Collier County, Florida Genealogy

Collier County
	Collier County, Florida
	Map
	; Location in the state of Florida
	; Location of Florida in the U.S.
	Facts
Founded	May 8, 1923
County Seat	Naples
	Courthouse
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Guide to Collier County, Florida ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Information[edit | edit source]

Collier County, Florida Record Dates[edit | edit source]

Known Beginning Dates for Major Records^[1]
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1899	1923	1899	1923	1923	1923	1830
*Statewide registration of births and deaths began in 1899. General compliance by 1920.

County Courthouse[edit | edit source]

Collier County Courthouse
3315 Tamiami Trail East
Naples, FL 34112-5324
Phone: 941.732.2646

County Judge has marriage and probate records;
Clerk Circuit Court has divorce, court and land records from 1923^[2]

History[edit | edit source]

Parent County[edit | edit source]

1923--Collier County was created 8 May 1923 from Lee County.
County seat: Naples ^[3]

Description[edit | edit source]

The county was named for Barron G. Collier, a New York City advertising mogul and real estate developer. The County Seat is Naples and the county was created May 8,1923. The County is located in the Southwest area of the state.^[4]

Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Places / Localities[edit | edit source]

Populated Places[edit | edit source]

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:^[5]

Cities
Everglades City Marco Island Naples
Unincorporated communities
Ave Maria Barefoot Beach Belle Meade Carnestown Copeland Corkscrew Deep Lake East Naples Fakahatchee Four Seasons	Gulf Harbor Harker Isles of Capri Jerome Lee Cypress Miles City North Naples Ochopee Old Grove Port Royal	Royal Harbor Royal Palm Hammock Shell Island Sunniland Trailtown Turkey Foot Vanderbilt Beach Wagon Wheel Weavers Station Willoughby Acres
Census-designated places
Chokoloskee Golden Gate Goodland Immokalee Island Walk	Lely Naples Manor Naples Park Naples Park Orangetree	Pelican Bay Pine Ridge Plantation Island Verona Walk Vineyards

Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]

Broward • Hendry • Lee • Miami-Dade • Monroe

Resources[edit | edit source]

African American[edit | edit source]

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

Bio's

Charles Benjamin Daniels

Edward Robert Newell- 1840/41 - 1926 - FLGenWeb Project,Inc.

Albert Benjamin Addison - FLGenWeb Project,Inc.

Cemeteries[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries of Collier, Florida online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com FLGenWeb FLGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project Florida Gravestones Billion Graves
TombstoneTranscriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com Billion Graves Collier County Cemeteries
See Florida Cemeteries for more information

The following web sites may have additional information on Collier County cemeteries.

Interment.net Florida cemetery records

Census[edit | edit source]

For tips on accessing Collier County, Florida Genealogy census records online, see: Florida Census.

1783 Spanish Census - USGenWeb Archives Project
1821 Census/Tax List Index - USGenWeb Archives Project
1823 Census/Tax List Index - USGenWeb Archives Project
1880 Census African Born Blacks and Mulattos - USGenWeb Archives Project
1885 Florida State Population Census - 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 Archives Project
State Census Information from Florida State Archives - USGenWeb Archives Project
Census of Pensioners Revolutionary Military Service - USGenWeb Archives Project

Church[edit | edit source]

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Florida denominations, view the Florida Church Records wiki page.

Court[edit | edit source]

Land[edit | edit source]

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Florida Land and Property for additional information about early Florida land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Florida Territorial Land Records

Local Histories[edit | edit source]

Local histories are available for Collier County, Florida Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories see the wiki page section Florida Local Histories.

