Thomas Joseph ADAMS
Submitted by Descendants: William Gilbert ADAMS, Jr. & Ellie Ann ADAMS
Thomas Joseph Adams was the son of Thomas Adams and Mary Elizabeth Roberts, and was the grandson of Jacob Adams and Wyannie Malone, loyalists from South Carolina, that fled the union after the end of the American Revolution for the Bahamas were among the first to settle in Hope Town, Bahamas. Thomas Joseph was born on Saturday, 27 February 1819 in Hope Town, Bahamas and was baptized on 27 June 1819.
Thomas Joseph Adams married Elizabeth Ann Roberts circa 1837, in Abaco according to Christ Church Marriages.
Circa 1838, Thomas Joseph and Elizabeth left the Bahamas and settled in Key West. During that time as head of the household he made his living as mariner and a grocer. The 1840 US Federal Census shows Thomas J employed in agriculture in Dade County, Florida Territory.
Thomas J and Elizabeth had a son Thomas Joseph Adams, Jr., and they are enumerated in the 1850 United States Federal Census. Thomas Joseph, Jr.’s age at the time of the census was 12 years, which would make his birth date circa 1838 and the first born on Florida soil. They made their home in Key West, Florida.
Thomas Joseph Adams lived, worked and raised his family in Key West, Florida. The Historic Key West Cemetery lists his death on 23 Mar 1906 at the age of 87 years.
Thomas Joseph Adams was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1995
Hansford ALFORD
Submitted by Descendant: John Albert BURNETT
Hansford Alford was born circa 1812 in South Carolina as per the 1850 census for Columbia County, Florida. Hansford Alford was evidently in Florida when he served as a 1st Corporal/Private in Day & Wilder’s Company of the 13th Regt. In the 1st Brigade of the Florida Mounted Military during the Florida War against the Seminole Indians. He later served as a 1st Lieutenant in Johnson’s Company of the Florida Mounted Volunteers in the Florida War of 1839-1840 for four months.
Hansford Alford first settled in Hamilton County, Florida Territory, where he received eighty acres of land on the 10th of July 1844. By 1850, he and his family were living in Columbia County, Florida. He was first married around 1833 to Jincy Mann (1818-circa 1841) and by this marriage he had two children:
William Alford (1834-1906) married 1st Mary Ann Elizabeth Williams and
2nd Sarah C. Loadholtz
Mary Adeline Alford (1836-1920) married Jonathan Knight Roberts
Around 1841/1842 Hansford Alford married his second wife Louvicy Crosby (1812-circa 1890). By her he had six more children.
Sarah Alford (1842-bef. 1920) married Mancel Johnson
Martha Ann Alford (1843-1912) married 1st Joseph Harriett
2nd Seaborn Dobson
Elizabeth R. Alford (1847-bef. 1920) married George W. Martin
Mariah E. (Mary) Alford (1848-bef. 1930)
John Wesley Alford (1849-1937) married Sarah Drucilla Willoughby
Saleta A. “Lettie” Alford (1854-bef. 1880) married William Green
Hansford Alford served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from Columbia County, Florida in 1856. In 1850 his occupation was listed as MT Clergyman. In the 1860 census for New River County, Florid, he was listed as a farmer. He evidently had a varied career as a soldier, clergyman, state representative, farmer, and slaveholder.
Hansford Alford was evidently dead by 1867 as an agent was listed on an 1867 tax record for his wife. Had he been living, this would not have been necessary. A VA tombstone was received based on Hansford’s military service and was placed in his memory at Swift Creek Cemetery (Mt. Zion) in Union County, Florida by John & Kathy Burnett and their children, John Edward Burnett and Amy Katherine Burnett.
Hansford Alford was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2003
Council B. ALLEN
Submitted by Descendants: Arthur Wesley, Bennie James, Charles Kendrick, Creech Kindrick, Jack Eugene, Jack Eugene, Jr., and Roselle Grantham ALLEN
Council B. Allen and his wife, Susan Elizabeth Creech, migrated to West Florida from the Barnwell, S. C. area in the late 1820’s. Council’s brother Silas Decatur Allen came also.
Council and Susan’s first child, William Henry Allen, was born 06 June 1825 in Barnwell, S. C. Their second child, Joseph, was born 03 December 1828 in Florida according to the 1850 census.
Council and Silas Allen settled in the area of the Ochlocknee River with their families.
Council and Silas Allen were instrumental in forming the Bethel Church about 1834. Church records dated 17 March 1847 have Council Allen and Silas Allen listed as trustees on two acres of land deeded to build a meeting house.
Council B. Allen is also listed as paying taxes in Leon County in 1845 in the Florida State Archives records. He is listed as a voter in the book ‘Florida Voters in Their First Statewide Election’ by Brian E. Michaels, dated May 26, 1845.
Council B. Allen was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
Eliza ALLEN
Submitted by Descendants: Thomas Edward BRONSON
Eliza Allen was born about 22 November 1811 in North Carolina. She married David Gornto in Irwin County, Georgia, about 20 November 1827.
It is unknown exactly when she and David moved to Florida, sometime after 1841 – the birth of a son, Thomas J. Gornto, but before 23 May 1843, since David Gornto is found on the Madison County Voters in the First Florida Election of 1845.
David and Eliza Gornto lived on a farm all of their lives. They had plenty of help because by the time the 1860 census was taken they were living on a Lafayette County, Florida farm with nine of their eleven children. They live in a portion of Lafayette County, Florida that eventually was made into Dixie County, Florida.
She died about 1 December 1871 and is buried in the Fayetteville Cemetery, Old Town, Dixie County, Florida.
Eliza Allen was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1989
Tomas Sebastian ANDREU
Submitted by Descendants: Michelle Marie CAMPOS; Christopher Allan, Mabelle, and Teresa D. SARDINAS
Tomas Sebastian Andreu was born the 22 of December in 1757 in Mercadal, Monorca, Balearic Islands, a British Colony at the time. He was the youngest son of Juan Andreu and Maria Angela Caules and was eleven years old in 1768 when he arrived in Florida with his mother and some of his siblings as part of the Turnbull colonists, during the Florida British Period. He married (1) Francisca Alberti in 1780, in St. Augustine, British Florida; their marriage did not last long since she died in 1781. Tomas Sebastian Andreu married (2) Margarita Preto on the 15 of September 1782 in the Minorcan Catholic Church as it was called, on St. George Street, St. Augustine, Florida, which was located on a property that previously belonged to the Avero Family, who had fled to Cuba at the end of the First Spanish Period in 1763. The building has been preserved, and presently houses the St. Photios Greek Orthodox Shrine.
Tomas Sebastian Andreu originally lived with his first wife, Francisca Alberti and one son, about eight miles out of the town of St. Augustine, on a four acre tract of land, which he owned and farmed. The farm was part of the Governor’s Grant. Later he moved to St. Augustine where he lived with his second wife, Margarita Preto, on historic St. George Street. A 1786 Spanish census indicated that he now owned seven acres of land. In 1793 he still lived in St. Augustine on the SW corner of Cuna Street and Bay Street, presently named Avenida Menedez, near where the Monterrey Courtyard Motel is located today.
Tomas Sebastian Andreu died in 1838 and in his Will he left his house to his wife Margarita Preto, who owned it until August 1846, when she deeded it to two of her children.
Tomas Sebastian Andreu and Margarita Preto had ten known children, one of them was Tomas Sebastian Andreu, born on the 6th of February 1792, and baptized on the 12th of February, in the same year, in the Cathedral of St. Augustine, by Father Miguel O’Reilly, during the Second Spanish Period in Florida.
Tomas Sebastian Andreu was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
Venancia ANDREU
Submitted by Descendant: Jeannette Marie SAY
1 April 1828 is the day that marked the birth of Venancia Andreu in St. Augustine, Florida to Josef Juan Andreu and his wife Maris Dolores Masters. Venancia was part of the second generation Andreu’s born following the establishment of the New Smyrna colony by Dr. Andrew Turnbull. She was of Minorcan descent.
Very little has been written or is known about Venancia. According to her descendant, Nancy Whittle, Venancia learned to make hats from palmetto buds when she was just a child. She passed on this art to her daughter, Evalena Leonardi Strauss, who carried on the art up and until her death.
Venancia married Vicente Leonardy, of Minorcan and Italian descent, on 12 April 1847. Soon after their marriage the young couple moved to the west coast of Florida. The 1850 census documents the couple living with his brother Bartolome at Fort Brooke, Tampa. In 1868, Vicente moved his growing family across Tampa Bay to Point Pinellas. Venancia gave birth to and raised eight children. William (Bill) Neeld taught her children in the evening in their home on Lakeview Avenue. Following her husband’s death near the end of 1890, she lived with her daughter, Evelena, in Lealman, Florida.
On March 1902, at the age of 87 Venancia’s life came to a close. She was laid to rest beside her husband of 43 years in Glen Oak Cemetery, St Petersburg, Florida. Records indicate that she never lived outside of the state of Florida.
Venancia Andreu was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2003
Clara ARNAU
Submitted by Descendants: The LUJAN / PAPY / TOPPINO Families
Clara Arnau (aka Arnow) was born 5 March 1804 in St Augustine, East Florida, purportedly into a family originally from Minorca. At some point Clara became a ward of her brother Stephen who when Clara was 20, in 1824, bonded her into a marriage with Theodore Clinquebies, a wealthy merchant who was 30 years her senior. Theodore took Clara to Key West, where he died around1828, leaving Clara as the head of a large household according to the 1830 Census. Records show that in Clara’s household she was supporting five of her brothers and sisters who had come from St Augustine to live with her and her small son. Fortunately Clara had inherited considerable property from Theodore based on property records from Monroe County.
In 1832, Clara married a second time, though now she was able to marry out of love rather than duty. Her marriage to Peter Gandolfo, according to The Gazette newspaper took place on Saturday, 14 January 1832 in Key West. Peter Gandolfo, an Italian gentleman, had arrived in Key West from the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1829. Clara and Peter remained married until his death in 1865 and during their time together they had numerous children of which 7 survived to adulthood, Clara already had on son when they married. This son, William Pinkney, was adopted by Peter and raised as his own.
Clara lived for 10 years after Peter’s death, and during that time she lived a devout Catholic life, true to her deceased second husband. In the 1870 Census, Clara’s personal wealth was reported at $2,000, and her real estate valued at $10,000. She tended to the family businesses and was an astute business woman who managed both her own wealth, inherited through her first marriage, and her second husband Peter’s estate, so that when she died in 1875 the Gandolfo children and grandchildren inherited substantial property in Key West.
Clara Arnau was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2011
Edward ASHTON and Judith Maria ASHTON
Jose/Joseph FONTANET/FONTANE
Submitted by Descendants: Laura Lee BERENSON, Johanna Schuster JONES; Emily Johanna PERKINS and Mary Pauline SCHUSTER
Edward Ashton was born between 1746 and 1748 in Ireland to Samuel and Margaret O’Dair Ashton. After immigrating to the colonies he settled in Georgia. As Loyalists and upon the evacuation of Georgia by the British, his family took refuge in the Province of East Florida where they appear on a list of refugees dated July of 1783. Edward was a widower with four children by his deceased wife Dorothy Higginbotham and also had a stepson. Settling in St. Augustine, he practiced the trade of tailor and remained there after Florida was returned to Spain. As required, Edward converted to Catholicism and was baptized as an adult on 1 February 1786, the same year he remarried and took Maria Ana Hinsman Mott as his wife. In addition to his work as a tailor, Edward farmed 100 acres outside of the city with his stepson John Parrish. On 18 January 1816 Edward received a grant of 245 acres at the head of Turnbull Creek from Governor Coppinger. Edward died prior to 1828.
Judith Maria Ashton was born about 1775 and came to Florida with her father Edward. Documents show Augusta, Georgia, and Abbeville, South Carolina, as possible birth places for Judith. At the age of 13, she was baptized on 23 September 1788 and at the age of 15 Judith married 35 year old Spaniard, Jose/Joseph Fontanet/Fontane. Jose, son of Jose and Antonia Lago Fontanet was born in 1755 in Cartagena, Murcia, Spain. He first appeared in the St. Augustine records on 28 May 1785 when he was sentenced to two years public work in the hospital there. Circumstances of the sentence are unclear but he served his time as a cook. In 1793 Jose requested a license to open a store, then in 1796 applied for a license to open a billiards table in the store, followed by permission to operate a lottery game and to quarry stone to build a house in 1797. In 1808 Jose opened an inn. Judith and Jose had eleven children together. Jose died on 31 March 1817 with substantial holdings and Judith Marie, often referred to as Mary J., served as the administrator of her husband’s estate. She died on 14 August 1843 in St. Augustine, her obituary stating she was “a fond parent, devoted friend and zealous Christian”.
Edward Ashton, Judith Maria Ashton, Jose/Joseph Fontanet/Fontane were first established as Florida Pioneers in 2010
Thaddeus Lafayette BAKER
Submitted by Descendant: Sandra Caillouet BOYES
Thaddeus was born in North Carolina in 1826. He seems to be associated with James and George Baker who came to Florida from North Carolina in the 1830’s to settle first in Jefferson then Madison and finally in Benton/Hernando Counties.
In Benton County on 1 December 1842, Thaddeus signed the petition for protection and subsistence, but is not listed as a Florida voter in 1845 vote for statehood, perhaps because he had not yet reached his 21st birthday. By 1855 he had moved to Georgia and married Olive Spence. According to the 1860 census, Thaddeus and Olive were living in Thomasville with their two young sons; however, by early 1863 the family had moved to Hernando County, perhaps for safety or family support or both during the War Between the States.
On 25 February 1863, Thaddeus and perhaps a cousin John Franklin Baker enlisted to fight for the Confederacy for “three years or the war”. By early 1864 Thaddeus had been hospitalized in Lake City, Florida. Military records state that he was buried in Columbia County on 3 May 1864, but family history is adamant that Thaddeus died seven miles from home and is buried at Baker Hill Cemetery east of Brooksville. Interestingly, it has been verified that John Franklin Baker is in fact buried at Baker Hill.
Thaddeus Lafayette Baker was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2000
William W. BARBER
Submitted by Descendants: The SUTTON, LEITNER, & McINTOSH Families
William Barber was born in 1805 in southeast Georgia. He was a Private in the First Regiment, also known as Warren’s Regiment, in the Florida Militia starting on 13 June 1837. He served as a volunteer soldier from the State of Florida during the Florida Indian War during this time.
On a petition submitted to the United States Congress in April 1840, Mr. William Barber is listed as a petitioner – as a resident of St. Augustine, Florida – requesting East Florida to be a distinct and separate Territory.
One can locate Mr. William Barber listed on the 1840 census records of Nassau County, Florida. And, sadly, Mr. Barber’s death is reported in Southern Recorder - a newspaper from Milledgeville, Georgia. The newspaper article describes a bloody scene. Mr. Barber was shot twice, stabbed multiple times, scalped, and stripped of his clothes by Indians. Barber’s wife, Susan, heard rifle sounds and ran towards her husband. He knew she was in danger as well, and said to her, “I am done, save yourself and your children”. She and the children fled the farm. At this time, the Indians were, “in the house and plundering it of whatever they could carry off”. It appears that a young daughter ran inside the house during this time to get the infant boy. The paper stated that at first the Indians were too busy to notice her, but then yelled at her. Her bravery continued and she and the baby fled to safety to her mother and the rest of the children. This daughter is reported in family history as Rhoda Barber – my great-great-grandmother.
Susan Barber and her children lived near William’s brother, Moses Barber in Columbia County, Florida. Susan and her children are listed in the census records of 1850 living next door to Moses. The family eventually settled in Orange County, Florida in 1855.
William W. Barber was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2011
Quinn “Time” BASS
Submitted by Descendants: Garrett Armstrong, Heath William, Stuart Armstrong, and Whitney Susan BAILEY
Time was born in 1871, he was a second generation Floridian.
His family was in the cattle business. He became a stock trader and had moved to Ponta Gorda in the late 1800’s. He came back to the Kissimmee area in the early 1900’s and passed away at a young age in his middle 30’s.
Quinn “Time” Bass was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
Rosa Myra Monteil BASS
Submitted by Descendants: Anna Rae, Mary Hannah Miller, and Emma Jean Woodall RIGSBY
Rosa Myra Monteil Bass was born in Americus, Sumter County, Georgia on November 30, 1881 to parents Needham Franklin Bass and Emma Ada Tatum. When Rosa was about 13 months old her family moved to the area now known as Osceola County, Florida.
As a young woman, Rosa married John Jefferson Woodall in 1898. The couple had eight Children beginning with their oldest son, Harold Cecil Woodall, who was born in 1900. For many years Rosa was busy rearing her children. She was, also, and active member of the Methodist Church in Kissimmee.
Later Rosa, an avid reader, was appointed librarian for the Hart Memorial Library in Kissimmee. The library was the cultural center for many community events. Mrs. Rosa graciously served as librarian for many years.
Mrs. Rosa died June 16, 1964 at age 82. She was buried next to her husband and parents in Rose Hill Cemetery in Kissimmee, Florida.
Rosa Myra Monteil Bass was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
John Warren BECKTON
Submitted by Descendants: Jeannette Louise Saunders FLYNN; George Frederick Jr., Louise Beckton, Rebecca Brown, and Robert Franklin SAUNDERS
John Warren Beckton was born 2 January 1841 in Madison County, Florida, the son of Joseph Beckton and Jane English who were both from Georgia.
John Warren Beckton married Martha Rodgers, who was born on 11 November 1872 in Hillsborough County, Florida. John Warren Beckton and Martha Rodgers had seven children, who were all born in Hillsborough County, Florida.
John Warren Beckton died 20 September 1916 in Hillsborough County, Florida and is buried in Dover Cemetery.
John Warren Beckton was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2001
William BELLAMY
Submitted by Descendant: Harriet Holmes RAFFO
William Bellamy was born in South Carolina in 1802 and settled in the Jacksonville (Cowford)-St. Augustine area with his parents. After a couple of years his father and mother along with the children moved to Leon County and then to Jefferson County. The land and traditions of middle Florida resembled the familiar lands of South Carolina and Virginia. He married Emmala (Emily) Simkins of Edgefield, S. C. in 1835 and they had four daughters: Elizabeth, Margaret, Emmala, and William.
In 1845, William Bellamy was listed as a registered voter of Florida in Jefferson County. William Bellamy was a planter and inherited his father’s wealth. The Bellamy family contracted to build the first road between St. Augustine and Tallahassee. In William Bellamy’s obituary it states:
“In the death of Mr. Bellamy, not only his wife and family, but the whole community has sustained an irreparable loss. In all the relations of life, he was able, distinguished for his goodness at heart and propriety of conduct. As a husband he was tender and affectionate, as a father, fond and devoted, as a man and citizen, he was honest, upright, useful, and attentive to business. And being a man of few words and retiring in his manner, it was in the walks of private life that his virtues excelled. His means ample, his hand and purse were always extended and open to a friend in need and adversity.”
William Bellamy was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2001
James A. BLANTON
Submitted by Descendant: Lynda Blanton WILSON
James A. Blanton was probably born in Sampson County, North Carolina on 07 August 1813. He died 12 September 1894 in Taylor County, Florida. On 09 December 1835 he married Catharine McDonald.
He was a member of Bethany and Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Churches in then Lowndes County, now Brooks County, Georgia. After moving to Florida, he transferred his membership to Fellowship Primitive Baptist Church in present day Shady Grove, Taylor County, Florida. He was pastor of Fellowship Primitive Baptist Church at the Time of his death. He and his wife, Catharine are buried in the cemeteries at Fellowship.
It has been said that James and Catherine moved to Madison County in 1842 but he is first found on the 1850 Madison County, Florida census. He owned several small to medium parcels of land in Taylor County; the first is recorded as September of 1852. At the time of this purchase it was that part of Madison County that Taylor would later be formed from.
On the 1850 Madison County Census Agricultural Schedule he is shown owning forty acres, livestock and several crops. He was a farmer, working the land to support his family and a Minister of the Gospel in the Primitive Baptist Church.
He and wife Catharine were the parents of five sons and three daughters. All five of their sons served the Confederate States of America during the War Between the States and all five returned home at the end of the War.
James A. provided his children with an early education. The children would live in town during the week in order to attend school and return home on the weekends.
He was known by many in the community as “Old Uncle Jimmie”.
James A. Blanton was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
James Ellis BLANTON
Submitted by Descendant: Lynda Blanton WILSON
James Ellis Blanton was born on 09 October 1844. He died 28 September 1917 in Lee, Madison County, Florida. On 01 February 1866 he married Sarah Delilah Morgan. She was born on 02 February 1846 in Brooks County, Georgia. Sarah died in Lee, Madison County, Florida on 31 August 1936. Ellis and Sarah were the parents of thirteen children, four of whom died in infancy.
He enlisted at Camp Leon on 27 February 1863 at age 18. He served the Confederate States of America with the Florida Light Artillery and later served with the Kilcrease Light Artillery.
J. Ellis received a limited education but was an ardent reader. He studied law and was admitted to the Florida Bar to practice law in 1873. He served on the Board of County Commissioners for Madison County for several years. He also served five terms as a member of the House of Representatives for Madison County.
He later gave up his practice of law and was ordained a Minister of the Gospel in the Primitive Baptist Church. He served as Pastor of Corinth Primitive Baptist Church in Lee, Florida for twenty five years. He and wife Sarah, and several of their children and grandchildren, are buried at Corinth.
James Ellis Blanton was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2003
William Lee BLANTON Sr.
Submitted by Descendant: Marabeth BLANTON
William Lee Blanton Sr. was born 1 May 1892 in Clearwater, Pinellas County, Florida where he lived with his mother and sisters and brother. His father, Luther Lloyd Blanton, died just a few weeks before his birth. It is a family story that William dropped out of school in his 8th grade though it is not sure whether this was because he did not like school or needed to work to help support his mother and sisters. After a year of working, he decided he did not need an education. He went back to high school and graduated in three years instead of the usual four. In 1913, he applied to Alabama Polytechnic Institute (API), now Auburn University. He was not accepted because he did not have Latin. So, he went back to his high school teacher who gave him books to read and told him if he could pass the test she gave her students, she would give him credit for Latin. He studied, passed, borrowed $20 and headed off to school at Alabama Polytechnic Institute. Years later in the 1950’s near Clearwater, FL., returning home from the beach with his son, McAllister Blanton and daughter-in-law, Margaret Elizabeth Gerhardt, stopped for lunch and he saw the man who gave him the $20. He tried to repay him but the man would not accept.
In April 1917, with World War I starting, the seniors at API were immediately released to enter strategic industry and office training camp. William returned to school to receive his diploma in Jun 1917 with highest honors and joined the United States Army as 2nd Lieutenant. William served his country well, being stationed all over the US and serving overseas in both World Wars.
William married Mary Mitchell McAllister, daughter of Rev. James Dawson and Buena Moore McAllister on 2 March 1922. William and Mary had three boys all born in different places due to their travels with the US Army. When William retired 31 May 1952 at the rank of Colonel, they moved to Tampa, Florida to be near their second son and daughter-in-law, McAllister Blanton and Margaret Elizabeth Gerhardt and their first child with three more to come.
William died 21 November 1984 in Tampa, Florida and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery along with his wife and oldest son, William Lee Blanton, Jr.
William Lee Blanton Sr. was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
Antonia Paula de la Resureccion BONELLI
Submitted by Descendant: Jeannette Marie SAY
Antonia, born 16 April 1786 in St Augustine, Florida, was the first generation of Bonelli’s born in Florida. She was the fifth child and second daughter born to Joseph Giuseppi Bonelli and Maria Moll. Her heritage was Italian and Minorcan.
She was a child during a time of great unrest between the Indians and white settlers. In 1835 Antonia gave a deposition during which she related the story of being taken prisoner in 1802 and held captive by a band of nine Miccosukee Indians. During the raid, her home was plundered and multiple members of her family were taken captive, and her brother was killed. They were forced to march 24 days to reach the town of Mickasuky. After seven month of hardships and cruelties, several members of her family were ransomed for $300, but the ransom was not enough to free Antonia and her brother. It was another 15 months before an additional $200 ransom was paid for her release. In 1803, at age 16, during her time in captivity, she bore a daughter to a Miccosukee Medicine Man.
In 1808, Antonia married Bartolome Josef Leonardy. This couple was blessed with 11 children. Little else is known about Antonia’s life. Life slipped quietly from her on 5 April 1870 while she was sitting in her favorite rocking chair at “The Coquina House”. She is reportedly buried with her husband in the San Lorenzo Cemetery, St Augustine, Florida.
Antonia Paula de la Resureccion Bonelli was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1986
Antonia Paula BONELLI
Submitted by Descendant: Nancy Evelyn Strauss WHITTLE
Antonia Paula Bonelli was born 6 April 1786 in St. Augustine, Florida. She is the daughter of Josef Bonnelli and his wife Maria Moll. Her father was born in Livorno, Italy; her mother in Minorca. Both arrived with the Turnbull Colony in 1768 and were married in New Smyrna in 1775c. Between 1776 and 1792, they became the parents of nine children, all born in St. Augustine.
Antonia grew up in St. Augustine where on 26 July 1808; she married Bartolome Josef Leonardi, son of Don Roque Leonardi and Agueda Coll. By 1830 they had nine children; all born in St. Augustine.
When Antonia was about 13 or 14, she, along with her mother and four other children, was captured by a tribe of Mickasuky Indians. They travelled 24 days from Matanzas Inlet to the town of Mickasuky, which was about a day’s journey from St. Mark’s on the Gulf of Mexico, within the Spanish boundary of East and West Florida. While living with the Indians, she experienced many hardships and cruelties and was forced to watch the tribe dance over the scalp of her brother. Antonia’s mother and three of the children were detained 7 months before being released to her father for a sum of $300. The Indians considered $300 insufficient and detained Antonia and her brother Joseph fifteen months longer. Her brother escaped and finally reached St. Augustine via way of St. Mark’s, Pensacola, Mobile, New Orleans, and Cuba in a vessel commanded by Captain Stephen Benet. Twenty-two months after Antonia’s captivity, her father sent $200, an additional sum demanded by the Indians, and she was released and returned to St. Augustine. (American State Papers; Class V Military Affairs, Vol VI, p. 500)
Antonia died 5 April 1870 in St. Augustine, following the death of Bartolome 23 July 1844. Both are buried in the Old Catholic Cemetery in St. Augustine.
Antonia Paula Bonelli was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1986
Joseph BONELLY
Submitted by Descendants: Marguerite Jule Pacetty BROWN; Frances Mordina Brown EVANS; David William, Marguerite Marree Evans, and Robert Thomas MATHEWS
Joseph Bonelly, son of Tomas Bonelly & Maria Mariano, was born about 1757 in Livorno, a port city on the western coast of Italy. He was one of those 110 Italians, husbandmen, recruited by the Scots physician-land developer, Andrew Turnbull, to work on an indigo plantation project at New Smyrna, Florida. In the spring of 1768, the indentured Minorcans, Italians, and Greeks sailed in eight caravels from Mahon, Minorca to New Smyrna, Florida. After arriving at Mosquito Inlet, first priority wa to clear the landscape of pines, cabbage palm, palmetto scrub and drain the swampy marsh. Conditions were wretched and never improved: unbearable heat and humidity, scant time to gather food, inadequate clothing, palm-thatched huts for living quarters, disgusting stench of indigo culture, unending tending crops for export, miserable sanitation, hunger, disease, cruel treatment by overseers. Amid oppression and suffering, life goes on and in 1776 in New Smyrna. Joseph Bonelly married Maria Moll, a girl from Ciudadela, Minorca. Their first child, a son, was born in New Smyrna that same year. After nine years of broken promises and exploitation the New Smyrna colony failed. They appealed to the English governor for help. The entire group, dubbed The Minorcans, walked the King’s Highway to freedom in St. Augustine.
In 1784, Joseph Bonelly, his wife and his family, lived in St. Augustine proper but he cultivated plots outside the city limits. It was in 1784 in St. Augustine that their daughter, Maria Catalina Antonia Bonelly was born. (Joseph Bonelly & Maria Moll had ten documented children!) In 1787, he and his family lived near the St. Johns River. He received two 600 acre land grants and one for ten acres: in 1796 for 600 acres at Turnbull Bay and for ten acres at North Wharf; and in 1799 for 699 acres at Matanzas Bar. In January 1802, while Joseph Bonelly was away on business, the Bonelly plantation at Matanzas was raided, pillaged and burned by Miccosukee Indians. His eldest son, Thomas, was scalped on the spot – later the Indians danced over his scalp. His wife, Maria, and the five younger Bonelly children were captured and taken to the Indian Village in West Florida, where they were held for ransom. Joseph Bonelly was forced to sell his Matanzas grant in order to generate the amount of money demanded by the Miccosukee Indians to release his family. The Indians deemed the sum insufficient; after seven months they released only Mrs. Maria Bonelly and the three younger Bonelly children: Theresa Mary, Catherine, and John. The Indians detained his son, young Joseph Bonelly, and his daughter, Antonia Paula Bonelly. Meantime, young Joseph escaped. Antonia Paula became a ward of the Miccosukee Indian Medicine Doctor and was kept another fifteen months, until in November 1803, Joseph Bonelly mustered additional money and negotiated her release.
Joseph Bonelly owned property in St Augustine – a wooden house in Block No. 3, Lot No. 2, located north and south between Hypolita Street and Baya Lane and east and west between the Bay (Avenida Menedez along the bay) and Charlotte Street.
Joseph Bonelly died at age fifty-four in 1811 in St. Augustine and was buried in the Catholic Parish Church Cemetery.
Joseph Bonelly was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2005
Maria Catalina “Mary” BONELLY
Submitted by Descendants: Marguerite Jule Pacetty BROWN; Frances Mordina Brown EVANS; David William, Marguerite Marree Evans, and Robert Thomas MATHEWS
Maria Catalina Antonia “Mary” Bonelly was born 20 February 1784 in St. Augustine, Florida, daughter of Joseph Bonelly of Livorno, Italy & Maria Moll, of Ciudadela, Minorca. Maria Catalina Bonelly, as listed on her marriage document, married first to Tomas (Thomas) Paxeti on 16 November 1801 in St. Augustine. Thomas Paxeti was born 10 February 1776 in New Smyrna, Florida, son of Andres Paxeti, of Trapani, Sicily, Italy & Getrudis Pons of Mahon, Minorca. Mary and Thomas Paxeti (Pacetti/Pacetty) were living in St. Augustine when in January 1802 the Joseph Bonelly plantation at Matanzas was pillaged and burned by the Miccosukee Indians. The Indians scalped Mary’s eldest brother, Thomas Bonelly, and they captured her mother and her five younger siblings. Her father, Joseph Bonelly, sold his Matanzas land grant in order to generate ransom money demanded by the Indians for the release of his captured family. They released all but young Joseph Bonelly, who later escaped, and Antonia Paula Bonelly, who were detained another fifteen months by the Indians. Joseph Bonelly finally secured the additional money, and in November 1803, the Indians delivered Antonia Paula Bonelly to her brother-in-law, Thomas Pacetty, who brought her back to St. Augustine.
Mary and Thomas Paxeti had five sons: Andrew Pacetty born 1802, Joseph Pacetty born 1804, Thomas Pacetty born 1806, Dennis Pacetty born 1808 – all born in St. Augustine, St. Johns County, Florida (all four births are documented in the Cathedral Parish Records). Their fifth son, John Pacetty, was born about 1811 in St. Mary’s Camden County, Georgia (his age and place of birth are documented by Camden County, Georgia census schedules and by his death record).
