Okeechobee County, Florida Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
Okeechobee County Courthouse 304 NW 2nd Street Okeechobee, FL 34972 Phone: 863.763.6441

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.

Parent County
1917--Okeechobee County was created 8 May 1917 from Brevard County. County seat: Okeechobee

Description
The county was named for the Lake Okeechobee, which was itself named for Hitchiti words oka (water) and chobi (big). The county seat is Okeechobee and the county was created May 8, 1915. The County is located in the Southeast 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

 * Glades
 * Hendry
 * Highlands
 * Indian River
 * Martin
 * Osceola
 * Palm Beach
 * Polk
 * St. Lucie

Cemeteries
The following web site may have additional information on Okeechobee 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

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

 * 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

 * 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 — 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 - 1918 - Okeechobee County Civilian Draft Registration (USGenWeb Archives)
 * 1917 - 1920 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

 * Okeechobee County World War II Army Enlistees (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Okeechobee County World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Personnel (USGenWeb Archives)
 * 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

Obituaries

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

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 $

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

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.

Family History Centers

 * Okeechobee Florida Family History Center

Websites

 * Okeechobee County, FL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Florida Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Florida Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Okeechobee County Florida GenWeb Project, Inc.
 * 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)
 * Okeechobee County FL Genealogy (LDSGenealogy)