Bay County, Florida Genealogy

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

County Courthouse


Bay County Courthouse 300 E 4th St; PO Box 2269; Panama City, FL 32402; Phone: 850.763.9061

Health Department has birth and death records. Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, probate, divorce, land records from 1913.

Bay County Health Department 597 W. 11th Street Panama City, FL 32401 (850) 872-4720 x1122 FAX (850) 872-4824

Parent County
1913-- Bay County was created 24 April 1913 from Calhoun County. County seat: Panama City

Description
The county was named for St. Andrews Bay. The County Seat is Panama City and the county was created April 24, 1913. The County is located in the North West 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
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

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
Calhoun •  Gulf  •  Jackson  •  Walton  •  Washington

African American

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

Biography

 * Index to Bay County Biographies (USGenWeb Archives)

Cemeteries
The following web sites may have additional information on Bay  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

 * USGenWeb First Baptist Church of Southport History
 * thecatholicdirectory.net Catholic Churches in Bay County Florida
 * Church Angel Florida Churches by City

Land

 * Florida Territorial Land Records USGenWeb

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

Military Land Grants

 * Some Military Land Grants In Bay County Florida For Soldiers Of The War Of 1812 (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Some Military Land Grants In Bay County Florida For Soldiers Of The Indian Wars (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Some Military Land Grants In Bay County Florida For Soldiers Of The Mexican War/Unknown (USGenWeb Archives)

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)
 * 1885-1955 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War I

 * Bay County, Florida - 1917-18 Civilian Draft Registration, Surnames A-F (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Bay County, Florida - 1917-18 Civilian Draft Registration, Surnames G-O (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Bay County, Florida - 1917-18 Civilian Draft Registration, Surnames P-Z (USGenWeb Archives)


 * 1917-1920 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

 * Bay County FlArchives Military Records.....Army Enlistees Names AARON - CAULEY (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Bay County FlArchives Military Records.....Army Enlistees Names CHAFFEE - FOY (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Bay County FlArchives Military Records.....Army Enlistees Names FRAGGER - IVEY (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Bay County FlArchives Military Records.....Army Enlistees Names JACKSON - MC TIGHE (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Bay County FlArchives Military Records.....Army Enlistees Names MCLEOD - RAINS (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Bay County FlArchives Military Records.....Army Enlistees Names RAMIREZ - SYPERT (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Bay County FlArchives Military Records.....Army Enlistees Names TAIT - ZION (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Bay County World War II Honor Roll of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel (Genealogy Trails)
 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Korean War

 * Florida Casualties in the Korean Conflict distantcousin.com
 * Bay County, Florida Korean War Casualties (Genealogy Trails)

Vietnam War

 * Florida Casualties in the Vietnam War distantcousin.com

Newspapers

 * Early Florida Newspapers at the Florida State Library USGenWeb

Obituaries

 * Bay County Obituaries (Genealogy Trails)
 * Index to Bay County Obituary Records (USGenWeb Archives)

Probate
Online Probate Records
 * 1784 – 1990 Florida Probate Records 1784-1990
 * 1810 – 1974 Ancestry.com $ Florida Wills and Probate Records 1810-1974

Vital Records

 * Florida State Archives $

Birth Records

 * 1880 - 1935 - at FamilySearch — index

Death Records

 * 1877 - 1939 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1900 - 1921 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1877 - 1998 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1915 - Bay County Deaths for the year 1915 (Genealogy Trails)

Divorce Records

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

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

 * Bay County Genealogical Society PO Box 662 Panama City, FL 32402-0662 Email: [mailto:mkpcbeach@gmail.com mkpcbeach@gmail.com] Facebook Has births, marriage, deeds, cemetery, obituary, voters, a research gateway to digitized newspapers from the area, and First Families of Bay County Pioneer web pages.
 * Florida Historical Society
 * Florida State Genealogical Society

Family History Centers

 * Mexico Beach Florida Family History Center
 * Panama City Florida Family History Center

Websites

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