Mary and her husband, Thomas, lived in St. Augustine, Florida from the time they were married in 1801 until or through the year 1811. Sometime between 1811 and 1820, Mary, and perhaps Thomas, moved up to St. Marys, Camden County, Georgia. There is no definitive death date or death place for Thomas Paxeti. According to the “Journal of Archibald Clark, Camden County 1822-1840” (housed in the Bryan-Lang Historical Library, Woodbine, Georgia), Thomas Paxeti was a seafaring man. On the 1820 Camden County, Georgia Census for the City of St. Marys, Mary Persity [sic] was listed as head of household with five males in her household whose ages correspond to those of her five sons.
Mary Pacetty designated “The widow Pacetti” among the Arnow notes (housed in the Bryan-Lang Historical Library, Woodbine, Georgia) married second to Joseph S. Arnow (Jose Sebastian Montiano Arnau born 24 March 1798 in St. Augustine). They had two sons: Columbus I. Arnow born 1823 in St. Marys, and, George Joseph Arnow born 1825 in St. Marys. Joseph S. Arnow was a tailor in St. Marys where he earned a good living. His shop was on River Street within fifty feet of the St. Marys River. In 1834, he purchased a large lot in Block 26 in St. Marys and built a substantial two-story house. The house, at 206 Ready Street, is now on the St. Marys Historic Register.
Mary (Maria Catalina Antonia) Bonelly Pacetty Arnow died after 1 October 1835 in St Marys, Camden County, Georgia. She was known throughout her life as simply: Mary Pacetty.
Maria Catalina “Mary” Bonelly was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2005
Tristram BOSTICK, Jr.
Submitted by Descendants: Barnelia Woodward KRANZ, Charlotte Woodward STRUTH, Laura Woodward WADDELL, and Mary Elizabeth Bostick WOODWARD
Tristram Bostick, Jr. was born in Darlington District, S.C. He was the eldest son of Tristram and Nancy Thomas Bostick. He married Ann R. Long in 1825 in Marion District. S.C.
Tristram Jr. and Ann had three children while still in South Carolina. Their names were William Lewis, James Thomas, and Sara R. Their fourth child, Tristram III was born in Gadsden County, Florida after the death of his father in 1836.
At the time of his death, his wife, Ann R. Bostick was appointed his Estate Administrix and an inventory of his estate was appraised and itemized. His total worth was recorded as $2,923.48. This figure included two slaves, Mathew & Kate, horses, oxen, cattle, hogs, furniture and tools and notes owed.
Tristram Bostick, Jr. was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2002
Edwin Thomas BOWMAN
Submitted by Descendant: Virginia Caroline Bowman LAND
Edwin Thomas Bowman was born 17 September, 1857 in Schuylkill Haven, PA. When he was 21 he left his Pennsylvania relatives and moved to Florida, settled in Hernando County, at Fairmount. There he built a wood-shingle roofed log cabin and planted an orange grove. He was granted a homestead, in 1885, by the United States, about 160 acres of land. Citrus County and Pasco County were formed when Hernando County divided, 2 June 1887.
On 20 October, 1888, Edwin Thomas Bowman married Jane Lide Rumph from Carlowville, Alabama, in the Mannfield courthouse. Then it was the county seat before it was moved to Inverness, but no longer exists. The couple had three sons and one daughter. The same year Edwin was elected the first mayor of Crystal River, Florida, his wife Jane died, 19 November 1903, leaving four school-aged children. On 23 August 1905 Edwin was remarried to Anna Virginia Martz (2nd wife) in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
Edwin Thomas Bowman enjoyed a long career in county and local affairs, serving three terms as mayor of Crystal River, Florida. Judge Bowman, a title he was given while serving as Justice of the Peace, has lived on to the present time. He died at age 89 having lived a long full life of 68 years in the area. He showed the strength and leadership of a real pioneer.
Edwin Thomas Bowman was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2001
John James BRONSON
Submitted by Descendant: Anisca “Nickey” Bronson NEEL
John James Bronson was born 3 February 1852 In Osceola County, the son of James Robert Bronson and first wife Sarah Yates. He married Eliza Lanier on 24 December 1874 in Orange, now Osceola County. Their children were William Isaac “Ike”, Edward Richard, John, James Robert, and Emma.
John James died young at the age of 30 on 22 June 1882, the result of a Mustang mare, which was perhaps spooked by a rabbit, reared up and hoofed him in the back. He died shortly thereafter. A son, James Robert Bronson was born two months after his death.
John James Bronson was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2002
Mary S. BRONSON
Submitted by Descendant: Anisca “Nickey” Bronson NEEL
Mary was born 11 March 1848 in Hamilton County, Florida, the daughter of James Robert Bronson and first wife Sarah Yates. The family was listed in the 1850 Columbia County census.
Mary married William Henry Yates circa 1867. He was the son of pioneers James Yates, Jr. and Mary Polly Lamb and grandson of pioneers James Yates, Sr. and Agnes Rowland. William Henry Yates and Mary S. Bronson had eleven children, all born at Shingle Creek, Osceola County, Florida. They were: James Radford, John Leonard “Jack”, Edward D. Mary Margaret, Vina Vianner “Viney”, William Robert, Rebecca “Becky”, General Floyd, John Quincy Adam, Henry William, and Sallie Lizziebeth Yates.
Mary died 3 June 1922 and is buried at Shingle Creek Cemetery, Kissimmee, Florida.
Mary S. Bronson was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2002
Thomas Jefferson BRONSON
Submitted by Descendant: Thomas Edward BRONSON
Thomas Jefferson “Jeff” Bronson was the youngest child of William Jasper Bronson and Easter Lucinda Waters Bronson. He was born abt. March 18, 1895 in Alachua Co., FL at this home near Trenton and Cherry Sink. Currently this area is in Gilchrist Co., FL. He married Edna Clayton Howell on April 24, 1930 in Bronson, Levy Co., FL. As a young man he was inducted into the U. S. Army in Levy Co., FL on July 24, 1918 and was honorably discharged on February 15, 1919 on demobilization.
Jeff and Edna were the parents of two children, Thomas “Tommy” Edward Bronson and Patricia Gail Bronson. They eventually settled in the Gainesville area where they raised their two children. Jeff Bronson was a fireman with the Gainesville Fire Department until he took a position with the U.S. Postal Service in Gainesville. He remained with the postal service for over 20 years until his retirement. Jeff died at Shands Hospital in Gainesville on September 20, 1966, after a brief illness. He is buried alongside his wife at the Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery, also known as the Meadows East Cemetery, in Gainesville.
Thomas Jefferson Bronson was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2006
William Isaac “Ike” BRONSON
Submitted by Descendant: Anisca “Nickey” Bronson NEEL
“Ike”, also known as “Handlebar Ike” due to his mustache, was born 16 January 1876 in Osceola County. He was the son of John James Bronson and Eliza Lanier, maternal grandson of pioneers John Lanier and Margaret Hogan and paternal grandson of James Robert Bronson and his first wife Sarah Yates.
“Ike” married Sarah C. Sullivan on 24 December 1900 in Osceola County. Sarah was the daughter of James Mitchell Sullivan and Elizabeth Padgett. “Ike” and Sarah’s children were Henry Grady, Columbus Dewey, Nathan Edward “Buddy”, Temperance Emma “Tempie”, Amos and Myrtle Lee Bronson.
“Ike” was a farmer and fruit rower and spent his entire life in Osceola County. In 1907 he was appointed Inspector of Marks and Brands in District 2 for Osceola County. “Ike” died 7 March 1951 and is buried at Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Kissimmee, Florida.
William Isaac “Ike” Bronson was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2002
William Jasper BRONSON
Submitted by Descendant: Thomas Edward BRONSON
William Jasper Bronson was born abt. 4 July 1854 in Alachua County, Florida. He married Easter Lucinda Waters on 7 February 1878 In Bronson, Levy County, Florida. William Jasper was a farmer all of his life. He appears on the Alachua County, Florida Tax Roll for 1894, 1895, and 1896. His original homestead certificate was recorded in Alachua County, Florida; however, this was in a section of the county that would later be carved into Gilchrist County, Florida. It is interesting to note that on the 1870 Lafayette County, Florida census Jasper, age 15, was enumerated [dwelling #45 and family #47] alongside his bride to be, Easter Lucinda Waters, age 13, who was enumerated with her family [dwelling #45 and family #45] – obviously they were childhood sweethearts.
Together he and Easter had six children. They were married for more than 55 years. Easter died on 4 June 1933 and William Jasper perhaps died from a broken heart only about four months later on 4 June 1933 in Bronson, Levy County, Florida. He is buried alongside Easter in the Arrendondo Cemetery, also known as the Kanapaha Cemetery, Alachua County, Florida.
William Jasper Bronson was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2006
Sidney Ann BROWNLOW
Submitted by Descendants: Jeannette Louise Saunders FLYNN; George, Sr., George Frederick, Jr., Rebecca Brown, and Robert Franklin SAUNDERS
Sidney Ann Brownlow was born September 1846 in Florida to Joseph Brownlow, from North Carolina, and Frances Margaret Whitehurst from Florida. We find from census records and homestead papers that Sidney Ann Brownlow was married in 1867 to William Saunders, who was born in Florida.
Sidney Ann Brownlow and William Saunders had established a homestead in Hillsborough County before March 1877 and were still living in the area that became Pinellas County 23 May 1911. Sidney Ann Brownlow and William Saunders had seven children, who were all born in Florida.
Sidney Ann Brownlow died 14 October 1918 In Dunedin, Pinellas County, Florida.
Sidney Ann Brownlow was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2001
Kirsten Marie BRUN
Submitted by Descendant: Jo Anne ARNETT
Kirsten Marie Brun was born in Fredericia, Denmark, left family and friends to marry Valdemar Gram 02/15/1899. Their first daughter, Bertha (Birta) Christine, was born 11/16/1899, and second daughter Anne Margaret, was born 10/30/1903.
Kirsten was an excellent cook and seamstress who was rarely seen without busy hands. She typically visited and crocheted with a crochet hook and string in her lap. Her table cloths and bedspreads are family heirlooms.
Kirsten formed a small Danish club and was known for her aebliskever and fruit soups. The coffee pot was always on. She raised chickens, had a small garden, and walked with a crutch during the last part of her life. She ran the boarding house in Moore Haven before she and Valdemar operated the Hyde Park Hotel in Tampa. She returned to Moore Haven after his death, to live in the family home with Bertha, who never married. By this time the downstairs had been converted into two apartments and, later, into a home for their daughter Anne Gram and Jimmy Couse, with their three children. Every afternoon Kirsten and her daughters took a break for coffee, a treat, and conversation.
Kirsten died of pneumonia in the Clewiston hospital following a brief illness.
Kirsten Marie Brun was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2003
Felicia BUCHANI
Submitted by Descendants: John WHALTON
Felicia Buchani was born 20 January 1794in St Augustine, East Florida. Her ancestors were among the first settlers of New Smyrna having arrived from Minorca in the late 1760’s. Though we do not know how Felicia met her future husband John Whalton, we do know that it was a marriage of love. They were married in a Catholic ceremony on 8 June 1819 at St Augustine.
When Florida passed from under Spanish rule, Felicia along with her husband and children left St Augustine for the port of Key West where they took up residence in the mid-1820s. We do not know exactly how many children Felicia had by her marriage to John Whalton but we do know that in 1837 she was left a widow when Indians killed Capt. John at Key Largo. Three years after the death of her husband, the 1840 Federal Census reports that Felicia was the head of a household that consisted of 5 males and 3 females less than 20 years of age. We do know that at least four of her children survived to adulthood, married and raised families in Key West.
Felicia never remarried after Capt John’s death. She died in 1885, 48 years after John’s death at the hand of the Indians, remaining true to her life’s love until she succumbed at the age of 91 and finally rejoined him in paradise. Her long life was one of devoutness, kindness, and charity towards others. In Jefferson B. Browne’s book about Key West he wrote that Mrs. Whalton often left her home to nurse the sick during the frequent yellow fever epidemics that plagued the island. There were no nurses in Key West until after the Civil War, and Browne credits Felicia with saving many that were afflicted by the disease.
Felicia Buchani was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2011
Mariah BUFORD
Submitted by Descendants: Carl Edward, James Edward, and Lora L. KRAMER
(This was written by Nancy Tyson Bichard in her original application for Mariah Buford)
Mariah Buford Tison and her husband, John Tison, left Nassau County for Brevard County around 1860. They already had seven children when they started out, but the second son, William Henry, died while they were in Marion County.
The family reached Brevard County around 1862. They settled along a creek near Whittier, which is now known as Kenansville. This creek was named Tyson Creek for Mariah and John. Sometime in 1863 John was conscripted into the Civil War. At that time Mariah was already expecting their last child, Martha Louise, and I am sure she was heartbroken when John had to leave her and all of the children.
John did not return from the Civil War and was never heard from again. One can only imagine how hard it must have been for Mariah to raise all of these children by herself.
Mariah was able to acquire land in her name in Osceola County and it appears from some deeds that she was instrumental in helping several of her children to acquire their land also.
Mariah Buford was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2001
Daniel BURNETT, Jr.
Submitted by Descendants: Thomas Pope BURNETTE, Ansley Elizabeth, David Thomas, Jordan Alana, Melissa Myers Burnette, and Mikayla Myers CORSON
Daniel Burnett, Jr. was born in Georgia, possibly Irwin County, now known as Lowndes County. Deed records in Madison County, Florida indicate that he purchased land there in 1838 from James Goff. He voted in Madison County, along with his father, Daniel Sr., for members to the State Convention and Legislative Council in October 1838. He and his father are also listed in the Madison County voting records for Florida’s First Statewide Election, 26 May 1845.
On 2 November 1840 he married Martha Ann P Sever in Madison County; they had at least eight children together before her death in 1864. He then married Francis T. Gramling, the daughter of the pastor at this church, Shiloh Methodist and fathered several more children. He is said to have been a Charter member of the Cherry Lake Methodist Church. He died in Madison County 3 March 1903 and is buried at Cherry Lake Methodist Cemetery, as are his wives and many of their children and relatives.
Daniel Burnett, Jr. was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2006
Daniel BURNETT, Sr.
Submitted by Descendants: Thomas Pope BURNETTE, Ansley Elizabeth, David Thomas, Jordan Alana, Melissa Myers Burnette, and Mikayla Myers CORSON
It is believed that Daniel Burnett, Sr. was born in Onslow County, North Carolina circa 1771. He received land in Bulloch County, Georgia in 1806. In January of 1816 as a resident of Bulloch County, Georgia he made a deed, along with his wife, Hannah Gornto Burnett and Nathan Gornto to Elijah Taylor of Onslow County, N.C. for 235 acres of land on the Cowhead Creek. Daniel was listed in the 1820 Federal Census of Irwin County, Georgia and in 1837 Daniel Sr. sold land to J.S. Whitfield; the deed states they are both residents of Lowndes County, Georgia.
Daniel voted in Madison County, 8 October 1838 for members to the State convention and the Legislative Council for the 17th Session of 1839. Daniel Sr. also voted in the first statewide election, 26 May 1845, in Madison County. He and his family were early members of the Shiloh Methodist Church that is still active today.
His grave is in the Cherry Lake Methodist Church Cemetery in Madison County, Florida and has two headstones. The older stone states Daniel Burnett, Sr. died 3 August 1846 and a newer stone says only Daniel Burnett 1771 – 1846.
Daniel Burnett, Sr. was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2006
James M. BURNSED
Submitted by Descendants: Alexander P., Lindsay M., and Richard E. BURNSED
James M. Burnsed was born 16 January 1817 in Georgia. In the late 1830’s, he moved from Georgia to Columbia County, Florida, and settled near the trail from the St. Mary’s River to the Raulerson Ferry, building a fortified house, the Burnsed Blockhouse, as protection from the Seminole Indian raids.
In 1840, his marriage to Eliza Motes was registered in Jacksonville, and he also appeared on the 1840 census residing in Columbia County. He appeared in all subsequent Florida censuses until his death. In the first statewide election in 1845, he was an election inspector for the Cedar Creek precinct of Columbia County.
In the 1850’s, he was a Justice of the Peace, and, when Baker County was formed in 1861, he was the county’s first sheriff, a position he held until 1867. He served in the Civil War as a Captain in the Florida Home Guards. He was chairman of the Baker County School Board in 1878.
Eliza died between 1870 and 1880, and he married a widow, Julia Brown Starling on 10 December 1882.
James and Eliza had 10 children, and he had another son by Julia.
He died on 24 April 1885, and is buried in Cedar Creek Cemetery in Baker County.
The Burnsed Blockhouse now sits in Baker County Historical Park.
James M. Burnsed was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
Mary BUSH
Submitted by Descendants: Jeffords Donalson Jr., Laura Ruth Jones, and Mary Hannah MILLER
Mary Bush, born about 1828 in Alabama, was married to Aretus W. Jones on December 23, 1847 in Barbour County, Alabama. They started their family in Alabama, but would soon move with other Bush and Jones families to the Madison County area of Florida.
Mary and her husband are found on the 1850 Madison County census. Later this area would be cut out of Madison County to form Lafayette County in 1856. Their family would grow with the birth of other children. Mary’s husband would contract ‘brain fever’ and died at the age of 32 in Lafayette County as noted on the 1860 Mortality Table.
Mary Bush, as a widow, became head of household and a farmer to support her family. Both these roles are documented on the 1860 and 1870 census notations for Lafayette County.
Mary Bush was a true pioneer woman working to raise her children and farming to provide for them. She and her children lived close to extended Jones and Bush families in the Lafayette County area.
Mary Bush was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2003
Francis Marion CANADA
Submitted by Descendants: Mildred Mable “Millie” CANADA; Pearl Louise Canada COCHRAN; Jeffery Dale EATON
Francis Marion Canada was born in Columbia County, Florida in 1840. About 1862 he married Margaret Albritton, daughter of James and Fannie Raulerson Albritton.
He enlisted in the Confederate Army at Camp Hunt in Jacksonville, Florida. He was assigned to the 8th Florida Regiment and deserted 14 July 1862 and was arrested 11th December by Sheriff of Baker County, Jas. M. Burnsed, who delivered Francis to Lake City at the cost of eleven dollars and sixty cents. The money was deducted from Francis’s pay. He was wounded in the abdomen at the battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia, May 1863. Francis was furloughed and moved to Orange County, Florida. He re-enlisted in 1864 and was furloughed March 1865 and homesteaded 119.5 acres in Orange County, Florida. He joined the Masonic Lodge #68 at Peace Creek10 July 1885 at Ft. Meade, Polk County, Florida. F. M. Canada is listed on the 1890 Map of Orange County, Florida at Lockwood.
Francis and Margaret raised 15 children and they are buried at the Drawdy / Rouse Cemetery on Rouse Road Orange County, Florida.
Francis Marion Canada was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2002
Daniel CAMPBELL
Submitted by Descendants: Ralph R. and Stuart Allen CAMPBELL; Angela Lynn HILL
Daniel Campbell was born on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, on 12 December 1725, to Angus Campbell and Isobell Munroe. In 1749 he was married to Effia McLean, daughter of David McLean and Anna Gordon. Effia was born on 20 January 1726, on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. Around the year of 1754, they migrated t the colonies and landed around Wilmington, North Carolina and settled in Cumberland County. In the year 1781 Daniel was drafted into the Revolutionary Army from North Carolina and served from the latter part of September 1781 until March 1782. In 1836 while living in Florida, Daniel made application for a pension from the Revolutionary War, but was turned down because he only served six months. Daniel and Effie lived together until December 1843, when they both died one day apart, and are buried in the Old Sam Clary Cemetery, now known as the Magnolia Cemetery in Laurel Hill, Florida.
Daniel moved his family from North Carolina to South Carolina and lived there until around 1803. The author has a deed showing Daniel and Effie sold 400 acres of land to Flora McDonald in August 1803 for 30â�¤’s. They moved from South Carolina to Alabama and are found in Conecuh County, Alabama in 1816. Around 1824 they moved to Florida, settling in Laurel Hill in what was then Walton County. Daniel had a son named Peter Campbell who married Christian McCaskill, daughter of Allen McCaskill and Margaret Morrison. Peter had a son named Allen Campbell who married Amelia Clary, daughter of James Decator Clary and Mary A.E. Carter. Allen served in the Civil War first, in the Confederate Army and later in the Federal Army at Fort Barrancas after it was federalized during the War Between the States.
Daniel Campbell was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1986
William CAWTHON
Submitted by Descendants: Sarah Elizabeth and Thomas Ross MCSWAIN
William Cawthon was born in 1785 in Georgia. In the early 1800s he moved to what was then Henry County, Alabama, the area now known as Dothan. In the 1820s this area was known as Cawthon’s Cowpen because this is where William Cawthon grazed his large herds of cattle. Two historical markers located next to the Dothan Civic Center commemorate William Cawthon and the area once known as Cawthon’s Cowpen.
While he was married three times – to Sallie Smith, Elizabeth O’Neal, and Mary McSwain, he had children with four women, the fourth being Nancy Langston Fountain with whom he had eight children. He had a total of twenty-two children and is reputed to have had 138 grandchildren at the time of his death.
In the mid-1830s, he and Nancy Langston Fountain moved to Walton County, Florida. Upon Nancy’s death, he married Mary McSwain, sister of the spouses of four of his children. They had one child, William Jefferson Shehane Cawthon.
William Cawthon died in 1870 and is buried on Eglin Air Force Base Reservation in Basin Bayou, Florida.
William Cawthon was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1987
John R. CHESHIRE
Submitted by Descendants: Carl Edward and James Edward KRAMER; Kelly Kramer WEEKLEY
Born about 1800 in Bladen County, North Carolina, John R. Cheshire married Tobitha hall in 1828 and settled in Hamilton County, Florida, where he was a farmer. He owned land there and had 13 children.
He remained in Hamilton County until his death. He died in his 50s when our Third Great Grandmother, Tobitha Cheshire, was only a small child
John R. Cheshire was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1993
Catherine Amelia “Kitty” CHESNUT
Submitted by Descendants: The ALLAY, BYERS, EARNSHAW, & SUMARA Families
Catherine Amelia “Kitty” Chesnut was born 31 Aug 1831 in Sampson County, North Carolina, youngest child of Bailey Chesnut and Ann Turlington. The family moved to Thomas County, Georgia, where Bailey died before 1 July 1839.
In August 1843 the Court of Jefferson County, Florida Territory named John Anderson, husband of sister Elizabeth, as guardian of Catherine and William James, the minor children of Bailey Chesnut.
On 24 November 1850, Catherine married Asa Holt Shepherd. About 1854 they moved to Jefferson County, Georgia near Louisville. The 1860 US Census lists Asa’s occupation as overseer, owning no real estate. They have five children: James, Mary, Catherine, Elizabeth, and Asa, Jr. Ann Chesnut lives with them.
The family stayed in Georgia, while Asa served in the 62th GA. Calvary (CSA) until he was killed near Petersburg, VA. In late November 1864, Catherine and family stood in the path of Sherman’s army. This was told me by Mother, as heard from her grandfather and by my second cousin from his father Vernon, a grandson of James; soldiers destroyed their belongings and food. The family salvaged what they could and made their way back to Jefferson County, Florida. The 1870 Census list them next to Catherine’s brother.
Descendants of the Shepherd family continue to live in Jefferson County and other parts of Florida.
Catherine Amelia “Kitty” Chesnut was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2011
Agada Maria Coll
Submitted by Descendant: Jeannette Marie Say
Agada Maria Coll was born 4 September 1751 in Mahon, Minorca to parents Bartolome Coll and Josepha Sintes. It was there in Mahon that she married her first husband in February 1766. Research indicates that, as newlyweds, this young couple traveled to Florida onboard the fleet of Dr. Andrew Turnbull, which set sail in 1768. While no records are known to exist supporting their indenture to Dr. Andrew Turnbull, it is generally understood that all who were a part of this sailing saw this as a means of attaining their dream of owning land in the new world.
Within a few years Agada lost her husband and married for the second time. This marriage was to Roque Pelligrino Leonardy. Life was difficult for the small family, living in poverty and under very oppressive colonial overseers. In 1777, with two young children, Agada walked with her husband to St Augustine. It is here that she would go on to bear a total of 11 children to Roque before he died unexpectedly from drowning in 1801.
After one year of mourning, Agada was ready to marry again. Her choice for her third husband, Juan Bernard Sanchez, was not without controversy. Juan, Agada’s oldest son, voiced very strong objections to the union believing that his mother was marrying below her status. Among the issues was the fact that Juan was from Mexico and half Indian. Juan was also several years her junior and living with a married woman at the time of his engagement to Agada. They were wed 20 January 1803, no doubt under great controversy.
In her lifetime she lived in both poverty under an indenture and then in relative wealth with social status. She was a woman of great strength who didn’t shy away from controversy. This remarkable woman left life behind on 3 January 1817 in St Augustine, Florida.
Agada Maria Coll was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2003
Mary Elizabeth COX
Submitted by Descendants: Corey James, Heather Ann, Jason Michael, and Mary Ann Sullivan MAMMEN
Mary Elizabeth Cox was born in South Carolina, 19 November 1812 to Stephen Cox, b. 24 August 1786 and Mary Borono, b. 26 October 1785. The Cox family first appears in the Gadsen County, Florida 1830 census. Mary Elizabeth was the eldest child in the family. Siblings were: Martha Jane, b. 30 October 1815; James Madison, b. 19 February 1819; Charles Henry, b. 04 November 1820; Susannah Emerantha, b. 02 December 1822; Miriam Louisa, b. 14 June 1825; Stephen Edwin, b. 01 August 1831. Her father, Stephen Cox paid cash for 40.2 acres of land in Tallahassee, Florida, 09 January 1841.
Mary Elizabeth Cox married William Hawkins 27 December 1841 in Leon County, Florida. While living in Leon County, she had the following children: William Charles, b. 21 October 1843, James Calhoun, b. 25 January 1848; and Susannah, b. 07 September 1850.
The family became earlier settlers in Manatee County about 1852 where William was a “cracker” cowboy. Through his service in the Seminole Indian Wars, he was issued a land warrant for 150 acres under the Military Bounty Land Act. The area was a wild frontier with a few settlers and over 100 Indians who were reluctant to give up their lands. Fort Brooke offered shelter during their uprisings and on several occasions the Hawkins family sought security there. A Seminole warrior prowling about the Hawkins homestead poked his head through the kitchen window. Mary grabbed a skillet of hot grease, threw it at the Indian and sent him running for the palmetto thickets.
William died in the summer of 1855 and Mary Elizabeth sold the Land Warrant to Quincy Pinchard for $150 on 25 June 1855.
On 16 September 1855, she married a Scotsman and carpenter, John L. McLean. It is noted in William’s probate that McLean charged $10 to build his casket. John McLean enlisted in the Confederate States of America Army 25 April 1862. He died of “disease” in Frankfort, Kentucky a few months later.
11 September 1859, Mary Elizabeth McLean bought an acre of land for $25 in Manatee… a town lot “whereon her dwelling house now stands” on Centre Street.
On 18 September 1863, Mary Elizabeth McLean married John Fisher.
William Charles Hawkins, her son, who was moving to Orange County, FL deeded “all and singular goods, chattels, leases and personal estate” which included one mule, one stock of cattle and one stock of hogs.
Mary Elizabeth Fisher outlived three husbands and died 18 August 1881.
Mary Elizabeth Cox was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2002
John CRAIG
Submitted by Descendants: Derald E., Emily Anne, Gabriel John, and Matthew Nicholas EVERHART
John Craig, an Irishman from King County, was one of a handful of original settlers to put down roots in Manatee County.
Born in May 1813, John came to the United States with his parents as a child in 1820, landing in New York City. His parents are said to have died of cholera within a year or so of their arrival and John was raised in a foster home. He eventually went west, ending in New Orleans about 1835, where for a time he captained a flatboat trading on the Mississippi.
John came to Florida about 1840, and was one of 15 white men listed in a group of settlers under the command of Col. Sam Reid living along the Manatee River in 1842. John received 160 acres under the Armed Occupation Act of 1842 and raised cattle and farmed throughout the rest of his life.
In 1849, he married Mary Caroline Goddard, the 15-year-old daughter of his neighbor Asa Johnson Goddard. They eventually raised eight children.
John signed up for three different volunteer militias during the Third Seminole War between 1856 and 1858. His service may have been prompted by an April 1856 Seminole raid, where his house was ransacked and his father-in-law’s house burned down.
John died August 31, 1893 at the age of 80. Mary Caroline followed him into death nearly three years later on April 17, 1896, the day her grandson Paul Vaney Craig was born.
John Craig was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2003
Z. A. “Zara” DAVIS
Submitted by Descendants: Amy Katherine, John Albert, and John Edward BURNETT
Z. A. “Zara” Davis came to the State of Florida and resided in the area that later became Baker County. He was born 26 September 1826 in Bulloch County, Georgia. He was the son of Samuel Davis and Elizabeth Bennett. Z. A. Davis was married to Mary “Pollie” Bennett circa 1847. He moved to Florida prior to 1850 and was listed in the 1850 census for Columbia County, Florida along with his wife and his two year old daughter Lucinda, who was listed as being born in Florida. Z. A. Davis and his wife had the following children:
Lucinda “Cindy” Davis (1848-1896) married Washington Eddy
Braxton Davis (1852-1896) married Jinsie (Last name unknown)
Noah Jefferson Davis (1854-1922) married Emily Sarah Long and 2nd, Lourilla (Altman) Milton
Richard Bailey Davis (1856-1916) married Elizabeth Charity Eddy
Sarah Davis (1858-1931) married Joe Dowling
Z. A. Davis and his family are listed in the 1850 census for Columbia County, 1860 census for New River County, the 1870, 1880, 1885 censuses for Baker County, Florida. In the census records his name is listed as Zacheriah, Zary and he was referred to as Zara in addition to Z. A. His wife’s name is listed as Mary, but on her tombstone it is listed as Pollie.
He and his wife gave land for one of the first schools in Baker County, Florida. An indenture made on 01 February 1888 by Z. A. Davis and his wife Mary to the trustees of School No. #34, gave one acre of land to be used for a public school. The trustees of the school were Noah Davis, J. S. Dowling and W. H. Johns.
Z. A. Davis died on the 05 September 1894 in Baker Co., Florida. His wife Mary “Pollie” Davis died on 01 September 1894 in Baker Co. They are buried at Taylor Cemetery, Taylor, Baker County, Florida. Z. A. Davis and his children lived in the Taylor area of Baker County, Florida. He was a farmer by occupation.
Z. A. “Zara” Davis was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2006
Seaborn DOBSON
Submitted by Descendants: Amy Katherine, John Albert, and John Edward BURNETT
Seaborn Dobson was the son of Isaiah Dobson and Sarah Yelvington and was born 15 December 1825 in what was then Leon County, Florida Territory. He was married circa 1855, most likely in Columbia County, Florida to Melvina Newmans (1836-circa 1866). They had the following children:
Mollie Dobson (1856-1940) married Jackson Dugger
Gideon Dobson (1858-Bef. 1950) married Hattie Thomas
Elijah James Dobson (1860-1950) married Mary Jane Roberts
Seaborn Dobson, Jr. (1863-1942) married Emma Lulu Fellinger
Circa 1866 Melvina “Viney” (Newmans) Dobson died. After her death, Seaborn Dobson married Martha Ann (Alford) Harriett (1843-1912), the widow of Joseph Harriett. She was the daughter of Hansford Alford and Louvicy Crosby. Seaborn and Martha Ann Dobson had the following children:
Henry Dobson (1868-circa 1880)
Joseph Dobson (1870-1910) married 1st Mintie Driggers and 2nd Barbara Rigdon
Seleta Dobson (1871-1948) married Calvin Jerome Green
Martha “Mattie” Dobson (1875-1952) married J. Lacy Green
Bell Dobson (1877-1971) married John B. Dowling
Anna Dobson (1879-1978) married John Henry Green
George Dobson (1882-1964) married Daisey Fraser
Sidney Dobson (1884-1944) married Mary Magnolia Crews
Bessie Dobson (1888-1968) married Gordon Johnson
According to the U.S. Census records, Seaborn Dobson lived in the following places in the State of Florida: 1850 Columbia County, 1860 New River County, 1870,1880, 1885(state-census) Baker County, 1900 & 1910 Bradford County. New River, Baker and Bradford Counties had been formed from Columbia County, Florida.
