Okeechobee County, Florida Genealogy

Guide to Okeechobee 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 Lake Okeechobee, which was itself named for Hitchiti words oka (water) and chobi (big). The County is located in the Southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Okeechobee County Courthouse 304 NW 2nd Street Okeechobee, FL 34972 Phone: 863-763-6441 Okeechobee County Website Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, divorce, probate and court records from 1917 and land records from 1880’s. County Health Department has birth and death records.

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:

Cemeteries
The following web site may have additional information on Okeechobee 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. - How to Use this Collection
 * 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

Emigration and 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

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
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * Okeechobee 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 - How to Use this Collection
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 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)
 * 1885-1955 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

World War I
 * 1917-1918 - Okeechobee County Civilian Draft Registration (USGenWeb Archives)
 * 1917-1920 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

World War II
 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * Okeechobee County World War II Army Enlistees (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Okeechobee County World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Personnel (USGenWeb Archives)

Korean War
 * Florida Casualties in the Korean Conflict distantcousin.com

Vietnam War
 * Distantcousin.com Florida Casualties in the Vietnam War

Newspapers

 * Early Florida Newspapers at the Florida State Library USGenWeb

Obituaries

 * USGenWeb Obituaries Project Obituary transcriptions from Florida counties
 * Okeechobee County, Florida Obituary Collection GenealogyBuff.com

Probate Records
Online Indexes and Records
 * 1784 – 1990 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1810 – 1974 Ancestry.com $ Florida Wills and Probate Records 1810-1974

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Birth

 * 1880-1935 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Marriage

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

Death

 * 1877-1939 - at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection
 * 1877-1998 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1900-1921 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Divorce

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

Family History Centers
Okeechobee Florida Family History Center 310 SW 6th St Okeechobee FL 34974 Phone: 407-744-2053 or 480-861-9739 E-mail:loreleihawk@gmail.com or etaylor1787@gmail.com Website

Societies
Genealogical Society of Okeechobee County PO Box 371 Okeechobee, FL 34973-0371 Phone: 863-467-2674 E-mail:[mailto:bordmama@earthlink.net bordmama@earthlink.net] Website


 * The Genealogical Society of Okeechobee is a non-profit organization devoted to genealogical research and to the preservation of genealogical, biographical and historic records. The Society meets the second Monday of each month at 1:30 p.m. at the Okeechobee County Public Library.

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

 * Okeechobee County, Florida Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Okeechobee County, FLGenWeb Project
 * Okeechobee County, Florida, USGenWeb Archives
 * Okeechobee County, Florida Genealogy Trails
 * Okeechobee County FL Genealogy (LDSGenealogy)
 * – 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.