Orange County, Florida Genealogy

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

Description
The county was named for the Orange fruit. The County is located in the East Central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Orange County Courthouse 425 N Orange Ave Orlando, FL 32801-3547 Phone: 407-863-6321 Orange County Website Formerly Mosquito County, name was changed to Orange 30 Jan 1845. Clerk Circuit Court has marriage records from 1890, court and probate records from 1869.

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:

History Timeline

 * Before 1824, all of Florida was divided into two counties, Alachua to the west and St Johns to the east.
 * In 1824, the area of St Johns County from south of Jacksonville to the Lake Okeechobee area was split off to become Mosquito County.
 * Florida achieved statehood in 1845 and the county was renamed Orange County.
 * Later, other counties were created from Orange County -- Seminole, Osceola, others.
 * From 1824 to 1845, the county seat was Enterprise. The current county seat is Orlando.

Cemeteries
The following web site may have additional information on Orange County cemeteries.


 * Interment.net Florida cemetery records

Census Records

 * 1783 - Spanish Census USGenWeb
 * 1821 - Census/Tax List Index USGenWeb
 * 1823 - Census/Tax List Index USGenWeb
 * 1880 - Census African Born Blacks and Mulattos USGenWeb
 * 1885 - includes sex, age, relationship, occupation, place of birth of each family member and parents. Also census for agriculture, manufacture and mortality.
 * Federal Census Information from National Archives USGenWeb
 * State Census Information from Florida State Archives USGenWeb
 * Census of Pensioners Revolutionary Military Service USGenWeb

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

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


 * Orlando

Court Records

 * Orange County Clerk Criminal Records.

Civil court cases can be searched Orange County Clerk Civil Records.

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1944-1945 - Florida and South Carolina, Airplane Arrival Manifests
 * NARA Ships Passenger Lists - These passenger lists cover:
 * 1834-1897 - Immigration of Russians to the United States
 * 1/12/1846-12/31/1851 - Irish Famine
 * 1850-1897 - Germans to the United States
 * 1855-1900 - Italians to the United States

Land and Property Records
1843-2009 - Orange County Comptroller. Click "I Accept" to get to the search page.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * 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 Records

 * Orange County Military Records (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Florida State Military Files USGenWeb
 * Florida state pension records from various wars Pension Transcriptions USGenWeb

Civil War
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry (free)
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry (free)
 * 1883 - Orange County Pensioners on the Roll as of January 1, 1883 (Genealogy Trails)
 * 1885-1955 - at FamilySearch
 * Index to Orange County Confederate Pensions (FLGenWeb Project)

World War I
 * 1917-1918 - Orange County Civilian Draft Registration, Surnames A-K (USGenWeb Archives)
 * 1917-1918 - Orange County Civilian Draft Registration, Surnames L-Z (USGenWeb Archives)
 * 1917-1920 - at FamilySearch

World War II
 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch
 * Index to Orange County World War II Army Enlistees - Scroll down to WWII. (USGenWeb Archives)

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

Vietnam War
 * Orange County Vietnam War Casualties (Genealogy Trails)
 * Orlando Vietnam War Casualties (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Distantcousin.com Florida Casualties in the Vietnam War

Iraq War
 * Orange County Iraq War Casualties (USGenWeb Archives)

Newspapers

 * Early Florida Newspapers at the Florida State Library USGenWeb

Obituaries

 * USGenWeb Obituaries Project Obituary transcriptions from Florida counties

Probate Records
Online Indexes and Records
 * 1784–1990 - Florida Probate Records 1784-1990
 * 1810–1974 - Ancestry.com $ Florida Wills and Probate Records 1810-1974
 * Search Orange County probate records Online My Orange County Clerk

Birth

 * 1880-1935 - at FamilySearch

Marriage

 * 1802-1998 - Florida, United States Marriages at FindMyPast $
 * 1822-1875 and 1927-2001 - at FamilySearch
 * 1830-1957 - at FamilySearch
 * 1830-1993 - at FamilySearch
 * 1837-1974 - at FamilySearch

Death

 * 1877-1939 - at FamilySearch
 * 1877-1998 - at FamilySearch
 * 1900-1921 - at FamilySearch

Divorce

 * 1927-2001 - Florida, Divorce Index, 1927-2001 at Ancestry - index ($)

Family History Centers
Orlando Florida Family History Center 45 East Par St Orlando FL 32804 Telephone: 321-315-1287 Email: [mailto:FL_Orlando@familyhistorymail.org FL_Orlando@familyhistorymail.org] Website

Orlando Florida Hunters Creek Family History Center 701 W Wetherbee Rd Orlando FL 32824 Telephone: 321-316-1204 or 407-346-8631 and leave a message Email: [mailto:FL_OrlandoHuntersCreek@familyhistorymail.org FL_OrlandoHuntersCreek@familyhistorymail.org] Website

Orlando Florida South Family History Center 3001 S Apopka Vineland Rd Orlando FL 32835 Telephone: 407-876-8135 Email:[mailto:FL_OrlandoSouth@familyhistorymail.org FL_OrlandoSouth@familyhistorymail.org] Website

Libraries
West Oaks Branch Library and Genealogy Center 1821 E. Silver Star Road Ocoee FL 34761 Phone: 407-835-7323 library website Genealogy website

Museums
Fort Christmas Historical Park 1300 Fort Christmas Road (C.R. 420) Christmas, FL 32709 Phone: 407-254-9312 Email: [mailto:Cheryl.Wasserman@ocfl.net Cheryl.Wasserman@ocfl.net] website

Societies
Central Florida Genealogical Society, Inc. PO Box 536309 Orlando, FL 32853-6309 Email: [mailto:cfgs@cfgs.org cfgs@cfgs.org] Website
 * The Central Florida Genealogical Society, Inc. represents genealogists from the Central Florida area. The Society meets monthly September through May. A Daytime Group and the Computer Interest Group meet bi-monthly year round. The Society produces a monthly newsletter, Treasure Chest News, and a quarterly journal, Buried Treasures. There is also a yearly conference or seminar.

Florida Historical Society 435 Brevard Ave. Cocoa FL 32922 Phone: 321-690-1971 Website

Florida State Genealogical Society P.O. Box 940927 Maitland, FL 32794-0927 Phone: 407-494-3747 Website

Websites

 * Orange County, Florida, USGenWeb Archives
 * Orange County, Florida Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Orange County, FLGenWeb Project, Inc.
 * Central Florida Genealogical Society, Inc
 * Orange County FLGenWeb Project
 * Orange County, Florida Genealogy Trails
 * Orange County FL Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.