You're Invited to Join the Florida Project

Question

The Florida Project Seeks Volunteers to Celebrate the Sunshine State

Florida holds a unique place in American history as the only state where five flags have flown: Spain, France, Great Britain, the United States, and the Confederate States. This layered past offers a rich tapestry of stories waiting to be unraveled, making Florida's genealogical landscape as diverse and vibrant as the state itself.

Whether you're a descendant of the original Native American inhabitants, the Spanish Conquistadors, French or British settlers, enslaved people of African descent, Cuban refugees, or a curious onlooker drawn to the allure of the Sunshine State, we invite you to be a part of The Florida Project.

Our mission is to connect profiles, add sources, document notables, survey cemeteries, and research all Floridians. We aim to explore the imprints left by the five flags, shedding light on the lesser-known aspects of Florida's multifaceted past.

We believe that every individual has a story, and these stories weave together to form the larger narrative of Florida's history. Join us as we delve deep into the genealogical tapestry of Florida, illuminating the state's history one story at a time. Let's explore, connect, and share the captivating tales of the only state in America to have had five flags flown over it.

If you are a WikiTree member who would like to help, do the following:

1. Sign WikiTree's Honor Code. 
2. Introduce yourself by answering this post. (Please post an answer, not a comment.) Tell us about your interests in Florida and we will get you a United States badge.
3. Add FLORIDA to your followed tags, as well as tags for any special topics that you are focusing on.

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The Florida Project is under the umbrella of the United States Project.
 

Answer 1

I would love to be included in the Florida Project! I have Florida pioneers in my family, and my ancestors fought with the Spanish against the British.

Comments

This is what I find so fascinating about Florida. Welcome to the project!

BTW - I'm from the Kentucky Howard line.

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My great grandfather was from Kentucky, and is my very solid brick wall in trying to find anything on his early life

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My Florida great grandfather was born in Graves County, Kentucky. A.C. Howard.

Answer 2

I have Florida Pioneers in my family and would love to be part of this project.

Comments

I think you had to be rough to settle Florida!  Thanks for joining.

Answer 3

I'd like to belong. I have family branches in Florida and currently call it home.

Comments

Welcome to the project!
I also call Florida home.

Answer 4

My ancestors are Florida Pioneers. My Dad’s family goes back to before Florida was a state. My Mom’s father came over from England and helped settle the Keys in the early 1900s. They survived several deadly hurricanes to build a home which still stands in Miami’s Financial District. Her mom was in the second graduating class of the University of Miami and her twin sister was in the first.

My Dad recently passed but struggled for years to try and figure out where his family came from because his last name is so unique.  For that reason particularly, I would be interested in joining the project.

Comments

Welcome
Wow what a crazy but inspiring story! I think you had to be especially tough to settle Florida.

I think Florida is one of the more interesting states to research.

Answer 5

Hello all. :)

Both of my parents were born in Florida and I have deep roots there.

Descendant of early settlers in Leon (1828), Monroe (1830), Nassau (1830), Columbia (1840) to Bradford and Brevard (1850) and Volusia (1860).

Comments

Welcome.

I did a One Place Study on Enterprise, Florida (starting in 1860). It was such a curious area since I mainly researched in Kentucky prior to that.

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My ancestors also began arriving in Florida in the 1820s. I’m a sixth-generation native. And not so surprisingly, you and I are distantly related, through the Futch family line.

Answer 6

Been in Florida over 30 years though not a native, I love learning history and Florida has a lot!

Comments

Welcome!

I'm a Kentucky native but find Florida fascinating.

Answer 7

Looking forward to helping share the story as a Lifelong , 6th generation  resident of the Florida Panhandle

Comments

Lots of action going on in West Florida (well for sure in the 1800s!)

Welcome to the project!

Answer 8

Hello,

My name is Peter Kopecek. I live in Florida and work in a library. In the past, I have volunteered at a Public Library Genealogical Library in Indian River County. I look forward to helping with the Florida Project.

Comments

We will love to have you contribute to the project! Sounds like you know where the bodies are buried. ;-)

Answer 9

I am a Floridian! Born and reared on a dairy farm on the County Line Road of Hillsborough and Polk counties.

I study many facets of history including, the slaves and slaveholders, Mosquito County to Orange County, Service Heroes of Apopka Street Sign Dedications.

Comments

Wow! Lots of history in your family.

Welcome to the project.

Answer 10

I'd love to volunteer for the project.  I'm a second generation Floridian.  My grandparents moved from Mississippi to Florida in the 1920s.  Prior to that, one of my 4th great-grandfathers, Blake Falkner, moved from Mississippi to Florida between 1850 and 1860.  He married Jane Starling, widow of Levi Starling, who was killed by a band of Seminole Indians on May 17, 1856. 

