- Florida Deaths and Burials, 1900-1921 at FamilySearch; Index — How to Use this Collection
Divorce[edit | edit source]
Voting Registers[edit | edit source]
- Voter Registration Rolls, 1867-68. Florida Memory. State Library & Archives of Florida
- Florida. Secretary of State. Voter Registration Rolls, 1867-1905. 2 rolls
- Tallahassee Genealogical Society.Florida voter registration lists, 1867-68. Tallahassee, Florida: Tallahassee Genealogical Society, 1992. FHL 975.9 N4t Includes the counties of Hernando, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Marion, Nassau, Orange, Polk, Putnam, St. Johns, Santa Rosa, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington counties.
Archives and Libraries[edit | edit source]
African-American Research Library and Cultural Center
2650 Sistrunk Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311
Phone: (954) 357-6282
Website: Library and Cultural Center
There are branches in various locations. They have resources with information on local history and books from Africa, the Caribbean and North and South America.
Africana Heritage Project
University of South Florida (USF)
4202 East Fowler Avenue
Tampa, Florida 33620
Email: info@africanaheritage.com
Website: Africana Heritage Project
Their mission "is to rediscover precious records that document the names and lives of former slaves, freed persons and their descendants, and share those records on this free Internet site."
Carol E. Mundy African American Cultural and Diasporic Research Center
University of Central Florida
Building: CNH110
4000 Central Florida Blvd
Orlando, Florida 32816
Phone: (407) 823-0026
Email: africana@ucf.edu
Website: Cultural and Diasporic Research Center
The research center promotes the study of African American history and research the history that pertains to the central Florida area.
Meek-Eaton Black Archives
Florida A&M University
445 Gamble Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32307
Phone: (850) 599-3020
Website: Meek-Eaton Black Archives
The majority of the archival holdings are records about the history of Africans and African Americans, especially their institutions and organizations, with an impressive holding of manuscripts, rare books, journals, magazines, maps, newspapers, and photographs.
State Library and Archives of Florida
R.A. Gray Building, Second Floor
500 South Bronough Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250
Phone: (850) 245-6600
Website: State Library and Archives of Florida
The Archives is the central repository for the state government. It collects historically significant records, including private manuscripts.
Societies[edit | edit source]
Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society
Central Florida Chapter
P.O. Box 1347
Orlando, Florida 32802-1347
Email: centralflorida@aahgs.org
Website: Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society
Florida African American Heritage Preservation Network
P.O. Box 4261
Tallahassee, Florida 32315
Telephone: (850) 681-7881
Website: Heritage Preservation Network
"Its mission is to promote the preservation of African American landmarks and legacies...". It has a directory of Florida African-American museums with links to their websites.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "African American Records: Freedmen's Bureau," "African American Heritage," National Archives, accessed 11 May 2018.
| ||||||||||||
