Florida, Old Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Home Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection is an index of the Florida State Archives Florida Memory Collection “Florida, Old Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Home records, 1888–1938.” Included in the collection are admissions applications to the Florida Old Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Home. Some applications include information to verify that the applicant had served in the Confederate military during the Civil War. The applications also provide information about the applicant’s current residence, medical condition, Civil War service which included unit, dates served, and wounds incurred or cause of disability. The Florida Soldier’s Home Association was formed in 1888. Four years later the association purchased ten acres near Jacksonville to care for aging Confederate veterans. The state of Florida paid the home $100 annually for each occupant who did not already receive a pension. The rates were adjusted in 1909,1915, and 1919. The home operated for 45 years on state appropriation and donations from veterans’ organizations and the United Daughters of the Confederacy(UDC) who maintained the records for the home. The Florida Confederate Old Soldiers and Sailors Home operated until 1938 when the last resident died.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:
 * Name
 * Address
 * Military Unit

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the person
 * The approximate date of the record

View the Images
You can browse through the images in this collection at the State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory website: Old Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Home Browse

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use the age or estimated birth date to determine an approximate birth date to find vital records such as birth, baptism, marriage and death
 * Use the information found in the record to find immigration and probate records
 * Use the information in each record to find additional family members in the census records

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby town or county
 * Try different spellings of your ancestor’s name
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the state of Florida.
 * US Military Basic Search Strategies
 * Beginning United States Civil War Research
 * Locating a Confederate Civil War Soldier (1861–1865)
 * Florida Guided Research
 * Florida Record Finder
 * Florida Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Florida Research, 1880-Present
 * Beginning Research in United States Military Records

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Pension claims of Confederate veterans and their widows beginning 1885-1955

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying you sources helps others find the records you used.