Comments

Welcome.

Thank you for sharing your frightening and sad story.

I'll be in touch shortly.

Answer 11

I currently live in SWFL and most of my ancestors are from VA, NC, SC, GA, AL, and a small number in FL.  I'm interested to see what I can do to help the Florida Project.

Comments

Welcome!

We would love to have your help!  I'll be in touch shortly.

Answer 12

I would love to join the project.  My husband is a 5generation Floridian.   I volunteer at the Palm Beach Genealogical Library.    I would love to help people find their “cracker” ancestors.

Comments

I am in the process of reading "A Land Remembered" by Patrick Smith. It's a great way to learn Florida history.

Sounds like you bring some great experience to the table. Welcome.

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A Land Remembered is my favorite book on Florida.

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I just got to the part where the grandson is selling the "parrots".  

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One of my favorite parts was when he got married and went to Fort Pierce to buy a stove for his wife so she would feel at home in his shack.  What those women endured!!!

Answer 13

I can help. I'm a new Florida.

Comments

I'll be in touch!  Welcome to the project and to Florida.

Answer 14

I would like to be a part of the Florida project. I have Florida pioneers in my family and I am a Florida native. I am Miami born, but my mother's family came from Lake county. I have lived in Volusia county for the last thirty years.

Comments

Welcome Patti.

I'm your neighbor!

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That is wonderful! So glad to be with you neighbor.

Answer 15

My Paternal line begins in Cotton Plant, Florida and goes back into the 1800s. The United Methodist church at Cotton Plant has quite a number of relatives in the church cemetery, predominantly Sanders and Parker’s. My Father and Grandfather were born there. My Great Grandfather was born in Tennessee and moved to Florida in the late 1800s.

Comments

Welcome to the Project!

You've got quiet a history to share!

Answer 16

My first Florida ancestors were the Bauknights who came to the state in the 1850s from the Dutch Fork region of South Carolina.  My Roberts and Champion family lines came to Florida in the early 1900s from Georgia and Alabama.

Comments

Lots of South Carolinians came to Florida in 1850. I'm guessing the land deals by the government made it attractive. Plus if you were use to SC humidity, Florida's coastal breezes possibly were an improvement.

Welcome to the project.

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My paternal grandmother was a Florida Bauknight. So we a probably cousins.

Answer 17

Happy to participate.   I am a Florida native, descended from several early Florida pioneers emigrating to the state from Georgia and North Carolina in the 1820's, 1830's and 1840's.  Other family came to the state from Canada and Scotland in the 1880's.

Comments

Sounds like there were some Florida pioneers in your past.
Welcome to the project.

Answer 18

My Grandfather Joseph W. Haley Sr. was first in Florida 1872 I am from Sarasota.  My Great ,Great Aunt built her home, New Edzell, on Bird Key, in 1904, and kept livestock on Otter Key.  No bridges then. I am 83.

Comments

So interesting! I'm aware of some Haley's in Kentucky.

Welcome to the project.

Answer 19

I would very much like to help. My family in Florida dates back to 1768 when my ancestors came to Florida under the rule of Dr. Andrew Turnbull as indentured servants. We were called "Turnbull's Minorcan's". I am currently part of a group of Minorcan's and extended family that are seeking to locate the location of the 934 missing Minorcan's that died while they worked on Turnbull's planation. Present day there are probably over 30 thousand Minorcan descendants living in Florida.

Comments

Welcome Katrina.
Perhaps you should consider running a Minorcan Project under the Florida Project. You could get all of the Minorcans in the database tagged. I imagine others would be interested in helping you.

I've noticed several Minorcan profiles associated with St. Augustine as I've worked on adding sources.

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I have created a free space page and am currently working on the story of how the Minorcans came to Florida. I have never done a project page before, so I am not sure how different it is from a free space page. I am very willing to do what needs to be done. Also I would like a sticker made for the profiles that want them.

Thanks

Katrina

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Can you share the free space page - I'll link it to the Florida Project page.

Please send me an email and we can work on the sticker as well.

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I would be happy to do a Minorcan Project. I currently have a free space telling the story of how the Minorcans came to what was then British East Florida. However the page is not compete enough yet and I don't want others to add to the description as I have not completed it. Now that my 7th grandson was just born I will be working to get it to a point as soon as possible.

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Cool. Just add a link back to the Florida Project so it appears there.  Or let me know if you need help.

Might be smart to link it to St John's County also.

Answer 20

How exciting, I would love to be included in the Florida Project. I do not live there but have many relatives who do. I feel it would be a great opportunity to learn more about the people who lived and worked there.

Comments

We would love to have you join us!

Make sure you follow the Florida tag!