Manatee County, Florida Genealogy

United States   Florida    Manatee County

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

County Courthouse
Manatee County Courthouse 1115 Manatee Ave W; PO Box 25400; Bradenton, FL 34206 Phone. 941.749.1800 Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, divorce, probate, court and land records from 1857

History
Manatee County was created in 1855 from Hillsborough County and is located on the gulf coast on the south side of Tampa Bay. It is in the semi-subtropic climate zone. Later Sarasota, Hardee, DeSoto, Highlands, Charlotte, and Glades counties were split off from Manatee County. Current records are kept at the Manatee County Courthouse

Parent County
1855--Manatee County was created 9 January 1855 from Hillsborough County. County seat: Bradenton

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.

Neighboring Counties

 * DeSoto
 * Hardee
 * Hillsborough
 * Polk
 * Sarasota

African American

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

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

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

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

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 $

Birth Records

 * 1880 - 1935 Florida, Births and Christenings, 1880-1935

Death Records

 * 1877 - 1939 Florida, Deaths, 1877-1939
 * 1900 - 1921 Florida, Deaths and Burials, 1900-1921
 * 1877 - 1998 Florida, Death Index, 1877-1998

Divorce Records

 * 1927 - 2001 Ancestry.com $ Florida, Divorce Index, 1927-2001

Marriage Records

 * 1837 - 1974 Florida, Marriages, 1837-1974
 * 1830 - 1993 Florida, Marriages, 1830-1993
 * 1822 - 1875 and 1927 - 2001 Florida, Marriage Index, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001

Obituary

 * Manatee County, Florida Obituary Collection Free from GenealogyBuff.com. From Various Funeral Homes in the Bradenton, Sarasota, Parrish, and Palmetto areas.
 * Obituaries published in Bradenton Herald - Obituary File 1976-present, a service of the Manatee Genealogical Society. The Card File is located at the Historical Records Library in Bradenton, FL.

Societies and Libraries

 * Florida State Historical Societies -  Listing by County
 * Florida Family History Centers

Family History Centers

 * Brandenton Florida Family History Center
 * Manatee County Items at the Bradenton Family History Library. List compiled by the Manatee Genealogical Society and posted on the MGS Website.

Web Sites

 * Manatee County GenWeb Project, Inc.
 * Manatee County, Florida Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * State of Florida
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Sarasota County, Florida Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Sarasota County, FLGenWeb Project, Inc.
 * Sarasota County, FLGenWeb Project, Inc.

Societies and Libraries
Most Manatee County historical records (usually more than 1 year old) are transfered to the [Records Library] located at 1405 4th Ave W. Bradenton, FL 34205. Phone: (941) 741-4070. The Historical Records Library is housed within the 1918 Carnegie Library building, which was placed on the U.S. Department of the Interior's Registry of Historic Sites in 1987.


 * List of Florida Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies

Web Sites

 * Manatee County, FL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Florida Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Florida Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Manatee Genealogical Society