Duval County, Florida Genealogy

United States

Florida

Duval County

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

Duval County, Florida
Map
Location in the state of Florida
Location of Florida in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	August 12, 1822
County Seat	Jacksonville
Courthouse
Adopt-a-wiki page This page adopted by: The FLGenWeb Project who welcome you to contribute. Denise Wells, County Coordinator Duval County FLGenWeb Adopt a page today

County Information

Duval County, Florida Record Dates

Known Beginning Dates for Major Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1893	1822	1901	1921	1921	1905	1830
*Statewide registration of births and deaths began in 1899. General compliance by 1920.

County Courthouse

Duval County Courthouse
330 E Bay Street
Jacksonville, FL 32202
Phone: 904.630.2028

Clerk Circuit Court has divorce, court and
land records from 1921.
County Judge has marriage and probate records.

History

Parent County

1822--Duval County was created 12 August 1822 from St. Johns County.
County seat: Jacksonville

Description

The county was named for William Pope DuVal. DuVal was territorial governor from 1822-1834. Prior to European arrival, the area was inhabited by indigenous people, the Timucua and Mocama. The County Seat is Deland and the county was created 1854. The County is located in the Northeast area of the state.

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

Civil War and 1901 Duval County Courthouse was burned both during the Civil War, and later in 1901. The extent of the record loss is unknown.

Places / Localities

Populated Places

On October 1, 1968, Duval County and the City of Jacksonville consolidated their governments into one single entity. Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach and Baldwin still maintain independent municipality status in Duval County. Besides these exceptions, all communities within Duval County were incorporated into Jacksonville City. Therefore, several neighborhoods and communities within a city exist today in Duval County. 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 Duval County:

Cities
Atlantic Beach Baldwin	Jacksonville Jacksonville Beach	Neptune Beach
Census-designated places
Arlington Bayard Brighton Broward Chaseville Dinsmore Duval East Jacksonville Eastport Fort George Fulton Gilmore	Grand Crossing Hansontown Hogan Indlewild Lavilla Mandarin Marietta Maxville Mayport Murray Hill Moncrief	New Berlin Oakland Ortega San Marco Pablo Beach Panama Picketts Price Riverside and Avondale South Jacksonville Yellow Bluff

Neighboring Counties

Baker • Clay • Nassau • St. Johns

Resources

Biographies

Biographies at Duval Co, FLGenWeb

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Duval, Florida online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com FLGenWeb FLGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project Billion Graves
TombstoneTranscriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com Billion Graves Duval County Cemeteries Duval Florida Cemetery Records
See Florida Cemeteries for more information

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

• Interment.net Florida cemetery records

Census

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

The 1885 Florida State Population Census includes sex, age, relationship, occupation, place of birth of each family member and parents. Also census for agriculture, manufacture and mortality.

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.

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

• Jacksonville
• Panama Park
• Springfield
• Wesconnett

Cities and Towns

Cities and Towns of Duval Co, FLGenWeb

Atlantic Beach, Baldwin, Jacksonville,Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach

Emigration and Immigration

Online Records

• 1944 - 1945 Florida and South Carolina, Airplane Arrival Manifests, 1944-1945

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 Duval 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.

• British West Florida at Duval Co FLGenWeb

• History of Duval Co FLGenWeb

• History of Jacksonville Florida WorldCat

Maps

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Florida (1821-1997)

Military

• Duval County Military Records (USGenWeb Archives)
• 1883 - Duval County Pensioners on the Roll as of January 1, 1881 (Genealogy Trails)

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)
• 1885-1955 - Florida Confederate Veterans and Widows Pension Applications, 1885-1955 at FamilySearch — images only

Civil War Battle

The following Civil War battle was fought in Duval County:

October 1-3, 1862 = St. John’s Bluff

Map showing Civil War battles in Florida.

World War I

• 1917 - 1918 - Index to Duval County Draft Registration - Scroll down to WWI. (USGenWeb Archives)
• 1917 - 1920 - Florida, World War I Navy Card Roster, 1917-1920 at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

• Index to Duval County World War II Army Enlistees - Scroll down to WWII. (USGenWeb Archives)
• 1940-1945 - Florida, World War II Draft Registration Cards,1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images

Korean War

• Duval County Korean War Casualties (Genealogy Trails)

Vietnam War

• Duval County Vietnam War Casualties (Genealogy Trails)

Newspapers

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

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

Probate

Probate records are held by the Clerk of Court and are housed at the Courthouse (top of page). 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.

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

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, or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred.

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

Birth Records

• 1880 - 1935 - Florida, Births and Christenings, 1880-1935 at FamilySearch — index

Death Records

• 1877 - 1939 - Florida, Deaths, 1877-1939 at FamilySearch — index
• 1900 - 1921 - Florida, Deaths and Burials, 1900-1921 at at FamilySearch — index
• 1877 - 1998 - Florida, Death Index, 1877-1998 at FamilySearch — index

Divorce Records

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

Marriage Records

• 1802 - 1998 - Florida, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
• 1837 - 1974 - Florida, Marriages, 1837-1974 at FamilySearch — index
• 1830 - 1993 - Florida, Marriages, 1830-1993 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1830 - 1957 - Florida, County Marriages, 1830-1957 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1822 - 1875 and 1927-2001 - Florida, Marriage Index, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001 at FamilySearch — index

Societies and Libraries

Jacksonville Genealogical Society
PO Box 60756
Jacksonville, Florida 32236-0756
E-mail:info@jaxgen.org
Website

Jacksonville Historical Society
314 North Palmetto Street
Jacksonville, FL 32202-2217
Telephone Number: 904-374-0296
Website

Jacksonville Historical Society
100-B Wharfside Way
Jacksonville, FL 32207
Telephone Number: 904-396-6307

Beaches Area Historical Society
381 Beach Boulevard
PO Box 50646
Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250
telephone Number: 904-241-5657
E-mailinfo@beachesmuseum.org
Website

Southern Genealogist's Exchange Society
PO Box 2801
Jacksonville, FL 32203-2801
Website

• Random Acts of Kindness List of Florida Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical Genealogical Societies
• FamilySearch Find a Family History Center
• Florida Historical Society
• Florida State Genealogical Society

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.

• For current information about a center near you, go to the Family History Center Map

• Jacksonville Florida East Family History Center

Websites

• Duval County, FL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Florida Genealogy Network Community on Google+
• Florida Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• FamilySearch Catalog
• Duval County, Florida Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
• Duval County, FLGenWeb Project, Inc.
• Duval County, Florida, USGenWeb Archives

The usage of "Mormon" and "LDS" on this page is approved according to current policy.

• Duval County, Genealogy Trails
• Duval County FL Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)