Seaborn Dobson served in the Confederate Army, Company F, 4th Florida Infantry as a private. He enlisted in 1862 and in 1864 he was captured at Dallas, Georgia and was sent as a prisoner of war to Rock Island, Illinois. In a statement given for his pension he stated that he was held at Rock Island and paroled ninety days before the war ended. He applied for a Confederate pension which was granted in 1908 and received until his death, which occurred on 08 September 1919. According to his death certificate, he died at Olustee, Baker County, Florida. He was buried at Swift Creek Cemetery (Mt. Zion) next to his wife Martha ann. Seaborn Dobson was a farmer by occupation.
Seaborn Dobson was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2006
Margaret Elizabeth “Eliza” DOLAN and Martin DOLAN
Submitted by Descendants: Calista Cameron, James Stephen, Jane Ferrell, Joseph Cameron, Madeleine Claire, and Thomas Benjamin BODIFORD; and Mildred Amelia FERRELL
Martin Dolan was born in Ireland about 1823 but it is unknown when he immigrated to America. He was in Florida as early as December 1844, and voted in the first Florida election on 26 May 1845.
Owning 200 acres in Gadsden County, Martin obtained eighty acres in 1846, another eighty acres in 1856 and forty acres in 1857. It is notable that one of his descendants, Lila Dolan, currently lives on the 200 acre tract.
Martin remained in Gadsden County and is shown as a farmer in the 1850 and 1860 census. It is unknown when Martin died, but he does not appear in any 1870 census record.
Margaret Elizabeth “Eliza” Dolan, daughter of Martin, was born in Florida on 24 February 1843. On 9 May 1859, Margaret married Arlington McAlpin and deeded away her dower property on 23 August 1859. Margaret and Arlington named a daughter Margaret Elizabeth, but she went by the name “Lizzie”.
On 8 April 1908, after living a long life in Gadsden County, Eliza passed away and was buried next to her husband in the McAlpin Family Cemetery, Gadsden County, Florida.
Margaret Elizabeth “Eliza” Dolan and Martin Dolan were first established
as Florida Pioneers in 2010
William Hampton DOWLING
Submitted by Descendant: Laura Kathryn HERZOG
William Hampton Dowling was born 26 May 1811 in Jeffreys Creek, Darlington District, South Carolina. He was the son of William Hampton Dowling, SR. and Sarah Elizabeth Watson. Sometime after 1820, his parents relocated to South Georgia for a number of years. This is where he was thought to have met his future wife, Mahala Ogden. He moved with his folks to the Territory of West Florida before 1830 and his father is listed as head of family on the 1830 census for Leon County. Leon County marriage records reveal that he married Mahala Ogden on 20 December 1831. This union produced twelve known children. Records from Tallahassee, Florida document a land purchase of 40 acres by William H. Dowling in Leon County on 15 April 1837. This tract was located near the community of Lamonia.
In 1839, William and his family moved to Hamilton County, Florida. He is listed as head of household on the 1840 census for the Florida Territory, Middle District, Hamilton County. He also had the honor of participating in the first state wide election for the newly created state of Florida on 26 May 1845. He represented Upper Mineral Springs, Precinct 4 in Hamilton County.
William was quite an adventurer. In 1860, he was residing in New River County, Florida. After the Civil War, he relocated his family to Clay County, Florida and changed his occupation from farming to carpentry. His occupation on the 1870 census for Clay County was listed as a wheelwright. By 1880, William was residing in the community of Baldwin in Duval County, Florida. He died at the home of a son in Jacksonville, Florida on 18 April 1885 and was buried in the Gravely Hill Cemetery in Duval County, Florida.
William Hampton Dowling was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2006
Giles Underhill ELLIS
Submitted by Descendants: Baxter Jennings, Dakota Jennings, Daniel Jordan, Justin Allyn, Justin Allyn Jr., LaRue Carlton, Reid James, Roper Jordan Jr., Roper Jordan III ELLIS
Giles Underhill Ellis was descended from the Virginia Ellises who were early settlers in America. The family migrated over a period of years from Virginia through North Carolina and South Carolina, Georgia on to the territory of Florida.
Giles Underhill Ellis was born in 1809 in Georgia and came to Florida in 1820 as a young boy with his father, Giles Ellis. The family settled in Alachua County in 1824 near Newnansville on land known as the Arredondo tract.
Giles Ellis married Mary Brannen in 1830 and they had nine children, one of whom was George Brannen Ellis, born in 1833. After Mary died in 1855, Giles Underhill Ellis married Nancy L. Townsend, a widow, with a large family. Together they had two children. They lived in Columbia County Florida near the Bellamy Road and Giles Underhill had a merchandise business in Ellisville, Florida named after him. Giles and Nancy are buried in Phillippi Baptist Church Cemetery in Columbia County.
Giles Underhill Ellis was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2005
Enos EVANS
Submitted by Descendants: Idell Elizabeth, Michael James, William Aaron Jr., William Rickey BURNHAM
Enos Evans served as a private in Col. John McKinnon’s company during the Florida Indian Wars.
During one battle, Enos was shot in the neck. According to John Love McKinnon’s book, History of Walton County, Col. McKinnon refused to leave a man in the battlefield. Col. McKinnon found Enos, threw him over his shoulder, mounted his horse and carried Enos to Col. McKinnon’s home where Col. McKinnon removed the bullet which was lodged near Enos’ spine. Enos was promoted to major. In later years, Enos referred to the colonel as his favorite surgeon.
Enos Evans was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
Juan Bautista Serapio FERREIRA
Submitted by Descendants: Andre Eugene FERREIRA
Juan Bautista Serapio Ferreira was born in St Augustine, East Florida 13 November 1813. It was at the beginning of Florida’s Second Spanish Period when his grandfather, Juan Bautista Ferreyra of Villa de Murcia, Portugal brought his wife Isabel Bently Nixon of Charleston, South Carolina and their two youngest children to the mixed English-Spanish speaking Township of St Augustine.
Juan, later known as John B. Ferreira, became interested in the local issues of St Augustine during the Territorial Days of Florida 1830-1844. At age 23, John joined the Florida Mounted Volunteers to maintain peace during the Seminole Indian Wars in the mid-1830s. After his marriage to Lauriana Rogero in 1837, he remained as a 1st Lieutenant in the Hanson’s Company until 1839. Their first child was born in1839, and by 1855 Lauriana and John had raised five sons and one daughter.
It was in the Moccasin Branch Precinct of St Johns County where John B Ferreira proudly voted on 28 May 1845 in the very first statewide election of Florida.
In 1858, John and Lauriana had moved to the Township of Fernandina to the north of St Augustine where workers had begun construction of the first cross-state railroad of Florida from Fernandina to Cedar Key. It was completed in 1861. Because of the outbreak of the Civil War and Fernandina being left unprotected, John decided to move his family to Palatka until the war ended. By 1868, his family returned to Fernandina to continue the revival of the Florida Railroad. John B., Railroad Engineer and Pioneer, and his wife, Laurianna, remained in Fernandina until their death where they are buried in the beautiful woods of Bosque Bello Cemetery.
Juan Bautista Serapio Ferreira was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2001
Juan Bautista Serapio FERREIRA
Submitted by Descendants: Joseph Foster, Thomas Randall, and Timothy Joseph BUTLER
Juan Bautista Serapio Ferreira was born in St. Augustine on November 13, 1813. He was the grandson of Juan Bautista Ferreyra of Portugal who, with his wife Elizabeth Nixon of Charlestown, South Carolina, brought their family to St. Augustine in 1786 or 1787, during Florida’s second Spanish Period. There they raised a large family which included Juan Bautista Serapio’s father, Francisco Lorenzo Ferreira.
The Ferreira family remained a prominent St. Augustine family through the 1870s. With the acquisition of Florida by the United States, Juan Bautista Serapio Ferreira became known as John B. Ferreira, becoming involved in local issues during Florida’s territorial days. He joined to local militia and fought in the Seminole Indian Wars in the 1830s. During this same period, he married the daughter of a prominent Minorcan family of St. Augustine, the Rogero family. On October 25th, 1837, he married Lauriana Rogero and they raised five sons and one daughter in St. Augustine, until he moved the family the family to Fernandina on Amelia Island in 1858. This was a very exciting time in Fernandina as construction of the first cross-state railroad began that year.
The Florida Railroad Company, headed by Florida’s first senator, David Levy Yulee, completed construction of the railroad from Fernandina to Cedar Key in 1861, just one month before the Civil War started with the fall of Ft. Sumter in South Carolina. Then on March 1st of 1862, Confederate troops withdrew from Amelia Island and the citizens were left defenseless against the rumored invasion of Union Troops. As twenty-eight Union navy ships descended upon Amelia Island, John B. Ferreira left Fernandina, abandoning home and property, moving his family to Palatka for the duration of the war. But, by 1868, the family had returned to Fernandina to rebuild their lives and take part in the resurrection of the Florida Railroad.
John B. Ferreira lived his remaining years in Fernandina until his death on October 11, 1883. Many of his descendants remain to this day in Fernandina and other parts of Florida.
Juan Bautista Serapio Ferreira was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2001
Juan Bautista (John B.) Serapis FERREIRA
Submitted by Descendants: Brendan Jennings, Frank Joseph III, Marie Cecelia, and Mary Frances SANTRY
Juan Bautista Serapis Ferreira was born in Spanish East Florida’s St. Augustine on November 13, 1813 to Francisco Lorenzo Ferreira and Josepha Fernanda Martha Estefonopoly. His paternal grandparents, Juan Bautista Ferreira and Isabel Bente Nixon, settled in St. Augustine as early as 1787, while his maternal grandparents, Nicolas Estefanopoly and Juana Maria Marin arrived in New Smyrna with Andrew Turnbull’s colony in 1768 and migrated to St. Augustine in 1777.
As a young man, known as John B. Ferreira, he served alongside his neighbors in the Mounted Volunteers of Florida Militia during the Indian Wars. At the age of 24, he married Lauriana Antonia Josepha Rogero on October 25, 1837. They raised six children in St. Augustine and moved the family to Fernandina prior to the Civil War in approximately 1858. One son, John Apolonia Ferreira, was recruited at age 16 by Florida Railroad pioneer David Yulee, and became Engineer on the Fernandina/Cedar Key line. In 1880, he transported President Ulysses S. Grant to Cedar Key as part of Grant’s tour of Florida, Cuba and Mexico.
John B. Ferreira died in Fernandina on October 11, 1883 and is buried beside his wife in Fernandina’s Bosque Bello Cemetery.
Juan Bautista (John B.)Serapis Ferreira was first established as a Florid Pioneer in 2001
Ansel FERRELL
Submitted by Descendant: Paula Townsend MARCZYNSKI
Ansel Ferrell was born 14 Sep 1762 in Bute Co., North Carolina. He was a Revolutionary War soldier who fought at the Battles for Guilford Courthouse and Eutaw Springs (among others), where he was slightly wounded. When the South Georgia and North Florida area became open for settlement, Ansel and several of his children moved into the area.
Ansel lived until he was 84 years old and is buried in the Strickland-Ferrell Cemetery in NE Leon County Florida, along with his wife and other family members. On 6 Mar 1976, in a special ceremony in honor of the American Bicentennial, a marble marker was placed on his grave by the Dominic Everardus Bogardus Chapter, Colonial Dames XVII Century.
Ansel Ferrell was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2002
Francisca de Paula Petronita FONTANET; Joseph DELESPINE; Frances Jane DELESPINE; Christian Jacob Bernhard BOYE
Submitted by Descendant: Submitted by Descendants: Laura Lee BERENSON, Johanna Schuster JONES; Emily Johanna PERKINS and Mary Pauline SCHUSTER
Francisca, or Frances as she was known, was born in St. Augustine on 31 May 1792, and baptized there on 6 June as the daughter of Joseph and Maria Judith Fontanet. She married Joseph Delespine on 17 May 1813. Joseph was the son of Joseph and Sarah and was born on the island of St. Salvador in the Bahamas on 28 August 1789. Joseph was also the grandson of French citizens who were murdered in the slave revolt on the island of St. Dominique in 1791. His father was a surgeon who tended the American Army in Charleston, South Carolina. After his marriage to Frances, Joseph began his rise as a successful merchant, providing food and supplies to the Spanish government and its various military detachments during the American invasion in 1812. He was granted 43,000 acres in present day Brevard County by Governor Coppinger for those services. Continuing as a merchant, Joseph had ties to the Caribbean, Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina. In the 1820’s, Joseph began acquiring huge tracts of land, often purchasing Spanish land grants which had been given to other individuals. Among these were 8,000 acres of the Gomez Grant, the 10,240 acres of the Fontane Grant, and the Arrambide Grant of 92,160 acres, making him one of the largest landholders in the state of Florida. On 17 May 1834, Joseph died and was buried in the Protestant (Huguenot) cemetery in St. Augustine. Litigation surrounding his estate continued for more than fifty years after his death. Following her husband’s death, Frances allowed one of her daughters to open a school for young ladies in her home. Nine students are shown in the 1840 census. Several of Frances’ children migrated to Key West, Florida, and Galveston, Texas. It is believed she went to live with a daughter in Texas for a while, but by 1856 Frances was in Key West and was shown living with her daughter, Frances Jane, and son-in-law, Christian Boye, in the 1860 census. Grandson Frank H Boye states Frances died at the Boye home in Key West in 1862 or 1863 and is buried there.
Frances Jane was born about 1818 in St. Augustine to Joseph and Frances Delespine and in 1845 she married Christian Jacob Bernhard Boye who was the widower of her sister, Emmeline. Christian was born in Hamburg, Germany about 1809 and applied for a German passport in 1837, to visit New York. In 1839 Christian arrived in St. Augustine and opened a clothing and dry goods store. By 1850 Christian and Frances Jane had moved to Key West where Christian continued his success in business, owning at least two wrecking ships. In 1858 Christian began deeding his real estate and slave holdings to his wife. Frances appears in numerous deeds for the purchase of slaves until the start of the Civil War. According to family tradition, Christian died of yellow fever in Key West shortly after 23 September 1862. Frances Jane moved to Galveston after the death of her husband, selling most of her Key West property in 1867. She lived with her daughter, Mary, and son-in-law, Capt. James Pritchard. After a brief residence in Missouri, Frances moved back to Florida around 1876 with her two children and their spouses to settle the Spanish land grant of 43,000 acres of her father Joseph. In 1901, Frances Jane Boye died in Brevard County, Florida.
Francisca de Paula Petronita Fontanet, Joseph Delespine, Frances Jane Delespine, and Christian Jacob Bernhard Boye were first established as Florida Pioneers in 2010
William GAINER
Jane L. WATTS
Submitted by Descendant: Ellen Lavara Gainer WRIGHT
William Gainer and Jane L. Watts, who hailed from Georgia, were married 21 January 1813. During the campaign of 1818, William came into the Territory of Florida with Andrew Jackson, as a surveyor and mathematician. Returning to Georgia, William and Jane had four children, but in 1824, he moved his family from Augusta, Georgia, to the marvelous land in the Territory of Florida. Here William and Jane added eight more children to their family.
Jane died after the birth of their last child in 1837. The only thing remaining from the homestead is the family cemetery, where she was laid to rest. Large oaks still hang with Spanish moss in this peaceful area where the sound of horse drawn carriages once could be heard as they travelled down the road.
William Gainer and Jane L. Watts were first established as Florida Pioneers in 2010
Peter Antonio GANDOLFO
Submitted by Descendants: The LUJAN / PAPY / TOPPINO Families
Peter Antonio Gandolfo was born 3 April 1802 in Italy. He arrived in Key West, Florida in 1829 traveling from the Kingdom of Sardinia which controlled his part of Italy. Peter immediately declared his intention to become a United States citizen and on 13 May 1829, he swore his allegiance to the United States. and on 26 May 1845 he voted in the first Florida election. By that time Peter had married Clara Arnau, the wealthy widow of Theodore Clinquebies and together they purchased substantial property in Key West and parented a large family.
The announcement of the marriage of Peter Gandolfo to Clara was published in The Gazette in Key West on 18 January 1832, with the actual wedding ceremony performed on the preceding Saturday, 14 January. Peter died on 10 1865 and is buried in the Key West Cemetery. During their 33 years of marriage Peter and Clara raised 8 children who survived to adulthood, married and had numerous children of their own. Many of the Descendants of Peter and Clara Gandolfo still live in Key West to this present day.
The oral history of the Gandolfo’s states that Peter was born into a renowned family in Italy and his tombstone list his birth place as Genoa. In the 1900s a letter received from the Vatican by one of Peter’s descendants upheld the assertion that his family had once owned Castle Gandolfo, the summer residence of Catholic popes.
Peter Antonio Gandolfo was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2011
Peter Antonio GANDOLFO
Submitted by Descendant: Charles Williard LORD
Peter Antonio Gandolfo was born 3 April 1802, in Genoa, Italy, and arrived in Key West, Florida in 1829, where he declared his intention to become a United States citizen. The oral history of the Gandolfo family indicates that Peter was born to a renowned family in Italy and a letter later received from the Vatican upheld the assertion that his family once owned Castle Gandolfo, the summer residence of Catholic popes. Peter was baptized a Catholic at the age of two in the Parish of St. Maria de Patro in Maret, Sardinia, a province of Italy.
The marriage of Peter Gandolfo to Mrs. Clara Climquebis/Quencovis/Guincovis appeared in the 18 January 1832 edition of The Gazette, a newspaper published in Key West. The wedding took place on Saturday, January 12, and the Monroe County marriage license application shows the names as Pedro Antonio Gandolfo and Claripa Guincovis. Clara is purported to have been born about 1804 in St. Augustine, Spanish Florida, into the Arnow/Arnau family.
Peter appears in a number of Monroe County census records beginning in 1840. By 1850 he was a wealthy merchant with real estate valued at $10,000.
Peter Antonio Gandolfo was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2010
John Martin GEIGER
Submitted by Descendant: Anne Hammond CONNELL
John Martin Geiger, born 1798 in Bulloch County, Georgia, was raised in Wayne County, Georgia, where he married Emily Joyner in 1825. His parents were Felix Geiger, Sr., and Mary Martin. Paternal Grandfather Hans Ulrich Gyger’s parents were Swiss Protestants who fled to South Carolina from Haslach, St. Gallen, Switzerland, in 1737. Maternal grandfather was Reverend John A. Martin of Bulloch County.
Around 1833-1834, Martin, all his siblings and their widowed mother removed to Nassau County, Florida, where Martin was on the 1840 Federal census and voted there in 1845 in the first statewide election.
In 1847, he received a land grant in Bradford County, near Reynolds, when it was part of Alachua County. The 1840 census shows the family in Alachua County. In 1852, he was granted land in Putnam County and in 1853, land on Bradford County, still a part of Alachua County.
During his time as an Alachua County, Commissioner, he helped lead the successful fight to move the Alachua County seat from Newnansville to the proposed town of Gainesville and helped design and build the first courthouse and first county jail. He was a farmer and cattleman and on the school board.
On 1860 census, he was living at Waldo. On 1870 census he was in Lafayette County, where he died four years later.
John Geiger was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2001
Mary GODWIN
Submitted by Descendants: Julian W, Paula A., and Waldo W. DAVIS
Mary Godwin was born on the 14 of November 1844 in Columbia County, Florida. She was the daughter of another pioneer, Solomon Godwin and wife Mariah Tyner.
Soloman Godwin, born November 30, 1817 in Georgia came to Florida Territory with his mother, Mary Reid Godwin after his father Soloman Godwin Sr. died. Soloman married Mariah Tyner in Leon County, Florida on November 9, 1841. His name appears twice on the “Armed Occupation Act of 1842/43”, once on 7 January 1843 and again on 27 July 1843. Soloman forfeited his land as he soon moved to Columbia County, Florida where he is listed as a signer of a “Petition to Congress” in the “Territorial Papers dated January 26, 1839”.
The Federal census for Florida in Columbia County lists Soloman Godwin, wife Mary and five of their nine children. In 1860 Soloman and family are listed in Hillsborough County with eight of their nine children. This part of Hillsborough became Polk County in 1861.
Mary Godwin married William Raulerson on July 4, 1860 near Ft. Meade, Florida in what became Polk County. She and William also had nine children. Their first son born in May of 1865, was named Soloman after Mary’s father, Soloman Godwin.
Soloman Raulerson married Donella Montsdeoca in Polk County. They were the parents of Mae Raulerson who married Paul Davis, the father of Waldo W. Davis.
Mary Godwin was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2003
Robert GORMAN, William Gorman and Elizabeth CARNEY
Submitted by Descendants: Katherine Grace and Nancy K. EVANS; Josephine Searle KING
William Gorman was born in Camden, County, Georgia, about 1790 and purchased land in the Waukeenah vicinity of Jefferson County, Florida, in 1826. A Leon County, Florida, marriage book shows an entry for William Gorman and Elizabeth Carney on 23 February 1827. Elizabeth was born on Amelia Island, Florida, in 1801. She appears to have received land in Jefferson County as part of her dowry and in June of 1831. William sold 240 acres that Elizabeth had relinquished from this dowry.
Mustering into the Florida Militia’s 9th Regiment, William fought in the Second Indian War. He was sworn in as the Justice of the Peace in April 1842 and voted in the first statewide election in May 1845.
Through the early 1840’s, William continued to purchase land in Jefferson and Gadsden Counties. His death occurred in March of 1857 in Jefferson County, and his will named their firstorn, Robert as the executor for his extensive estate.
Robert Gorman was born circa 1829 in Florida and grew up on his family’s cotton plantation in Jefferson County. He received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Maryland in 1852 and returned to Florida. In the early 1850s Robert married a woman named Virginia E. The middle name for two of their eight children is Morgan, the possible surname of their mother Virginia.
In June 1854 rober was appointed delegate from Jefferson County to the Democratic State Convention. By 1859 he had moved his family to Loudoun County, Virginia, where he started a medical practice, continuing to administer the Florida properties from his father’s estate.
Robert’s mother, Elizabeth, had moved to Gadsden County after William’s death and lived with her second son, William C. After William C. died during the Civil War, Elizabeth then moved to Virginia to live with Robert.
Upon Robert’s death in 1879, Elizabeth returned to her farm in Gadsden County where she was joined by two of her daughters. At the age of 81, Elizabeth died on 18 March 1881 in Gadsden County.
Robert Gorman, William Gorman and Elizabeth Carney were
first established as Florida Pioneers in 2010
David GORNTO
Submitted by Descendant: Thomas Edward BRONSON
David Gornto, the son of Nathan Gornto, was born about 1 November 1805 in Georgia. He married Eliza Allen in Irwin County, Georgia about 20 November 1827. It is unknown exactly when he and Eliza moved to Florida, sometime after 1841 – the birth of a son, Thomas J. Gornto but before 23 May 1843 since he is found on the list of Madison County Voters who voted in the 1st Florida Election of 1845.
David Gornto was a farmer all of his life. He and his wife Eliza Ann Gornto had plenty of help because by the time the 1860 census was taken they were living on a Lafayette Co., Florida farm with nine of their seven children. He lived in a portion of Lafayette Co., Florida that eventually was made into Dixie County, Florida.
David Gornto served as a private with Capt. Robert D. Bradley’s 13th Regiment, Florida Militia from 28 December 1837 until 11 February 1838 during the Indian War. He died about 18 May 1864 and is buried in the Fayetteville Cemetery, Old Town, Dixie County. Florida.
David Gornto was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2006
Nancy GORNTO
Submitted by Descendant: Thomas Edward BRONSON
Nancy Elizabeth Gornto was born abt. 1833 in Georgia. She was the daughter of David Gornto and Eliza Ann Gornto. It is unknown exactly when she migrated to Florida with her parents but it is believed that it is sometime after 1841 but before 23 May 1843, since her father is found on the list of Madison County Voters who voted in the 1st Florida Election of 1845. She married Emanuel Waters in Florida abt. 7 February 1878. Nancy was a wife, homemaker, and mother.
Nancy was living in Bell, Alachua Co., Florida at the time she applied for her Widow’s Pension on 27 July 1909. This is an area that later became a part of Gilchrist Co. after its formation in 1925. It is interesting to also note on this same application that she wrote that she “has continuously resided in the State of Florida ever since the year 1843 to the best of my recollection”.
Nancy Elizabeth Gornto died in 1916. It is believed she requested to be buried with her parents and other family members in the Fayetteville Cemetery in Dixie County, Florida. Unfortunately, the grave today is unmarked. However, according to her grandson, in order to memorialize her he placed a tombstone for her beside that of her husband, Emanuel Waters in the Townsend Cemetery, Gilchrist Co., Florida.
Nancy Gornto was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2006
Anne Margaret GRAM
Submitted by Descendant: Jo Anne ARNETT
Anne Margaret Gram was born in River Falls, Wisconsin, October 30, 1903, moving to Moore Haven, Florida with her parents. Because there was no local high school, she and sister Bertha boarded and went to high school in Arcadia, Florida before attending Rollins College in Winter Park.
Anne worked as a bookkeeper at Parkinson’s Inc., married James Miller Couse, an attorney and, later, county judge. He was known for his fairness to all. “Let’s ask Jimmy”, was an often heard phrase throughout the county. Anne had a keen sense of fashion, was active in Woman’s Club and beautification projects, ran the Glades County Abstract Co. following her husband’s death in 1957, was a devoted mother, and gave her three children every opportunity.
Her first child was born in the family home. Both she and her husband died there; he in 1957; she 8/20/1995. Anne preceded her sister Bertha in death by 13 days. Local newspapers were headlined “Counties mourn passing of Gram sisters, whose influence extended across county lines, and bridged generations; they were the last of the pioneers.”
Her children:
Jo Anne Couse Cox Arnett (8/31/1935 -…)
Edwin Gram Couse (6/7/1941 – 12/25/1994
Miller (NMN) Couse (11/29/47 - …)
Anne Margaret Gram was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2003
Frederick Valdemar GRAM
Submitted by Descendant: Jo Anne ARNETT
Frederick Valdemar P. Gram (2/15/1971 – 11/19/1936) whose grandfather was mayor of Gram, Denmark, and brother Victor became Denmark’s Minister of Defense, came to this country in 1891. He soon returned to Denmark to bring his sister with Kiersten Marie Bruun, his future wife. Settling in River Falls, Wisconsin, he began a construction company, worked as an architect/builder. After his brickyard was blown away by a tornado, the family moved to Devil’s Lake, Wisconsin where he built and lived in a large apartment building that housed a theater and skating rink.
When his financier died, he surveyed Florida, passed up the Miami (then mangrove swamp) area for the rich muck land of Lake Okeechobee, and moved to Moore Haven, Florida in 1917. He built the family home, a 10,000 square foot balloon structure in 1918 that housed a post office, ice cream parlor, and store downstairs. The family lived in half the upstairs while utilizing the rest as a boarding house. Town dances were held in the large central lobby.
Valdemar and his wife later ran the Hyde Park Hotel in Tampa, Florida, where he died peacefully during his afternoon nap. He was known to be jovial, endure trial with good humor, and enjoy excellent health until the moment of his passing in 1936.
Frederick Valdemar Gram was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2003
Nicholas GRUBB
Submitted by Descendant: William Thomas TUTTLE
Nicholas Grubb was newly married at age 29 when he and his wife, Elizabeth K. Nathans settled in Florida in late 1829 or early 1830. Nicholas quickly became interested in politics. His name can be found on the voter list for an election in Gadsden County in 1830. He was a carpenter by trade and considered a master carpenter later in life. Upon his death, after living in Florida for about forty years, he was buried with his wife, Elizabeth, in Quincy’s West Cemetery.
Nicholas was the father of nine children. In a letter o 6 Mar 1843 to his sibling, Mellin Grubb, living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Nicholas complained about the poorly managed and costly schools. He had three children going to school at the time at a total cost of $60 a year. He also complained about being “much harassed by the Indians for the last 5 or 6 years”. It appears that life may not have been easy for Pioneer families in Florida.
On the other hand, in the same letter, Nicholas informed Mellin that he “has gotten himself out of debt”, that “we have finally got rid of them (the Indians) at last”, and that “I shall be able to give you the name of one more (child) in a few days”. John Allison Grubb was born 1 Apr 1843.
Nicholas Grubb was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2001
Sarah Elizabeth GRUBB
Submitted by Descendant: William Thomas TUTTLE
Sarah Elizabeth Grubb, the fourth child of Nicholas Grubb and Elizabeth K. Nathans, was born in Quincy, Florida on 13 Sep 1837. Sarah remained in Florida for more than thirty years. At the age of 16, she married Ephraim M. Tuttle, a resident of Esperance, New York, whom she met while he was working in Quincy. They had three children, all born in Florida. Ephraim died 30 Dec 1861 in Quincy.
After Ephraim’s death, Sarah was left with the responsibility of raising three young children during the difficult times of the Civil War and the beginning of the Period of Reconstruction. She experienced many heartaches: the deaths of her husband, their second child, David Merritt Tuttle on 25 Oct 1864, and her mother four days later. Her father died 6 Jan 1870. In addition, during the War, several relatives died and her uncle, the last Confederate Governor of Florida, Abraham K. Allison, was imprisoned by the North and narrowly escaped execution.
It is not surprising that probably before the end of the decade, Sarah and her two surviving children moved to Esperance, New York where they initially resided with Ephraim’s mother Sarah “Sally” Mandell. In 1871 Sarah married George W. McCarty. They had three daughters. After a long and eventful life, Sarah died at the age of 96 on 18 May 1934. She was buried in Esperance Cemetery, Esperance, New York.
Sarah Elizabeth Grubb was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2001
James A. HALL
Submitted by Descendants: Heather Danielle, Paula Townsend, and Tara Lynn MARCZYNSKI
James Alfred Hall was born in Georgia, but moved to Florida when he was a young boy. His family settled in Hamilton County, Florida and he lived there most of his life, except for a brief move to New River County, Florida.
James served in the Confederate Army where he enlisted as a private in Company I, 2nd Infantry Regiment (the “Jasper Blues”). This unit later became part of the Army of Northern Virginia. He was wounded in May, 1862 and received a disability discharge in June, 1862.
He returned to Hamilton County, where he married Frances Elenor Shaw in 1863. They had four daughters and one son.
James A. Hall was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
Frank Burdette HAGAN
Submitted by Descendant: Frank HAGAN
Francis Burdette Hagan was born 11 September 1827 at Black Creek, Duval County, Florida and traveled with his parents (purported to be the son of Malachi Hagan) over the next few years before settling in Manatee County in the Late 1850’s.
He served in the Independent Company of Florida Volunteers in the Seminole Indian War during 1839 under the command of Captain John G. Blitch. He was a musician and enlisted at Fort Harlee, Florida. Later he served under Captain William H. Kendricks in the Florida Mounted Volunteers in 1855-56. Following the Indian Wars he was a soldier in the Confederate Army serving in a company commanded by Captain John Pearson. He first enlisted at Tampa Bay on 18 September 1862. Second enlistment into the Confederate Army came at Fort Meade, Florida, when he served in the command of Captain F. A. Hendry’s Independent Company Cavalry. This second enlistment was in the summer of 1864.
Francis Burdette Hagan was a political figure in Manatee County serving on the railroad commission and the taxing board. He was a man of vast land holdings in Pine Level, Florida while it was the county seat of Manatee County and was living in the same locality when he, along with many others, petitioned for the formation of DeSoto County.
He died in Pine Level, DeSoto County, Florida on 31 January 1914 and was buried in Campground Cemetery near his home.
