Orange County, Florida Genealogy

Guide to Orange County, Florida ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

Description
The county was named for the Orange fruit. The County is located in the East Central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Orange County Courthouse 425 N Orange Ave Orlando, FL 32801-3547 Phone: 407-863-6321 Orange County Website Formerly Mosquito County, name was changed to Orange 30 Jan 1845. Clerk Circuit Court has marriage records from 1890, court and probate records from 1869.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

History Timeline

 * Before 1824, all of Florida was divided into two counties, Alachua to the west and St Johns to the east.
 * In 1824, the area of St Johns County from south of Jacksonville to the Lake Okeechobee area was split off to become Mosquito County.
 * Florida achieved statehood in 1845 and the county was renamed Orange County.
 * Later, other counties were created from Orange County -- Seminole, Osceola, others.
 * From 1824 to 1845, the county seat was Enterprise. The current county seat is Orlando.

Census Records

 * 1783 - Spanish Census USGenWeb
 * 1821 - Census/Tax List Index USGenWeb
 * 1823 - Census/Tax List Index USGenWeb
 * 1880 - Census African Born Blacks and Mulattos USGenWeb
 * 1885 includes sex, age, relationship, occupation, place of birth of each family member and parents. Also census for agriculture, manufacture and mortality. - How to Use this Collection
 * 1935 1935 Florida State Census at MyHeritage - index ($))
 * Federal Census Information from National Archives USGenWeb
 * State Census Information from Florida State Archives USGenWeb
 * Census of Pensioners Revolutionary Military Service USGenWeb

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints


 * Orlando

Court Records

 * Orange County Clerk Criminal Records Search at Orange County Clerk

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1944-1945  - [[Florida and South Carolina, Airplane Arrival Manifests - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * How to Use this Collection]]
 * NARA Ships Passenger Lists - These passenger lists cover:
 * 1834-1897 - Immigration of Russians to the United States
 * 1/12/1846-12/31/1851 - Irish Famine
 * 1850-1897 - Germans to the United States
 * 1855-1900 - Italians to the United States

Land and Property Records
1843-2009 Orange County Comptroller. Click "I Accept" to get to the search page.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * 1821-1997 Maps of Florida
 * 1870 - Gray's Atlas Panhandle Portion of StateUSGenWeb
 * 1882 - Rand McNally Panhandle Portion of StateUSGenWeb
 * Exploring Florida, FCIT Maps University of South Florida
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * Orange County Military Records (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Florida State Military Files USGenWeb
 * Florida state pension records from various wars Pension Transcriptions USGenWeb

Civil War
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry (free)
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry (free)
 * 1883 Orange County Pensioners on the Roll as of January 1, 1883 (Genealogy Trails)
 * 1885-1955 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * Index to Orange County Confederate Pensions (FLGenWeb Project)

World War I
 * 1917-1918 Orange County Civilian Draft Registration, Surnames A-K (USGenWeb Archives)
 * 1917-1918 Orange County Civilian Draft Registration, Surnames L-Z (USGenWeb Archives)
 * 1917-1920 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

World War II
 * 1940-1945 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * Index to Orange County World War II Army Enlistees - Scroll down to WWII. (USGenWeb Archives)

Korean War
 * Orange County Korean War Casualties (Genealogy Trails)
 * Florida Casualties in the Korean Conflict distantcousin.com

Vietnam War
 * Orange County Vietnam War Casualties (Genealogy Trails)
 * Orlando Vietnam War Casualties (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Distantcousin.com Florida Casualties in the Vietnam War

Iraq War
 * Orange County Iraq War Casualties (USGenWeb Archives)

Newspapers

 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * Florida Digital Newspaper Library at George A. Smathers Libraries
 * Early Florida Newspapers at the Florida State Library USGenWeb

Obituaries

 * USGenWeb Obituaries Project Obituary transcriptions from Florida counties

Probate Records
Online Indexes and Records


 * 1784-1990 (*) at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images
 * 1827-1950 Florida, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1827-1950 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1869-1897 (*); County Judge's Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Birth

 * 1880-1935 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Marriage

 * 1802-1998 Florida, United States Marriages at Findmypast $
 * 1822-1875 and 1927 - 2001 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1830-1957 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1830-1993 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1837-1974 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1970 - 1999 Florida, Marriages, 1970 - 1999 at MyHeritage - index ($))

Death

 * 1877-1939 at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection
 * 1877-1998 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1900-1921 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Divorce

 * 1927-2001 Florida, Divorce Index, 1927-2001 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * 1970 - 1999 Florida, Divorces, 1970 - 1999 at MyHeritage - index ($))

Voter Records

 * 1867-1868 Web: Florida, U.S., Voter Registration Rolls, 1867-1868 at Ancestry - index ($)

Family History Centers

 * Orlando Florida Family History Center


 * Orlando Florida Hunters Creek Family History Center


 * Orlando Florida South Family History Center

Libraries
West Oaks Branch Library and Genealogy Center 1821 E Silver Star Road Ocoee, FL 34761 Phone: 407-835-7323 Website

Museums
Fort Christmas Historical Park 1300 Fort Christmas Road (C.R. 420) Christmas, Florida 32709 Telephone 407-254-9312 Email: [mailto:Cheryl.Wasserman@ocfl.net Cheryl.Wasserman@ocfl.net] Website

Societies
Central Florida Genealogical Society, Inc. PO Box 536309 Orlando, Florida 32853-6309 Email: [mailto:cfgs@cfgs.org cfgs@cfgs.org] Website Facebook

Historical Society of Central Florida 65 E. Central Blvd. Orlando, Florida 32801 Telephone 407-836-8500 Email [mailto:historycenter@ocfl.net historycenter@ocfl.net] Website Facebook

Websites

 * Orange County, Florida, USGenWeb Archives
 * Orange County, Florida Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Orange County, FLGenWeb Project, Inc.
 * Central Florida Genealogical Society, Inc
 * Orange County FLGenWeb Project
 * Orange County, Florida Genealogy Trails
 * Orange County FL Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.