Lake County, Florida Genealogy

Lake County
	Lake County, Florida
	Map
	; Location in the state of Florida
	; Location of Florida in the U.S.
	Facts
Founded	May 13, 1887
County Seat	Tavares
	Courthouse
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Guide to Lake 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]

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

Known Beginning Dates for Major Records^[1]
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1899	1887	1915	1887	1887	1893	1830
*Statewide registration of births and deaths began in 1899. General compliance by 1920.

County Courthouse [edit | edit source]

Lake County Courthouse
315 W Main St; PO 7800
Tavares, FL 32778
Phone: 352.742.4100

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, divorce, court and land records from 1887,
probate records from 1893 and adoption records.
County Health Department has death records. ^[2]

History[edit | edit source]

Parent County[edit | edit source]

1887--Lake County was created 13 May 1887 from Orange County.
County seat: Tavares ^[3]

In 1562 a French Huguenot colony was established in the present site of Astor on the St Johns River. The entire colony was wiped out by the Spanish, in 1566. In 1763 James Spalding established a trading post at Astor.

During the Revolutionary War all of Florida belonged to the British. A few white hunters and traders lived in Lake County, along with runaway slaves and freedmen.

In 1782, Spain re-occupied Florida and began rewarding large tracts of land. Settlers built forts throughout the county to protect them from the Indians. At that time Lake County was known as Mosquito County. In 1823, at the Treaty of Moultrie Creek, the Seminoles were ordered to live on a reservation, most of which was in Lake County.

In 1862, most white males between 18 and 35 were forced into involuntary service to the Confederacy.

In 1887, Lake County became a county. It was named “Lake County” because it contains over 1400 lakes. It was carved from Orange and Sumter counties. In 1889, the courthouse was dedicated. It was known as the “Pioneer Building”.

During World War II, Lake County was the site of a Prison of War camp. It is now primarily an agricultural and retirement community.

Description[edit | edit source]

The County Seat is Tavares and the county was created May 27, 1887. The County is located in the Central area of the state.^[4]

Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]

1821-1997 MapofUS.org "Rotating Formation Florida County Boundary Maps"

Record Loss[edit | edit source]

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

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
Clermont Eustis Fruitland_Park Groveland	Leesburg Mascotte Minneola	Mount Dora Tavares Umatilla
Towns
Astatula Howey-in-the-Hills	Lady Lake	Montverde
Unincorporated communities
Altoona Astor Ferndale Four Corners Lake Kathryn	Lake Mack-Forest Hills Lisbon Mount_Plymouth Okahumpka Paisley	Pine Lakes Pittman Silver Lake Sorrento Yalaha
Unorganized territories
Bassville Park Fort Mason	Grand Island Lanier	Orange Bend The Villages

Resources[edit | edit source]

African American[edit | edit source]

USGenWeb African American Griots Project
Afrigeneas - African Genealogy

Cemeteries[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries of Lake, 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)	WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com Billion Graves Lake County Cemeteries Lake Florida Cemetery Records
See Florida Cemeteries for more information

The following web site may have additional information on Lake County cemeteries.

Interment.net Florida cemetery records

Census[edit | edit source]

For tips on accessing Lake County, Florida Genealogy census records online, see: Florida 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

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.

Local Histories[edit | edit source]

Local histories are available for Lake 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

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[edit | edit source]

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

Korean War[edit | edit source]

Lake County Korean War Casualty List (Genealogy Trails)
Florida Casualties in the Korean Conflict distantcousin.com

Vietnam War[edit | edit source]

Lake County Vietnam War Casualty List (Genealogy Trails)
Florida Casualties in the Vietnam War distantcousin.com

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

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

WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
Do a Lake County, Florida Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

Early Florida Newspapers at the Florida State Library USGenWeb

Obituaries[edit | edit source]

USGenWeb Obituaries Project Obituary transcriptions from Florida counties

Probate[edit | edit source]

Online Probate Records

1784 – 1990 FamilySearch Florida Probate Records 1784-1990
1810 – 1974 Ancestry.com $ Florida Wills and Probate Records 1810-1974
Florida State Archives $

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 — index

Death Records[edit | edit source]

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

Divorce Records[edit | edit source]

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

Marriage Records[edit | edit source]

1802 - 1998 - Florida, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
1837 - 1974 - Florida, Marriages, 1837-1974 at FamilySearch — index
1830 - 1993 - Florida, Marriages, 1830-1993 at FamilySearch — index and 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 — index

Societies and Libraries[edit | edit source]

Lake County Historical Society
PO Box 7800
Tavares, FL 32778

Lake County Kinseekers Genealogical Society
19 Quail Run
Wildwood, FL 32785
Website

Pastfinders Genealogical Society of South Lake County

Cooper Memorial Library

2525 Oakley Seaver Dr

Clermont, FL 34711

https://pastfindersslc.org/

The Villages Genealogical Society
2063 Duval Court
The Villages, FL 32162
Telephone 352-750-4004
Fax: 352-753-6372
E-mail:info@vgsfl.org
Website

Leesburg Genealogical Society
204 N. Fifth St.
Leesburg, FL 32748

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
Lake County Library

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

Websites[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Lake 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), Lake County, Florida Page 135 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Lake County," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_County,_Florida 04/25/2017.
↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Lake County, Florida," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_County,_Florida, accessed 26 January 2019.

[1] Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Lake 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), Lake County, Florida Page 135 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] Wikipedia contributors, "Lake County," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_County,_Florida 04/25/2017.

[5] Wikipedia contributors, "Lake County, Florida," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_County,_Florida, accessed 26 January 2019.

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