BRADENTON FLORIDA FAMILY HISTORY CENTER (FHC)
 
The Bradenton Family History Center is located at 3400 Cortez, Bradenton, FL  34210. --  Map for FHC Location   
The hours of operation are:
  • Monday -- 9 am - Noon 
  • Tuesday & Wednesday -- 6:30 pm - 9 pm.   
While no appointments are absolutely necessary, it would be wise to do so because, on some occassions, no volunteer staff is availabe on the normal days of operation. The best contact point for hours of operation and appointments is Brother Smith at (941) 748-5402 or via email at gaineslsmith82@gmail.com .
 
Facility Resources - There are 5 computers in the main room and a 6th in the office. Patrons are also permitted to bring their own laptops and tablets.  This center has access to databases through the Family History Center Portal page which gives free access to premium family history software and websites that generally charge for subscriptions.
 
Local Manatee Material Held by the FHC  Over the years the Bradenton FHC has accumulated an excellent collection of microfilm copies of local records.  These include  for example birth records, marriage records, census, death records, cemetery,  land and deed records, maps, military records, naturalizations, estate and probate records, etc..      

FamilySearch Catalog.  One should review the FamilySearch Catalog to see if the microfilm copies held by the Bradenton FHC have been digitized and are available for viewing online.   
 
Florida Online Genealogy Records.  FamilySearch links to online records for Florida. These online records may include birth records, marriage records, death records, biographies, cemeteries, censuses, church records, histories, immigration records, land records, maps, military records, native races, naturalizations, newspapers, obituaries, or probate records. 
 
Online Genealogy Records by Location  FamilySearch Online Genealogy Records contain links to online records for different states, provinces, or countries. This can be useful as your research area expands
 
We encourage you to visit, use and support your local Family History Center. Many Centers in the general area and around the country have closed because of the difficulty in finding volunteers and the under utilization of the Centers. These Centers need more people visits and business to justify remaining open. If you have not used this resource, you really have missed something along your research journey.