Florida Church Records

Before 1900 the largest religious groups in Florida were the Baptist, Methodist-Episcopal (now United Methodist) and Roman Catholic. The Family History Library has a few original records of Florida churches and some materials that have been published by the DAR and others.

For more information about churches in Florida, see:

A Preliminary List of Religious Bodies in Florida. Jacksonville, Florida: Historical Records Survey, 1939. (Family History Library book 975.9 K2ha; film 1036590 item 6; fiche 6019561.)

Guide to the Supplementary Vital Statistics from Church Records in Florida. Three Volumes. Jacksonville, Florida: Historical Records Survey, 1942. (Family History Library book 975.9 V2h; Family History Library film 1425703, item 6.)

Some denominations have collected their records into central repositories. You can write to the following addresses to learn where their records are located:

Baptist
Florida Baptist Historical Society 5400 College Drive Graceville, FL 32440 Phone: 800-328-2660, x-480 Internet: http://www.floridabaptisthistory.org/

Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives The Southern Baptist Convention Building 901 Commerce St., #400 Nashville, TN 37203-3630 Telephone: 615-244-0344 Internet: http://www.sbhla.org/info.htm

The Family History Library has microfilms of some of the minutes and membership lists from the Southern Baptist Historical Commission.

Many of the Baptist associations and their records are described in Inventory of the Church Archives of Florida: Baptist Bodies (Jacksonville, Florida: Historical Records Survey, 1939-1940; Family History Library books 975.9 K2h; film 1036585, item 4).

Methodist
Florida United Methodist Archives Roux Library - Florida Southern College 111 Lake Hollingsworth Drive P.O. Box 3767 Lakeland, FL 33801-5698 Telephone: 863-680-1912 Internet: http://www.gcah.org/Conference/umac/fl.htm

United Methodist Archives Center Drew University 36 Madison Avenue Madison NJ 07940 Telephone: 973-408-3000 Internet: http://www.gcah.org/Conference/umac/fl.htm

A history of churches and congregations is in George G. Smith, The History of Methodism in Georgia and Florida: From 1785 to 1865 (Macon, Georgia: Jno. W. Burke and Company, 1877; FHL book975 K2s; fiche 6048432).

Roman Catholic
Archdiocese of Miami 9401 Biscayne Boulevard Miami Shores, FL 33138 Telephone: (305) 757-6241 Fax: (305) 754-1797

The Archdiocese includes the counties of: Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe

Diocese of Palm Beach 9995 N. Military Trail Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410 Phone: (561) 775-9500

The diocese includes the counties of: Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach and St. Lucie

Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee 11 North B St. Pensacola, FL 32502 Phone: (850) 435-3500

The diocese includes the counties of: Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Taylor, Wakulla, Walton and Washington

Diocese of Venice 1000 Pinebrook Road Venice, FL 34285 Phone: (941) 484-9543 The diocese includes the counties of: Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Lee, Manatee and Sarasota

The Family History Library has 14 microfilms of records for the years 1594 to 1924 from the main cathedral in St. Augustine. Other early records are described in Thomas T. McAvoy, Guide to the Microfilm Edition of the Records of the Diocese of Louisiana and the Floridas, 1576-1803 (Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Archives, 1976; Family History Library book 973 K23m no.15).