Orange County, Florida Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
Orange County Courthouse 425 N Orange Ave Orlando, FL 32801-3547 Phone: 407.863.6321

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.

Parent County
1824--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 Okochobee area was split off to become Mosquito County. When Florida achieved statehood in 1845, 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. County seat: Enterprise 1824-1845; Orlando 1845-present

Description
The county was named for the Orange fruit. The county seat is Orlando and the county was created 1845. The County is located in the East Central 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
1868 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged. For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:


 * Burned Counties Research

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:

Neighboring Counties

 * Brevard
 * Lake
 * Osceola
 * Polk
 * Seminole
 * Volusia

Cemeteries
The following web site may have additional information on Orange County cemeteries.


 * Interment.net Florida cemetery records

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


 * Orlando

Court

 * Orange County Clerk Criminal Records.

Civil court cases can be searched Orange County Clerk Civil Records.

Immigration
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
 * 1944 - 1945 Florida and South Carolina, Airplane Arrival Manifests
 * NARA Ships Passenger Lists

Land
1843-2009  ]http://or.occompt.com/recorder/web/ or.occompt.com]. Click "I Accept" to get to the search page.

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

 * 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 — index
 * 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 - Orange County Pensioners on the Roll as of January 1, 1883 (Genealogy Trails)
 * 1885 - 1955 - at FamilySearch — images only
 * 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 — index and images

World War II

 * Index to Orange County World War II Army Enlistees - Scroll down to WWII. (USGenWeb Archives)
 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch — index and images

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)
 * Florida Casualties in the Vietnam War distantcousin.com

Iraq War

 * Orange County Iraq War Casualties (USGenWeb Archives)

Newspapers

 * Early Florida Newspapers at the Florida State Library USGenWeb

Obituaries

 * U.S. Hidden Ancestors Obituaries
 * USGenWeb Obituaries Project Obituary transcriptions from Florida counties

Probate
Online Probate Records
 * 1784 – 1990 Florida Probate Records 1784-1990
 * 1810 – 1974 Ancestry.com $ Florida Wills and Probate Records 1810-1974
 * Florida State Archives $
 * Search Orange County probate records Online My Orange County Clerk

Birth Records

 * 1880 - 1935 - at FamilySearch — index

Death Records

 * 1877 - 1939 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1900 - 1921 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1877 - 1998 - at FamilySearch — index

Divorce Records

 * 1927 - 2001 - Florida, Divorce Index, 1927-2001 at Ancestry.com - index ($)

Marriage Records

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

Societies and Libraries
West Oaks Branch Library and Genealogy Center 1821 E. Silver Star Rd. Ocoee, FL 34761 407.835.7323 Website

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

The Central Florida Genealogical Society, Inc. represents genealogists from the Central Florida area. The Society meets monthly September through May. A Daytime Group and the Computer Interest Group meet bi-monthly year round. The Society produces a monthly newsletter, Treasure Chest News, and a quarterly journal, Buried Treasures. There is also a yearly conference or seminar.

Fort Christmas Historical Society 1300 Fort Christmas Rd Christmas, FL 32709 Email: [mailto:Cheryl.Wasserman@ocfl.net Cheryl.Wasserman@ocfl.net]

Family History Centers

 * Orlando Florida Family History Center
 * Orlando Florida Hunters Creek Family History Center
 * Orlando Florida South Family History Center

Websites

 * Orange County, FL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Florida Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Florida Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * 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)
 * Orange County FL Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)