Lee County, Florida Genealogy

United States   Florida    Lee County

Guide to Lee County Florida Genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
Lee County Courthouse 2115 2nd St; Fort Myers, FL 33901 Ph. 941.335.2283 Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, divorce, probate court and land records.

Parent County
1887--Lee County was created 13 May 1887 from Monroe County. County seat: Fort Myers The county was named for Robert E. Lee, Confederate general in the American Civil War.

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.

Neighboring Counties

 * Charlotte - Charlotte County was established April 23, 1921 named for the Bay of Charlotte Harbor. Punta Gorda is the only incorporated city in Charlotte County.
 * Collier - Collier County was created in 1923 from Lee County. It was named for Barron Collier, an advertising mogul and real estate developer from New York City.
 * Glades - Glades County was created in 1921 and is named for the Florida Everglades. The Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation is located in the county.
 * Hendry - Hendry County was formed from Lee County on May 11, 1923 and named for Major Francis A. Hendry, one of the first settlers. Hendry County is the site of the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation.

African American

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

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

Land
Florida Territorial Land Records

Maps



 * Sanborn® Fire Insurance Company Maps of Florida University of Florida comprise a collection of more than 300 bibliographic units in more than 3,000 map sheets.
 * Lee County Florida maps University of Southern Florida.
 * 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
 * Florida Casualties in the Korean Conflict distantcousin.com
 * Florida Casualties in the Vietnam War distantcousin.com

Newspapers

 * News-Press 2442 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Fort Myers, FL 33901- 239.335.0200
 * Microfilm for the Fort Myers News-Press from 1884 to the present can be found at the Fort Myers Regional Library 2450 First Street Fort Myers, Florida 33901
 * USGenWeb Archives Early Florida Newspapers at the Florida State Library

Obituaries

 * Florida Obituaries USGenWeb Archives Obituary transcriptions from Florida counties
 * 1930 and 1997 Obituary Index Lee County Genealogical Society Online searchable database www.lcgsfl.org/cpage.php Lee County Genealogical Society. Society volunteers will be happy to help you with your request for an obituary copy.

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 $

Voter Registration
1885-1909 "Voter Registration Records, Town of Fort Myers and Lee County, Florida 1885-1909".'' A limited printing was done with copies being donated to the Fort Myers Regional Library, the Southwest Florida Museum of History, the Southwest Florida Historical Society, the State Library of Florida, and the Lee County Genealogical Society.

Birth Records

 * 1880 - 1935 Florida, Births and Christenings, 1880-1935

Death Records

 * 1877 - 1939 Florida, Deaths, 1877-1939
 * 1900 - 1921 Florida, Deaths and Burials, 1900-1921
 * 1877 - 1998 Florida, Death Index, 1877-1998

Divorce Records

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

Marriage Records

 * 1837 - 1974 Florida, Marriages, 1837-1974
 * 1830 - 1993 Florida, Marriages, 1830-1993
 * 1822 - 1875 and 1927 - 2001 Florida, Marriage Index, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001
 * Fl-genweb Project Collier County Marriages
 * Lee County Genealogical Society Lee County, Florida Marriages 1887-1924
 * Florida State Archives

Societies and Libraries
The Lee County Genealogical Sociey, Inc. assists anyone with an interest in tracing their "roots". We help beginners get started and guide them in their family research. We welcome experienced genealogists and encourage them to share their knowledge with others. We learn from and teach each other in small and large group meetings.

Our members have come from many parts of the United States to beautiful Lee County in Southwst Florida. We are from a wide variety of occupations and our age range is broad. What brings and keeps us together is our interest in family history. As we share our knowledge, our research skills grow and so do our family trees.

Please explore our website. Check our Calendar of 'Events' to see what’s happening in our Society, other Southwest Florida Societies, and where you can find local and national genealogy classes, workshops and seminars.

Check out the Research Links we have gathered to help you with your research. Check through the various categories to see websites we feel might be useful.

Use our searchable database for the Genealogy Department Shelf List at the Fort Myers Regional Library, 2450 First Street, Fort Myers, Florida, which is presented as a service to library patrons and to distant researchers. Currently there are over 10,400 individual genealogical references available at the Library.