Frank Burdette Hagan was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2000
John HAGUE (HECK0
Submitted by Descendants: Byron Samuel CLEMONS for Holly Mae CLEMONS
John Hague (Heck) was born in the Ebenezer Settlement in Effingham County, Georgia on 3 April 1767. He was married twice. His first wife was Agnes Poulidge (Pouledge) and they were married c. 1795. His second wife from whom my ancestors are descended was Maria Lipsey who came with her father to Florida in 1818 and settled in what later became Alachua County. They were married in 1827 in Florida and lived in the Newnansville area of Alachua County and had four children. My great-grandfather, Archelaus (Archibald, Arch, A.) Hague, was born 6 November 1828, was one of these four children.
John Hague enlisted in Garrison’s Company I (Warren’s) Florida Mounted Militia as a private on 22 Sept 1836 at the age of 69 at Ft. Gilliland and fought in the Seminole Wars, at that time called the Florida War. Shortly after enlisting he died from illness and left his wife with four children under eight years of age. Four years after his death his will, which was written on 8 September 1836 just prior to his going to war, was probated in Alachua County, Florida and is the first recorded will in Alachua County. It can be found in Will Book A at the County Clerk’s office there. His will states that his property was on Turkey Creek and also names all his children from both his marriages.
The area of Gainesville called Hague, Florida and Hague Methodist Church were named for this family as Archelaus (Archibald, Arch, A.) Hague donated land for the church and nearby cemetery. Archelaus (Archibald, Arch, A. ) Hague also served as postmaster of Hague after the Civil War (he served in Company C of the 7th Regular Florida Regiment and served at both the battle of Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge. Archelaus (Archibald, Arch, A.) Hague also served as a County Commissioner for Alachua County in the 1850’s.
John Hague (Heck) was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1986
Tobitha HALL
Submitted by Descendants: Carl Edward, James Edward, Lora L. KRAMER, and Kelly Kramer WEEKLEY
Tobitha Hall was born about 1808 in North Carolina and eventually settled in Hamilton County, Florida, where she remained until her death between 1860 and1870. She married a farmer, John R. Cheshire, and had 13 children.
Tobitha Hall was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1994
Isaac Pierson HARDEE
Submitted by Descendants: Halley Bronson Jr., Halley Bronson III, and Halley Bronson IV LEWIS
Isaac Pierson Hardee was born in Horry County, South Carolina, the grandson of Joseph Hardee who served in the South Carolina Militia at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. Isaac was raised and educated in Horry District until he was about 20 years old when he enlisted in Durant’s Company of Harllee’s Battalion in the South Carolina Militia to fight the Indians in Florida. He served from 20 January 1837 and was released from service in St. Augustine, Territory of Florida on 20 April 1837.
Isaac resettled for a brief time near Tallahassee in Leon County, Florida where he met and married his first wife before moving to settle along the Suwannee River in Levy County, Florida. The settlement where he lived the remainder of his life became n as Hardeetown which is just west of the city of Chiefland, Florida.
Isaac lived here, raised a family by his first wife and remarried and had more children by a second wife. His second homeplace is still standing just outside the bounds of the cemetery where he was buried in 1879.
Isaac Pierson Hardee was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2002
Henry Haywood William HARRELL
Submitted by Descendants: Ireland Kate, Justin Lee, Lee Henry, Orbra Warthen, and Orbra Warthen HARRELL, Jr.; Caleb Nicholas, Jared Wade and Lydia Karen HATCHER; Karen Harrell Logan LEWIS; David Scott LOGAN; Cindy Logan Hatcher REYNOLDS
Henry Haywood William Harrell was born in 1821 in Bullock County to John J. A. Harrell Sr. and Lucy Lewis. John moved his family to Jefferson County, Territory of Florida, about 1828 when land patents and grants were available.
Since farming was the way of life for that area, Henry was probably working on the family farm when his father died in 1834 and continued to live with his mother, helping with the farm until April 1820 when he joined Captain Allbriton’s Company, Florida Mounted Militia (Bailey’s) as a private during the Florida Indian Wars. When Henry’s mother died in 1844, the property was divided among Henry and his three brothers.
A strong and conscientious young man, serving state and country by protecting his land, Henry voted in Jefferson County in Florida’s first state election in 1845.
Between 1845 and 1850, Henry moved west to Holmes County, near Bonifay and married Elizabeth Eva Gavin. Elizabeth was born in 1831 in South Carolina and had also moved to Florida with her family. Twelve children were born to Henry and Elizabeth. The census records from 1860 through 1900 for Holmes County continue to show Henry as a farmer.
Henry headed off to war again on 15 September 1863, enlisting at John’s Landing as a member of the Confederate Second Florida Cavalry, Company A. Thoughts of home and family must surely have pulled at his heartstrings, but duty and honor were high ideals for him.
On 23 February 1904, at the age of 83, henry died and was buried in Mt. Zion Methodist Church Cemetery near Bonifay. Twelve years later in 1916, his widow, Elizabeth Eva, was laid to rest beside him. This same cemetery is also the final resting place for some of Henry’s sons, brothers and their families. It is believed that Henry was probably an active member of the Mt. Zion Methodist Church which had been established in 1825.
Henry Haywood William Harrell was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2010
Margery HARRIS
Submitted by Descendant: Nicholas J. LINVILLE
Margery Harris was born in Nassau County, Florida on 28 January 1845, and lived her entire life in Florida. She married James Madison Wilson on 6 January 1859 in Clay County, Florida. They had ten children together.
James served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. After the war, they continued to reside in Clay County, Florida. James passed away 11 April 1905 and Margery drew upon his pension for the remainder of her life. In the last years of her life, she lived in the home of her daughter, Annie Wilson Hickey, and her husband James Hickey.
Margery passed away on 15 November 1923 at the age of 78 and was buried next to her husband in Beulah Baptist Church Cemetery, now part of Camp Blanding.
Margery Harris was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2011
William HAWKINS
Submitted by Descendants: Corey James, Heather Ann, Jason Michael, and Mary Ann Sullivan MAMMEN
William Hawkins’ actual birth date is unknown, but the 1850 Leon Co. census record states that he was 50 years old. He migrated to the Territory of Florida from the Greenville area of South Carolina, probably following the death of his first wife (unknown), leaving two unknown children, according to his probate. He settled in Leon Co. near the present State Capitol of Tallahassee.
During the Second Seminole War, William Hawkins answered the muster call for enlistment in Captain Elijah Johnson’s company of the 7th Regiment, 1st Brigade of the Florida Militia. On 20 July 1839, he was ordered back to military duty with Captain James B. Johnson’s company of Mounted Florida Militia under General Zachery Taylor’s Regular Army Corps.
By September 1841, William Hawkins had acquired forty acres of land near the Ockipuchnee River in Leon County. That land today is on Highway 20 not far from the Municipal Airport.
On 27 December 1841, William Hawkins married his second wife, Mary Elizabeth Cox, daughter of Stephen and Mary Cox. This family also migrated from South Carolina.
Three children were born to this union: William Charles Hawkins, b 21 October 1843, John C. Calhoun Hawkins, b 25 January 1848, and Susannah Hawkins, b 25 July 1849.
In 1845, William Hawkins was registered as a voter in Florida’s First Statehood Election.
In 1850, he applied for a land warrant under the Military Bounty Land Act (No. 14262) for 150 acres in Hillsborough County. He probably made the trip to the Tampa Bay area from St. Marks by boat since there were no roads at that time other than a few Indian trails that were unsafe for travel.
Hawkins settled in the Manatee area as a cattleman near Daniel Hawkins (b. 26 Aug 1821) whose relationship is not documented but family lore names him as a brother. Daniel was appointed as administrator of William’s estate following his death in 1853. His 150 acres of bounty land in Hillsborough County was sold for $152. William Hawkins’ widow, Mary Elizabeth Cox married John McLean, a Scottish carpenter who charged $10 to build William’s coffin and they moved to Fogertyville near present day Sarasota. When McLean died of disease during Confederate Army services, Mary Elizabeth married John Fisher and remained in the area.
The administrator of William’s estate made final settlement 14 March 1860, “giving equal distribution among all the heirs but two, who are being in parts unknown:.
William Hawkins was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2002
William Charles HAWKINS
Submitted by Descendants: Corey James, Heather Ann, Jason Michael, and Mary Ann Sullivan MAMMEN
William Charles Hawkins, son of William Hawkins and Mary Elizabeth Cox, was born 21 October 1843 in Leon County, Florida. His parents were both born in South Carolina.
After his father was awarded a land warrant of 120 acres in the Tampa Bay area for service in the Florida Militia in 1838 and 1839, the family moved south, probably by steamboat from St. Marks to Tampa Bay.
Several Florida history books mention the Hawkins family as early Florida cowboys. In 1856, young William registered his brand, a simple “H” for Hawkins. Records show that he shipped cattle to Nassau, Cuba and the Bahamas.
In 1861, William Charles and his stepfather, John McLean, became part of a guard outpost at Piney Point. Later he rode his horse to Ichepuchsassa and was mustered into the First Florida Calvary Regiment, Company K, 21 January 1862. Co. K was ordered to dismount and serve as infantry known as “First Florida Cavalry Regiment (Dismounted)”. They were ordered to Chattanooga to become part of the Army of East Tennessee under General Albert Johnson. William Charles Hawkins fought in all the well-known battles of the Tennessee campaign, including Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Rocky Face, Franklin, and Nashville. He was one of only about ten original soldiers in his unit to survive. He was shot in the wrist and lost his trigger finger at the Battle of Dallas, Georgia, but after a couple of weeks in a field hospital near Atlanta, he rejoined his company. He surrendered at Greensboro, North Carolina on 26 April 1865, was paroled from CSA Army 1 May 1865 and began his long journey back to Florida.
William Charles Hawkins stayed in the Manatee area until he decided to go to Orange County (now Seminole County). He deeded “all and singular goods, chattels, leases, and personal estate” which included one mule, one stock of cattle and one stock of hogs, to his mother, Mary Elizabeth Fisher. She married this third husband after John McLean died in CSA service in 1862.
In Orange County, he teamed up with a friend, Alexander Vaughn and together they bought ten acres of land from Ebenezer and Rebecca Metts for $100 in August 1875. Shortly after on 27 December 1875, William married Ebenezer’s daughter, Marquita Victoria Metts, (b. 27 August 1858 in Orange Mills, St. Johns County, Florida).
In 1880, William Charles purchased 60 acres from a brother-in-law, Elias Metts for $1,000. By this time he was a butcher and had a sizable herd of cattle.
William Charles Hawkins and Victoria Metts had nine children: Albert Sydney, b 1 February 1877; Mary Ellen, b. 21 April 1879; William Everett, b. 13 July 1881; Cora B., b. 29 April 1884; Charles, b. 15 December 1887; John Ebenezer, b. 1 May 1889; Edgar A., b. 6 February 1897 and Laura E., b. 13 February 1898.
While visiting his daughter in Dunedin, Florida, William Charles Hawkins died of heart failure 8 September 1907. His body was brought back to Paola, Seminole County, and he was laid to rest in the Sylvan Lake Cemetery.
William Charles Hawkins was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1990
Juan HERNANDEZ
Submitted by Descendant: Filiberto J. R. HENDERSON
Juan Hernandez was born 23 August 1761 at Mahon, Minorca, Balearic Islands, Spain. His parents were: Gaspar Hernandez and Margarita Triay. This family can be traced back in the parish records of Mahon to 1648. In that year Francisco Hernandez, native of Vilanova, in the Kingdom of Portugal married his second wife. Since the marriage entry offers a lot of information, we know that Francisco’s parents were Francisco Hernandez and Maria Dias, taking the family origin to the Last years of the 16th Century.
Juan Hernandez emigrated to New Smyrna, Florida, along with his parents and brothers named Martin and Jose in 1768. New Smyrna was a colonization project of Dr. Andrew Turnbull, a Scots who brought 1403 persons, mostly from Minorca, but also including Greeks, Italians and a handful of natives of Catalonia and Majorca. There are no nominal lists of these people, but the fact that their names appear in several of the 18th Century Spanish censuses of Florida, as well as in the parish records of Father Camps, is proof enough that they were among the primitive colonists of New Smyrna, and since he is described in his marriage records, as well as in the baptismal entries of his children, as “residing in this parish” this fact is further proof of his having been a pioneer of both St. Johns County and the State of Florida.
In 1777 the New Smyrna project came to an end and most of these families moved to St. Augustine. There, Juan Hernandez, in typical Spanish fashion, followed his eldest brother and became a carpenter under his training. Martin was, later on, the Chief Master Carpenter of the Royal Works, and probably, Juan was one of his assistants.
Juan Hernandez married twice, but it seems that he left no issue from his first marriage to Antonia Arnau, 27 April 1789. From his second marriage to Margarita Ponze (Pons), daughter of Juan Ponze and Margarita Ruiduves, 3 February 1790, there were, at least, five children. We do not know when or where he died, but since his brother Martin died in Matanzas, Cuba, in 1824, I am inclined to believe that after Florida passed to the hands of the U.S.A., Juan also moved to Cuba, either to Havana or Matanzas.
Juan Hernandez was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2003
Zilphia HICKS
Submitted by Descendant: Tally Sanborn BROWN
Zilphia Hicks was born 26 January 1806 in Camden County, Georgia, the daughter of John Hicks. She married Robert Sandlin from North Carolina 12 December 1822.
About 1827 they moved to a homestead in forested land near Blounts Ferry, Florida. There on their homestead she lived the next 52 years, raising her eight children, living a life of faith in god, surviving years of war and its devastating effects, and on through the years of her widowhood.
She was a charter member of two Hamilton County churches, Concord and Prospect.
Her life, indeed, was touched by “wars and rumors of wars”. Robert was a veteran of the War of 1812, and during the Indian Wars he was away from home much of the time. Their home being on a route sometimes taken by the Indians on their way to and from the Okefenokee Swamp, there were sometimes raids made on her home. There were times when he home was attached with bullets, arrows or attempted burning.
Three of her sons, Jesse, Henry, and Wiley went to fight in the Civil War; only Wiley returned home. Her husband Robert died just three weeks after Jesse’s death and she was left a widow in war time with a 13 year old son and her homestead devastated by the effects of the war.
At the age of 76 she moved into the home of her youngest son William Yules Sandlin in Hamilton County, Florida, where she died 26 November 1880.
She is buried next to her husband in an iron-fenced family plot in Hopewell Cemetery, Columbia County, Florida.
Zilphia Hicks was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2002
Joseph HIGGINBOTHAM
Submitted by Descendant: Elizabeth Marion Stover BAILEY
Joseph Higginbotham was born 1837 in Spring Grove, Marion Co., Florida, to David Bod Higginbotham and Elizabeth Hughes. By the time of the 1850 Federal Census Joseph was living with his family in Putnam County, Florida. Joseph Higginbotham married Frances Beck 30 Oct 1853 In Iron Springs, Palatka, Putnam Co., Florida.
Joseph moved to Levy County, Florida by 1854. Joseph and Frances had the following children:
Andrew Jackson Higginbotham, Elizabeth A Higginbotham, Carrie B Higginbotham, Mary Ann Higginbotham, William Dolphus Higginbotham, Frances Josephine Higginbotham, Martha Jane Higginbotham, Rose Ann Higginbotham, Caleb Higginbotham, and Florida Ardelia Higginbotham.
Joseph Higginbotham fought in the Civil War in Confederate Calvary A, 9th regiment from the State of Florida. He died 7 November 1878.
Joseph Higginbotham was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2002
Anna E. “Annie” HILLIARD
Submitted by Descendants: Waldo W. DAVIS and Gloria Beatrice Ann HART
William henry Willingham was born 18 April 1816, possibly in Oglethorpe, Georgia. William voted in the 1845 state election in Columbia County and served four enlistments in the Indian Wars.
He married Anna. E. “Annie” Hilliard on 23 July 1838 in Ware County, Georgia. Anna was born 19 March 1815 near Waycross, Georgia. To this union were born nine children: Isabelle, William W. “Bill”, Serena, Matilda, Ellen, Mary Ann and three others who died young.
The family settled near Fort Meade on the east side of the Peace River. At one time William had over 10,000 head of cattle plus orange groves. William died on 2 February 1886 and is buried in Pleasant Grove Cemetery in Fort Meade.
After William died Annie filed for and received a pension for his Indian War service. On 24 April 1901 while visiting her daughter Ellen Willingham Parker in Bassinger, Florida, Annie passed away and is buried in the Bassinger Cemetery.
Anna E. “Annie” Hilliard was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
John C. HOUSTON
Submitted by Descendant: Jackson Lee LANDERS
John C. Houston was born on Big Talbot Island, Duval County, in August of 1813. He married Mary Virginia Hall in Pablo Beach on 22 September 1836, and they remained in Duval County until 1842 when they traveled south via steamboat to take advantage of the “Armed Occupation Act” and set up a homestead in what is now Enterprise, Florida. Several years later John moved his family east to Osteen and then later to what is now Eau Gallie. A daughter, Elizabeth, wrote that it took five days to make the journey with an ox team, mule team and several riding horses. Originally named Arlington, the homestead was later known as Eau Gallie.
In 1861 when the Civil War reached them, the Houston family ran a refuge and staging area for the Confederate blockade runners transporting goods from the Indian River to the St. John’s River. Later John served as a Brevard County commissioner during the Reconstruction from 1864 to 1874 and established the second post office in Eau Gallie in 1871.
On 22 November 1885 John C. Houston died in Eau Gallie and was buried in the Houston Cemetery, which is part of the Historic Compound in the Eau Gallie section of Melbourne, Florida. John and his family are regarded as early pioneers and were one of the first families to settle in Eau Gallie.
John C. Houston was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2010
John Carroll HOUSTON; Sarah Ann HARRISON; Jane HARVEY; Louisa Ann HOUSTON; Charles W. JOHNSON
Submitted by Descendants: Joseph Newton and Pamela Newton MOORE; Melissa Moore STOCKHAM
John Carroll Houston was a captain in the Revolutionary War, serving with the South Carolina militia. He was granted 265 acres of land in Beaufort, South Carolina, for his service in the war. John was born about 1756 and married Jane Harvey of South Carolina and Georgia. Together they had four know sons and one known daughter.
Between the late 1790s and early 1800s, John moved his family to Duval County, Florida. During those turbulent years between 1811 and 1814, the Republic of East Florida was established by patriots to try to annex the province to the United States. John’s name appears in The East Florida Papers as a rebel in the Patriot War against the Spanish in Florida.
John’s wife, Jane was born about 1756 and was the daughter of John Harvey. Both her husband and father served their country during the Revolutionary War. Jane died around 1840 and was buried in the Houston Cemetery on Talbot Island.
Sarah Ann Harrison, born in 1805, married William Henry Houston on 29 July 1824 in Duval County. Records for 1832 show they owned a plantation and a mansion in Duval County. They had six known children. After William died in 1845, Sarah moved to Suwannee County and remained there until her death on 9 September 1864.
Louisa Ann Houston, first child of William and Sarah, was born 25 December 1825 on Big Talbot Island, Duval County, Florida. In November of 1842 Louisa married James Latimer, a ship’s captain and one of the original St. John’s River Bar Pilots. As a wedding present, the bride’s parents gave the couple land on Batten Island (now Ft. George Island). They built a home there and had five children. On 4 November 1897, Louisa died and was buried in the Houston Cemetery.
Charles W. Johnson, son of John and Charlotte Bush Johnson, married his childhood sweetheart, Mary Ann Latimer, daughter of James and Louisa. Charles was born in Pilot Town, Duval County, on 16 December 1842. He served as a bugler for the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Charles and Mary Ann were married 16 December 1866 and had four children. Charles died on 18 August 1923 at age 81 and was buried in the Houston Cemetery.
John Carroll Houston was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1986
Sarah Ann Harrison was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2010
Jane Harvey was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2010
Louisa Ann Houston was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2010
Charles W. Johnson was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2010
Lucinda Matilda HUTCHINSON
Submitted by Descendants: Jeffords Donalson Jr., Laura Ruth Jones, and Mary Hannah MILLER
Lucinda Matilda Hutchinson was born 09 Jan 1857 in Bradford County, Florida. Her parents were William Hutchinson and Elizabeth Meeks of Emanuel County, Georgia. Her father, William Hutchinson served with the Georgia Infantry during the Civil War.
The family moved to Lafayette County, Florida. Here Lucinda Matilda met Arial Travis Jones. They were married at New Troy in Lafayette County on 23 February 1879. Census records indicate that Lucinda Matilda was mother to seven children, but only four children survived to adulthood.
Lucinda Matilda was a farmer’s wife for many years, but postal records also list her as postmistress serving in the Lafayette County area. Later, she and her family moved across the Suwannee River to the Branford community. Here the family operated a general store.
After her husband died, Lucinda Matilda lived with her youngest son, Oscar Zachariah Jones, and his family in Branford. She died while visiting her son, W.R. Jones, in Savannah, Georgia. Her body was returned to Branford to be buried next to her husband in Oak Grove Cemetery in December 1931.
Lucinda Matilda Hutchinson was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2003
Priscilla IVEY
Submitted by Descendants: Garrett Armstrong, Heath William, Stuart Armstrong, and Whitney Susan BAILEY
Priscilla Ivey was born in Hamilton County, Florida 26 Jan 1842. Her father Thomas Ivey and mother died when she was a young girl. She then went to live with her uncle in Jacksonville, Florida, and then moved to Orange County in the late 1850’s.
At that time she was living with her uncle Robert Ivey on the banks of Lake Mann. While she was living in Orlando she had a baby out of wedlock with John R. Mizell; this was in early 1863 when John was with the 7th FL Inf. Co. F. At this time she went to work for Crawford Harris Bass in south Orange County. They then married and had three sons together.
They were a Pioneer family of Osceola County. She passed away in 1913 outliving two of her sons and her husband. Looking back she was one tough woman considering all she lived through and having a baby out of wedlock in the 1860’s.
Priscilla Ivey was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
John JOHNSON, a.k.a. Knud Sorensen Bie
Submitted by Descendant: Pamela Newton MOORE
Knud Sorensen Bie was born 12 May 1815 in Grimstad, Norway. At an early age he knew that he would follow in his father, grandfather, and brother’s footsteps, one day becoming a captain of the large sea vessels that visited Grimstad. He worked his trade and while in his teens became one of the youngest master sea captains in Norway.
After achieving his master’s certification and while still in his teens, Knud decided to come to America. He is listed as a passenger on the ship the Franklin, which arrived in the United States on 1 Oct 1831. Knud settled in Pilot Town, Florida. This little island village was located at the mouth of the St. Johns River and is now called Ft. George Island. It was called Pilot Town because the local bar pilots built their homes on this island. Here in this little village Knud found a place where he could use his skills as a ship captain.
In these early days the St. Johns River was marred with violent currents and treacherous sand bars. Many ships were lost when they tried to navigate the river on their way to Jacksonville. Only skilled captains could maneuver these vessels to port. The ships masters would hire local captains, called bar pilots, who knew the river and the location of these sand bars. It is said that Knud changed his name to John Johnson because of his love for the St. Johns River. Johnson, as if he was the son of the river.
John Johnson was instrumental in forming the St Johns River Bar Pilot’s Association. He built his home here and voted in Florida’s first statewide election on 26 May 1845. He prospered as a bar pilot and businessman. He was married three times, his first two wives died during childbirth. He fathered at least nine children. He died in 1884 in Pilot Town, Florida. Many of his great and great-great grandchildren still live in the area.
John Johnson, a.k.a. Knud Sorensen Bie, was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2011
Arial Travis JONES
Submitted by Descendants: Jeffords Donalson Jr., Laura Ruth Jones, and Mary Hannah MILLER
Arial Travis Jones was born October 13, 1854 in an area then known as Madison County, Florida. This area would soon become Lafayette County in 1856. His father and grandfather came from Alabama to this part of Florida before 1850.
Tragedy would soon come to this pioneer family. Arial Travis’ father, Aretus W. Jones, died when Arial Travis was about 5 years old. His father contracted “brain fever” and died after 8 days of illness. His mother, Mary Bush Jones now had five children to support. Mary Jones is listed as a Farmer on the 1860 census. His older brother, Zachariah Jones, would join the Florida Cow Cavalry as a teenager during the Civil War. He would rejoin his family after the war and help with the farming.
Arial Travis Jones married Lucinda Matilda Hutchinson on February 23, 1879. Their license was issued from New Troy in Lafayette County. On the 1885 State census for Lafayette County A.T. (Arial Travis) Jones age 30 is listed as a farmer. With him is listed wife, Matilda, and children. The next listing shows his mother, Mary Jones age 57. On the 1990 census the A.T. Jones family is still living in Lafayette County.
Arial Travis Jones would move his family across the Suwannee River to Branford, Florida to become a merchant of a General Store named A.T. JONES AND SONS. Here Arial Travis Jones died on January 10, 1925 not very far from the place of his birth across the Suwannee River in Lafayette County.
Arial Travis Jones was first submitted as a Florida Pioneer in 2003
Aretus W. JONES
Submitted by Descendants: Jeffords Donalson Jr., Laura Ruth Jones, and Mary Hannah MILLER
Aretus W. Jones was born in Alabama about 1827. Prior to 1850 he moved with other family members to the Madison County area of Florida. This area where he settled would be cut out to form Lafayette County in 1856.
He was a young farmer. He and his wife, Mary Bush, had a growing family. Aretus and Mary had five children here.
In 1859 William K. Jones, a brother of Aretus Jones, had a sad task. William K. Jones as Ass’t Marshal would be the enumerator for the 1860 Lafayette County Mortality Table. Here he listed the death of A.W. (Aretus W.) Jones who died October 6, 1859 from brain fever. A.W. Jones is listed as a married man age 32. His place of birth is listed as Alabama.
On the 1860 Lafayette County census Aretus Jones is not found, but his wife and family are. Here his brother William K. Jones is the census enumerator and his lists Mary (Bush) Jones as Farmer age 33. The children living in the household are: Zachariah age 11, Zilphia J., Lawrence S. age 8, Maryann age 6, and Arial Travis age 5.
Aretus W. Jones’ life was cut short when he became ill and died at age 32. In he pioneering days of Lafayette County his wife and children would continue to make it their home. Hi son, Zachariah Jones, would become the Lafayette County School Superintendent in 1877. Most of his children were farmers. Aretus W. Jones, like many other pioneers who lived in remote area, died at a young age, but their contributions are very real and paved the way for others.
Aretus W. Jones was first submitted as a Florida Pioneer in 2003
Oscar Zachariah JONES
Submitted by Descendants: Jeffords Donalson Jr., Laura Ruth Jones, and Mary Hannah MILLER
Oscar Zachariah Jones was born April 4, 1894 in the small settlement of McCrabb. At the time this area near Oldtown was considered Lafayette County, but would be cut out for Dixie County in 1921. Oscar was still living with his family in Lafayette County areas on the 1900 Census.
In later years, Oscar and his parents moved a few miles across the Suwannee River to Branford, Florida. Here Oscar was drafted into the Army and served overseas in France during World War I. On returning to Branford he helped his father, Arial Travis Jones in their general store, A.T. Jones and Sons.
In the 1920’s Oscar Zachariah Jones began his own business known as Jones Motor Company. This was an authorized Ford car dealership and garage around 1925. Later the Ford dealership was discontinued and Oscar had a Standard Oil Service Station for many years.
Oscar Zachariah Jones married Mildred May Johnson on August 24, 1925. They became parents of four children. Oscar and Mildred encouraged their children in their education. They were supportive and proud that all their children had earned college degrees.
Oscar Zachariah Jones was first submitted as a Florida Pioneer in 2003
Emily JOYNER
Submitted by Descendant: Anne Hammond CONNELL
Emily Joyner and John Martin Geiger moved to Florida about 1832-33. She was born about 1804, possibly in McIntosh County, Georgia, and raised in Wayne County, Georgia, where her father Charles Joyner (b. 1778 SC – d. 1855-60 Wayne Co., GA) was a planter and Justice of the Peace for many years. He was perhaps a son of John and Amey Joyner of Camden District, South Carolina, mentioned in John’s 1786 deed, along with brothers Absolom and Joseph and sister, Dorcas.
Emily’s mother Elizabeth Munden (b. 1780 Pitt Co., NC – 1855-60 Wayne Co., GA) had Virginia roots. Her father John Munden (b. 1740 Lynn Haven Parish, Princess Anne Co., VA – d. 1818 Wayne Co., GA) is listed on the SAR Revolutionary War Monument at Jessup, Wayne County. He served from North Carolina. His parents Stephen Munden and Clary___ lived and died in Glynn (now Wayne) County. His grandfather was John the elder (b. bef. 1700 – d. 1752 Princess Anne Co., VA).
Elizabeth’s mother was Anne Cason (James, James, Thomas, Thomas) of Lynn Haven Parish, Princess Anne County, Virginia. Her ancestors were church wardens and tobacco planters. Her second-great-grandfather Thomas migrated to the parish from England in 1635. Thomas was probably born in London, but family may have originated in Hertfordshire.
Emily Joyner was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2001
Jonathan KNIGHT & Elizabeth TUCKER
Submitted by Descendants: Charles Nicolas, Gunner Julian, Myra Marie, Sharon Baker ADERMAN; Victoria Lynne A Sarah Ann HARRISON der Sarah Ann HARRISON man LANGSTON; Erin Taylor, Steven F., and Suellen Baker PAIT; Payton Lane and Tina Pait PELLITTERI
Jonathan Knight was born in Cheraw’s District, South Carolina, on 14 February 1781. The men in his family were farmers and cattlemen, but their history portrays them as a restless clan, always pushing toward better land opportunities. In 1802, at the age of twenty-one, Jonathan went to Camden County to marry Elizabeth Tucker. They settled first in Effingham County where their first three children were born, then in Wayne County, adding six more children to the family.
From 1810 to 1812 Jonathan was the sheriff of Wayne County. He served in the War of 1812, was a soldier in the Creek Indian War, and became captain of the Wayne County militia on 12 November 1813. Moving to newly formed Lowndes County about 1825, Jonathan became a justice in the first election and also its first representative. The family became members of the kettle Creek Primitive Baptist Church.
When moving to land he had bought near Middleburg, Florida, Jonathan brought most of his family, thirteen slaves, horses, and cattle. Jonathan died 17 February 1852 and Elizabeth died shortly thereafter on 13 January 1853. They were both buried in Fowler Cemetery in Middleburg.
Elizabeth Tucker was born 2 May 1788, probably in Effingham County, Georgia. She and her two brothers were children of divorced parents, Jemima Andres and Andrew Tucker, and in their early lives the children had a close association with the Knight family.
Jonathan Knight & Elizabeth Tucker were first established as Florida Pioneers in 1987
James Henry KNIGHT & Cynthia ROWELL
Amanda Cedelle KNIGHT & William Rogers DIXON
Submitted by Descendants: Charles Nicolas, Gunner Julian, Myra Marie, Sharon Baker ADERMAN; Victoria Lynne A Sarah Ann HARRISON der Sarah Ann HARRISON man LANGSTON; Erin Taylor, Steven F., and Suellen Baker PAIT; Payton Lane and Tina Pait PELLITTERI
James Henry Knight, son of Jonathan and Elizabeth, was born in 1817 in Wayne County, Georgia. On 13 October 1836 at the age of nineteen, he married Cynthia Rowell. Cynthia was born about 1818 in Lowndes County. Georgia, but her family subsequently moved to Jefferson County, Florida, where they resided from 1835 to 1839. The Rowell’s were charter members of the Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church in Lowndes County.
The first four of James’s and Cynthia’s fourteen children were born in Lowndes County, Georgia, and the remaining children were born in Florida. Also having the “wandering spirit’ family trait, James appeared in Duval County in 1850, New River County in 1860, and in 1873 at the age of 56, he made a final move to the Bay Lake area of Sumter County, which later became Empire Primitive Baptist Church which was built on property he owned. H died in 1888 and the heirs deeded the property to the Church on 30 July 1889. Both James and Cynthia, who died in 1891, were buried in the Empire Church Cemetery.
