Manatee County, Florida Genealogy

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

United States   Florida    Manatee County

County Courthouse
Manatee County Courthouse 1115 Manatee Ave W; PO Box 25400; Bradenton, FL 34206 Phone. 941.749.1800 Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, divorce, probate, court and land records from 1857

History
Manatee County was created in 1855 from Hillsborough County and is located on the gulf coast on the south side of Tampa Bay. It is in the semi-subtropic climate zone. Later Sarasota, Hardee, DeSoto, Highlands, Charlotte, and Glades counties were split off from Manatee County. Current records are kept at the Manatee County Courthouse

Parent County
1855--Manatee County was created 9 January 1855 from Hillsborough County. County seat: Bradenton

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
For a list of record loss in Florida counties see: Florida Counties with Burned Courthouses

Neighboring Counties

 * DeSoto
 * Hardee
 * Hillsborough
 * Polk
 * Sarasota

African American

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

Cemeteries

 * Florida Tombstone Transcription Project -  USGenWeb
 * Interment.net - Florida cemetery records by County
 * Tombstone Inscriptions in Cemeteries of Manatee County Florida 1850 - 1980. Published in 1982 by Manatee Genealogical Society (MGS) is now available for viewing on the MGS Website. Locally the book can be viewed at the Manatee County Library (downtown Bradenton), or the Manatee County Historical Records Library.

Census

 * 1783 Spanish Census -  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 1821 Census/Tax List Index -  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 1823 Census/Tax List Index -  USGenWeb Archives Project
 * 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
 * Extractions from Manatee County Censuses of 1860 - 1870 - 1880 - 1885 - 1895. Book published in 1985 by Manatee Genealogical Society (MGS) is now available for viewing on the MGS Website. Locally the book can be viewed at the Manatee County Library (downtown Bradenton), or the Manatee County Historical Records Library.

Land
Florida Territorial Land Records

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

 * Florida State Military Files - USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Pension Transcriptions -  Florida state pension records from various wars  -  USGenWeb Pension Project
 * Florida Casualties in the Korean Conflict
 * Florida Casualties in the Vietnam War

Newspapers

 * Early Florida Newspapers at the Florida State Library

Obituaries

 * Florida Obituaries -  Obituary transcriptions from Florida counties -  USGenWeb Obituaries Project
 * Obituaries published in Bradenton Herald (Obituary File 1976-present), a service of the Manatee Genealogical Society. The Card File is located at the Historical Records Library in Bradenton, FL.

Vital Records

 * Florida State Archives

Marriage

 * 1856-1928 - Manatee County Marriage Books B-G Index 1856-1928 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Death

 * Manatee County, Florida Obituary Collection Free from GenealogyBuff.com. From Various Funeral Homes in the Bradenton, Sarasota, Parrish, and Palmetto areas.
 * Obituaries published in Bradenton Herald - Obituary File 1976-present, a service of the Manatee Genealogical Society. The Card File is located at the Historical Records Library in Bradenton, FL.

Societies and Libraries

 * Florida State Historical Societies -  Listing by County
 * Florida Family History Centers

Family History Centers

 * Brandenton Florida Family History Center
 * Manatee County Items at the Bradenton Family History Library. List compiled by the Manatee Genealogical Society and posted on the MGS Website.

Web Sites

 * Manatee County GenWeb Project, Inc.
 * Manatee County, Florida Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * State of Florida
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Sarasota County, Florida Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Sarasota County, FLGenWeb Project, Inc.
 * Sarasota County, FLGenWeb Project, Inc.

Societies and Libraries
Most Manatee County historical records (usually more than 1 year old) are transfered to the [Records Library] located at 1405 4th Ave W. Bradenton, FL 34205. Phone: (941) 741-4070. The Historical Records Library is housed within the 1918 Carnegie Library building, which was placed on the U.S. Department of the Interior's Registry of Historic Sites in 1987.


 * List of Florida Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies

Web Sites

 * Manatee County, FL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Florida Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Florida Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Manatee Genealogical Society