We also offer a searchable databse of Surnames submited by our members.

Preservation Projects: We also offer for viewing Lee County, Florida Marriages 1887-1924, published by the LCGS in 1992, abstracts records found in the Lee County Courthouse. It includes names of the bride and groom, their residences, marriage date, witnesses, the presiding official, and the book and page number of the original record. This book is currently out of print. Our newest compilation is the Voter Registration Records, Town of Fort Myers and Lee County, Florida 1885-1909. A limited printing was done with copies being donated to the Fort Myers Regional Library, the Southwest Florida Museum of History, the Southwest Florida Historical Society, the State Library of Florida, and the Lee County Genealogical Society.

Youth Genealogy is an important part of our society. We not oly offer easy to follow lessions (including forms and charts) for children of all ages, and, we also sponsor a High School Youth Award to encourage students to become family historians. The $500 cash award is for juniors and seniors in any Lee County, Florida public, private, parochial and charter shcool. The one-time award of $500.00 is presented annually to the student whose entry demonstrates the best understanding of genealogical research and documentation as evidenced by thorough biographical details and accurate supporting evidence. Consideration is also be given to writing style. The award is given in May of each year.

Our meetings are free and open to the public. A program is presented at all meetings. We meet monthly on the third Thursday of the month year round, with a short business meeting at 1 p.m. followed by networking, refreshments and our program. Directions can be found at our website.

Membership is our society offers many benefits including an informative bi-monthly newsletter,The Scribe, secure and private Members Only web section which includes member assisted look-ups, member message boards, society information as well as small group workshops; informal special interest groups for members researching in England, German speaking countries, Ireland, Midwestern states (inlcuding Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania), New York/New England, Family Tree Maker and RootsMagic genealogy software programs, Twigs - our general discussion group and our Writers Group.

Need help? Want more information? Visit us at one of our meetings, email us at [mailto:GenHelp@LCGSFL.org GenHelp@LCGSFL.org] or mail us at Post Office Box 150153, Cape Coral, FL 33915-0153.

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The Bonita Genealogy Club (Post Office Box 366471, Bonita Springs, FL 34136) meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month at 10:00 a.m. at the Bonita Springs Public Library on Pine Street in Old Bonita. Contact [mailto:jgil387867@aol.com jgil387867@aol.com] for more information or visit their webpages at Bonita Springs Genealogy.

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The Southwest Florida Pioneers Historical Society (Post Office Box 274,Boca Grande FL 33921) offers their webite Lee County - Past to Presentfor researchers with ancestors in Southwest Florida. Society membrs have roots in early Lee County along with an abiding interest in preserving the importance of the contributions made by their pioneer ancestors. While any website is a work in preogress, you can currently find many public records, obituaries, cemetery transcriptions, a message board and more.

Fort Myers Regional Library

The Fort Myers Regional Library houses the main genealogy reference collection in Lee County, Florida. The Fort Myers Regional Library is located at 2450 First Street in downtown Fort Myers.

Genealogy Research Assistance: Our hours of operation are: Monday-Wednesday 9am-8pm; Thursday 9am-6pm; Friday and Saturday 9am-5pm. Genealogy Research access is available during all hours of operation. Genealogy Research assistance is available free of charge by appointment. Assistance is also available in partnership with the Lee County Genealogical Society. For more information on the society and their services, please visit their website at http://www.lcgsfl.org.

The Fort Myers Regional Library has been granted Family Search Library Affiliate status. This privilege allows us to offer access to the microfilmed holdings of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City which houses the largest genealogical library in the world. Through the Family Search Library Affiliates, the Family History Library in Salt Lake City makes many of their holdings available in microform to genealogy researchers on a loan basis, for a processing fee of $7.50 per roll of microfilm and $4.75 for microfiche. Orders for microfilm/fiche are made by appointment only.

