Florida Genealogy Records

Many people today are interested in learning more about their past and their ancestors. As a result Genealogy is one of the most common terms in search engines on the World Wide Web. For those who are new to the world of Genealogy, there are many ways one can find information regarding their ancestors. Some of the most common forms of public records used for genealogy are: For Birth Records Florida Statute 382.025 governs the release of vital statistics, and statute 119.071 relates to public documents; these are the official places to check for detailed answers about the legal status of these and other records. In Florida, birth records date as far back as 1865 and thus many have past the 100 years limitation that are open to the public. For Death Records Florida has immense databases of public records that stretch back to 1877, although coverage becomes more thorough after 1917. For Obituaries Florida has become the retirement capital of the world and that means that there are more obituaries for this state than for any other. Luckily, there is also a laundry list of resources available to anyone who has a computer. You can start your search for Florida obituaries by searching the Bay County Index, maintained by the local Genealogical Society. You can perform your search by last name and the listings here go back as far as 1987. Listings in Collier County can be found through the website for the public library. Most of the listings here were published in the local Naples newspaper and go as far back as 1927. The Florida-Times Union has a comprehensive search on their website that goes as far back as 1997. Both Pinellas County and the St. Petersburg Times have online searchable databases you can look through. Finally, the Tampa Tribune has an online searchable index that works through the Hillsborough County Public Library. At this time, newspapers in Orlando, Jacksonville, Miami and Fort Lauderdale are getting similar databases online, too, so you may want to check to see the status of those sites in the future. Florida obituary records are easy to find once you know where to start. For Marriages Florida Statutes 119.071 and 282.025 officially govern marriage records and who can request them, but generally speaking these records are open to the public.