Sarasota County, Florida Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
Sarasota County Courthouse 2000 Main St; Sarasota, FL 34237 Phone: 941-362-4066

Clerk of the Circuit Court has marriage, probate, court and land records from 1921 and divorce records from 1945. County Health Department has birth and death records.

Parent County
1921--Sarasota County was created 14 May 1921 from Manatee County. County seat: Sarasota

Description
The county was named for the daughter of famous explorer Hernando de Soto's daughter Sara. The county seat is Sarasota and the county was created May 14, 1921. The County is located in the west central 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

 * Charlotte
 * DeSoto
 * Manatee

African American

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

Cemeteries
The following web site may have additional information on Sarasota 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
Florida Churches ~  Church Angel

Immigration
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
Florida Territorial Land Records

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

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 — images only

World War I

 * 1917-1920 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Korean War

 * Florida Casualties in the Korean Conflict distantcousin.com

Vietnam War

 * Florida Casualties in the Vietnam War distantcousin.com

Newspapers

 * Early Florida Newspapers at the Florida State Library USGenWeb
 * Early Florida Newspapers at the Florida State Library

Obituaries

 * U.S. Hidden Ancestors Obituaries
 * USGenWeb Obituaries Project Obituary transcriptions from Florida counties

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 $

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

Divorce Records

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

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

 * Englewood Genealogical Society of Florida, Inc. (EGSF) PO Box 795 Englewood, FL 34295-0795 Phone: 941-496-9539 Email: [mailto:info@egsfl.org info@egsfl.org] Website
 * Genealogical Society of Sarasota, Inc. Selby Public Library 1331 First Street, Geldbart Auditorium Sarasota, FL 34236 Mailing address: PO Box 1917 Sarasota, FL 34230-1917 Website
 * The Historical Society of Sarasota Pioneer Park 1260 12th Street Sarasota, FL 34236 Mailing address: PO Box 1632 Sarasota, FL 34230 Phone: 941-364-9076 Email: [mailto:hsosc1@gmail.com hsosc1@gmail.com] Website
 * Jewish Genealogical Society of Southwest Florida Kobernick House 1951 North Honore Avenue Sarasota, FL 34241 Email: [mailto:president@jgsswf.org president@jgsswf.org] Website
 * Lemon Bay Historical and Genealogical Society PO Box 1245 Englewood, FL 34295-1245
 * Sarasota County Libraries Website
 * Selby Library 1331 First Street Sarasota, FL 34236 Phone: 941-861-1100 Website

Family History Centers

 * Sarasota Florida Family History Center

Websites

 * Florida Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Florida Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * State of Florida
 * Sarasota County, Florida Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Sarasota County (FLGenWeb Project, Inc.)
 * Sarasota County (FLGenWeb Project, Inc.)