Maps[edit | edit source]

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Maps of Florida (1821-1997)
1870 Gray's Atlas Panhandle Portion of State - USGenWeb Archives Project
1882 Rand McNally Panhandle Portion of State - USGenWeb Archives Project
Exploring Florida, FCIT Maps, University of South Florida

Marriages[edit | edit source]

Index - FLGenWeb Project,Inc.
FamilySearch Marriage Index 1822-1875 and 1927-2001
FamilySearch Florida Marriage Records 1830-1993
FamilySearch Florida Marriages, 1837-1974

Military[edit | edit source]

Florida State Military Files - USGenWeb Archives Project
Pension Transcriptions - Florida state pension records from various wars - USGenWeb Pension Project

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Collier County, Florida Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:

WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
Do a Collier County, Florida Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search). Naples Daily News
1100 Immokalee Road
Naples, FL 34110 http://www.naplesnews.com

Early Florida Newspapers at the Florida State Library

Obituaries[edit | edit source]

Florida Obituaries - Obituary transcriptions from Florida counties - USGenWeb Obituaries Project
Addison, Albert Benjamin and Charity - FLGenWeb Project,Inc.
In Memory, Fallen Officers of Collier Co. FLGenWeb Project,Inc.
Obituary Index: 28 July 1927 - January, 2008 (Completed by volunteers from the Genealogical Society of Collier County).

Pioneer's of Collier

Speed Menefee - FLGenWeb Project,Inc.

Probate[edit | edit source]

Online Probate Records

1784 – 1990 Florida Probate Records 1784-1990 at FamilySearch — images
1810 – 1974 Florida Wills and Probate Records 1810-1974 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Taxation[edit | edit source]

Taxes were levied on free white males over 21 and slaves aged 21 to 60. These persons are referred to as "polls." Tax listings, or digests, of a county generally list the taxable landowners and other polls and the amount of tax. The records for each county are divided by militia district. For more information see the wiki page Florida Taxation.

Vital Records[edit | edit source]

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Florida Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Florida State Archives, or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred.

Birth Records[edit | edit source]

1880 - 1935 - Florida, Births and Christenings, 1880-1935 at FamilySearch.org — index

Death Records[edit | edit source]

1877 - 1939 - Florida, Deaths, 1877-1939 at FamilySearch.org — index
1900 - 1921 - Florida, Deaths and Burials, 1900-1921 at FamilySearch.org — index
1877 - 1998 - Florida, Death Index, 1877-1998 at FamilySearch.org — index

Divorce Records[edit | edit source]

1927 - 2001 - Florida, Divorce Index, 1927-2001 at Ancestry.com — index $

Marriage Records[edit | edit source]

1802 - 1998 - Florida, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
1837 - 1974 - Florida, Marriages, 1837-1974 at FamilySearch.org — index
1830 - 1993 - Florida, Marriages, 1830-1993 at FamilySearch.org — index/images
1830 - 1957 - Florida, County Marriages, 1830-1957 at FamilySearch — index and images
1822 - 1875 and 1927 - 2001 - Florida, Marriage Index, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001 at FamilySearch.org — index/images
1923-1945 - Collier County Marriage Book 1 Index 1923-1945. Batch M736792 at FamilySearch - free.^[6]

Florida State Archives

Societies and Libraries[edit | edit source]

Random Acts of Kindness List of Florida Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical Genealogical Societies
FamilySearch Find a Family History Center
Florida Historical Society
Florida State Genealogical Society

Family History Centers[edit | edit source]

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes.

For current information about a center near you, go to the Family History Center Map

Naples Florida Family History Center

Websites[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Collier County, Florida . Page 133-137 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 143-145.
↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Collier County, Florida. Page 133 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
↑ Genealogy Trails History Group, “Collier County, Florida Genealogy and History”, http://genealogytrails.com/fla/collier/ accessed 04/24/2017.
↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Collier County, Florida," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collier_County,_Florida, accessed 25 September 2018.
↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/5/54/Igiflorida.pdf.

[1] Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Collier County, Florida . Page 133-137 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 143-145.

[HBG-2] Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Collier County, Florida. Page 133 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.

[3] The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).

[4] Genealogy Trails History Group, “Collier County, Florida Genealogy and History”, http://genealogytrails.com/fla/collier/ accessed 04/24/2017.

[5] Wikipedia contributors, "Collier County, Florida," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collier_County,_Florida, accessed 25 September 2018.

[6] Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/5/54/Igiflorida.pdf.

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