Sarasota County, Florida Genealogy

Guide to Sarasota 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 daughter of famous explorer Hernando de Soto's daughter Sara. The County is located in the west-central area of the state.

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

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 Sarasota 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.
 * 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

Florida Churches~Church Angel

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

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African American
 * USGenWeb Florida African American Griots Project
 * Afrigeneas - African Genealogy

Land and Property Records
Florida Territorial Land Records

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

 * Florida State Military Files USGenWeb
 * Florida state pension records from various wars Pension Transcriptions USGenWeb

Civil War
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch
 * 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

World War I
 * 1917-1920 - at FamilySearch

World War II
 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch

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

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

Birth

 * 1880-1935 - at FamilySearch

Marriage

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

Death

 * 1877-1939 - at FamilySearch
 * 1877-1998 - at FamilySearch
 * 1900-1921 - at FamilySearch

Divorce

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

Family History Centers
Sarasota Florida Family History Center 7001 Beneva Rd  Sarasota FL 34238 Phone: 941-921-5932 Email: [mailto:FL_Sarasota@familyhistorymail.org FL_Sarasota@familyhistorymail.org] Website

Libraries

 * Selby Library 1331 First Street Sarasota, FL 34236 Phone: 941-861-1100 Website
 * There are ten Libraries and Branches throughout Sarasota County. Check webpage for location and contact information.

Societies
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 Website

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

 * State of Florida
 * Sarasota County, Florida Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Sarasota County (FLGenWeb Project, Inc.)
 * – 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.