Florida Archives and Libraries

United States Florida  Archives and Libraries

These repositories preserve sources, maintain indexes, and provide services to help genealogists document their ancestors who lived in Florida.

Wiki Articles on Major Repositories in Florida
State Archives of Florida· State Library of Florida· Meek-Eaton Black Archives· Alma C. Field Library of Florida History· Charlton W. Tebeau Library of Florida History· Indian River County Main Library· Jacksonville Public Library Main Branch· Orlando Public Library· P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History· Polk County Historical and Genealogical Library· St. Augustine Historical Society Research Library· University of South Florida Tampa Library Special Collections· University of West Florida Archives and West Florida History Center· Volusia County Public Library Daytona Beach Regional· West Florida Public Library Genealogy Branch· National Archives at Atlanta· Dallas Public Central Library· Ellen Payne Odom Genealogy Library· Huxford-Spear Genealogical Library· Mobile Municipal Archives· Thomasville Genealogical, History and Fine Arts Library

Out of State Repositories
Dallas Public Central Library 1515 Young St. Dallas, TX 75201-9987 USA Telephone: 214-670-1433 E-mail: [mailto:genealogy@dallaslibrary.org genealogy@dallaslibrary.org] Internet: Dallas Public Library Genealogy


 * Outstanding genealogical collection with records for more than Texas, including Florida, Oklahoma, the South, Mid-Atlantic, and New England states.

Ellen Payne Odom Genealogy Library Moultrie-Colquitt County Library 204 5th Street, S.E. Moultrie, Georgia 31768 USA Telephone: 229-985-6540 E-mail: [mailto:mccls@mccls.org mccls@mccls.org] Internet: Ellen Payne Odom Genealogy Library


 * Emphasizes Scottish immigrants to America, but also has a good basic American genealogy collection including Florida.

Huxford-Spear Genealogical Library Street address: 20 S. College St. Mailing address: P.O. Box 595 Homerville, GA 31634 Telephone: 912-487-2310 E-mail: [mailto:huxford.spearlibrary@windstream.net huxford.spearlibrary@windstream.net] Internet:Huxford Genealogical Society, Inc.


 * This collection covers the southeast United States well, including 14,000 files on families from south Georgia and north Florida.

Mobile Municipal Archives Mail address: P.O. Box 1827 Mobile, Alabama 36633-1827 USA Street address: 457 Church Street Mobile, Alabama 36602 USA Telephone: 251-208-7740 Fax: 251-208-7428 E-mail: [mailto:archives@cityofmobile.org archives@cityofmobile.org] Internet: http://www.cityofmobile.org/archives/ Municipal Archives


 * Includes records of early Alabama/Florida settlers: Spanish, French, and Anglo especially during the Spanish period. This is the premier library for Gulf Coast settlers from Louisiana to Florida.

Thomasville Genealogical, History and Fine Arts Library 135 North Broad Street Thomasville, Georgia 31792 USA Telephone: 229-226-9640 Fax: 229-226-3199 E-mail: [mailto:glibrary@rose.net glibrary@rose.net] Internet: Thomasville Genealogical, History and Fine Arts Library


 * Good collection of southern states family history material including Florida.

Statewide Repositories
State Archives of Florida R.A. Gray Building 500 South Bronough Street Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250 USA Telephone: 850-245-6700 Fax: 850-488-4894 E-mail: [mailto:archives@dos.myflorida.com archives@dos.myflorida.com] Internet: Florida State Archives


 * A great Florida genealogy collection including state and county documents. This is the place to start research on Florida residents. Online collections include Confederate Pension Applications, Spanish Land Grants, and World War I Service Cards.

State Library of Florida R.A. Gray Building 500 South Bronough Street Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250 USA Telephone: 850-245-6600 Fax: 850-245-6651 E-mail: [mailto:library@dos.myflorida.com library@dos.myflorida.com] Internet: State Library of Florida


 * Published records of Florida, and state government publications, including 700,000 books, magazines, and newspapers, 2000 Florida maps, photos, and over 200,000 government documents.

Florida Health Bureau of Vital Statistics 1217 North Pearl Street Jacksonville, FL 32202 USA Telephone: 904-359-6900 x1024 Fax: 904-359-6931 E-mail: [mailto:VitalStats@FLHealth.gov VitalStats@FLHealth.gov] Internet: Florida Health Certificates and Registries


 * Births  since 1917, and from some counties as early as 1893; marriages  and divorces  since 1927; and deaths  since 1917, and from some counties as early as 1877.

Meek-Eaton Black Archives Florida AM University 445 Gamble Street Tallahassee, Florida 32307 USA Telephone: 850-599-3020 Internet: Black Archives Research Center


 * A statewide, and southeastern states regional center for researching African American history and institutions: over 500,000 manuscripts, rare books, journals, magazines, maps, newspapers, and photographs.

Regional Repositories
Alma C. Field Library of Florida History 435 Brevard Avenue Cocoa, FL 32922 USA Phone: 321-690-1971 Fax: 321-690-4388 E-mail: [mailto:myfloridahistory.org myfloridahistory.org] Internet: Florida Historical Society


 * Floridiana: books, maps, photos, family histories, manuscripts, photos, the Mosquito Beaters collection, the Alice Strickland collection, and the Florida State Genealogical Society collection.

