The first Confederate pensions in Florida were authorized in 1885 and granted to veterans the sum of $5.00 per month. The next three decades saw a new Confederate pension bill introduced at nearly every session of the Legislature. Residency requirements were added and adjusted, militia members and widows were declared eligible, various financial qualifications were added and changed, and the amount and method of distribution were changed many times. The data you see here are an extract of the files for both individual pensions and widows pensions. The widow’s application is filed with that of her husband. The complete pension…

In March 1862, a Union fleet of some 26 vessels under the command of Navy Flag Officer Samuel F. DuPont arrived at Fernandina from its base at Port Royal, South Carolina. Confederate troops had been withdrawn in the face of this overwhelming Union force and both Fernandina and nearby Fort Clinch were captured without violence. Most of the community’s residents also fled the island for Confederate held areas in the interior. For the remainder of the war, Fernandina was a center of operations for the Union Navy’s South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, a rest center for Union troops, and a base…

A State Census is an extremely valuable tool for research covering the period between 1880 and 1900, since the Federal Census for 1890 was almost completely destroyed. Florida conducted statewide censuses in both 1885 and 1895, and a transcription of the 1895 Nassau County census data is posted here. Only the records for Nassau County from 1895 are available at the Florida State Archives. They were also published by the Jacksonville Genealogical Society. Citation: 1895 state census, Nassau County, Florida; Jacksonville Genealogical Society (Florida); Books/Monographs; Jacksonville, Florida; Jacksonville Genealogical Society, ©1976. While data from almost all of the Florida counties…

These are the earliest existing records at Oxley Funeral Home, Fernandina Beach, Florida. The ledger contains services rendered, including ambulance service, and date of service. Only funeral records are entered…

The Nassau County Public Library has in its collection 125 microfilm rolls containing the archived Nassau County Florida Newspapers for the twelve newspapers which existed in the county from 1880 to 2002. While the microfilms files are complete from 1949 through 2002 (four newspapers sequentially), the records from 1880 to 1948 (eight newspapers) are only partially complete. A complete list of the newspapers, and the dates of the microfilmed material can be seen at Newspaperlist.pdf . The Amelia Island Genealogical Society (AIGS) is in the process of abstracting these records, and we now have online the following records: Complete Years,…

The 1850 Federal Census for Nassau County, Florida was taken by Charles W. Pelot between October 28th and November 29th, 1850 and reflected the population on June 1, 1850, and includes 1087 individuals in Nassau County Florida. The census pages for Nassau County begins at 341 and go through 367. The Census is searchable by both first and last name, but also typically contains: Age, Sex, Occupation, Birthplace, Birth Year, and Birthplace (generally the state where the individual was born) and a few notes.

Nassau County 1850 Census