Difference between revisions of "Bradford County, Florida Genealogy"

Revision as of 00:51, 12 June 2017

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

Bradford County, Florida
Map
Location in the state of Florida
Location of Florida in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	December 21, 1858
County Seat	Starke
Courthouse
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County Information

Bradford County, Florida Record Dates

County Courthouse

Bradford County Courthouse
PO Box B;
Starke, FL 32091-1286;
Phone: 904.964.6280 

Formerly New River County Name changed to Bradford 6 Dec 1861;
County Clerk has marriage records from 1875,
probate and court records from 1892
and land records from 1876^[2]

History

Named for Captain Richard Bradford who was killed in the American Civil War's Battle of Santa Rosa Island.

Parent County

New River County was created on December 21, 1858 from Columbia County by an act of the Florida Legislature. December 6, 1861 New River County was divided into two counties. The new county was named Baker County and New River's name was changed to BRADFORD County in honor of Captain Bradford who was killed in the Civil War.

In the 1860 New River population was 3,820 In 1861 the population was virtually halved by the carving of Baker from New River. The 1870 Bradford County's population was 1,325 people and the decrease was not due to a massive migration away from the area, but due to Bradford having been split into several Counties.
County seat: Starke ^[3]

Description

The county was named for the first Confederate officer from Florida to die in the Civil War - Captain Richard Bradford. The County Seat is Starke and the county was created 1858.^[4]The County is located in the North East area of the state.^[5]

Boundary Changes

For animated maps illustrating Florida county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Florida County Boundary Maps" (1821-1997) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss

1865 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.
1875 -- A second courthouse was burned in 1875.

For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:

• Burned Counties Research
  
• Burned Counties, by Michael John Neill

Places / Localities

Populated Places

Brooker | Hampton | Lawtey | Starke| Clayno | Graham | Hampton Beach | Heilbronn | New River | Pleasant Grove | Sampson | Saxton |Theressa

Neighboring Counties

Alachua  • Baker  • Clay  • Putnam  • Union

Resources

Cemeteries

The following web sites may have additional information on Bradford County cemeteries.

• Interment.net Florida cemetery records

Census

For tips on accessing Bradford County, Florida Genealogy census records online, see: Florida Census.

• 1783 Spanish Census USGenWeb
• 1821 Census/Tax List Index USGenWeb
• 1823 Census/Tax List Index USGenWeb
• 1880 Census African Born Blacks and Mulattos USGenWeb
• Federal Census Information from National Archives USGenWeb
• State Census Information from Florida State Archives USGenWeb
• Census of Pensioners Revolutionary Military Service USGenWeb

Church

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Florida denominations, view the Florida Church Records wiki page.

Court

Immigration

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

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Florida Land and Property for additional information about early Florida land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Bradford County, Florida Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories see the wiki page section Florida Local Histories.

Maps

• 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

Military

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

Civil War

• 1861-1865 - Florida Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
• 1861-1865 - Florida Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
• 1861-1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
• 1861-1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
• 1883 - Bradford County Pensioners on the Rolls as of January 1, 1883 (Genealogy Trails)
• 1885-1955 - Florida Confederate Veterans and Widows Pension Applications, 1885-1955 at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

• Bradford County World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel (Genealogy Trails)

Korean War

• Florida Casualties in the Korean Conflict
• Bradford County Korean War Casualties (Genealogy Trails)

Vietnam War

• Florida Casualties in the Vietnam War

Newspapers

Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Bradford County, Florida Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• Do a Bradford County, Florida Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

• 1895-1910 Bradford County Telegraph Chronicling America
• 1888-2009 Bradford County Telegraph University of Florida
• Early Florida Newspapers at the Florida State Library USGenWeb

Probate

Probate records are held by the Bradford County, Florida Genealogy Clerk of Court and are housed at the Bradford County, Florida Genealogy Courthouse. See the wiki page Florida Probate Records for information about how to use probate records.

Content: Probate Records may give the decedent's date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence.

Record types: Wills, estates, guardianships, naturalizations, and adoptions.

Online Probate Records

• 1784 – 1990 FamilySearch Florida Probate Records 1784-1990
• 1810 – 1974 Ancestry.com $ Florida Wills and Probate Records 1810-1974
• Florida State Archives $

Taxation

Taxes were levied on free white males over 21 and slaves aged 21 to 60. These persons are referred to as "polls." Tax listings, or digests, of a county generally list the taxable landowners and other polls and the amount of tax. The records for each county are divided by militia district. For more information see the wiki page Florida Taxation.

Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Florida Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred or order electronically online. See also How to order Florida Vital Records

For some online statewide indexes, see the FamilySearch Historical Record Collections for Florida.

Birth Records

• 1880 - 1935 - FamilySearch Florida, Births and Christenings, 1880-1935

Death Records

• 1877 - 1939 - FamilySearch Florida, Deaths, 1877-1939
• 1877 - 1998 - FamilySearch Florida, Death Index, 1877-1998
• 1885 - Bradford County, FL 1885 Mortality Schedule (Genealogy Trails)
• 1900 - 1921 - FamilySearch Florida, Deaths and Burials, 1900-1921
• 1901 - Bradford County, FL Death Records (Genealogy Trails)

Divorce Records

• 1927 - 2001 - Ancestry.com $ Florida, Divorce Index, 1927-2001

Marriage Records

• 1837 - 1974 - FamilySearch Florida, Marriages, 1837-1974
• 1830 - 1993 - FamilySearch Florida, Marriages, 1830-1993
• 1830 - 1957 - Florida, County Marriages, 1830-1957 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1822 - 1875 and 1927 - 2001 - FamilySearch Florida, Marriage Index, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001

Societies and Libraries

Bradford County Historical Board
PO Drawer A
Starke, FL 32091

• List of Florida Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies

Family History Centers

Family history centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes. See family history center for more information. Search the online FHC directory for a nearby family history center.

• Starke Florida Family History Center
• Stuart Florida Family History Center

Websites

• Bradford County, FL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Florida Genealogy Network Community on Google+
• Florida Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• The Bradford County FLGenWeb Project, a member of The FLGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
  
  
• FamilySearch Catalog
• Bradford County, Florida Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
  
• Bradford County FLGenWeb Project, Inc.

References

1. ↑ Alice Eichholz, Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources, Revised ed. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1992), 123-139. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27rb 1992
2. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Bradford County, Florida. Page 133 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
3. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
4. ↑ Genealogy Trails History Group, “Bradford County, Florida Genealogy and History”, http://genealogytrails.com/fla/bradford/ accessed 04/24/2017.
5. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Bradford County," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradford_County,_Florida 04/24/2017.