Research & Resources

Area Historical Societies,  Centers, and Resources

Museum of Seminole County History – “The Museum highlights Seminole County, the historical gateway to interior Central Florida via the St. John’s River. All artifacts housed in the Museum have been donated by residents. Exhibits, artifacts, maps, documents, photographs and special events all tell the stories of Seminole County’s inhabitants, their lives, lineages and local legends.”

• HISTORICAL MARRIAGE RECORDS DATABASE

Geneva Rural Hertitage Center – “In 2007 some citizens of the eastern Seminole County rural area decided to form the Island & Village of Geneva Rural Heritage Center to celebrate and help preserve their rural heritage.  The organization was incorporated and subsequently applied for and received a 501(c)(3) status from the IRS.   In 2009, the Seminole County School Board generously offered to donate the historic Geneva school house to be the home of the new Rural Heritage Center.  The Center partners with the rural communities of Black Hammock, Chuluota, Geneva, and Snow Hill to create a community learning center providing hands-on learning to the Central Florida community.”

Museum of Geneva History – “The Museum of Geneva History was dedicated in 1965 by the Geneva Historical Society after receiving land donated by Mr. and Mrs. W. G. Kilbee and taking out a small loan for the construction.  The Society needed a place to house the many  artifacts that they had been collecting from settler families of the Geneva area since the Society was formed in 1952. ” Also see:  Geneva Historical & Genealogical Society

Lake Mary Museum – “The Lake Mary Historical Museum exists to preserve and promote the history of the city and the surrounding area. Efforts to maintain and enhance the museum are accomplished by members of the Lake Mary Historical Society and other volunteers.”

Sanford Historical Society – “The Sanford Historical Society’s purpose is to foster interest in the preservation of information and artifacts related to the history of Sanford and the surrounding area. The Society shall support the efforts of the Sanford Museum to accomplish this purpose.”

Genealogy Search Engine

Search Military Records

Genealogy and the Law

Billiongraves

"BillionGraves is the world's largest resource for searchable GPS cemetery data, and is growing bigger and better every day. You can help by collecting headstone images from local and other cemeteries, and then by transcribing the personal information found on the images. "
 

A Beginner’s Guide to Building a Family Tree Online
 

Military Indexes

Directory of links to online military indexes and records for geneology research. "Included are rosters, databases of soldiers, draft card databases for World War I and II, and listings of military and war casualties."

Podcasts of Florida History

(ARCHIVED) CMF Public Media History  – ” CMF’s mission shall be to develop, fund, produce and distribute via the Internet downloadable audio podcasts and on-line audio streaming of program content reflecting issues and voices that matter in Central Florida; doing so in a style that first advances those issues and voices rather than advancing CMF’s own voice.” Podcast Link   – See also on  iTunes
 

The RICHES (Regional Initiative for Collecting the Histories, Experiences and Stories of Central Florida): “RICHES Podcast Documentaries are short form narrative documentaries that explore central Florida history and are locally produced.”   The Florida History Quarterly – Podcast Link

Central Florida Memory - Central Florida Memory is a cooperative project begun in 2002 by three institutions: The University of Central Florida Library, The Orange County Regional History Center, and The Orange County Library System. UCF has been the primary technology support and host institution for Central Florida Memory since its inception. Starting in 2002, UCF has been the project lead to secure grants and digitize materials from our own collection as well as selections from partner institutions.

Historical Markers Located in Seminole County – (courtesy of the Sanford Historical Society) – “The Florida Historical Marker Program recognizes historic resources, persons and events that are significant in the areas of architecture, archaeology, Florida history and traditional culture by promoting the placing of historic markers and plaques at sites of historical and visual interest to visitors. The purpose of the program is to increase public awareness of the rich cultural heritage of the state and to enhance the enjoyment of historic sites in Florida by its citizens and tourists.  These markers can be generally identified by their green background and gold lettering.”

HISTORICAL SOCIETIES AND MUSEUMS IN SEMINOLE COUNTY

Other Interesting Sites 

Oviedo Traditions – a community resource by The Oviedo Preservation Project (TOPP)

African American Genealogy and History of SC, GA, and FL – “Lowcountry Africana is entirely dedicated to records that document the family and cultural heritage of African Americans in the historic rice-growing areas of South Carolina, Georgia and extreme northeastern Florida, an area that scholars and preservationists have identified as a distinct culture area. Lowcountry Africana was developed with a grant from the Magnolia Plantation Foundation of Charleston, South Carolina.”

National Register of Historic Places – Seminole County

Oviedo Chickens – History of the “Oviedo Chickens”

Florida Trivia – Answers.com website – topic: Florida

Florida History Trivia – Answers.com website – topic: History of Florida

Personal Historians – Discover the joys of preserving personal history

Florida African-American Heritage–From the FLGenWeb Project

Florida Births and Christenings, 1880-1935 – Searchable at FamilySearch online, name index to birth, baptism and christening records from the state of Florida.  This set contains 28,301 records.

Florida Deaths, 1877-1939 – Searchable online from FamilySearch, name index to death and burial records from the state of Florida.  This set contains 24,800 records.

Florida Marriages, 1837-1974 – Name index to marriage records from the state of Florida. Microfilm copies of these records are available at the Family History Library and Family History Centers. This set contains 860,110 records.

Florida State Census, 1885 – Schedules of the Census of Florida taken by that state in 1885. All counties then in the state are represented with the exception of Alachua, Clay, Columbia and Nassau. The 1885 Florida State Census is comprised of four schedules – Population, Agriculture, Manufactures and Mortality.

Florida State Census, 1935 – Population census for the State of Florida for the year 1935. This 1935 Florida State Census is an every-name list of the state’s inhabitants. The census is arranged alphabetically by county and then geographically by election precinct. All counties within the state are represented, although some election precincts are missing.

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers – Hosted by the Library of Congress. Search, view and download newspaper pages from 1900 to 1910 from CA, DC, FL, KY, NY, UT and VA

National History Day – Engaging Teachers and Students in Historical Research and Skills Development.

National History Day Teachers’ Resource Page – Historical Research and Skills Development for Teachers.

Primary Historical Source Documents  – World War II – American Battle Monuments Commission.

FamilySearch Wiki– Florida records and resources.