Bradford County, Florida Genealogy

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

County Courthouse
Bradford County Courthouse PO Box B; Starke, FL 32091-1286; Phone: 904.964.6280 Formerly New River County Name changed to Bradford 6 Dec 1861; County Clerk has marriage records from 1875, probate and court records from 1892 and land records from 1876

History
Named for Captain Richard Bradford who was killed in the American Civil War's Battle of Santa Rosa Island.

Parent County
New River County was created on December 21, 1858 from Columbia County by an act of the Florida Legislature. December 6, 1861 New River County was divided into two counties. The new county was named Baker County and New River's name was changed to BRADFORD County in honor of Captain Bradford who was killed in the Civil War.

In the 1860 New River population was 3,820 In 1861 the population was virtually halved by the carving of Baker from New River. The 1870 Bradford County's population was 1,325 people and the decrease was not due to a massive migration away from the area, but due to Bradford having been split into several Counties. County seat: Starke

Description
The county was named for the first Confederate officer from Florida to die in the Civil War - Captain Richard Bradford. The County Seat is Starke and the county was created 1858. The County is located in the North East 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
1865 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged. 1875 -- A second courthouse was burned in 1875.

For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:


 * Burned Counties Research
 * Burned Counties, by Michael John Neill

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:

Brooker | Hampton | Lawtey | Starke| Clayno | Graham | Hampton Beach | Heilbronn | New River | Pleasant Grove | Sampson | Saxton |Theressa

Neighboring Counties
Alachua •  Baker  •  Clay  •  Putnam  •  Union

Cemeteries
The following web sites may have additional information on Bradford  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

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

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)
 * 1883 - Bradford County Pensioners on the Rolls as of January 1, 1883 (Genealogy Trails)
 * 1885-1955 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War I

 * 1917-1920 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

 * Bradford County World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel (Genealogy Trails)
 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Korean War

 * Florida Casualties in the Korean Conflict
 * Bradford County Korean War Casualties (Genealogy Trails)

Vietnam War

 * Florida Casualties in the Vietnam War

Newspapers

 * 1895-1910 Bradford County Telegraph Chronicling America
 * 1888-2009 Bradford County Telegraph University of Florida
 * Early Florida Newspapers at the Florida State Library USGenWeb

Probate
Online Probate Records
 * 1784 – 1990 Florida Probate Records 1784-1990
 * 1810 – 1974 Ancestry.com $ Florida Wills and Probate Records 1810-1974

Birth Records

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

Death Records

 * 1877 - 1939 - Florida, Deaths, 1877-1939
 * 1877 - 1998 - Florida, Death Index, 1877-1998
 * 1885 - Bradford County, FL 1885 Mortality Schedule (Genealogy Trails)
 * 1900 - 1921 - Florida, Deaths and Burials, 1900-1921
 * 1901 - Bradford County, FL Death Records (Genealogy Trails)

Divorce Records

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

Marriage Records

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

Societies and Libraries
Bradford County Historical Board PO Drawer A Starke, FL 32091


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

Family History Centers

 * Starke Florida Family History Center
 * Stuart Florida Family History Center

Websites

 * Bradford County, FL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Florida Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Florida Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Bradford County FLGenWeb Project, a member of The FLGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Bradford County, Florida Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Bradford County FLGenWeb Project, Inc.
 * Bradford County, Florida Genealogy Trails
 * Bradford County FL Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)
 * Bradford County FL Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)