Amanda Cedelle Knight and William Rogers Dixon were married in Bushnell, Sumter County, on 20 April 1876. Amanda was a daughter of James and Cynthia and was born in Bradford County in 1858. William had been born in Marianna, Florida, in 1853. William received 39.9 acres of land in Lake County which remained in the family until 1949.
James Henry KNIGHT & Cynthia ROWELL were first established as Florida Pioneers in 1987
Amanda Cedelle KNIGHT & William Rogers DIXON were first established as Florida Pioneers in 1987
William LaMEE
Submitted by Descendant: Maurice “Pat” LaMEE
Born in Brest, France, on 8 May 1812, William Lamee went to sea at the age of twelve and arrived on Florida’s east coast in 1835. He settled in the Mayport area where he was part of the second wave of bar pilots at the St. John’s Bar. There he met and married Antonika Arnau, a Minorcan descendant and daughter of James Arnau, a founding member of the St. John’s Bar Pilot’s Association.
Webb’s Historical, Industrial and Biographical Florida by Wanton S. Webb in 1885 gives us a glimpse into William’s life and character. “it is doubtful if any single branch of business could be found to compare in point of hardship and danger with that of the pilot. This is indeed a branch of business where nerve and cool judgment, combined with a total disregard for personal comfort or danger, are necessary requirements; and whose followers must be men of great hardihood.”
William and Antonika raised eight children at their home in Pilot Town, a small settlement across the river from Mayport. William built the house in the early 1850’s and it stands today, a stone’s throw from the Mayport ferry landing.
William Lamee died on 24 October 1889 after nearly fifty years of service at the St. Johns Bar.
William Lamee was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1994
Sumter LAND
Thomas Jefferson Land
Submitted by Descendants: Charles Edward and Scarlett Estella SCOTT
Sumter Land may have been born in South Carolina, but Florida was his home for many years. He is shown as a signer on an 1831 petition to the United States Congress requesting an arsenal be built near the town of Ocheesee on the Apalachicola River to make the area more secure for the few settlers living there.
According to family history, he was, ironically, killed and scalped by two renegade Indians on 18 May 1840 when his homestead was raided. Sumter and his twenty year old son Thomas were in the fields when he saw the Indians approaching his home. Thomas, who was wounded in the initial attack, was sent to alert the family while Sumter lured the Indians towards himself. Sumter’s wife Sarah was bathing the smaller children, so she threw water and towels on the fire to make thick smoke. Twelve year old James and baby Stephen were put on one horse and the rest of the children on the other horse and the family walked about 12 miles to safety at Fort Gadsden. Men from the fort rode quickly to the farm where they found Sumter’s body and everything destroyed and burned.
The son Thomas voted in the first State of Florida election in 1845 and became an attorney in Jackson County, and in Calhoun County, he was census enumerator in 1850, sheriff from 1852-1855 and Property Appraiser and Tax Collector in 1852 and 1853. He joined the Confederate Army, assigned to the 2nd Florida Calvary, Companies E and G, where he served as Sergeant.
About 1850, he married Catherine N. Clark and they had eleven children, nine living to adulthood. It is believed Thomas died in 1859 and is buried in Calhoun County.
Sumter Land was first established as Florida Pioneers in 2008
Thomas Jefferson Land was first established as Florida Pioneers in 2008
Eliza LANIER
Submitted by Descendant: Anisca “Nickey” Bronson NEEL
Eliza Lanier was born 30 March 1859 in Polk County, the daughter of John Lanier and Margaret Hogan, who were both pioneers of Florida. Eliza married John James Bronson on 24 December 1874 in Orange, now Osceola County. To this union were born five children, William Isaac “Ike”, Edward Richard, John, James Robert, and Emma Bronson.
John James died 22 June 1882 and Eliza then married Columbus Stephen “Steve” Acree on 3 January 1887 in Osceola County. Steve was elected Representative to the State Legislature for several years. Their children were Dora Frances, Ruby Estelle, Albert Stephen, Martha, Ruth, Zell, and Louise.
Eliza Lanier and Steve Acree donated the land for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery located south of Kissimmee. John, James, Eliza, and Steve are all buried at that location.
Eliza Lanier was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2002
Joseph E. LAW
Submitted by Descendants: Andrew Jason, Jason Ryan, and Ryan Samuel LAW
Joseph Elliott Law was born 15 February 1799 in Liberty County, Georgia, and was one of four children born to Thomas Elliott and Sarah Sallens Law. He received land grants in Hamilton County in 1836, 1839, 1852, and 1855. He was living in Hamilton County before the time of his first land grant, because he married Sarah E. Knight, daughter of Thomas J. Knight, on October 15, 1834. He voted in the first statewide election in 1845, representing Jasper, Precinct #2. According to an affidavit made by his son, Jasper built the first Methodist church in the area while Florida was still a territory.
The children of Joseph and Sarah Law were: Sarah E., Thomas J., Joseph N., Mary B., Martha A., Laura Matilda, Samuel Benjamen, Cornelia Clifford, Rebecca Amanda, Hannah B., Harriet Evelyn, Charles Nathaniel, David Elliott, and Clara Victoria. On February 4, 1865, after the death of Sarah he married Charlotte Westbrook. They were no children from that union.
On 14 July 1851 Joseph was appointed notary public for Hamilton County by Governor Call. His land holdings eventually added up to about 400 acres and he was a successful planter of sea island cotton. According to the slave schedule of 1860 he owned eighteen slaves. He died August 23,1871 in Hamilton County.
Joseph E. Law was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1988
Bartolome Josef LEONARDI
Submitted by Descendant: Nancy Evelyn Strauss WHITTLE
Bartolome Josef Leonardi was born 21 September 1782 in St. Augustine, Florida. He is among the first generation of LEONARDI’s born in Florida.
Bartolome is the son of Don Roque Leonardi and his wife Agueda (Agatha) Coll. They arrived with the Turnbull Colony in 1768. Prior to coming to America, Don Roque resided in Mahon, Minorca. Upon arriving in St. Augustine, they were dispatched to New Smyrna to start the colony. They were poor and many of the colonists died from disease and malnutrition. By 1777, the colonists left New Smyrna and walked all the way back to St. Augustine. At first they were not allowed inside the city gates; however, once inside the city gates Don Roque became a respected citizen in the community, serving as a Lieutenant in the City Militia. He was addressed as “Don”, which meant at that time a gentleman of prominence. Don Roque and Agueda were married 1772c in New Smyrna.
Bartolome grew up in St. Augustine and its vicinity. On 20 July 1808, he married Antonia Paula Bonelli, daughter of Josef Bonelli and Maria Moll, both of whom also arrived with the Turnbull Colony. Like Bartolome Antonia was also born in St. Augustine.
According to the 1830 Census, they lived in the Hospital War (now Aviles St.). By this time, they had nine children, all born in St. Augustine. Some of their children migrated to Tampa and one son Vincent settled in Pinellas Point. He is credited with contributing much to the development of that area.
Bartolome died 23 July 1844. Both he and Antonia are buried in the old Catholic Cemetery in St. Augustine.
Bartolome Josef Leonardi was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2001
Bartolome Josef LEONARDY
Submitted by Descendant: Jeannette Marie Say HENRY
Roque Leonardy arrived as an indentured laborer under Dr. Andrew Turnbull and is considered the founding father of the Leonardy(I)s of Florida.
Born on 21 September 1782 in St. Augustine, Bartolome Josef Leonardy was a first-generation child born in the united States and the fifth child of Roque Leonardy and his second wife Aqueda Coll. According to Friar Doug Halsema who wrote We Passed This Way-The Leonardi-Halsema Family History, Volume 1, Bartolome (Bartholomew) is a generational family name for the Leonardy(I)s reaching back to ancestors in mid-1400s Italy where Emperor Frederick III conferred knighthood upon ancestor Bartholemew Leonardi.
Little is known of Bartolome’s childhood in St. Augustine, but Spanish land grant documents for Roque Leonardy indicate Bartolome was driven or ordered out of St. Augustine during the revolt/insurrection of 1800. Upon his return a few years later, he secured and farmed the lands of his father, Roque, comprising 1400 acres.
In July of 1808, Bartolome married Antonia Paula De La Resurreccion Bonelli, also a first-generation child of Minorcan descent born in the Andrew Turnbull colony. They married and resided in the vicinity of St. Augustine throughout their lives and together raised eleven children. Several of their children moved to Tampa, then to the area of Hillsborough County which later became Pinellas County.
As a resident of St. Augustine in 1827, Bartolome added his signature to a petition to Congress voicing concerns regarding protection and continuation of rights previously granted by the government. According to St. Augustine Parish records, Bartolome died in 1844.
Bartolome Josef Leonardy was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2001
Ellen Louisa LEONARDY
Submitted by Descendant: Jeannette Marie SAY
Ellen Louisa Leonardy was the sixth child and second daughter of Vicente Leonardy and Venancia Andreu, born circa 1861 in Tampa, Florida.
On 27 February 1878, Ellen married George Wesley Meares. Shortly thereafter she and George moved to the recently purchased acreage located on the lower point of Hillsborough County. Together this couple would raise 11 children.
Ellen devoted herself to the church and her family. Her home was often the scene of birthday parties, picnics, and holiday celebrations. As many as 20 different fruits were grown in the Meares’ grove making summer a bounty of treats from Ellen’s kitchen.
In an interview given to the newspaper in the early 1930’s, Ellen spoke of the changes she had witnessed during her life. In the early years all supplies were brought to the county by boat from Tampa and mail was delivered only once a week. In 1890 the census recorded only 272 persons living in the area where as at the time of the interview, the city boasted a winter population of greater than 100,000. Transportation had gone from ox and buggy to airplanes.
Following the death of her husband, Ellen remained on their homestead where she resided until her death 3 September 1947. Her body was laid to rest in the Royal Palm Cemetery next to her husband.
Ellen Louisa Leonardy was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2011
Roque Pelligrino LEONARDY
Submitted by Descendant: Jeannette Marie SAY
Roque Leonardy was born 9 October 1741 in Italy. Roque was baptized as Rocco Peligrino Leonardy. Sometime after his arrival in the “New World” his name was Anglicized to Roque.
During 1768 he set sail, from Mahon, Minorca to St Augustine, Florida as an indentured member of Dr. Andrew Turnbull’s colony. The colony, called New Smyrna, was established just outside St Augustine.
On 15 May 1774 Roque married Agada Coll of Mahon, Minorca, also a colonist of Dr. Turnbull. Together they raised 11 children. In 1777, Roque took his young family and walked to St Augustine as part of the colonial revolt against oppressive conditions. British rule forced the colonists to reside outside the city gates. In 1783, Spain regained possession of the territory and a census was taken. This census records among Roque’s possessions, four houses on “the street of the doctor”. In 1784 Roque, along with other colonists, signed a letter of loyalty to the new governor. The 1787 census records Roque living in St Augustine on Medical Street with his wife, three sons and two daughters. In 1793, Roque was living on the 6th cross Street of Dragoon Barracks Street, St Augustine, Florida. He owned a significant wine plantation on the North River. His fruit trees and grape vines were famous as were his experiments with wines.
Prior to Roque’s death by drowning in 1801 he had acquired approximately, 2000 acres of land through 3 land grants awarded to him in December 1792, April 1793, and January 1799. Many documents record Roque’s name as “Don Roque Leonardy”. Don is a title of respect bestowed upon persons of prominence thus recognizing his status within the community. This is a testament to his ambition and clever business mind as he raised his status from the poverty of New Smyrna to prominence in just five years.
It is believed that Roque is buried in an unmarked grave in the Tolomato Cemetery at St Augustine, Florida.
Roque Pelligrino Leonardy was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2003
Vicente Andres LEONARDY
Submitted by Descendant: Jeannette Marie SAY
Born in St Augustine 21 January 1823, Vicente was of Italian and Menorcan heritage and second generation Floridian. He was the third son and eighth child born to Bartolome Leonardy and Antonia Paula Bonelli. The first record we find after his baptism is his marriage on 12 April 1847 to Venancia Andreu.
By 1850 Vicente had moved with his wife to Tampa and taken up the profession of carpenter. Eight children were born to this couple during the 18 years they resided in Tampa. He is credited with designing and building many of the homes and buildings in Tampa erected at that time, including the original St Louis Catholic Church. Additionally Vicente, along with his brother had the idea of building a 25 room hotel which they built and named the Florida House, which stayed in business as a hotel until the outbreak of the Civil War. In 1860, Vicente was elected to the City Council.
It has been reported that as a soldier for the Confederacy, Vicente was imprisoned at Fort Warren after his capture in October 1863 by the Federals and was there for the remainder of the conflict.
In 1868, Vicente purchased 80 acres of land for $0.50/acre in what is now Gulfport, moving his family one more time. According to his daughter Ellen, he built a schooner which he used to move his family to the Point of Pines, as it was then called. It was here that their last child was born in 1869. Once again Vicente began leaving his mark architecturally. He built the home of Joseph Torres which would be operated as a general merchandise store as well as the post office.
Vicente is credited with developing the Leonardy Grapefruit. This was a small juicy grapefruit with a thick rind described as so sweet that many prefer to eat it without sugar.
The first attempt of the settler’s on the point of Pinellas to create a separate county from Hillsborough occurred in the late 1880s. Vicente signed the petition to the State Legislature to establish the new county. This petition did not pass.
1890 marked the end of Vicente’s life. He is reportedly buried in the Glen Oak Cemetery in an unmarked grave.
Vicente Andres Leonardy was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2000
Caroline E. LIVINGSTON
Submitted by Descendants: Daisy Webb, Jason Webb, and Madeline Mae KENNEDY
Caroline E. Livingston was born in 1816 in Georgia and moved to Florida with her parents in 1830. She was the daughter of William Livingston and Susannah Wesley Haynes, both Florida Pioneers.
About 1838, Caroline married John Francis Webb. They had six children of whom the first was born in Madison and the next two in Columbia County, Florida. The family was living in Madison County by 1850, where their last three children were born.
Caroline E. (Livingston) Webb died in Madison, Florida in 1872 and is buried beside her husband in Oakridge Cemetery in Madison, Florida.
Caroline E. Livingston was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2007
Anastacio MABRUMATI
Submitted by Descendants: Kathleen Alicia Tindell BOUCHER and Kathleen Elizabeth Hagan TINDELL
Anastacio Mabrumati, son of Antonio Mabrumati and Maria Marcelino, born in Milo, Greece 1751. At the age of 17 years he was picked up by Andrew Turnbull on a ship that left Mahon, Greece 1768, to New Smyrna in 1776. Francisca died 21 August 1791. After the death of Francisca, Anastacio married Marie Pierce (2nd Wife), the widow of Robert Whitmore, 30 July 1794. Marie Pierce died 15 May 1796, so Anastacio raised his six children much on his own.
Anastacio was a signer of a Memorial to Governor Manuel De Zespedes in 1784, at St. Augustine. Six years after their arrival in St. Augustine, the family was living in their own “house of boards” in the Greek Settlement at St. Augustine, Florida. He was a planter cultivating two acres of land as a tenant. A few years later, he owned four acres of land about a mile north of the city gates in St. Augustine, in the area of the large cross. He also owned a house inside the wall of the city.
Eventually, he had a 150acre grant on the south shores of the Rio San Juan (St. Johns River). His ranch was called “El Toro”.
Anastacio Mabrumati was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2002
Cathrina Margarite Anna MABRUMATI
Submitted by Descendants: Kathleen Elizabeth Hagan TINDELL and Christine TINDELL-DAWSON
Cathrina Margarite Anna Mabrumati was born 13 March 1785 in St. Augustine, Florida. She was one of six children born to Anastacio Mabrumati and Francisca Llebres.
Cathrina married Josiah “Joseph” Hagan in St. Augustine, Florida, 27 October 1800. Joseph and Cathrina had ten children. Cathrina later married (2nd husband) Miguel Marie Salom, 08 May 1828. Miguel and Cathrina had two children, both born in St. Augustine, Florida.
Cathrina and Joseph raised their children in the Mandarin, Julington Creek area, which flow into the St. Johns River.
Life was far from easy and they had to endure many hardships, but still the family endured and prospered, Cathrina Margarite Anna Mabrumati died c. 1877.
Cathrina Margarite Anna Mabrumati was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1990
Fred MADDOX
Submitted by Descendant: Charlotte Maddox PIERCE
Fred Maddox was born 7 February 1889 in Apalachicola, Franklin County, Florida to John Wesley Maddox of Apalachicola and Charlotte Wall Maddox of Cheltenham, England.
In 1905 Fred, his brother Roy, and their father, John Wesley Maddox was hired to “sound” along St. Joseph Bay to determine the best location for a dock that would extend 2,500 feet into the bay. Fred and his father later became pilots and handled the ships that called at the port.
During World War I Fred joined the Army and served with the American Expeditionary Forces in France. Upon his return from the war he married Zola McFarland on 18 December 1920 in Marianna, Jackson County, Florida. Their son, David Benjamin Maddox, was born 12 September 1921 in Apalachicola, Franklin County, Florida.
In 1915 Captain Fred began leasing his home site; a 3.2 acre parcel of waterfront property situated on the shores of St. Joseph Bay and known as shipyard Cove during Old St. Joseph. On 28 February 1925 he entered into an agreement to purchase the property. Today the site is known as Maddox Park.
Always involved in his community, Captain Fred was instrumental in the forming of Gulf County from Calhoun County. He carried petitions gathering signatures for the creation of the new county and on 6 June 1925 the Florida Legislature officially created Gulf County.
Captain Fred died 12 March 1977 in Port St. Joe, Florida and is buried in Holly Hill Cemetery there.
Fred Maddox was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2005
John MATHEWS
Submitted by Descendants: Alexander Kent, Jon Karl, Pamela Denise DOKE; Andy Neal, and Neil Doke DUKES; Mable Claire Doke ELLINGTON; Burnell Mitchell and Patricia Dianne McLean SCHUSTER
John Mathews was born 5 May 1800 in Georgia. When he was about 5 years old Indians attacked the family, killing all except John and his younger brother, Frank. The two of them were playing in a haystack away from the house when the attack occurred and thus survived. A family whose surname was Hope took them in. When John was in his teens he moved with the Hope family to Micanopy, Florida. The family name is found spelled Mathews, Mattheus, and Matthews.
John married Margaret Moody and they moved to an area between Lake Butler and Providence in Columbia County, then moving to New River County, now Union County, settling within less than a mile from Ft. Call.
We find John Mathews on the voter registration of October 14 1839 as voter #25, in Columbia County, Fort Call precinct, Territory of Florida. Then in the Florida First Statewide Election, May 26, 1845 he votes in Columbia County, Fort Call precinct, State of Florida.
John died 30 Sept 1884 and is buried in the cemetery at Fort Call, Florida, which is now in Union County.
John Mathews was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2005
Charles McCLELLAN
Submitted by Descendants: Elizabeth Louise McClellan SKILLMAN and Linda Colleen SKILLMAN-MITCHELL
Charles McClellan was both a man of the cloth and a man of the soil. Originally from either North or South Carolina, probably the Barnwell district, Charles migrated from southwestern Georgia to Jefferson County. Indeed, the 1830 census of Hamilton County lists Charles, his wife Elizabeth and their three minor children. According to a published genealogy, Kissin’ Cousins, documentation places Charles, a deacon of the Methodist-Episcopal Church, as performing four marriages in Jefferson County before 1828.
His connections to Jefferson County are solidified when Charles purchased 39 acres of land in Jefferson County for $49.97 August 4, 1830. When Charles paid tax on this land, with an additional 41 acres added, he added 20 cents to the coffers of Jefferson County.
Within nine years, Charles McClellan is once again documented in the records of Jefferson County, this time with his will, dated March 25th, 1839. In a handwritten and eloquent will, he not only provides for his own funeral expenses but also for his two minor children, Samuel and Adeline. Less than a year later, in December 1839 Charles has died. His will was filed for probate on March 9, 1939.
Just as Charles had asked, his real and personal property were divided between Samuel and Adeline. Like his father, Samuel became a farmer, settling down initially in Jefferson County and then moving on to Columbia and Marion Counties.
Charles McClellan was first identified as a Florida Pioneer by Margaret Ann Callon Lyons and her sister, Eleanor Belle Callon in 1995. Another cousin, John McClellan Wallace, as well as my uncle, Hearst McClellan was recognized as descendants of Charles and as Florida Pioneers in 1997.
Charles McClellan was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1995
Samuel R. McCLELLAN
Submitted by Descendants: Elizabeth Louise McClellan SKILLMAN and Linda Colleen SKILLMAN-MITCHELL
Only sixteen when his father died, Samuel McClellan clearly inherited his father’s work ethic as well as his religious beliefs. Moving in with his eldest sister, Margaret Stephens, Samuel worked on her farm until he was at least 28, for the 1850 Census lists her as head of a household which included her own three children, her brother Samuel and sister Adeline. Like his father, Samuel became a farmer, settling down initially in Jefferson County and then moving on to Columbia and Marion Counties. In fact, Samuel is listed as a voter in Precinct I, Monticello, Jefferson County during Florida’s first state elections in 1845.
By the next census, in 1860, however, Sam had acquired real estate worth $500 and a personal worth of $1200—all needed to help provide for his wife Margaret McClaren McClellan and his two small children, Howard Tyson, just two and Lizzie, a newborn. At this time, he lived in Columbia County, near Lake City, where son Howard attended Peabody Academy—until his father’s premature death at 45. History of Florida, Past and Present, a biography on Howard Tyson McClellan provides insight into his father’s beliefs which ran contrary to those of many, “He was opposed to session and slavery” (28). For that reason, and perhaps in deference to his religious beliefs, he did not fight in the Civil War. He died just a few years afterward, in 1867.
Samuel R. McClellan was first identified as a Pioneer by Margaret Ann Callon Lyons in 1996.
Samuel R. McClellan was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1996
Moses Andrew McCLELLAND
Submitted by Descendant: Cecil P. PEEL Jr.
Moses Andrew “Lamb” McClelland was born circa 1821 in Telfair County, Georgia, the son of Silas McClelland and Penelope Anderson. The family relocated to Florida in the 1830’s and on 17 June 1837, at the age of 16, Moses enrolled during the 2nd Seminole Indian War as Andrew “”McClennan” in Captain William B. North’s Company, East Florida Mounted Volunteers. He was discharged 18 December 1837 at Fort Gilliland, Florida, and again enrolled as A. M. McClelland in Captain North’s Company. He served from 6 April 1838 to 11 July 1838 and re-enlisted once more on 12 July 1838. He was discharged 12 January 1839. During the period of the War with Mexico, there was a growing threat of another war with the Seminoles, so Ft. Brooke in Tampa, Hillsborough County, was again reactivated, and Moses enlisted in 1847.
Fifteen years prior to his enlistment, Moses was living at or near Cork, Hillsborough County, and on 27 August 1847 he married Sarah Platt, daughter of Peter Platt and Harriet Polk. He was honorably discharged at Ft. Brooke in September of 1849 and by 1850 the family was in the Itchpsessa Settlement in Hillsborough County. He later settled in Manatee County.
Moses and Sarah had five children, the third born on 27 October 1852 being named after his father. In the early 1850’s Moses Sr. received Bounty Land Warrant #9205 for 160 acres, and by 1870 the family was living in Township 34 – Fort Hartsuff-Zolfo area. On 31 August 1892, at the age of 71 and a resident of Zolfo, Moses applied for a pension based on his service during the Seminole Indian Wars. He was granted a pension of $8.00 per month, which he received until his death on 3 august 1896. His wife Sarah continued to receive a widow’s pension until her death in 1912, which had then increased to $12.00 per month.
Moses Andrew McClelland was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2002
Patrick Augustus McGRIFF
Submitted by Descendants: Jason Lewis, Keri Lee, and Lee McCormick CORNMAN; Carolyn Marie, Jean McCormick, Kevin Conner, and Susan Leslie IMES; Brian James, Dean Griffin, Ethel Griffin, and Scott Wallace MCCORMICK; William Henry WILLIAMS, Jr.
Patrick Augustus McGriff, also known as Patrick A. McGriff or P.A. McGriff, was born on 6 November 1826 in Gadsden County, Florida, the son of William McGriff and Sarah Speight McGriff. The family owned and operated a large estate in Gadsden County and Patrick attended boarding school. His father, William died when Patrick was thirteen years of age and Sarah became the executrix of the estate.
Patrick applied to the Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida for permission to manage his own affairs in 1842 at age sixteen. Permission was granted by the Council which convened 2nd of January 1843.
On 30 June 1852 Patrick married Susan N. Harvin. Patrick was a slave owner and operated a large farm along the Georgia-Florida border.
Patrick served the confederacy as a major in the 12th Regiment, Georgia Militia. He wrote letters home during the war with descriptions of the Confederate Camps and living conditions, the soldiers, and the actual battles. These letters are now in the Florida Archives.
Patrick returned home after the war and continued to operate his farm. He died in 1877 and is buried in Gadsden County, Florida.
Patrick Augustus McGriff was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2006
William McGRIFF
Submitted by Descendants: Jason Lewis, Keri Lee, and Lee McCormick CORNMAN; Carolyn Marie, Jean McCormick, Kevin Conner, and Susan Leslie IMES; Brian James, Dean Griffin, Ethel Griffin, and Scott Wallace MCCORMICK; William Henry WILLIAMS, Jr.
William McGriff was born in South Carolina, circa 1771, the son of Revolutionary Soldier Colonel Patrick McGriff. In circa 1798 the family moved to Montgomery County, Georgia where William married Sarah Speight, circa 1804.
In 1824 William moved his family to Florida and in 1827 he was granted Federal Land Certificates in Gadsden County near the community of Havana. On this property he grew cotton, corn and other crops and operated a cotton gin and a grist mill. William was a slave owner.
William served as a poll inspector for the 1835 election for the Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida, County of Gadsden. He is also shown on voting records for the election of May 1834 for the 13th Session of the Legislative Council of Florida.
William and Sarah became parents of thirteen children, the three youngest born in Florida. William died on 27 May, 1839, and Sarah became the executrix of the family estate.
William McGriff was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2006
Joseph Alexander McINTOSH
Submitted by Descendants: Gregory N., Jon L. III, and Jon L. COURSON Jr.
Joseph Alexander McIntosh was born in Nassau County, Florida and lived there his entire life. Deserted by his father, he was raised by his Grandfather, Joseph Alexander Higginbotham. He served as a Confederate Soldier during the Civil War, the only time he was away from his beloved homestead.
Joseph had a modest, unassuming lifestyle, but clear and unmistakable virtues, led by a determined will to achieve. He had a deep love for his native land.
He was a farmer, raised a large family, and today has many, many descendants. We meet once a year to honor him and keep the McIntosh family in contact with each other. We are proud of our heritage which was established during Joseph’s lifetime.
Without a doubt, Joseph Alexander McIntosh was a true Pioneer of Florida.
Joseph Alexander McIntosh was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2006
Alexander James McKENZIE
Submitted by Descendant: David Morgan FRANKLIN
Alexander James McKenzie was born 25 January 1810 in Montgomery County Georgia. In the 1820s he moved to Gadsden County Florida with his father and brothers where he settled and married Rebecca Blount in 1829. Rebecca Blount and Alexander McKenzie had seven children. Alexander was mustered in to fight in the 2nd Seminole War on two occasions in March 1837 and November 1839 as evidenced by the pension file of his second wife Sarah Jane Butler.
In the early 1840s, Alexander decided to move to Texas with his brother and sold all he had and began to move to Texas. On 1 March 1844, the steamboat that Alexander and his family were on collided with another on the Mississippi as evidenced by an article in Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory. Alexander’s wife and seven children were lost. Alexander then returned to Florida and married a widow, Sarah Jane Butler of Gadsden County in September 1844.
Alexander and his second wife, Sarah Jane Butler, lived in Gadsden County until the early 1850s then moved to Walton County Florida where they remained until the hostilities of the War Between the States erupted. They refugeed to Alabama in the early 1860s and settled in Brundridge, Alabama near Troy in Pike County. They later moved to the town of Troy. Alexander and Sarah butler raised two sons and three daughters.
Alexander James McKenzie died on 15 October 1890 in Troy Alabama.
Alexander James McKenzie was first submitted as a Florida Pioneer in 2005
Neill I McKINNON
Submitted by Descendant: Steven Charles WALLACE
Neill I. McKinnon was born 21 March 1830 in Red Bay, Walton County, Florida to Lauchlin Love McKinnon and Belle Anne McIver, who had come to the Walton County area from Richmond County, North Carolina. He resided in Red Bay, Walton County, Florida all his life. He married Louisa Kennedy, daughter of Albert Simeon Kennedy and Nancy Ann Bowden of Barbour County, Alabama.
Neill I. McKinnon enlisted 1 May 1861 in Company “D” First Florida Regiment. He was captured in December 1864 and marched to Johnson Island Ohio and was discharged June 18 1865 at Sandusky, Ohio.
Neill and his wife had seven children and at least six of these children are buried in the cemetery at Red bay, Walton County, Florida. This is the same cemetery where Neill I. McKinnon was buried when he died 31 March 1902, and where his wife, Louisa Kennedy McKinnon was buried when she died 19 September 1928.
Neill I McKinnon was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2001
George McSWAIN
Submitted by Descendants: Sarah Elizabeth and Thomas Ross McSWAIN
According to the Civil War Pension application of their son, Alexander McSwain, George McSwain and Jane (McMillan) McSwain moved to Walton County, Florida in about 1837. They had nine children. Of those nine, four of the children married into the family of William Cawthon.
Alexander McSwain married two of William Cawthon’s daughters. George and Jane’s daughter, Mary, married William Cawthon, Alexander’s father-in-law. He was forty years Mary’s senior.
Alexander McSwain served in the 1891 Florida State Legislature.
George McSwain was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
Agnes Myrtle MEARES
Submitted by Descendant: Jeannette Marie SAY
Agnes Myrtle Meares, known as Myrtle, was born 14 October 1901 in St Petersburg, Hillsborough County, Florida. She was the tenth child born to George and Ellen Meares.
Raised in St Petersburg, Myrtle graduated with the class of 1920 from St Petersburg High School. Following graduation, she married Leo Walter Say on 24 June 1921. The couple resided at their bungalow near Mirror Lake. They were members of the First Congregational Church. Together they raised one son, Leo Walter Say, Jr.
Following the economic crash of 1929, Myrtle moved with her family to a farm in Climax, GA, where they weathered the economic crisis. Stories shared by Leo, Jr., tell of the family raising hogs and farming. Among other crops they raised peanuts and watermelons. Leo Jr. spoke fondly of this time and of his mother’s cooking. Myrtle made cornbread, or corn cakes as the locals referred to it, that was the envy of the other school children. The cornbread was sweet and moist, thus the name corn cakes. Another favorite recipe was sweet potato pone which is remembered by most everyone who attended holiday meals at the Say house.
Drawn back to her roots, Myrtle and Leo moved back to St Petersburg about 1934. Upon their return to Florida, Leo opened a battery and shoe repair shop. The couple lived in an apartment above the business. Quite often you could find Myrtle and Leo fishing or enjoying the beaches.
Myrtle was very crafty with the tatting shuttle. She often tatted lace edgings on her hankies and table linens. Many of her hand tatted collars have been passed down to the granddaughters.
In 1963, almost ten years after the death of her husband, Myrtle moved to Seminole. Here she took up the art of ceramics. She lived with her sister until death took her on 20 September 1982. She is interred next to her husband in Memorial Park Cemetery, Pinellas County, Florida. Myrtle was a member of the Pinellas County Pioneers Association.
