The Online Catalog allows searching and browsing of information about the Florida State Archives’ holdings of over 48,000 cubic feet of state and local government records and historical manuscripts. The catalog provides descriptions of over 3,400 collections and lists the contents of containers and folders in many of those collections. For assistance with accessing and using State Archives collections, call our Reference Staff at 850.245.6719 or email us at archives@dos.myflorida.com.
The Office of Vital Statistics maintains the certificates or reports of birth, death, fetal death, marriage, dissolution of marriage, and name changes pursuant to section 68.07 of the Florida Statutes. The office originated as the Bureau of Vital Statistics, created as part of the State Board of Health in 1915 (Chapter 6892, Laws of Florida). The Bureau of Vital Statistics remained relatively unchanged under the State Health Office (name changed from State Board of Health, Ch. 88-235, Laws) until 1987 (Ch. 87-387, Laws), when the vital statistics law underwent massive revisions and the Bureau became the Office of Vital Statistics.
Summary:
This series contains bound volumes of statistics documenting the number of births, deaths, marriages, divorces, and annulments in Florida. The records include totals for the state, counties, and some cities. The series includes three types of record: Morbidity Weekly Current Record; Births, Deaths, Diseases; and Marriages, Divorces, Annulments.
The Morbidity Weekly Current Record (1 volume, 1919-1925) documents causes of death and the weekly total numbers of cases for the state, and then by county. Also includes statistics for large cities: Miami, Jacksonville, Pensacola, Tampa, Key West, West Palm Beach, and St, Petersburg. Causes of death include 38 diseases such as typhoid, malaria, yellow fever, rabies, tetanus, tuberculosis, and cancer.
The Births, Deaths, Diseases records (17 volumes, 1919-1936) document the yearly and monthly totals of births and deaths in the state, then county, and then cities within that county. The records of birth include numbers for males and females born; twins, triplets, or illegitimate; whether the mother and father were native or foreign; and births attended by a physician, midwife, unknown, or other; and ages and races of the mothers and fathers. These pages also include yearly totals for white and Black births, population, and stillbirths. The records of death include numbers for male and female deaths; conjugal condition (single, married, widowed, divorced, or unknown); native, foreign, or unknown origin; resident or non-resident deaths; deaths within a particular age bracket; and yearly totals of Black and white deaths due to a specified list of causes. These pages also include yearly totals for white and Black births, population, and infant mortality. The records of death by causes document the same information as the death records, but the statistics are for a specific cause of death, such as typhoid fever or malaria. These volumes contain indexes for counties, cities, and diseases. There is no volume for 1935.
The Marriages, Divorces, Annulments records (2 volumes, 1927-1936) document the yearly and monthly totals of divorces and annulments recorded in each county, and yearly and monthly statistics for Black and white marriages within the state and then by county. The 1927 records only include the total number of Black marriages in each county. The later marriage statistics include totals for Black and white marriages in each county; grooms and brides who were divorced, married previously, or unknown; and grooms and brides who were Floridian, native, foreign, or of unknown origin. These records also include totals for marriages officiated by a minister, judge, or other; and the race and ages of brides and grooms.
for detailed listing.