Clay County, Florida Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
Clay County Courthouse PO Box 698; Green Cove Springs, FL 32043-0698 Phone: 904.284.6317 Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, probate, court, and land records from 1872 and divorce records from 1859; County Health Department has birth and death rec from 1973

History


The county is named after U.S. Speaker of the House Henry Clay (1777-1852).

Clay County was created on December 31, 1858, from a section of Duval County. Its name is in honor of Henry Clay, a famous American statesman, member of the United States Senate from Kentucky, and United States Secretary of State in the 19th century.

Parent County
1858--Clay County was created 31 December 1858 from Duval County. County seat: Green Cove Springs

Description
The county was named for Henry Clay, a famous American statesman, member of the United States Senate from Kentucky, and United States Secretary of State in the 19th century. The County Seat is Green Cove Springs and the county was created December 31, 1858. 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
1872 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged. For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:


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

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
Baker •  Bradford  •  Duval  •  Putnam  •  St. Johns

African American

 * Florida African American Griots Project - USGenWeb
 * Afrigeneas - African Ancestor Genealogy

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


 * Interment.net Florida cemetery records

Census

 * 1783 Spanish Census- USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 1821 Census/Tax List Index- USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 1823 Census/Tax List Index- USGenWeb Archives Project
 * [http://files.usgwarchives.net/fl/statewide/census/1880afri.txt 1880 Census African Born Blacks and Mulattos - USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Federal Census Information from National Archives- USGenWeb Archives Project
 * State Census Information from Florida State Archives- USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Census of Pensioners Revolutionary Military Service- USGenWeb Archives Project

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


 * Doctors Inlet

Land

 * Florida Territorial Land Records

Local Histories
History of Clay County, FLGenWeb

Maps

 * Maps of Florida (1821-1997)
 * 1870 Gray's Atlas Panhandle Portion of State - USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 1882 Rand McNally Panhandle Portion of State- USGenWeb Archives Project

Military

 * Clay County Military Files (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Florida State Military Files - USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Pension Transcriptions- Florida state pension records from various wars - USGenWeb Pension Project

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 - 1883 Pension Files for St. Johns, Duval and Clay Counties (USGenWeb Archives)
 * 1885-1955 - at FamilySearch — images only
 * Civil War Pensioners, Clay Co. FLGenWeb

World War I

 * 1917 - 1918 - Clay County, Florida - 1917-18 Civilian Draft Registration, Surnames A-K (USGenWeb Archives)
 * 1917 - 1918 - Clay County, Florida - 1917-18 Civilian Draft Registration, Surnames L-Z (USGenWeb Archives)
 * 1917 - 1920 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

 * Clay County, Florida Army Enlistees, Names Adans - Hinson (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Clay County, Florida Army Enlistees, Names Holcy - Young (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Clay County World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel (Genealogy Trails)

Korean War

 * Clay County Korean War Casualties (Genealogy Trails)
 * Florida Casualties in the Korean Conflict

Vietnam War

 * Clay County Vietnam War Casualties (Genealogy Trails)
 * Florida Casualties in the Vietnam War

Newspapers

 * Digitized Newspapers relating to Clay Co, at the FLGenWeb
 * Early Florida Newspapers at the Florida State Library

Obituaries

 * Florida Obituaries - Obituary transcriptions from Florida counties - USGenWeb Obituaries Project

Probate
Online Probate Records
 * 1784 – 1990 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1810 – 1974 Florida Wills and Probate Records 1810-1974 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Birth Records

 * 1880 - 1935 - at FamilySearch.org — index

Death Records

 * 1877 - 1939 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1900 - 1921 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1877 - 1998 - at FamilySearch.org — 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.org — index
 * 1830 - 1993 - at FamilySearch.org — index/images
 * 1830 - 1957 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1822 - 1875 and 1927 - 2001 - at FamilySearch.org — index/images
 * Florida State Archives

Societies and Libraries

 * 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

 * Jacksonville Florida West Family History Center (Orange Park)

Websites

 * Clay County, FL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Florida Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Florida Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Clay County, USGenWeb Archives
 * Clay County, Florida Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Clay County FLGenWeb Project
 * Clay County, FLGenWeb Project, Inc
 * Clay County, Florida Genealogy Trails
 * Clay County FL Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)
 * Clay County FL Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)