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State Archives of Florida Online Catalog

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	Record Group Number:	800000
	Series/Collection Number:	.L 175
	Creator:	Florida. Circuit Court (16th Circuit : Monroe County)
	Title, Dates:	Probate records, 1826-1936.
	Amount:	8.00 microfilm reel 35 mm.
	Medium Included:
	Organization/Arrangement:	Subdivided into (1) Record of wills, arranged chronologically; and (2) Filed probate documents, which are randomly filed under the alphabetical designation of the surname. By record type.
	Restrictions:
	Terms Governing Use:
	Biographical/Historical:	Monroe County was formed from part of Saint Johns County on July 3, 1823 by an act of the Legislative Council. At that time, Monroe County consisted of most of the territory of Florida south of Lake Okeechobee. The exact location of the original (1823-1859) northwest boundary of Monroe County is uncertain. Some maps put it at the Caloosahatchee River, others farther north near the present day northern boundary of Charlotte County. The boundaries of Monroe County changed several times until 1887. In 1836, Dade County was created from the eastern portion of Monroe County (Ch. 937, Territorial Laws). In 1855, Manatee County was formed in part from areas of northern Monroe County (Ch. 628, Laws). In the 1860s and 1870s, the boundary between Monroe and Dade County was redefined several times, including the annexation of the Florida Keys by Monroe County in 1866 (Ch. 1592, Laws). In 1887, Lee County was formed from the northern portion of Monroe County (Ch. 3769, Laws), leaving Monroe with its present day boundaries (extreme southwest Florida and the Keys). The Clerk of the Circuit Court in each county serves as the official custodian of deed, marriage, and probate records.
	Summary:	This series consists of a microfilm copy of the probate records of Monroe County, Florida, from ca. 1826 to 1936. The series contains records of wills (1888-1936) and filed probate documents (ca. 1826-1888). Probate is the transfer of property title and rights and of legal responsibility for payment of taxes or custody from the deceased to another party, from a person judged incompetent or insane, or from a minor to an appointed guardian. Probate records document the administration and distribution of an individual's estate after death. The filed probate documents consist of the various probate records related to each specific estate, including guardianship and administration records. A will is a legal instrument by which a person declares how they wish their property or estate to be disposed of after their death. Wills usually contain direct statements of relationship between the deceased and his family and denote ownership of specific property and goods. The record of will books are indexed.
	Finding Aids:	Microfilm listing available.
	Additional Physical Form:
	Reproduction Note:	Microfilm.
	Location of Originals/Duplicates:	Circuit Court, Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, Monroe County. Office of the Clerk. Key West, Florida.
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	Electronic Records Access:
	Subject Access Fields:	Monroe County (Fla.). County Court Probate records Florida --Monroe County Probate records. aat Wills. aat Estate inventories. aat Monroe County (Fla.)
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