Agnes Myrtle Meares was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2011
Maria MOLL
Submitted by Descendants: Marguerite Jule Pacetty BROWN; Frances Mordina Brown EVANS; David William, Marguerite Marree Evans, and Robert Thomas MATHEWS
Maria Moll was born in Ciudadela, Minorca, and the second largest of the Balearic Islands off the coast of Spain. She was only fourteen, when in 1768, she and her father and mother, Antonio Moll & Maria Cabrisas, were recruited by Dr. Andrew Turnbull to work on his huge indigo plantation at New Smyrna in Florida. There she met and married Joseph Bonelly, a young Italian from Livorno, who was also recruited to work on this project. Their first child was born at New Smyrna in 1776. The New Smyrna colony collapsed and the entire group of Italians, Greeks, and Minorcans left to begin anew in St. Augustine. Barely three weeks after their arrival in St. Augustine, was a second child born. Her fifth child, a daughter named Maria Catalina Antonia Bonelly, was born in St. Augustine in 1784. Through exceptionally hard work, vigorous diligence, striving for a better existence by cultivating two 600 acre land grants at Matanzas and at Turnbull Bay, Maria Moll, and Joseph Bonelly kept their growing family of ten happy and healthy. Then, the third west in January 1802, while Joseph Bonelly was away on business, without warning, disaster struck. Miccosukee Indians ravaged, pillaged and burned the Bonelly plantation at Matanzas. Maria Moll Bonelly witnessed something so excruciatingly horrendous, so unspeakably horrible; something no mother should ever have to endure: before he very eyes, she saw her eldest son who was left in charge, Thomas Bonelly – scalped by the Indians. Maria Moll Bonelly and the five youngest children were taken captive and made to travel via a circuitous route to the Miccosukee settlement in West Florida. After seven months, when the Indians received their demanded ransom money, Maria and the three younger Bonelly children, Teresa Mary, Catherine, and John, were released. Later, her son, Joseph escaped: her daughter, Antonia Paula, was detained another fifteen months.
After her husband died, Doña Maria Moll Bonelly continued living in there wooden house on a lot located north and south between Hypolita Street and Baya Lane and east and west between the Bay and Charlotte Street in St. Augustine. This house went in succession to the next eldest living son, Antonio Bonelly however, upon his death, Maria Moll inherited the house and lot in 1819. Even though she did not know how to read or write Spanish, and, her command of the English language was minimal to nil, in 1823 she fought the authorities for legal title to her property with aplomb and with determined dignity.
Her sons left Florida for Cuba and the Caribbean. Her daughter, Maria Catalina “Mary”, lived in St. Marys, Georgia; her daughters, Theresa Mary and Antonia Paula, remained with her in St. Augustine.
Maria Moll Bonelly died in St. Augustine, Florida, sometime after 1830, as the census on this date attests to be the last recorded document bearing her name.
Maria Moll was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2005
Benjamin MOODY
Submitted by Descendant: John Benjamin MOODY III
Benjamin Moody, son of Samuel S. Moody and Sarah Lee, was born 15 April 1811, Telfair County, Georgia. Samuel died 1815 in Camden County, Georgia, and in 1820 Sarah and Benjamin moved to Hamilton County, Florida. There on 7 February 1833 Benjamin married Nancy Hooker, born 22 May 1811, daughter of Stephen Hooker and Elizabeth Brinton.
Benjamin served from 1836 to 1841 in a number of volunteer militias. In 1843 the family moved to Alafia, Hillsborough County where Benjamin served as a county commissioner and justice of the peace.
In March 1833 Benjamin united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he was a lay leader and co-founder of the fore-runner of Riverview United Methodist Church.
Nancy Hooker Moody died 26 September 1845. Benjamin married (2) Mary E. Knight, 21 March 1849. Mary died on 17 May 1850. On 5 November 1854 Benjamin married (3) Lydia Carlton Hendry, born 4 April 1812; died 24 May 1898.
In 1869 Benjamin and Lydia moved to Homeland in Polk County. Benjamin Moody died 13 October 1896. He was eulogized as a man of superior judgment, with deep and abiding convictions, whose courage was always equal to his convictions.
Benjamin Moody was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2001
John MORRISON
Submitted by Descendant: Sara Parham JOHNSON
John Morrison was born circa 1807 in North Carolina. He lived in Georgia, marrying Sibbiah Blair born 1801. While living in Georgia, they had 4 children and then moved to Marion County, Florida. There, two more children were born in 1846 and 1848. John died on 8 July 1858.
The February 1846 minutes of the Marion County Florida Commission show that John Morrison was on the first board of County Commissioners. He was elected in October of 1845 showing he had lived there long enough before the election to be well known and trusted to be elected to this office.
In an excerpt from The Territorial Papers of the United States, Vol. XXVI, c 1844, The Territory of Florida 1839-1845, John Morrison and his brother-in-law William Blair signed a petition certifying them as residents of Florida before it became a state. The petitioners stated that the US Government passed an act on 4 August 1842 to provide “armed occupation and settlement of the peninsula of East Florida”. The petitioners lived on the land and preserved it for the government from Indian intervention. They requested land grants.
On 1 April 1854 bounty land in Marion County, Florida that had been given to a soldier in the Florida War was returned to the General Land Office and was granted to John Morrison. Also, on 1 May 1855 a pre-emptive certificate was filed in the Register of Land Offices in Gainesville, Florida stating that full payment had been received from John Morrison for additional land in Marion County.
John Morrison was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1988
Eliza MOTES
Submitted by Descendants: Alexander P., Lindsay M., and Richard E. HADDEN
Eliza Motes was born around 1821 in Georgia. It is probable that her parents were John and Margaret Motes of Nassau County, Florida.
On the 29th October 1840, Jackson Tynum, J.P. performed the marriage between Eliza and James M. Burnsed in Nassau County. Isaiah D. Hart registered the marriage in Jacksonville. Eliza and her husband lived in Columbia County in the fortified log house that he built in the late 1830’s. It is known as the Burnsed Blockhouse and now sits in the Baker County Historical Park.
Eliza appeared in the 1850 census in Columbia County in the 1860 census in New River County, and in the 1870 census in Baker County.
Eliza had four sons and six daughters between 1841 and 1865.
Eliza died between 1870 and 1880.
Eliza Motes was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
Florida W. MURRHEE
Submitted by Descendants: Gregory N., Jon L III, and Jon L. COURSON Jr.
Florida W. Murrhee was married at a young age to Joseph Alexander McIntosh. Together they raised a large family and today have many descendants who meet each year to honor the family legacy we inherited.
Florida endured the many hardships of raising a family at a difficult time in our history. She did so with enthusiasm, endearing herself to all those who knew her. Without complaint, she supported her husband and children in their endeavors, and will never be forgotten by those who followed her. She quietly performed her responsibilities without ever bringing any attention to herself and had great influence on those around her.
She spent her entire lifetime in Nassau County, Florida, during the Formative years of our State when life was often hard and difficult. Florida W. Murrhee persevered and is a true Florida Pioneer.
Florida W. Murrhee was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2006
Mary Virginia MURRAY-HALL
Submitted by Descendant: Jackson Lee LANDERS
Mary Virginia Murray-Hall was born 13 February 1823 in Duval County, Florida.
She married John C. Houston in Pablo Beach, Duval County, Florida on 22 September 1836 where they remained until 1842. It was at this time the government was offering 160 acres of land under the “Armed Occupation Act” at what is now Enterprise, Florida. So Mary Virginia, her husband and their 3 young boys left Duval County and headed south. They traveled by steamboat and were literally dropped off with their possessions on the west side of Lake Monroe. One of Mary Virginia’s daughters later wrote that her Mother and Father would have gone back home had the boat been there in the morning.
She was a true pioneer woman, setting out with her husband, small children and a few possessions to a hostile land. There was mile after mile of wilderness in all directions and all comforts had to be rebuilt from scratch. Which they did; within 6 months they had a house and had cleared land so that crops could be planted.
In 1849 Mary Virginia and her family moved once again, this time east to where Osteen is now. By this time there were 5 children in the family. Since there were no schools available Mary Virginia and John were able to hire a teacher to educate their children. In the fall of 1860 the family moved again, this time to Eau Gallie on the Indian River. It took 5 days to move from Osteen south to Eau Gallie. They had an ox team, a mule team, and several riding horses. Life was not easy for Mary Virginia as she had lost 4 children during these years and now had 7 living children.
Shortly after this move, the Civil War broke out. Her husband and son became active in the Confederate Movement during the war. During this time, she and her daughters would weave cloth to sew all the clothes for the family; their father made all their shoes.
Mary Virginia died 13 February 1894 and is buried in the Houston Cemetery in Eau Gallie, Florida. The cemetery is part of a Historic Compound in the Eau Gallie section of Melbourne, Florida. Mary Virginia, and her husband John C. Houston, are regarded as early pioneers and one of the first families to settle in Eau Gallie, Florida.
Mary Virginia Murray-Hall was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2011
Elizabeth K. NATHANS
Submitted by Descendant: William Thomas Tuttle
Elizabeth K. Nathans was a blushing bride when she and her husband, Nicholas Grubb, joined her father, Isaac Nathans, and his family in Florida shortly after her marriage on 17 Dec 1829. She was about age 20 at the start of her married life which produced nine children all born in Florida. After leaving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she was born, Elizabeth remained in Florida for about thirty five-years until her death and burial in the Nathan’s family plot in Quincy’s West Cemetery.
Elizabeth was a mother to young children most of her life but somehow found time to be a seamstress by occupation. It’s good to think that she probably received help with her housework as the Grubbs had a female slave, a fact reported in the 1860 Census.
Elizabeth was also a loving mother. In a letter to his mother dated 28 Oct 1849 written in Columbus, Georgia, Thomas L. Grubb at age 19 wrote “…you have been such a kind mother to me and I never will forget you for it as long as I live. A kind and affectionate mother you have been to me.” What a nice tribute from a child to a mother.
Elizabeth K. Nathans was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2001
Isaac NATHANS
Submitted by Descendant: William Thomas TUTTLE
Isaac Nathans was born in Philadelphia. At about age 46, Isaac settled in Quincy, Florida, sometime before the 1820 census, with his second wife and five children. All counted, Isaac had three wives, seventeen children and at least five slaves. He remained in Quincy for about thirty-two years and was buried in a prominent grave site in Quincy’s West Cemetery after attaining age seventy eight.
Isaac’s obituary states: “For a long time he has been a citizen of this place (Quincy) and was intimately connected with the early history of this county (Gadsden).” Isaac was among the early settlers of Quincy. He quickly became an election official and active in the Masonic Lodge. Lodge records indicate that he was given the responsibility to establish a school room for children of the area. As an occupation, Isaac owned and operated an inn for public and stage trade.
Isaac was the patriarch of his large family. In 1843, four of his son-in-laws were living with their families in Quincy. Two were lawyers, one the postmaster and the other a carpenter. One of the lawyers, Abraham K. Allison, later became the sixth Governor (Acting) of Florida. Family members and perhaps others referred to Isaac as the “Old Major”. It is thought that he had been a Major in the War of 1812. This rank can be found on his restored gravestone.
Isaac Nathans was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2001
John NELSON
Submitted by Descendant: Lynda Nelson BODELON
John Nelson was born Jens Nissen 22 April 1812 in Haderslev, Denmark. According to family oral history, at the age of 12, he was sold by his father as a hired servant, soon after running away to sea. He spent several years at sea, eventually leaving the sea when he made port in St. Joseph, Florida. He spent the rest of his life as a resident of the northwest Florida area.
John settled in Holmes County, marrying Eliza Evans and fathering two children before her death. He was instrumental in bringing the Baptist denomination into the area helping establish Holmes Valley Baptist Church, which later changed its name to Ebenezer Baptist Church. After Eliza’s death, John married Sarah Hix, and fathered six children. He moved his family to Orange Hill in Washington County.
When the Civil War began, John was too old to enlist, but instead became a member of Captain William B. Jones’ Home Guard. After the defeat of the Confederate troops in Marianna, the Union soldiers surprised the Home Guard, killing several and taking John prisoner. He spent the remainder of the war in prison at Elmira, New York. Upon release he walked along the Appalachian Trail and arrived at home in such bad health that his family did not recognize him at first.
John voted in the first election in Florida in 1845. He was registered in Washington County at Roche’s Bluff.
John Nelson was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2005
William Willis NETTLES
Submitted by Descendant: Martin Dewayne NETTLES
Willis Nettles was a private in the 6th Regiment Florida Militant Seminole War 1835-36.
He was born about 1810 in Georgia. In 1832 he married Nancy Ann Lanier, daughter of Hardy Lanier. They had two sons, Isaac Mills Lanier Nettles born 1833 in Alachua County, Florida, and William Willis Nettles born 16 March 1835 in Alachua County, Florida. Willis Nettles and Isaac M. Lanier, brother-in-law to Willis were attacked by Indians near Ft. Micanopy February 1836 and Willis Nettles was killed.
Nancy married Nelson R. Hall 25 July 1838 at Newnanville, Alachua County, Florida. They had two sons, Isaiah Hall born 1841 and Joseph Hall born 1847. Nancy was living with Moses Aldrich; they are listed on the 1850 Alachua County Census.
By 1860 Nettles and Lanier’s moved to other counties south of Alachua County. William Willis Nettles married Rebecca Jane Youngblood and they had ten children.
Nancy Lanier Nettles Hall is listed on the 1880 Orange County, Florida Census living with son Isaiah “Boian” Hall.
Rebecca Jane died after June 1880 census and before 1885 Florida State Census. Isaac Willis Nettles homesteaded on Taylor Creek Road in Christmas, Orange County, Florida where Martin D. Nettles lives at this date, June 2004.
William Willis Nettles was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2002
Rafaela Ynes Maria Romaulda OLIVEROS
Submitted by Descendant: Latrell E. MICKLER
Born 7 Feb 1803 in St. Augustine, Spanish East Florida, Rafaela Ynes Maria Romaulda Oliveros was the daughter of Sebastian Oliveros (born in Bonafacia, Corsica, France) and Catalina Antonia Alzina/Usina (born in St. Augustine, British East Florida, the daughter of Minorcan parents). Rafaela was a descendant of immigrants of New Smyrna, Florida in 1768. New Smyrna became known as the Minorcan colony.
She married José Baltazar Victorino Papi/Papy in St. Augustine, St. Johns County, Florida Territory, about 1824. To them were born ten children: Annita F; José Gaspar Blas; Dolores; Fernanda; Catalina Mercellina; Edwardo Ambrose; Maria Pilar; Ysadora Mariano; Maria del Rosario; and Thelma Nieddanuus. Eight of their children lived to maturity.
Rafaela had solid Roman Catholic roots, a common trait of the Minorcan colonists and their descendants. She raised her children in that faith.
When Rafaela died at the age of 49 on 20 Nov 1852, she left a husband and five children under the age of 21.
Rafaela Ynes Maria Romaulda Oliveros was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2005
Peter Dolphus OUTLAW & Margaret BOLTON
Maggie OUTLAW & Ira W BASS
Submitted by Descendants: Amanda Mae, Brianna Lyndsay, Justin Andrew, Kevin Matthew, Lacie Victoria, Margaret Ann ROYAL, and Robert Jason FRYE; Susan ROYAL Jones; Cheryl Lynn, Daniel Lee, Lindsay Clyde Jr., and Robert Lindsay ROYAL; Jordan Matthew ROYAL-WEISER
Peter Dolphus Outlaw came to Florida on crutches in the year 1885. He came by train to see if he could get relief from his rheumatism that he had contracted while he was serving in the Civil War. He got so well that he discarded his crutches and went back home to Georgia. He bought two mules and a covered wagon and made ready to move to Kissimmee to live.
Peter and his son-in-law, Ira Bass, traveled to Kissimmee by mules and wagons’ carrying the household goods, as was the custom for new families moving to the area; the rest of the family traveled by train to Kissimmee on the first passenger train into the city. They arrived in Kissimmee on 7th January 1886, which was as warm as a summer day as the ground was frozen when they left Americus, GA to come south. Of course they thought they had found the land of paradise and sunshine.
The family consisted of Peter Outlaw’s wife Margaret Bolton Outlaw, and their children Mrs. Maggie Outlaw Bass, Dora Outlaw, Hattie Outlaw, and the youngest son Clevie Outlaw. When the Outlaw/Bass family arrived in Kissimmee, Peter Outlaw set up the first general mercantile store in Kissimmee. At that time, the Seminole Indians went to Kissimmee to do their trading and camped in the Cape Breeze subdivision.
Maggie and Ira Bass had been married about three years when they arrived in Kissimmee to live. It was a hard struggle for them to get along at first, and Ira worked at many things to make a go of it. Ira Bass helped survey and build the Sugar Belt Railroad from St. Cloud to Narcoossee, a line constructed to carry out the sugar that was then produced in the area. The Sugar Belt line was owned by Henry Disston, Florida’s largest land owner at that time. Ira was gradually promoted until he was an engineer on the line and retired in this capacity after 35 years. Maggie Bass made all the wedding dresses for brides in the early days. Maggie was a real pioneer in every sense of the word, as she saw electric lights turned on in Kissimmee and also the advent of automobiles and telephones.
Peter Dolphus OUTLAW /Margaret BOLTON / Maggie OUTLAW / Ira W BASS were first established as Florida Pioneers in 2011
Elijah PADGETT
Submitted by Descendants: Bridee Page Staats MANNING; Florence Maxine Padgett AND Troy Allen SIKES; Carl Kent, Carl Kent, Jr., Jacklyn Padgett, and Kelli Gail STAATS
Elijah Padgett was born C-1824, in Tattnall Co. Georgia, the third son of Hopkins Padgett, born about 1770 in Colleton District, South Carolina, and Mary Branch, born about 1780 in South Carolina. (State Cert. #11 Hamilton Co.).
Elijah served in Capt. Martins (MTD0 Co. (Clinch Huzzars) 1 Regt (Warren’s) Florida Mil. at Fort Reed from January 27, 1837 until June 1837. He applied for 40.8 acres at the rate of $1.25 per acre from the Land Office in Tallahassee January 2, 1838, in Hamilton County, Territory of Florida.
On July 9 1839 for the sum of $85.89 he sold his property to his father Hopkins Padgett, along with one three year old by horse, one year old heifer, on three year old heifer, one cow and calf, improvements of land and his crop which was growing.
In the 1850 census, State of Georgia, Ware Co. we find Elijah Padgett, wife Charity Hunter with seven children and a 30 year old male, Hanford Hunter; he could be Charity Hunters brother. Their children were: James Tippon b. c-1837, FL d. 14 May 1917, FL; Penney b. c-1839, GA.; Carolyn b. c-1839, GA.; Cecia b. c-1842, GA.; Allen b. c-1846, GA.; Elijah b. c-1849 GA.; Mandy b. c-1851 GA.; and Ester b. c-1853, GA.
Elijah Padgett was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1995
Gaspar PAPI / PAPY
Submitted by Descendant: Latrell E. MICKLER
Gaspar Papy was born about 1751 in Smyrna, Asia Minor, now Izmer, Turkey. He was Greek and of the Roman Catholic faith. He was the only person from Smyrna to join the ill-fated venture of Dr. Andrew Turnbull. He arrived in New Smyrna, Florida, in the summer of 1768 at about 17 years of age, and walked to St. Augustine in 1777 with the surviving members of the “Minorcan” colony. It was there he lived the rest of his life.
Gaspar married Ana Pons from Mercadal, Minorca, in St. Augustine, British East Florida, 10 Feb 1781. They had nine children, seven of whom lived to maturity.
As early as 1793, he and his family had a home on St. George and Bridge Sts., property now occupied by the Sisters of St. Joseph convent.
In 1797, Gaspar was awarded 200 acres by Governor White at the head of Mosquito (Tomoka) River in the area of the present day Ormond Beach Airport. In 1805 the governor awarded him 5 ½ acres “out” Bridge St. near the San Sebastian River ferry crossing, and this was the beginning of Gaspar’s plantation.
Gaspar was a farmer, stock owner, store owner, and respected citizen, often entertaining the Spanish governor and other dignitaries in his home where his daughter Josefa entertained with song and dance. He made wine of grapes from his vineyard for Communion in the Cathedral. He was a Godfather to many of the town’s children.
At the time of his death, 14 Jul 1817, Gaspar owned a “mansion” on St. George St., the tow joined houses he built on Aviles St., a 14 acre plantation with a house, three houses on present day Charlotte St., a store with goods, cattle swine and horses, a cart, etc.
He is buried in St. Augustine’s Tolomato Cemetery, exact location unknown.
Gaspar Papi / Papy was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2005
José Baltazar Victorino PAPI / PAPY
Submitted by Descendant: Latrell E. MICKLER
José Baltazar Victorino Papy was born in St. Augustine, Spanish East Florida, 10 Mar 1801, the ninth and last child of Gaspar and Ana Pons Papy. He was later known as Joseph B. Papy and Jose Vitorio Papy.
José was awarded a Spanish land grant of 640 acres 12 miles south of St. Augustine and four miles east of Picolata Fort on the St. Johns River before his 21st birthday. This land was proven to have been inhabited and cultivated from 1819 to 1825, and was confirmed 27 Dec 1825.
He married Rafaela Ynes Oliveros about 1824. They were the parents of nine children.
He and his family appeared in the 1830 Census in the Hospital Ward (south part of the city), St. Augustine, St. Johns County, Florida Territory.
José joined Major Smith’s Company G, Senalz’ 2nd Florida Mounted Militia 12 Dec 1835 at St. Augustine, Florida, during the Seminole War.
In 1840, the St. Augustine, St. Johns County, Florida Territory Census listed him as Joseph Pappy.
In 1850, the St. Augustine, St. Johns County, Florida Census listed: Joseph Papy, age 49, butcher, with real estate valued at $400, born in Florida. With him were his wife and six of their children.
Joseph Papy died intestate 10 Apr 1853 at the age of 52 in St. Augustine, St. Johns County, Florida.
José Baltazar Victorino Papi / Papy was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2005
José Gaspar Blas PAPY
Submitted by Descendant: Latrell E. MICKLER
José Gaspar Blas Papy was the second eldest child and the first son born to José Baltazar Victorino Papi / Papy and Rafaela Ynes Maria Remualda Oliveros. He was born in St. Augustine, St. Johns County, Florida Territory, 3 Feb 1830. He was also known as Joseph B. Papy.
The 1850 Federal Census of St. Augustine lists him as a saddler. On 18 Aug 1857, during the third Seminole War, Joseph B. Papy enlisted in Captain Mickler’s Indian Company, Florida Mounted Volunteers, at Ft. Brooke, Tampa. He was a bugler.
The 1860 Federal Census takers found “Joe Pappi” in Charleston City, Charleston, South Carolina, where he was working as a harness maker.
January of 1861, back in St. Augustine, he enlisted in the Marion Artillery, and was stationed at the Castillo de San Marcos. Joseph B. Papy enlisted as a musician on 3 Sep 1861, in Jacksonville, Florida, at age 30, in Co. A, 3rd Infantry Regiment, Florida; he was transferred 17 May 1862 from Company A to Company S and promoted to Full Drum Major on 17 May 1862. He was detached on 19 August 1862 at Columbus, Georgia, at a saddle & harness factory. He was stationed in the saddle and harness factory for the duration of the War of Northern Aggression.
9 Apr 1863, Joseph married Louisa Caroline Henry in Columbus, Muscogee County, Georgia. He returned to St. Johns County, Florida, with his family in March or June 1869, where he was a farmer. In 1880, he and his family were living in Macon, Bibb County, Georgia, where he owned a butcher shop. On 26 Dec 1882, he lost his butcher shop to a fire, and returned to spend the rest of his life farming in the community of Sampson, St. Johns County, Florida.
Joseph Papy was awarded a pension for his service in the Confederate Army. He and Louisa were the parents of seven children. He died in Sampson 24 Aug 1911, at the age of 81, and is buried in Sampson Cemetery.
José Gaspar Blas Papy was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2005
Samuel PARKHILL
Submitted by Descendant: Harriet Holmes RAFFO
Samuel Parkhill was born in Londonderry, Ireland. He came to America when he was a very young man. He settled in Virginia and lived with his brother John Parkhill. Samuel received an education in Virginia, but left college to serve in the War of 1812. He married Martha Ann Bott of Virginia in 1817.
In the late 1820’s he joined with his brother John Parkhill, ad a colony of Virginians and moved to the territory of Florida. Samuel became a planter and lived on his plantation in Leon County, Florida named Maplewood.
Samuel Parkhill was on the staff of Gen. Clinch with the rank of Colonel and served in the Seminole War. While the Seminole War was being waged, Florida took her beginning steps towards becoming a state. A Convention met at St. Joseph to write Florida’s First Constitution which would eventually lead to the application of Florida being admitted to the Union. Samuel Parkhill was a member of this convention representing Leon County.
Samuel and Martha had eight children: Robert Emmet, Ann Maria, John Bull, Catherine, Victoria, Agnes, Samuel Miles, and Richard Call.
Samuel Parkhill was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1988
Thomas (Tomas) PAXETI
Submitted by Descendants: Marguerite Jule Pacetty BROWN; Frances Mordina Brown EVANS; David William, Marguerite Marreé Evans, and Robert Thomas MATHEWS
Thomas Paxeti was born at New Smyrna, los Mosquitos, San Pedro Parish (Volusia County) Florida on 10 February 1776 – the year of the American Revolution. His parents were Andres Paxeti of Trapani, Sicily known then as “in the region of Naples” Italy, and, Gertrudis Pons of Mahon, Minorca. Andres Paxeti was one of the 110 Italians recruited at Livorno, Italy, by the Scots physician-entrepreneur and land developer, Andrew Turnbull, to work on an indigo plantation project at New Smyrna, Florida. While Turnbull scouted the Mediterranean seeking more recruits for his mammoth project, the Italians were ensconced at Mahon; many met and subsequently married Minorcan girls. Andres Paxeti married Gertrudis Bonaventura Pons on 17 March 1768 in Mahon, just prior to setting sail from the port of Mahon, Minorca to New Smyrna, Florida.
There was only one man with the name: Andres Paxeti or variations thereof (Andrea/Andrew Pacetti/Pasetty/Pachetti/Pacety/Pacetty), who sailed with the Turnbull group. Only two (Clara and Thomas) of Andres Paxeti’s five children by Gertrudis Pons were born and baptized at New Smyrna, and amazingly, these two actually survived the harsh wilderness surroundings. Many people, particularly children, died due to food shortages, diseases and despairingly miserable living conditions. After nine years of exploitation, deprivation and broken promises, the New Smyrna colony failed. The English governor granted them their freedom and the entire group, dubbed The Minorcans, walked the King’s Highway to begin anew in St. Augustine.
Thomas Paxeti age 17 and single, was listed with his father and step-mother and living siblings, in the household of his sister, Clara and her husband, on the 1793 Spanish Census for St. Augustine.
Tomas (Thomas) Paxeti married Maria “Mary” Catalina Bonelly, daughter of Joseph Bonelly and Maria Moll, on 16 November 1801 in St. Augustine. They had five sons, four of whom were born in St. Augustine and one born in Georgia: Andrew, Joseph, Thomas, Dennis, John.
As noted in the American State Papers, “Military Affairs”, in 1803, it was Thomas Pacety [sic] who brought his wife’s sister, Antonia Paula Bonelly, who had been captured and detained for nearly two years by the Miccosukee Indians, back to St. Augustine.
Thomas and his wife, Maria (Mary), lived in St. Augustine, Florida at least through the year 1811. According to the “Journal of Archibald Clark, Camden County 1822-1840” (housed in the Bryan-Lang Historical Library, Woodbine, Georgia), Thomas Paxeti was a seafaring man. Various Pacetti family members say that Thomas earned his living as a fisherman and that he plied boats in and around the waterways from St. Marys, Georgia to Fernandina, Florida – traditions carried on by his direct descendants to this day.
Alone in Georgia, his wife was listed on the 1820 Camden County, Georgia Census for the City of St. Marys: Mary Persity[sic], head of household with five males in her household whose ages correspond to those of their five sons. There is no definitive death date John or death place for Thomas Paxeti.
Thomas (Tomas) Paxeti was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2005
John Christopher PILLANS
Submitted by Descendant: May Fair Murrell GOWDY
John Christopher Pillans was born 18 February 1780 in Charleston, South Carolina. He lived in Charleston, married Elizabeth Palmer of that city in 1811 and was the owner of a cotton plantation on Edisto Island, South Carolina.
Family writing indicates that john Christopher came to Madison County, Florida in the mid-1830s. He established a cotton plantation there. He was listed in the 1840 census as Head of Household and was a charter member and elder of the Madison Presbyterian Church, which was founded on 8 March 1840. He also voted in the 1845 Statehood Election.
John Christopher died in Madison 11 September 1864 and is buried in the Old Oakland Cemetery.
John Christopher Pillans was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2000
William Palmer PILLANS
Submitted by Descendant: May Fair GOWDY
William Palmer Pillans was born 25 March 1823 in Charleston, South Carolina. He came to Madison County, Florida with his Father, John Christopher Pillans, in the mid-1830s. William Palmer married Mary Angelina Perry in Madison 25 October 1849.
William Palmer graduated from The Citadel, Charleston, and served as Captain in the Confederate Army, Madison Rangers, Company “L”, 2nd Florida Infantry.
In the early 1880s William Palmer and his family, along with his son, James Christopher Pillans and his wife, Mary Hoyt Beggs, moved to Marion County, Florida where they were farmers and citrus growers.
William Palmer died 2 May 1895 in Orlando, Florida and is buried in Electra Cemetery, Marion County, Florida.
William Palmer Pillans was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2000
John PINNEY
Submitted by Descendant: William E. PINNEY
John Pinney was born May 1813 in Baltimore, Maryland. He followed the sea from the age of fourteen and ultimately became a sea captain, successful merchant and property owner in Pensacola, Florida.
He arrived in Pensacola about 1834 on the U.S. Vandalia, an 18-gun–of-war sloop. He soon began to engage in trade an property accumulation. Captain Pinney married Miss Mary J. Mealy on 12 July 1838. The couple, along with their one-year old son, John Louis Pinney, was residents of Escambia County, Florida in 1840. John and Mary had four children, all born in Escambia County: John Louis, Samuel Leo, Rebecca and Laura Pinney.
By all accounts, Captain Pinney was an outspoken, independent business man who was a loving and generous father. Reportedly, he owned as much as 13,000 acres of land in Pensacola, and Escambia County. Among his properties were the Pinney Building located on Commendencia Street, where he had his office, and his home located on the northeast corner of Government and Alcaniz Streets.
John Pinney died 31 May 1892 in Pensacola and is buried at St. John’s Cemetery in that city.
John Pinney was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2007
William Augustus PITCHER
William Augustus Pitcher was born 17 April 1805, in New York State. Because of poor health he moved to Key West, Florida prior to 1837. He rented a room in the home of the Munson Family, and on 5 October 1837, he married Hanna Wilhelmina “Minta”, one of the Munson daughters.
Originally he was a clerk, but later became a grocery merchant. He and “Minta” had ten children many of whom married citizens of Key West and remained there throughout their lives. He was prosperous enough to send a least two of his daughters to boarding school.
William Pitcher and his family were active members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Their names can be found throughout the Parish Register.
Key West was occupied by Federal troops during the Civil War. Although friends and family members had divided allegiances, William Pitcher remained loyal to the Union. He was a member of a Union Volunteer Corps.
Life in Key West was kind to William Pitcher, for in spite of his early health problems, he lived to be seventy-nine. He died 20 June 1884. His widow, “Minta”, lived until 1901. They are buried next to each other in the old City Cemetery.
Submitted by Descendant: Mary Bartlum WALKER
Benjamin PITTS
Submitted by Descendants: Beverly MOUNT-DOUDS; Henry Lee and John Gilbert PITTS
Benjamin Pitts was born around 1815-1820, in Georgia. He married Serena Cowart in Henry County, Alabama on the 5th of August 1833. Serena was the daughter of Henry T. Cowart and Rachel LaFever who were married in Jefferson County, Georgia on August 30th, 1808. This gives us the French connection.