Charlton W. Tebeau Library of Florida History 101 W Flagler St. Miami, FL 33130 USA Telephone: 305-357-1492 Fax: 305-372-6313 Internet: Historical Museum of Southern Florida Research Center


 * Their collection is strong on the history of southern Florida. They also have many documents related to Cuba and the Caribbean.

Indian River County Main Library 1600 21st Street Vero Beach, FL 32960 USA Telephone: 772-770-5060 x5 Fax: 772-770-5446 E-mail: [mailto:genealogy@irclibrary.org genealogy@irclibrary.org] Internet: Lowenstein Genealogy Department


 * A big genealogy collection that rivals Orlando in size and quality.

Jacksonville Public Library Main Branch 303 N. Laura Street Jacksonville, FL 32202 USA Telephone: 904-630-2665 Internet: Jacksonville Public Library Main Library


 * The Southeastern United States is covered well, including history, biography, genealogy, federal censuses and indexes. This is oldest collection of Floridiana in the state.

Orlando Public Library 101 East Central Boulevard Orlando, FL 32801 USA Telephone: 407.835.7323 E-mail: Ask a Librarian Internet: Orlando Public Library


 * This is the largest genealogy reference collection in Florida. American genealogical sources are covered well, including censuses, biographies, histories, and genealogies. Two helpful guides for several important Florida archives and libraries are:
 * Catalog of the Florida State Archives. Tallahassee, Florida: Department of State, 1975.
 * Guide to Depositories of Manuscript Collections in the United States: Florida. Jacksonville, Florida: Florida Historical Records Survey Project, 1940. (.)

P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History P.O. Box 117007 University Of Florida Smathers Library Room 100 Gainesville, FL 32611 USA Telephone: 352-392-0319 Fax: 352-392-4788 E-mail: Ask a Librarian University of Florida


 * Their collection includes Spanish colonial sources, United States borderland records, and the best Florida newspapers collection in the state.

Polk County Historical and Genealogical Library 100 East Main Street Bartow, Florida 33830-4629 USA Telephone: 863-534-4380 Fax: 863-534-4382 Email: [mailto:Dorinda.Garrard@mypclc.info Dorinda.Garrard@mypclc.info] Internet: http://library.mypclc.org/historical/ Polk County Genealogical Library]


 * A very good genealogical collection.

St. Augustine Historical Society Research Library 12 Aviles Street St. Augustine, FL 32084 USA Telephone: 904-824-2872 Fax: 904-824-2569 E-mail: [mailto:sahsdirector@bellsouth.net sahsdirector@bellsouth.net ] Internet: St. Augustine Historical Society Research Library


 * An excellent collection of records about the first colonists on the east coast of Florida. Their Spanish holdings include parish record births, marriages, and deaths back to 1594.

University of South Florida Tampa Library Special Collections 4202 E. Fowler Ave. LIB122 Tampa FL 33620 USA Telephone: 813-974-6725 E-mail: [mailto:libraryservicesdesk@usf.edu libraryservicesdesk@usf.edu] Internet: USF Libraries: Special Collections


 * They have a good collection of published Florida local histories and Hillsborough County records.

University of West Florida Archives and West Florida History Center John C. Pace Library 11000 University Parkway Pensacola, FL 32514 USA Telephone: 850-474-2424 E-mail: Contact Us Internet: University of West Florida Archives and West Florida History Center


 * This an excellent research facility. Make this your starting place for finding records of the earliest European settlers in the Florida panhandle.

Volusia County Public Library Daytona Beach Regional 105 E. Magnolia Ave. Daytona Beach FL 32114 USA Telephone: 386-257-6036 E-mail: [mailto:showes@volusia.org showes@volusia.org] Internet: Daytona Beach Regional Library


 * Very good genealogy collection not just for Florida, but also for the entire eastern seaboard.

West Florida Public Library Genealogy Branch Genealogy Branch Library 5740 N. 9th Avenue Pensacola, FL 32504 USA Telephone: 850-494-7373 Fax: 850-436-5039 E-mail: [mailto:RefStaff@mywfpl.com RefStaff@mywfpl.com] Internet: Ask a Genealogy Expert


 * A good genealogy collection. Focused on the southeastern states with a good selection for the northeastern and central states, Civil War, African Americans, family histories, local American Indian Cherokee and Creek tribes with some Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole tribes.

Family History Centers
Family History Centers (FHCs) are branches of FamilySearch and the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. There are many centers located in Florida. Their goal is to provide resources to assist you in the research and study of your genealogy and family history by:


 * Giving personal one-on-one assistance to patrons
 * Providing access to genealogical records through the Internet or microfilm loan program
 * Offering free how-to classes (varies by location).

To find the nearest Family History Center:


 * Click on Find a Family History Center. Type your city and state in the search box, then tap [Enter]. A map showing nearby centers will appear. Click a FamilySearch Center icon on the map to view its address, phone, and hours.