The Fort Myers Regional Library also offers genealogical research workshops year round. These classes cover a wide variety of topics for genealogists from beginners to seasoned research veterans. All classes are free and open to the public. Patrons may view the latest announcements on upcoming classes as well as the monthly genealogical newsletter column on the genealogy homepage for the Lee County Library System at the following link: http://leelibrary.net/services/programs/Pages/AdultPrograms.aspx or check the Calendar of Events at the Lee County Genealogical Society website

For information on genealogical collection resources, research assistance, or any other related matters, please contact our genealogy coordinator Bryan L. Mulcahy. Mr. Mulcahy may be reached using the following options: Mailing Address: 2450 First Street, Fort Myers, FL 33901 Telephone: (239) 533-4626 Fax: (239) 485-1160 E-Mail: [mailto:bmulcahy@leegov.com bmulcahy@leegov.com] Collection Highlights: The genealogy collection contains materials from all 50 states, and 41 foreign countries with over 10,456 reference titles as of April 2015, available for research. The primary focus areas include states east of the Mississippi River, Canada, the British Isles, and the northwestern/central tier of Europe. Some brief examples of materials available for research include: 1. Indexes to primary source records: land records, vital records (births, marriages, divorces, and death records), military service and pension records, township, city, and state records (tax, voters registrations, licenses, etc.). 2. Bibliographies of holdings in genealogical research repositories in the U.S. and Europe. 3. Published family histories. 4. Personal narratives of historical events. 5. Selected genealogical periodicals. 6. Self-help books on specific genealogical research topics. 7. One hundred-forty research/study guides and outlines covering a wide variety of topics of interest to genealogists at all levels of experience. 8. Information for contacting family associations, genealogical/historical societies, organizations, and repositories, both local and worldwide. 9. Free access to subscription databases: Ancestry Library Edition (in library access only), fold3 (access only at Fort Myers Regional Library) and Heritage Quest. 10. Newspapers: Fort Myers-News Press 1884-Present; New York Times 1851-Present The basic Genealogy Shelf List categories include: General Reference (001 through 899), Geography (901.9 through 917.8), Family Histories (929.2), General Genealogy Reference (920 through 929.9, excluding 929.2 Family Histories), United States and World History (940 through 999), Individual State Reference Books and International Reference Books. Using the searchable database at the Lee County Genealogy Society website http://www.lcgsfl.org/library.php, researchers can search the collection which includes the above books as well as periodical articles that have been preserved.

Obituary and Genealogical Research Queries Queries from patrons are accepted by mail or e-mail. Queries received via e-mail will be answered via e-mail reply unless our search turns up significant amounts of information. Queries should be kept brief and contain specific names, dates, and places of residence. All queries must be accompanied by a business-sized self addressed stamped envelope with the correct postage. Your request will be handled on a staff available basis. We cannot guarantee a return date but every effort is made to work on incoming requests as soon as possible. We are unable to respond to research requests received without a self-addressed stamped envelope.

For obituary requests, the primary newspaper for the Lee County area is the Fort Myers News-Press. The Fort Myers Regional Library keeps an archive of the local newspaper on microfilm from 1884 to the present. If you are not in Lee County, you can request an obituary notice from the paper by mail or email through the library. The procedures for obtaining copies of obituaries are listed below: 1. Obituary requests must include the deceased's name, date of death, city of residence, and any other information that could help verify the obituary. Also, please include your full name and complete address in the letter. 2. Enclose a business-sized self-addressed stamped envelope. 3. Send the request to: Bryan L. Mulcahy, Reference Department, Fort Myers Regional Library, 2450 First Street, Fort Myers, FL 33901 or via e-mail at [mailto:bmulcahy@leegov.com bmulcahy@leegov.com].

4. Requests can also be sent to through the Lee County Genealogical Society via [mailto:GenHelp@lcgsfl.org GenHelp@lcgsfl.org].


 * 
 * List of Florida Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies
 * Florida State Historical Societies -  Listing by County
 * Florida Family History Centers
 * Florida Historical Society
 * Florida State Genealogical Society

Web Sites

 * Lee County, FL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Florida Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Florida Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Southwest Florida Pioneers Historical Society
 * Lee County, FLGenWeb
 * State of Florida
 * USGenWeb Project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Lee County Genealgical Society, Inc.
 * Bonita Springs Genealogy Club
 * Lee County, Florida Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Lee County, FLGenWeb Project, Inc.
 * My Florida Roots - By Mary