They came to Florida in 1834, at which time the Territorial of Jackson County included a large portion of present day Holmes County. He was one of the petitioners for better mail service to Webbville in Jackson County in 1834. He can be found on the Florida Voters list in the first statewide Election in 1845 in Jackson County, Senatorial District #3, at a precinct encaptioned “Rogue Town (John Williams’ House)”. Benjamin is also listed on Jackson County’s tax rolls in 1830’s as well as the militia roster for that period. Ben and Serena and the children can be found next on the 1850 Holmes County Census.
The 1830’s tax rolls of Jackson County might give us a clue as to some of the Pitts movements of the period. Both Benjamin and Louis Pitts, as heads of households paid extra taxes for Free Persons of Colour associated with their households on one of the tax rolls. A further search of Alabama and Georgia records show that the Pitts of Telfair County, Georgia had strong connections with those of Jackson and Holmes Counties up through the 1880’s. Captain John Pitts, Rev. Soldier, was awarded land grants as being a resident of Telfair County and land records show John Pitts had bought land and resided in Telfair in 1816, probably relocating from the Carolinas. The 1820 census only lists Free Persons of Colour in the households of John Pitts, Sr., and indicates his absence, at least temporary. We don’t have a record of his later movements, but indications are that some of the other various Telfair County kinfolk and family members in later years moved on to Dooley County, Georgia, while many appear to have moved on to and through Henry County, Alabama, and some on the Jackson and Holmes Counties.
The Pitts descendants of early Northwest Florida Territory were frontiersmen; they were fortunate in living in a time and area in which they had great opportunities.
Benjamin could have chosen to stay in the settled areas of the Carolinas, Georgia, or Alabama and possibly have had a far more financially rewarding career as a plantation owner as did many of his kin in these states. He chose instead to venture into the wilds of the new frontier county and to be a part of “The Great Hunt”.
Though privations were tough – no schools, churches nor medical facilities, it was a rare and opportune time in late history for man to again follow the flight of the wild geese, the call of the hawk, the bounding deer, the cool, clear streams full of fish, a walk through the forests of tall trees.
Also, to test a man’s bravery, it was a time of the Indian wars. Soon enough the forests would be cleared and man again have to follow a more mundane way of providing for his livelihood, and depend on the institutions we now call necessities.
He “kept his face to the wind” as only the strong survived, but he nevertheless died early of an influenza type illness in 1859, in Walton County, Florida at 45 years of age.
The hunt had ended for Benjamin, but he had enjoyed the wilderness, hunted the big game, had had fought the equally courageous Indians who had tried to retain their lands against these settlers. Serena lived on in the Bethlehem community for many more years.
The spirit of The Great Hunt is the Spirit of Adventure and appreciation of nature’s environment shared by all.
Benjamin Pitts was first established as 2005
Benjamin PITTS
Submitted by Descendants: Mary Ann (Pitts) FLOWERS
Benjamin Pitts was born around 1815, in Georgia. He served in the Seminole Indian Wars. He can be found on the muster rolls of Captain Samuel Stephens, Company of the First Brigade of Florida Militia. This company was mustered in at Marianna, Florida by Col. L. Brown and dismissed by D.H. Vinton, Inspection & Mustering Office at the same time place on 6 March 1838. Here he is listed as a private.
Benjamin Pitts was married to Miss Serena Cowart in Henry County, Alabama on 5 August 1833. They had 5 children, Lewis (who died in the Civil War), William Henry, John Gilbert, Isaac Porter, and a daughter, Sarah (who married Robert Holley, and died during the Civil War).
The Pitts family came to Florida about 1834, at which time the Territorial of Jackson County included a large portion of present day Holmes County. Benjamin Pitts can be found in the first statewide Election in 1845 in Jackson County, Florida.
Benjamin Pitts can also be found on the Jackson County Tax rolls in 1830 as well as in the Militia roster for that period.
Benjamin died around 1859 and is believed to be buried in the old Stevenson Cemetery in Holmes County, Florida.
Benjamin Pitts was first established as 2005
Nicholás PONCE de LÉON
Submitted by Descendants: Antonieta Echenique and Frank S. BERNARDINO; Luis ECHENIQUE JR.; Alejandro José, Ana Maria Bernardino, Cecilia Cristina, Laura Antonieta, Maite Carolina, GARCÍA; Susana C Echenique MATOS; Francis A Echenique, Jack Luis, and Olivia A McCLINTOCK; Erik Frank, Paul Alexander and Rosa Bernardino RAMOS; Andrea C., Paola I., and Patricia Echenique VALDÉS-SUEIRAS
Nicholas Ponce De Leon was born in Madrid circa 1590, and in 1612, he traveled with his father to the Indies and helped colonize the territory of Nueva Granada, now known as Colombia. While there he served with a company under his command in the Provinces of Santa Martha, Valle Upar and Riodeacha in the pacification of Indians and the discovery and farming of pearl oyster beds. This became one of the most important sources of riches and export for the area. Nicholas also defended the city of Roideacha against enemy attack and became Infantry Captain. His father was Captain and Mayor Justice of the city of Almaguer in Neuva Granada and Nicholas’ grandfather was one of the first discoverers and conquistadors in the Indies.
Returning to Seville, Spain circa 1620, Nicholas married Estefania Davila Salvatierra. On 8 June 1630 Philip IV, King of Spain, appointed him First Accountant of the Royal Treasury for the Province of Florida. Arriving in Florida in July 1630 with his wife and two young daughters, Estefania and Isabel, he took charge of his responsibilities 28 January 1631 and held this position until 19 October 1651.
The family settled in St. Augustine and raised eight children, their sons all joining the military. A son, Manuel died in South Carolina, a prisoner of the French. On 14 May 1651, Nicholas was appointed Captain General and Governor of Florida, a position held until his death later that year.
Nicholás Ponce de Leon was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2008
Additional Florida Pioneers proven but biography available:
Estefania DÁVILA y SALVATIERRA
Manuel PONCE de LÉON y DÁVILA
Nicholas PONCE de LÉON y RUIZ de ZARTUCHA
Lorenza de los Angeles RUIZ de ZARTUCHA
William J. POWELL
Submitted by Descendants: Sarah Elizabeth McSWAIN
William J. Powell was born in Pike County, Alabama in 1840. He served at Vicksburg, Mississippi during the Civil War and lost his left arm as the result of a battle injury. Upon his return to Alabama, he married Sarah Emilie Adams.
In 1866, they moved to Walton County, Florida where they had two sons, Calvin Hance and Andrew Wilkes Powell. Calvin Hance married twice, to Mollie Wise and Sirilla Jane Hinote. Andrew Wilkes married Laura Florence Hinote, aunt of Sirilla. Sarah Emilie Adams Powell died at age of ninety-nine.
William J. Powell was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
Elisha R. PREVATT
Submitted by Descendants: Debra Lauren, Jessica Taylor, Lillian Karene Wheeler FELTNER, and Russell Allen WHEELER Sr.
Elisha R. Prevatt traveled to Florida from Georgia sometime after the death of his father, Peter Prevatt. Naomi, Elisha’s mother, along with his wife Elizabeth and son are listed in the 1850 census for Alachua County.
In the first statewide election of 1845, Elisha served as the Election Clerk for Micanopy Precinct, Alachua County.
Elisha and Elizabeth had three children, two sons and one daughter. After Elisha’s death, Elizabeth married Samuel Geiger and later James Wiggins. Henry Zachariah, oldest son of Elisha married Sally Ann Missouri Strawn.
Their descendants still meet every year at the Dade Battlefield in Bushnell, Florida to celebrate their families.
Elisha R. Prevatt was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2009
William Kell PREVATT
Submitted by Descendant: John Albert BURNETT
William Kell Prevatt was born on the 23rd of October 1856 in Columbia County, Florida. He was the son of James and Sarah (Williams) Prevatt. In 1860 he and his parents were enumerated in the census of New River County, Florida, the Prevatt homestead having been in the boundaries of the newly created county. In 1861 Baker County, Florida was created from the area of New River County and William Kell Prevatt’s family and parents found themselves in a new county.
William’s father, James Prevatt (listed as James W. Prevatt) enlisted in the Confederate Army on the 1st of May, 1862 at Sanderson, Baker County, Florida. James was captured at the Battle of Gettysburg and sent to Ft. Delaware as a prisoner of war. He died at Ft. Delaware in 1863. By 1870, William’s mother Sarah Williams Prevatt remarried to John Crews.
William Kell Prevatt married first to Wealthy Ann Register on 21 October 1883 in Columbia County, Florida. She died in childbirth circa 1885 attempting to give birth to twin boys who also died. He married second Mary Lougenia Combs on 1 January 1886 in Baker County, Florida. Mary Lougenia was the daughter of James and Martha C. (Harvey) Combs.
William Kell and Mary Lougenia (Combs) Prevatt had the following children:
1) Lola (1887-1920) married Colonel Johns
2) James Paul (1888-1955) married Lovie Starling
3) Willie Morgan (1891-1967) married Amanda Dugger
4) Elsie (1892-1965) married 1st Ernest Rhoden, 2nd Frank Combs
5) Jessie (1894-1975) married Ernest Johns
6) Ruth (1897-1983) married Ivy Combs
7) Ann (1898-1994) married Raiford Harris
8) Lillian Mae (1900-1993) married Claude Scoles
9) Charles (1902-1988) married 1st Katie Williams, 2nd Leila Beatrice Harvey
10) Maggie(1905-1996) married Orie Harvey
11) Eva (1908-1984) married Butler Coleman
12) John (1910-1984) married Mazie Elizabeth Harvey
13) Lessie (1912-1917) never married
14) Cleo (1917-1992) married Reid Stafford
William Kell Prevatt was a farmer by occupation and owned a farm at Taylor, Baker County, Florida. Cotton was the main crop of the farm according to William’s daughter, Lillian Mae (Prevatt) Scoles, in an interview she gave prior to her death in 1993. She also stated the farm had several hundred cows and hogs. According to Ms. Prevatt-Scoles, all the children picked cotton, milked cows and fed the chickens and hogs. The farm provided all their needs and they were able to make brown sugar, rice, cheese and butter. The family home had three bedrooms, so the children slept two to three to a bed. Lillian also stated that her parents were strict Primitive Baptist and that her father was a deacon of Sweat Church which they attended (now known as Oak Grove Primitive Baptist church located in Baker County, Florida).
Late in life, William Kell and his wife Mary Lougenia (referred to as Lou) sold their farm and moved to Glen St. Mary, Baker County, Florida. Mary Lougenia Prevatt died on 1 April 1933 in Glen St. Mary, Florida. William Kell Prevatt died on 16 May 1939 at Sanderson, Florida. They are buried at Taylor Cemetery, Taylor, Baker County, Florida and have numerous descendants in Baker County and the State of Florida.
William Kell Prevatt was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2009
Matilda A. RENFROE
Submitted by Descendant: Stephen J. COX
Matilda A. “Matilly” Renfroe was the first daughter born to Enoch and Winifred (Howard) Renfroe about 1815 in Georgia. Sometime between 1820 and 1830 the family moved to the Florida Territory and settled in Jefferson County.
Matilda’s first marriage, to John C. Neil/Neal, took place on 18 June 1832 in Jefferson County. They had three sons: Roan, Obediah, and Clinton, who all served with the Confederacy during the War Between the States. Roan survived the war, but Obediah and Clinton were killed in action with the Florida Cavalry circa 1862.
Matilda met and married her second husband, John Sapp, about 1850 in Columbia (formerly Jefferson) County. Their four children were Enoch H., Bartley “Evans”, Reubin L., and Susan Elizabeth Matilda Temperance. In 1860 the Sapp family was living in New River County (formerly Columbia). John served with the Ninth Regiment, Florida Volunteer Infantry, Confederate States of America and died of wounds on 22 August 1864. He was buried in Lake City, Florida.
Matilda lived to the age of 95 and died in 1910, presumably in or near Bradford County (successor to Jefferson, Columbia and New River).
Matilda A. Renfroe was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2010
Jobe Tison RICHARD
Submitted by Descendant: Jane Richarde BUCK
Jobe Tison Richard was the son of John Charles Richard and Melinda Tison of Alachua County. His brother, John Charles Richard lived in Middleburg, FL with his wife, Mary Morgan. The following is a copy of a letter written by John C. Richard from his Sugar Grove Plantation concerning his young son, Jobe. It is addressed to John Charles Richard II at Middleburg, Florida:
Alachua County, Augt. 18th, 1851
Dear Son: I started Jobe off this morning at one quarter past four o’clock to take a mule to you, and it is now past four in the afternoon and Jobe has not returned. His Mother and myself got uneasy and we have ascertained that he has left to go to Cuba. as he has taken his clothes with him. I am truly sorry that he has acted in this way, as we are very much opposed to his going.
Now if he has gone off with the calculation of going to Cuba with you, I want you to send him home with Moses (slave) and it will save me any further trouble and uneasiness of mind, and inform me what he said to you, when he joined you this morning. My Dear Son, I hope you will not hesitate to send Jobe back forthwith, as it will be the means of not putting me to any further trouble.
We are all well today, and hope you are in the enjoyment of the same blessing,
Your affectionate father
Jno. C. Richard
Jobe Tison Richard’s first wife was Mary Caroline Davis; they had one child, Job Tison born in 1860. His brother, John Charles and Mary later moved to Starke where he was a Captain of Co. B. 10th Reg. Fla. Inf. Confederate States of America and served with his brothers, Robert, Jobe, Osceola and Harney in the Battle of Olustee. Jobe Tison Richard is mentioned in his brother’s letter from Olustee Station dated Feb 21, 1864, in which he relates: “The enemy came in force yesterday and we met them one and one half miles of this place…I, as well as Job, Harney and Jasper were not touched…I write but fear you will not get it…Love John”
Jobe Tison Richard’s second wife, Helen Augusta Budington Morgan, was a sister of Mary Morgan, the wife of his brother John Charles. Jobe Tison Richard lived at Sugar Hill, with his wife, Helen Augusta, on land lying adjacent to the Sugar Grove plantation of his parents in Alachua County, FL. He was a farmer. They had five children together. He died in 1877, and is buried ½ mile south of the Richard Cemetery in an old field with a white picket fence around it.
Jobe Tison Richard was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2001
Jonathan Knight ROBERTS
Submitted by Descendants: Amy Katherine, John Albert, and John Edward ROBERTS
Jonathan Knight Roberts was born 15 November 1826 in Lowndes County, Georgia and was the son of Lewis and Mary (Knight) Roberts. He moved with his parents circa 1844-1845 to Columbia County, Florida. The family is listed in the 1850 Columbia County, Florida census. On 27 October 1853 Jonathan married Mary Adeline Alford in Columbia County. She was the daughter of Hansford and Jincy (Mann) Alford. Jonathan K. and Mary Adeline (Alford) Roberts were the parents of thirteen children:
1) Enoch Nathaniel (1856-1920) married Emily Greene
2) Martha Ann (1858-1935) married William Eli Stafford
3) Thomas Henry (1859-1951) married Georgia Lowe
4) Mary Jane (1861-1955) married Elijah James Dobson
5) Jonathan H. (1863-1966) never married
6) William Parker (1865-1947) married Isabel Bryant
7) Aaron James (1868-1959) married Claire Blanche Suares
8) Osias Forest (1870-1965) married Myrtle Garrison
9) Abel James (1872-1955) married Ella Gertrude Hill
10) Leonard (1876-1897) married Elizabeth Mizell
11) Lupine (1876-1897) married J.M. Higginbothom
12) Shurod (1878-1962) Frances Cola Williams
13) Cordelia “Delia” (1884-1965) married Harrison Wright
Jonathan Knight Roberts was a farmer by occupation. In 1858 his family found themselves in the creation of a new Florida county called New River, which later became Bradford County. At the time of the Civil War, Jonathan and his family were living near Lake Butler, Florida. He enlisted in 1861 as a Private in Company E, 1st Florida Cavalry which later became Company E, 9th Florida Regiment. He was wounded in the Battle of Cold Harbor on 4 Jun 1864. His pension papers state he was wounded by the bursting of a bomb thrown by a mortar battery in the Yankee line. Jonathan continued to receive a pension until his death, which occurred 16 August 1907 in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida. During his life he had lived in Columbia, Bradford, Volusia and Duval counties. He is buried at Dunns Creek Cemetery in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida.
After Jonathan’s death, Mary Adeline (Alford) Roberts received a widow’s pension until her death on 25 December 1920 at Olustee, Baker County, Florida. She is buried at Swift Creek Cemetery located in Union County, Florida.
Jonathan Knight Roberts was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2009
Nicolas ROBINSON
Submitted by Descendant: Don W. ALLEN
Nicolas Robinson was born circa 1792 in South Carolina. He married Elizabeth Slade on 22 October 1820 in Tattnall County, Georgia.
Nicholas and Elizabeth had at least thirteen children and it appears the first two were born in Georgia prior to 1825 and the last eleven in Florida. Census records from 1830 to 1860 show Nicholas in Gadsden County, Florida where he patented public lands there on seven occasions between 28 July 1838 and 1 September 1852.
Nicholas Robinson was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2008
Edgar Wesley ROUNTREE
Submitted by Descendant: Wynn WHALEN
Edgar Wesley Rountree was born 12 January 1879 in Greenwood, Jackson County, Florida, to J.R. and Lula Rountree.
He married Lillian Alabama “Bama” Ward in Pinkard, Alabama, in 1904 and they had three sons: Edwin Wesley, William Erwin, and Richard Elvin. The 1920 census shows the family living in Punta Gorda, Desota County, Florida.
Edgar first worked for the Florida Southern Railway as a depot agent in Gordon, Alabama, then was sent to Punta Gorda, Desoto County, Florida, in 1908 after the railway was bought out by Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. He continued to work there as the freight agent until his sudden death in 1933. Some of the many pieces of property purchased by Edgar in the town of Punta Gorda are still owned by his descendants.
Edgar died on 5 July 1933 and was buried in Indian Springs Cemetery, Punta Gorda, along with his mother Lula, his wife Alabama, and all three of his sons. Edgar was a Worthy Master Mason from 22 September 1916 to 1918.
Edgar Wesley Rountree was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2010
William ROWELL and Sarah DIXON
Submitted by Descendant: Gloria KEMP
William Rowell was born in South Carolina about 1791. William married Sarah Dixon in Monroe County, Georgia on 18 September 1826. He signed as a petitioner (Wm Rowell) on the “Petition to Acting Governor Westcott by Citizens of Jefferson County, Florida” on 18 January 1832.
William Rowell served as a Captain in the Second Seminole War in “Captain Rowell’s Company, 1st Florida Military Militia” (Florida War). He mustered in at Camp Wacissa, Middle Florida on 9 June 1838 and mustered out on 17 November 1838 at Camp Carter, Middle Florida. He next served at Sandy Ford of the Aucilla River, mustered in on 15 April 1839 and mustered out on 4 September 1839 at Sandy Ford of the Aucilla River, Florida. Records show the “Value of the horse for William Rowell” was listed for $115.00
He appears in the 1840 U.S. Federal Census with his family in Jefferson County, Florida. William bought 159.94 acres in Jefferson County, Florida on 12 December 1831. He also bought 79.88 acres in Jefferson County, Florida on 10 March 1843, and bought 80.72 acres in Jefferson County, Florida on 10 April 1848. All parcels were bought under the “Land Treaty of April 24, 1820”.
William voted in the first statewide election, 26 May 1845 in Precinct No. 4, (Bailey’s Store), Jefferson County, Florida. There was also a Caleb Rowell that voted next to our William in that election.
William Rowell is listed in the 1860 Agricultural Census in Jefferson County, Florida. He had 39 acres Of Improved Land, 90 acres of Unimproved Land, $300.00 Cash Value of the Farm, $25.00 Value of Farm Implements and Machinery, and also listed $160.00 Value of Livestock.
William Rowell was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2011
Ivey ROYAL & Mary Ann ROYAL
Alonzo ROYAL & Annie KILLEBREW
Lindsey Clyde ROYAL
Submitted by Descendants: Amanda Mae, Brianna Lyndsay, Justin Andrew, Kevin Matthew, Lacie Victoria, Margaret Ann ROYAL, and Robert Jason FRYE; Susan ROYAL Jones; Cheryl Lynn, Daniel Lee, Lindsay Clyde Jr., Robert Lindsay ROYAL and Jordan Matthew ROYAL-WEISER
Arriving from Brooks County, Georgia, at the onset of the Civil War, Ivey Royal was the first member of his family to settle in what is now Cassia in Lake County, Florida. Ivey, his wife Mary Ann, and son Alonzo arrived in the Blackwater Creek area of then Orange County, Florida, after a trip of several weeks in a covered wagon.
Ivey had just finished building a log cabin when he was called to serve in the Confederate Army. Enlisting in Company H of the Second Florida Calvary at Volusia County, he was required to provide his own uniform, rifle, and horse. As Ivey’s rifle was the only gun the family possessed, Mary Ann had no way of protecting her family from wild animals. Late one afternoon while milking the cow, she was surprised by a pack of wolves and began to throw pieces of firewood at the pack, causing them to retreat long enough to get Alonzo, the cow, and herself into the safety of the cabin.
Ivey became one of the first pioneers to plant citrus, which he did on a scale so large that he needed to build his own packing house to handle the fruit.
In 1887, when Lake County was created, Ivey Royal was appointed the first county commissioner from the Cassia District. He was paid $1.00 per trip to ride his horse to Tavares for commission meetings and then spend the night there.
Annie Killebrew and her family lived in Oglethorpe, Georgia. She was the wife of Alonzo Royal. Annie told the story of the burning of Atlanta in 1865 to her granddaughter, Ernestine, stating that as a little girl of six or seven years, Annie and her family could see the flames from their plantation. Ernestine still lives in the Cassia area.
Lindsey Clyde Royal, oldest son of Alonzo and Annie, was a baggage master for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. In November of 1911, one month after the birth of his son, Lindsay Clyde Jr., Lindsey Sr. was injured in a train derailment in Kissimmee, Florida.
Ivey & Mary Ann Royal, Alonzo Royal, Annie Killebrew and
Lindsey Clyde Royal were first established as Florida Pioneers in 2009
John RUSSELL
Submitted by Descendant: Joyce Louise Russell BEVEL
John Russell was born in South Carolina at the time it was a possession of the British Crown. During the American Revolution. The South Carolinian Loyalist sought sanctuary in the Bahama Islands and was granted acreage on at least three islands by King George III in 1789.
John Russell was active in shipping and shipbuilding. He and his wife Mary raised their five children on San Salvador. He decided to experience life as a planter in Spanish East Florida, and in 1811, appeared before the Spanish Government in St. Augustine. The Spanish Government being in need of a shallow draft schooner but low on cash struck a deal with John Russell. A 4000-acre tract between the Matanzas and Tomoca Rivers was exchanged for Russell’s 62-ton mahogany schooner, Perseverance; 675 acres west of the Halifax River were added as head rights for John Russell, his wife, five children, and 18 slaves.
On 10 July 1812, John Russell was declared absolute proprietor of these lands. John Russell established his plantation, “Good Retreat” along the river on his land. During the summer of 1814, he died while visiting his daughter in Fernandina, Florida.
John Russell was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
Robert SANDLIN
Submitted by Descendant: Tally Sanborn BROWN
Robert Sandlin was born 3 April 1790 in Duplin County, North Carolina. He was the son of John and Catherine Sandlin.
He served in the War of 1812, and about 1822 was living in Duval County, Florida. On 12 December 1822 he was married to Zilphia Hicks in Camden County, Georgia. She was the daughter of John Hicks. They were the parents of three daughters and five sons.
About 1827 they moved to a homestead near Blounts Ferry, in what would become Columbia County, Florida.
During the Indian Wars he organized a company and was made its Captain. During the Civil war three of his sons served the Confederacy, two of them being killed in battle. He died in Columbia County 24 June 1864, just three weeks after his oldest son Jesse was killed.
He is buried beside his wife in Hopewell Cemetery in Northwest Columbia County.
Robert Sandlin was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1983
Robert SANDLIN
Submitted by Descendants: Dr. Richard Daniel CASON and Caroline Hollis Cason PRANGE
Robert Sandlin, the son of John Sanderlin, was born in North Carolina on 3 April 1790. (Robert and his son Jessee changed the last name from Sanderlin to Sandlin in the mid-1800s.) Robert spent his early years in Georgia where he married Zilpha Hicks, the daughter of John Hicks, on 12 December 1821. Their first son Jessee Robert was born in Georgia in 1824. Shortly after the birth of Jessee Robert the family moved to Alachua County, Florida to the portion that is now Suwannee River. The two nearest towns were Benton and Blount’s Ferry. Both of which are no longer in existence. He was one of the founders of the Prospect Primitive Baptist Church which was founded in late 1839. The church was located near present State Road 6 where it crosses the Suwannee River and still remains an active church in that location today. Robert was ordained deacon before the founding of Prospect Church.
There were many hardships and dangers in frontier life including Indian raids and attacks upon the settlers, therefore Robert spent much time in the field with the Militia. Robert was an officer in the Columbia Rangers, a mounted militia regiment. His young son Jessee Robert was about fourteen years old when we first find evidence of him serving in the same militia company as his father. There was sometimes a real lack of provisions because the militia was away for extended periods of time and could not properly tend the farms. The letters of Colonel Brown in his correspondence to Florida Governor Call discussed the severe needs of the pioneers and also the massacres of several of the families in the Counties of Columbia, Hamilton, Suwannee, and Alachua.
Robert was the forefather of the prominent Sandlin family in Hamilton, Suwannee and Columbia Counties.
Robert Sandlin was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1983
William SAUNDERS
Submitted by Descendants: George Sr., George Frederick Jr., Rebecca Brown, and Robert Franklin SAUNDERS
William Saunders was born in Florida October 1848, the son of Alexander Saunders and Margaret Hutchison, who were both born in the Bahama Islands.
William Saunders had established a homestead in Hillsborough County before March 1877 and was still living in the area that became Pinellas County 23 May 1911. Sidney Ann Brownlow and William Saunders had seven children, who were all born in Florida.
William Saunders died after 1918 in Florida.
William Saunders was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2001
Joseph Henry SEABROOK
Submitted by Descendant: Dorothy Seabrook Welch SMITH
According to records in two family bibles, Joseph Henry Seabrook was born 7 November 1804 at “Point Tranquil” Wadmalaw Island, SC, the son of Joseph Smelie Seabrook and Harriet Reynolds. A small notebook among his papers gives his date of arrival in Quincy the Territory of Florida, as 29 November 1829 at age 26. He descended from Capt. Robert Seabrook, an English merchant who came to Charleston, SC by 1680.
Many historic Florida Territorial papers have his name but the most important was a voter in Gadsden County in Florida’s first statewide election, 26 May 1845. In the 1850 census for Gadsden county he is listed as a Planter and owned at various times as many as seven parcels of land in Gadsden County and others in adjoining Leon County.
Joseph Henry Seabrook was married three times according to Bible Records. He had one child, a daughter, Sarah H. Seabrook by his unknown first wife; no children by his second marriage to Mrs. Elizabeth S. Bruton of SC and four sons by his third wife, Elizabeth Harriet Atwater who was born in GA. This applicant descends from Lee Reynolds Seabrook, the youngest son of Joseph Henry and Elizabeth Harriet Seabrook.
Joseph Henry Seabrook was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2003
Josiah SECKINGER
Submitted by Descendant: Hilma Dickson ARDITO
Josiah Seckinger was born on 26 Jan., 1809, in Effingham Co., GA. He came to Florida as a soldier to fight in the Indian Wars. He reenlisted numerous times, he’s found in the Muster Rolls from 1835-1837
Josiah was one of the 157 signers of a petition for a land office in Newnansville, Dec., 1839. In registering for a land permit Jan. 1843, he swears to the fact that he had lived in Florida since Dec., 1831.
Josiah voted in the first state election 26 May, 1845, in Newnansville, Florida.
He married Synthey Rebecca Miller, who was born in 1831, in Alachua Co., Florida, 15 Dec. 1847. They had 5 sons and 2 daughters. In the 1850 census, he and his wife and their one year old son are listed as living in Alachua County. He was a blacksmith at that time.
On 12 Jan. 1856, he is recorded as either buying or selling land in Martel, Marion Co., Florida.
By the 1860’s he was no longer a blacksmith but was a farmer. Josiah lived about 20 years in Alachua Co. and about 40 years in Marion Co., Florida.
Josiah and S. Rebecca Seckinger are buried in Fellowship Baptist Church Cemetery, Fellowship, Marion County, Florida.
Josiah Seckinger was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
Martha Ann P. SEVER
Submitted by Descendants: Thomas Pope BURNETTE; Ansley Elizabeth, David Thomas, Jordan Alana, Melissa Myers Burnette, and Mikayla Myers CORSON
Martha Ann P. Sever is believed to be the daughter of William Sever and Priscilla Lewis who were in Madison County and recorded on both the 1830 and 1840 censuses. Martha Ann P. Sever married Daniel Burnett (Jr.) on 2 November 1840 in Madison County, Florida. She and Daniel had a large family, with at least five sons and one daughter that survived to adulthood.
Martha Ann and Daniel are buried in the Cherry Lake Methodist Church Cemetery in Madison County, FL along with several of their children. Her parents are buried at the Shiloh Methodist Church also in Madison County.
Martha Ann P. Sever was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2006
Theodore SHEMETYLLO
Submitted by Descendants: Gregory N., Jon L., and John L. COURSON III
Theodore Shemetyllo was born in Minsk, Poland, on 27 September 1814. Little is known of his childhood except that he was born of nobility and well educated. This probably led to him being exiled to Siberia in the early 1830’s during the partitioning of Poland by Russia, Prussia, and Austria.
According to his daughter, Mary A. Shemetyllo, he escaped and walked across Siberia to a neutral country, enduring extreme and difficult hardships. From there he went to Trieste, and in the first days of November, 1833, sailed to America on either the frigate Guerriera or Hebe, arriving in New York on March 28, 1834, to realize the American dream.
It is documented that Theodore Shemetyllo worked at the U.S. Arsenal in West Troy, New York, for two years, probably 1835 and 1836. On April 11, 1837, he enlisted in Company H of the Second Dragoons for three years. This unit is one of the longest, continually serving groups in the U.S. Army. They are now the Second Calvary, serving in Iraq. He was sent to Missouri and then to Florida. He was discharged in Florida in 1840, and remained there the rest of his life. He also served in the Florida Militia for at least three enlistments after his service in the U.S. Army. He received bounty land and a pension for his service in the Seminole War.
He settled in Marion County where he was a merchant and farmer. Later he moved to Volusia County where he died in 1896 and was buried in Barberville. Theodore Shemetyllo in an exceptional example of an American and Florida Pioneer seeking the freedom and opportunities offered in the new land.
Theodore Shemetyllo was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2005
Nancy F. SIKES
Submitted by Descendant: Paula Townsend MARCZYNSKI
For too many years, women’s contributions to history have been overlooked or ignored as unimportant, even though they provided the foundation and background for all future generations. They endured many hardships as they cooked, cleaned, gave birth, educated, and instilled values in their families. This was done in a time without the modern conveniences of running water, electricity, corner grocery store, or clothing store. Everything they needed was either grown, made, hunted or traded for. This is a recognition for one of those hard-working pioneer women.
Given the name Indiana Virginia Nancy Florence Sikes at her birth in Dec. 1856 (there is some question whether or not the day is the 12th or 15th), she became known as Nancy F. Sikes.
