Hillsborough County History
A migration story of the Buzbee’ and Pitts’ that migrated from North Carolina through various other southern states to finally settle in Florida.
Tampa City
Tampa circa 1890’s
Franklin Street
Franklin Street circa 1898 and 1930
Tampa Courthouse
Tampa Courthouse, circa 1890
I am a Southerner…A poem about Southern Heritage.
Did you know…
the Hillsborough River Watershed has supported humans for at least 10,000 years? Native American burial mounds of several tribes are present along the river. Spanish conquistadors explored this river. The Hillsborough River leaves Green Swamp and flows 54 miles down into Tampa Bay.
Hillsborough Families
Between 1559 and 1819, the area now called Florida was under the rule of four nations: Spain, France, Great Britain and the United States. The United States purchased Florida from Spain in 1821 for $5 million. On Jan. 25, 1834, the U. S. Legislative Council for the Territory of Florida approved an act organizing Hillsborough as Florida’s 19th county. In 1845, Florida was granted statehood.
At that time, Hillsborough County was a sprawling area that included what is now Pinellas, Polk, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee and Highlands Counties, most of Glades County, and part of Lee County. Despite its size, Hillsborough’s population was only 836, not including soldiers or Native Americans.
Original families shown on the 1840 census include Steele, Cooper, Jackson, Spaulding, Kilgore and Hoffman. After the Civil War, you will find Dickman, Buzbee, Miley, Hewett, Burnett, Alderman and Kicklighter.
Genealogical Research
I have been researching my family’s surnames in the Hillsborough County area since 2004. In the years of researching I found numerous websites that provide information that anyone might be able to use. I am researching the Buzbees’ (Ruskin and Riverview Buzbees’), Swilley, Hewett and Pitts. The Buzbee family came to Hillsborough County around 1867, after the Civil War. Lawrence settled in Ruskin and Oliver in Riverview. Genealogy is my passion and I hope that my website will assist you in your search as it has in mine.
Hillsborough Links
Historical and Present Day Information Links
Tampa History
- Hillsborough High School
- Knight and Wall
- Fort Hesterly Armory
- City Hall/Tampa Mayors
- Francis Bellamy, Author
- Lafayette Bridge History
- Lowry Park Zoo
- Maas Brothers History
- Tampa Midwife Records
- Tampa in the 1940’s
- Seminole Heights Church
- The Burgert Brothers
- Cigar Revolution
- Fort Brooke History
- People of Tampa
- More Tampa History
Historical Links
- Florida Land Records
- USF Marriage Records
- Historical Census Maps
- 1830-1920 Census Maps
- Trails Database
- Military Links
- Google Newspaper Archives
- Chronicling America
- Florida County Maps
- Florida Newspaper Library
- US Historical News by State
- Diseases: Now and Then
- Florida Historical Markers
- City Name Origins
- County Name Origins
- County Maps from 1839
My Georgia Roots
Georgia information about the Hamans’ , Pitts’ and Sumner Family and their descendents. These families primarily came from Georgia after migrating from North Carolina and South Carolina.