She married John Light Townsend 16 Mar 1876 and they were married for over 51 years until her death in 1927. They had 11 children – 5 girls and 6 boys – but only nine lived to adulthood. They raised a loving, close-knit family that continued that tradition down through the years. Nancy and John L. Townsend lived in the area of western Alachua County, Florida that later became Gilchrist County, on 4 Dec 1925.
Nancy F. Sikes was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2002
Sarah SPEIGHT
Submitted by Descendants: Jason Lewis, Keri Lee, and Lee McCormick CORNMAN; Carolyn Marie, Jean McCormick, Kevin Conner, and Susan Leslie IMES; Brian James, Dean Griffin, Ethel Griffin, and Scott Wallace MCCORMICK; William Henry WILLIAMS, Jr.
Sarah Speight was born in circa 1790 in either South Carolina or Georgia. The family was living in Georgia by 1795, probably Montgomery County. In circa 1804, while still a young teenaged girl she married William McGriff also of Montgomery County, Georgia.
In about 1824 William and Sarah and their children moved to Gadsden County, Florida. William purchased land for farming and in 1827 he was awarded Federal Land Certificates, also in Gadsden County. William acquired a large acreage of land and also owned a number of slaves. The estate included a cotton gin and a grits mill. William was active in the community and Sarah managed the home and children. She was the mother of thirteen children, the three youngest born in Florida.
William died in 1839 with three of the children still minors. Sarah was appointed as the executrix of the estate ad continued the farming operation. For 12 years the estate prospered under her management and increased in value. Sarah did not remarry and died in 1862.
Sarah Speight was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2006
Smith STRINGER
Submitted by Descendants: Heather Danielle, Paula Townsend, and Tara Lynn MARCZYNSKI
Smith Stringer was the oldest son from the first marriage of Daniel Stringer (who owned an extensive amount of land in Thomas County, Georgia adjacent to Leon County, Florida, and lived up into his late sixties). Smith was married with a family of his own before his father married the second time.
Little is documented about Smith, although he married Sarah Morrison in 1830 and they had 5 children. Smith was listed in the 1840 Leon County, Florida census along with his family. He served in the Seminole Indian War in Capt. Alfred Oliver’s 1st Reg Brigade of Florida Mounted Militia in 1840.
Smith inherited property from his father’s 1855 will and much of that property is still in the family today – possibly due to the fact that Sarah took Smith and his brother Daniel E. Stringer to court on behalf of her children’s inheritance. According to family history, Smith may have gone to Texas with one of his sons, Daniel T. Stringer, but no evidence has been found to document that.
Smith Stringer was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
Sarah C. SULLIVAN
Submitted by Descendant: Anisca “Nickey” Bronson Neel
Sarah was born 18 October 1881 in Osceola County, the daughter of James Mitchell Sullivan and Elizabeth Padgett. Her grandparents were Henry Morgan Sullivan and Rebecca Durrance who were married 31 December 1846 in Duval County, Florida.
On 24 December 1900 Sarah married William Isaac “Ike” Bronson. To this union were born Henry Grady, Columbus Dewey, Nathan Edward “Buddy”, Temperance Emma “Tempie” Amos and Myrtle Lee Bronson.
Sarah spent her entire life in Osceola County and died 4 April 1967. She is buried at Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Kissimmee, Florida.
Sarah C. Sullivan was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2002
John Alexander SUTTON
Submitted by Descendants: George Frederick Jr., Louise Beckton, Rebecca Brown, and Robert Franklin SAUNDERS
John Alexander Sutton was born 8 February 1818 in Jasper, Hamilton County, Florida to Shadrack Sutton and Susannah Whitehurst. The first record found of John Alexander Sutton in Hamilton County, Florida is in the Book of Marks and Brands dated 2 August 1828 found at the Hamilton County Courthouse. John Alexander Sutton served in the Indian Wars in 1836, 1837, 1849 and 1856.
John Alexander Sutton is also listed in Florida Voters in their First Statewide Election May 26, 1845 by Brian E. Michaels. He is listed on page 50 as voting in Hamilton County, Florida, Precinct No. 2.
Before 1849 John Alexander Sutton had moved to Brooksville area in Hernando County, Florida. He was married to Mary Caroline Law 4 April 1849 near Brooksville in Hernando County, Florida. They settled near her parents who live near Spring Hill and resided there for nineteen years. Their first three sons were born while they lived in Hernando County. Their fourth son and last child was born in 1871 after they moved to Hillsborough County.
John Alexander Sutton served during the Civil War in the Florida Volunteers under Captain Law and also served as a County Commissioner in Hernando County in 1864 and 1866.
About 1868 the family migrated down to the area of central Pinellas County that is known today as Curlew. At this time this area was in Hillsborough County, Florida. The Sutton family homesteaded in this area and built a home, cleared land and planted crops.
In 1870 John Alexander Sutton offered to give land to build a Church on if he could have the honor of naming the Church. He named church Curlew Methodist Church in honor of the beautiful pink Curlew birds that inhabited the area.
John Alexander Sutton died 20 January 1880 at his home in Yellow Bluff, Hillsborough County, Florida and is buried at the Curlew United Methodist Church Cemetery.
Some ancestors of John Alexander Sutton still live in Pinellas County, Florida today and attend the Curlew Methodist Church that he helped build so many years ago.
John Alexander Sutton was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2001
Matthew H. TARATUS
Submitted by Descendant: Dennis F. TARATUS
Matthew H. Taratus was born 1 September 1843 in Middleburg (then Duval, now Clay Co.) Florida. He was one of two sons of William Taratus and Hester Ridaught.
During the Civil War he served in the Marion Light Artillery, was wounded in the Battle of Atlanta. Later released he served until the end of the war, being discharged at Meridian, Mississippi.
After the war he returned to Middleburg, married Emily B. Prevatt and they had 10 children, two of whom died in childhood. He was a farmer and lived his entire life (except for military service) in Middleburg. His obituary states that he “died within three miles of his birthplace”.
Matthew H. Taratus was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2003
Emma Ada TATUM
Submitted by Descendants: Anna Rae and Laura Ruth Jones MILLER
Emma Ada Tatum was born in Sumter County, Georgia on June 25, 1860. She was listed with her parents, Orris Tatum and Sarah (Harp), on the 1870 Sumter County census as a 9 year old girl. Her father, Orris Tatum had served during the Civil War with the Sumter County Flying Artillery unit for the Confederate States of America.
Emma grew to womanhood and married Needham Franklin Bass in Sumter County, Georgia. Their daughter Rosa was born in Americus, Georgia on November 30, 1881.
The young family soon moved to Florida in the area now designated as Osceola County. Here, their family increased. On the 1885 Florida State Census for Orange County another daughter, Lanna,a ge 1 year old was listed as being born in Florida. Later the family would add a son, Orris “Jack” Bass.
Emma was a hard working mother. She also helped her daughter, Rosa, with her large family. She became “Other Mama” to Rosa’s children.
“Other Mama” died January 17, 1939 and was buried next to her husband, N. F. (Frank) Bass, in Rose Hill Cemetery in Kissimmee, Florida.
Emma Ada Tatum was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
Aaron TISON
Submitted by Descendant: Glenn F. ROUTH
Aaron Tison was born in Glynn County, Georgia on 11 September 1803. He was active in the growth of Florida as evidenced in the Territorial Papers by his signing of petitions regarding the growth of Florida and who was to govern Florida. This occurred in the 1830;s. By that time he had been married about 5 years to Louisa J. Dell. The Dell family was also very prominent in the development of Florida as 3 of her brothers were very active in various aspects of the government of the Territory of Florida.
Their daughter Martha B. Tison was born on 21 April 1826 and married Henry C. Wilson on 1 April 1841. Henry Wilson was also very active in government. As a result of this activity by his wife’s brothers and his son-in-law he was in the middle of a lot of activity that p shape the development of Florida. Aaron Tison died on 2 December 1840.
Aaron Tison was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1983
Joel TISON
John TISON
Mariah BUFORD Tison
Submitted by Descendants: Catherine Powell, Harris Edmund, and Morgan Catherine KAIN; Virginia Sackhoff POWELL
Joel Tison was born on 30 September 1790 in Effingham County, Georgia. About 1821 he married Dolly and they had eleven children. By the 1830 census, Joel had moved his family to Nassau County, Florida. On 14 September1840 Joel purchased four lots in the town of Newmansville. On 4 October 1865, Joel passed away and was buried in the Wacahoota Baptist Cemetery in Alachua County.
John Tison, fifth son and seventh child of Joel and Dolly, was born 15 May 1826 in Effingham County, Georgia. John married Mariah Buford, daughter of William Green Buford and Klezia Crozier. Mariah was born 26 November 1826. John and Mariah had eleven children.
John and Mariah appear in Nassau County in the 1850 census and in the Massy Grove District of Sumter County in 1860. John died during the Civil War, and by 1870 Mariah had moved to Orange County to live in Kenansville, Florida (now part of Osceola County). Mariah died 12 January 1908 and as buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Kissimmee, Florida.
Joel Tison, John Tison, and Mariah Buford Tison were first established
as Florida Pioneers in 2002
Joel TISON
Submitted by Descendants: Carl Edward, James Edward, and Lora L. KRAMER; and Kelly Kramer WEEKLEY
Joel Tison was born 30 September 1790 in North Carolina and eventually moved to Effingham County, Georgia, where he married Dolly and had several children. From there the family moved to Nassau County, Florida, where they first show up in the 1830 Federal Census. They spent at least 20 years there as they also appear in the 1840 and 1850 Nassau County Census.
Records show that Joel served in the Florida Seminole Wars 1835-1858. He served as private in Thigpen’s Company, Dancy’s Second Florida Mounted Militia as corporal in the Fourth Regiment, Warren’s Mounted Militia. However, National Archives could not locate any records of military service.
Joel Tison was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2002
Martha TISON
Submitted by Descendant: Glenn F. ROUTH
Martha B. Tison was born in Georgia on 21 April 1826. On 1 April 1841 she married Henry C. Wilson. This marriage took place in Alachua County, Territory of Florida. Between 1841 and 1853 she gave birth to five (5) children, Jasper, Louisa, Frances, Virginia, and Harry.
On 23 December 1853 misfortune struck with the death of her husband at the age of thirty-six (36), also the father of her children. Martha remained a widow for the better part of two (2) years and then married Juan A. Sisterre on 5 November 1855.
Martha died in 1882 and was buried in the Newnansville Cemetery in Alachua County, Florida. Her tombstone shows her last name as Wilson. We do not have an explanation as to why her married name of Sisterre was not used on her tombstone.
Martha Tison was first established as a Florida Pioneer in
John Hill TOWNSEND
Submitted by Descendant: Paula Townsend MARCZYNSK
As indicated by the 1895 photo of the family, John Hill Townsend was the true patriarch of this large, extended family. Although born in Lowndes County, Georgia on 18 Mar 1833, he moved to Florida with his parents and siblings while at a young age, at first to Madison County, Florida, but later into western Alachua County which became Gilchrist County on 4 Dec 1925. John Hill was married four times and had 17 children that lived to adulthood.
John Hill served in the CSA in the 1st Special Batt Florida Cavalry (aka Munnerlyn’s Batt) under Capt. E. J. Lutterloh as documented in the pension application he made in July 1902.
According to a Townsend family history compiled by William T. Townsend (grandson of John Hill), “…he became a man of distinction, and accumulated considerable means. He came to possess lands, livestock, a country store, cotton gin, river ferry, etc., at an important crossing on the Suwannee River some ten miles directly south of Branford, Florida. The river runs east to west at this point and his property was on the south side. This was in that day a strategically located north-south crossing site some miles northwest of present day Bell, Florida.”
He died 2 Jan 1903 and is buried in the Townsend Cemetery in Gilchrist County, Florida, north of Bell. Three of his wives and many of his children and their spouses are also buried there.
John Hill Townsend was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2002
James TOMPKINS
Submitted by Descendant: Rollin “Ron” L. Peek
James Tompkins and Nancy Ann Pearce were married on 29 July 1830 in Camden County, Georgia, James was born 16 November 1808 and was the third son of Donald and Frances King Tompkins, and grandson of John and Elizabeth McKay Tompkins.
The Donald Tompkins family moved from Camden County, Georgia to Nassau County, Florida about 1835. They settled around King’s Ferry and established the Florida branch of the Tompkins family. Later that same year, James and his two brothers, William and John, moved to different areas of Florida – John to Sumter County, William to Gadsden and then Columbia County, while James settled in Alachua County where he reared ten children. Involved in growing citrus, James was one of the first to ship the fruit to various locations. The Tompkins family, along with others had to travel to Orange Springs to trade and buy supplies.
James’ move into the Florida Territory in 1835 was at the beginning of the Third Seminole War. He signed two separate Congressional petitions in Territorial Florida. He homesteaded 160 acres under “The Congressional Armed Occupation Act” in the southeastern section of Alachua County in 1843.
James Tompkins was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1988
John (Jack) TOWNSEND
Submitted by Descendant: Paula Townsend MARCZYNSKI
John (Jack) Townsend, son of John and Keziah Hays Townsend of South Carolina, moved to Lowndes County, Georgia in Dec 1825 along with his brothers Jesse, Allen, and David. Jack was commissioned 1st Lieut. of the Militia in the 662nd Militia District 9 Aug 1827 and served until 27 May 1830. He was still living there until 1832 Cherokee Land Lottery in which he drew land.
A few years later he moved into Madison County, Florida with his family. Florida land records show he purchased several parcels of land there in 1838. He is shown on the 1840 census in Madison County, Florida.
Jack drowned in the Suwannee River in 1847 and his body was found and buried on the banks. For many years, the family marked the area with a wooden fence, but the exact location is only approximately known today. There is a granite memorial erected to him in Townsend Cemetery in Gilchrist County, Florida. The cemetery is located not far from the area where Jack is buried.
John (Jack) Townsend was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2002
John Light TOWNSEND
Submitted by Descendants: Heather Danielle, Paula Townsend, and Tara Lynn MARCZYNSKI
John Light Townsend was the son of Gilchrist County Pioneer, John Hill Townsend (certificate C757). He was born in 9 Sep 1856 in the Willeford District of Alachua County, Florida, which later became part of Gilchrist County, and lived there all of his life.
According to his nephew, William T. Townsend (who wrote the booklet Townsend History), John Light was “large of stature…handsome in appearance…and sociable in disposition…He was jovial by nature and a great favorite with children and young people.”
John Light gave the land on which Wayfair Primitive Baptist Church stands and was largely instrumental in its construction. He and his wife Nancy and many of their family members were buried in the Wayfair Cemetery.
John Light Townsend was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
Simeon Lyte TOWNSEND
Submitted by Descendants: Heather Danielle, Paula Townsend, and Tara Lynn MARCZYNSKI
Simeon Lyte Townsend was born a simple country boy, but through his love of reading and learning, he became a well-educated and respected man. He was soft spoken, an eloquent speaker, and a great storyteller. He often regaled his listeners with stories of nature and history of the Suwannee River region where he grew up.
He was well-traveled, having been to every state in the U.S., every province in Canada, and many countries throughout the world.
He served as a railway mail clerk throughout Florida, and then later became the rural mail carrier for the Bell (FL) area. Children looked forward to mail deliveries on Saturday because they knew that they would receive a stick of chewing gum from “Mr. Sim”. They would run out to meet him at the mail box to get their treat!
Sim was co-founder and trustee of the Suwannee River Regional Library. His strong support of libraries, and his lobbying of the state legislature, provided half a million dollars’ worth of funding for public libraries throughout north Florida. He was recognized by the American Library Association as one of two outstanding library trustees of North America in 1962.
Simeon Lyte Townsend was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
Ann TURLINGTON
Submitted by Descendants: The Alley, Byers, Earnshaw, & Sumara Families
Ann Turlington was born 1800, daughter of James Turlington and Nancy Bass of Sampson County, NC. Her father died when Ann was a young child. She married Bailey Chesnut and had several children. The family moved in the 1830s to Thomas County, GA, where Bailey died prior to 1 July 1839.
The 1840 US Census for Jefferson County, Florida Territory lists Ann Chesnut as head-of-household. Living there is 1 male age 10-14, 1 female age 5-9, 2 females age 15-19, and one female age 40-49. This Census indicates Ann cannot read or write. In Jefferson County Court on 21 October 1843, Ann Chesnut is grantor of property to her children. Receipts filed with the court by John Anderson, guardian of her two minor children, include payments to Ann for household expenses.
Daughter Elizabeth married John Anderson of Jefferson County and Mary Jane married Benjamin W. Edwards in Thomas County, GA, but lived in Jefferson County, Florida. Both sisters are listed in Jefferson County, Florida in 1880 US Census; Catherine married Asa Holt Shepherd, and William James married Elizabeth Hand. About 1854 Ann moved with Catherine’s family to Jefferson County, GA. After being in the path of Sherman’s army, Ann returned with Catherine in late 1864. Ann Turlington Chesnut died in Jefferson County after the 1870 US Census.
Ann Turlington was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2011
Isaac VARN / VARNS / VARNES Sr.
Submitted by Descendants: Blake Timothy, Charles Franklin, Eden Michele and Jessie Irene Hogarth BEARD; Amanda Faye, Brenda Cothren, and Jared Lamar BECK; Robbyn Ronea, and Stephanie Maranda GRINER; Dana Nicole, Erik Andrew, and Jean Beard SCHMIDT; Cynthia Cothren Griner and Jordan Alexis SOMMISE; and Caroline Hogarth SPEER
Court records show Isaac Varn Sr celebrated Christmas, 1823, with his family in a house he built on the south side of the north fork of Black Creek, in Duval County. This area is now known as Middleburg, in Clay County. Isaac Sr was a man of many talents and prospered in difficult situations. He was a maker of nails, a chainman with a survey crew, owned a store, a warehouse and land, was a farmer and cattleman, and was a cartographer, as evidenced by maps in the Clay County Courthouse. He voted in the first statewide election, in Duval County.
Records in the Huxley Library of Camden County, Georgia show Isaac Sr lived there and fought in the First Indian War. It is thought he first visited Florida during this time. At age 55, he served in the Second Indian War. He enlisted at Black Creek, served three months and 25 days under Captain J E Hutchinson, and was awarded 120 acres of Bounty Land for this. However his buildings were destroyed and his land confiscated. He died a pauper, though he did recover his land after suing the Federal Government.
Isaac Sr and his wife Priscilla parented eight children. Five of these children were with him when he came to Florida. Isaac Sr was born in the North Orangeburg District, Barnwell, South Carolina to Jacob Varn and Mary (Copeland) Varn. Isaac Sr died 20 May 1857 in the Middleburg area of then Duval County. The maiden name of his wife, Priscilla is unknown. Her death date and their burial sites are unproved.
Isaac Varn Sr. was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1984
John Wesley VICKERY
Submitted by Descendants: John Edward Jr. and Trysha Lee KRASNOSKY; Camryn Nicole, Kathryn Danielle, and Tami Krasnosky SKIPPER
John Wesley Vickery, son of Richard Vickery and Mary Lucinda Entrekin was born on 9 August 1838 in Escambia County, Florida. John married Jincey Lucinda Gunter on 21 May 1860 in Escambia County, Florida. Jincey was born 14 May 1844, also in Escambia County.
On 24 April 1862, John enlisted at Pensacola, Florida, and served in Company B Third Battalion Florida Cavalry Regiment. He transferred into the Fifteenth Confederate Cavalry, Company D on 24 September 1863.
Dillon Jordan Vickery, son of John married Jessie Gertrude Milsted on 25 July 1899. Jessie was the daughter of George Milsted, who served with John in the Fifteenth Calvary.
Four of John and Jincey’s children, John, Charles, William and Annie were born in Escambia County, Florida. By 1872, John and Jincey moved to Canoe, Escambia County, Alabama where seven more children, Ida, Robert, Dillon, James, Lillian, Nora and Orren were born.
John worked for the railroad for at least thirty years and was listed as a Section Foreman in 1900.
John Wesley Vickery died 24 August 1906 in Canoe, Alabama and Jincey died 25 May 1929. Both were buried in the Hall Family Cemetery in Canoe where numerous family members were laid to rest.
John Wesley Vickery was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2007
William Craig WALLACE
Submitted by Descendants: Steven Charles and Waldo William WALLACE Jr.
William Craig Wallace was born July 9 1848 at Soddy, Hamilton County, Tennessee and was educated in schools of that state, graduating from King College in Bristol TN and later attending and graduating from the Union Theological Seminary in Richmond VA. He was ordained at Soddy TN as a minister in the year 1871. The first few years of his ministry work was spent among the Indians in Indian Territory. From there he went down to Texas for a few years and then back to South Georgia. In 1888 he married Viola Augusta Maxwell of Cairo, Thomas County, Georgia, daughter of Joel Williams Maxwell and Louisa Mary Trulock. They made their home in Georgia for several years and then moved to Kansas, but there his health failed and he came south again and was forced to give up all activity. Seeking to regain his lost health, he left Cairo, Thomas County, Georgia and came to Panama City, Washington County, Florida in 1909, where he lived until his death 23 December 1920 and is buried at Oakland Cemetery in Panama City, Bay County, Florida.
William was instrumental in organizing the first Presbyterian Sunday School and he was the first superintendent and held this position at the time of his death. He was active in Panama City both before it became Bay County and after. He and his wife had five children when they moved to Panama City and four of these lived to adulthood and some of his descendants live in Panama City, Florida today.
William Craig Wallace was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2001
Annie Viola WALKER
Submitted by Descendants: Frances Elaine McKENDREE & Robert Taylor KOEHLER
Annie Viola Walker, a pioneer of the Tampa Bay area, was a lifelong resident of Florida, having been born 23 August 188 in DeSoto County.
Viola was first married to Allen Whitted in 1900, and following his death she re-married to George T. McKendree, Sr. in 1920.
Viola lived her entire life in the Bradenton/Sarasota vicinity. In her 1958 one-page memoir, written in her own hand, she notes that when she first came to Sarasota at the age of 16, there were only two stores, no banks, and two doctors – with the nearest hospital located in Tampa.
Viola was a true pioneer of the lower Tampa Bay area and passed away in 1960, beloved by her 11 children, 29 grandchildren, and 34 great-grandchildren.
Annie Viola Walker was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2011
Thomas WALKER
Submitted by Descendants: Amy Katherine, John Albert, and John Edward WALKER
Thomas Walker was born circa 1796 in Colleton County, South Carolina. His parents are not known at present, but he is thought to have been a descendant of Isham Walker of Colleton County, South Carolina. Thomas Walker married circa 1819 to Elizabeth “Bettie” Osteen. She was the daughter of Obediah and Sarah Osteen.
Thomas and Elizabeth Walker came to Florida in the late 1830’s. This was documented in a pension application of Thomas Walker’s son James in which the pension officials confirmed that Thomas Walker was on the roll of soldiers in Florida during the Second Seminole Indian War. Thomas Walker first appeared in the 1840 census for Hamilton County, Florida.
Thomas and Elizabeth had the following children:
1) Isaac (1820-1886) married Amanda Ponchier
2) James (1823-1901) married 1st Rachel Eliza Sistrunk, 2nd Mary Armstrong
3) Elizabeth (1826-abt 1862) married Samuel Barber
4) George W. (1827-abt 1864) married Eliz UNKNOWN
5) Littleberry “Berry” (1833-1904) married Georgiana Sullivan
6) Adaline (1835-aft 1880) married John B. Langford
7) William Rabron (1837-abt 1860) never married
8) Thomas (1838-abt 1865) married Roxie Ann Sullivan
9) Susan (1841-1913) married Mitchel Sullivan
By 1850 Thomas Walker, his wife and some of his children were living in Alachua County, Florida. The 1860 Census documents that many of his children had moved to Lafayette County, Florida. Thomas Walker was a farmer by occupation. It is thought he died circa 1860-1865 in Florida, but his exact burial location is unknown. Elizabeth “Bettie” (Osteen) Walker later in life lived with her son James and died at this home in 1885. She is buried at Midway Baptist Church Cemetery in Lafayette County, Florida.
Thomas Walker was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2007
Easter Lucinda WATERS Bronson
Submitted by Descendant: Thomas Edward BRONSON
Easter Lucinda Waters, the daughter of Emanuel Waters and Nancy Elizabeth Gornto Waters, was born abt. 2 May 1856 in Levy County, Florida. She married William Jasper Bronson on 7 February 1878 in Bronson, Levy County, Florida.
Easter was a wife, homemaker, and mother. She died on 4 Jun 1933 in Bronson, Levy County, Florida. She is buried beside her husband in the Arrendondo Cemetery (also known as the Kanapaha Cemetery), Alachua County, Florida.
Throughout early documents there appears to be quite a variation in the spelling of Easter Lucinda’s name – Esther, Ester, Cindy, Lucindy to name a few –however, on her death certificate her son W. M. Bronson signed an affidavit indicating her correct name to be Easter Lucinda Bronson.
Easter Lucinda Waters Bronson was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2006
Emanuel WATERS
Submitted by Descendant: Thomas Edward BRONSON
Emanuel Waters was born abt. 12 Dec 1829 in Georgia. He married Nancy Elizabeth Gornto abt. 12 Jan 1851 in Madison Co., Florida. He was a farmer as well as a husband, father, and soldier.
Emanuel served with Captain David Lang’s Company in the 8th Regiment of the State of Florida. He alleged in his application for pension that he was disabled while serving with his Brigade in the Battle of the Wilderness and was subsequently retained as a prisoner during the remainder of the war. He was discharged in the spring of 1865.
As noted in his wife’s Pension Application Emanuel died at his home in Yular, Florida on the 5th day of September 1895. He is buried in the Townsend Cemetery in Gilchrist County, Florida.
Emanuel Waters was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2006
John Francis WEBB
Submitted by Descendants: Daisy Webb, Jason Webb, and Madeline Mae KENNEDY
John Francis Webb, son of John Webb and Elizabeth Lawson was born in 1804 in Liberty County, Georgia. By the time he was thirteen, John was an orphan and became a ward of the Reverend Charles O. Screven, a Baptist minister and moderator of the Liberty County Baptist Association. John lived with Reverend Screven until the age of 18.
In 1837 John enlisted at Pine Grove, Florida for six months service in the Indian War. He mustered in on 16 June 1837 and mustered out at Fort Gilleland on 18 December 1837. Although only a 2nd Lieutenant, he was called “Colonel” in his later years.
John F. Webb was a delegate from Columbia County to the first Constitutional Convention held in St. Joseph in 1838 and 1839.
He was married twice, but little is known of his first wife. About 1838 John married Caroline E. Livingston, daughter of William Livingston and Susannah Hayes. Caroline was born in Georgia in 1816 and moved to Florida in 1830 with her parents, both of whom are Florida Pioneers.
The first of their six children was born in Madison, and the next two in Columbia County, Florida. John and Caroline are buried beside each other in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Madison, Florida.
John Francis Webb died in Madison, Florida in 1870. Caroline followed him in death in 1872. John and Caroline are buried beside each other in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Madison, Florida.
John Francis Webb was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1983
William WEST
Submitted by Descendant: Elizabeth STRONG
William West was born in Barsham, England, about 1798, traveled by ship to the United States in 1819 and after residing in New York and South Carolina, arrived in Jefferson County about 12 February 1830. On 25 November 1830, William West swore allegiance to the Territory and expressed his plans to become a U.S. citizen. In this early period of his arrival, he acted as a “nominal” overseer for the Murat Negroes brought by Thomas Randall to a Miccosukee plantation. This was done to satisfy a Florida law requiring a white man to live on every plantation cultivated by slaves.
In the 1850 census, William West is shown as a hotel keeper and the jailer with five prisoners listed; four prisoners are accused of murder and one of kidnapping.
In the 1860s, William West owns a steam sawmill on Miccosukee Lake and is growing cotton, corn, sugar cane, and sweet potatoes. He is shown as owning a number of slaves. By 1871, he identifies himself as a retired Cotton Planter.
William West was married to Harriet and had five children-Susan, John, Harriet, Henry, and Emmala. He was a Deacon at the Ebenezer Baptist church. William West died about 1884.
William West was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2011
William Elias WESTER
Submitted by Descendant: Deanna D. RAMSEY
William “Elias” Wester was the sixth child of William Elias Wester and Susanna Page. After his father’s death in 1808, Elias was raised in Tattnall County, Georgia near the Altamaha River by his older brother Richard. At the age of 21, he married Margaret Campbell and moved to Gadsden County, Florida. Here Margaret gave birth to their first two children, Daniel Campbell in 1823 and Mary Ann in 1825. During 1826 and 1827 he received patents and is considered one of the original land holders of Gadsden County, Florida.
On April 5, 1824, Elias was appointed to serve on Gadsden County’s first Grand Jury and on July 25, 1831 he was one of the citizens of Gadsden County that recommended Romeo Lewis to be appointed U.S. Marshall for the Middle District of Florida. In 1829 he began investing in property in Decatur County, Georgia where he later settled. Here he had hundreds of head of cattle feeding between the Flint and Chattahoochee Rivers and owned several slaves. While living in Decatur County, Georgia, Margaret gave birth to William Elias, James B., Benjamin Franklin, and Margaret. He continued to buy and sell property, paying property taxes on multiple lands in Gadsden County, Florid, and Decatur County, Georgia. After Margaret’s death in 1844 he married Nancy Oliver and moved across the Chattahoochee River into Jackson County, Florida. After a brief marriage and no children he and Nancy divorced in 1851. This same year Elias married Elizabeth Byrant and had the following seven children between 1854 and 1871: George Washington, Axey, John Robert, Henry H., Thomas Jefferson, Mathew and Edward Page.
While living in Jackson County, Florida he was appointed Road Commissioner and Election Inspector and served on several Grand and Petit Juries and as a witness in several local cases. It is stated in “Historic Georgia Families”, by L.W. Rigsby, During the Civil War the town of Marianna, Florida was attached by a band of Union Soldiers and Elias Wester, although past fifty years of age, went with a number of his neighbors, riding at full speed to repulse the enemy and save the town. They arrived to find the town burned and the enemy gone.
During the war he furnished hundreds of cattle to feed the families of neighbors who were serving in the cause of the Confederacy. He lived the remainder of his life with wife Elizabeth in Grand Ridge, Florida and is buried in the Wester Cemetery located on part of his original homestead.
William Elias Wester was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2005
John WHALTON (aka Walton)
Submitted by Descendant: John WHALTON
John Whalton arrived in St Augustine in Spanish Florida around 1818. It is believed that he was born in New York into a family that had originally come from Ireland. By 1819, John had won the hand of Felicia Buchani and they were married on 8 June 1819. The Catholic marriage record translated from Spanish, states that John was from Washington town in the United State of America.
John, an industrious young man with a wife and children to support when Florida became part of the United States, acquired a position as an Agent for the Auditor of the United States Treasury. He proceeded to the Florida Keys where he began surveying sites for future lighthouses. Though he had hoped to become the keeper of a new lighthouse being constructed at Key West, the position was given to someone else. In 1826, John Whalton was appointed the keeper for the light ship to be stationed at Carysfort Reef, and by April 1826 he had taken up that post. John had located his family in Key West a fair distance from his ship at Carysfort Reef.
Living on a lightship was no easy task. Fresh food and water were necessities of life and Capt John, as he was now known, knew that the trips to Key West for supplies had to be kept to a minimum. To supplement his rations, he cultivated a vegetable garden on key Largo at a spot where he could also obtain fresh water. On a warm July day in 1837, Capt John went ashore with members of his crew so they could gather supplies from his garden in anticipation of a visit with his family who were coming from Key West.
Unfortunately, the Second Seminole War had broken out in late 1835 and in 1836 Indians had attacked at New Smyrna, Bushnell, the Cape Florida Lighthouse, and had destroyed Capt Whalton’s shed and gardens on Key Largo. Unaware that hostile Indians were lying in wait, Capt Whalton and his crew landed in their skiff only to be greeted by a vicious attack that killed John Whalton. The surviving crew made it safely back to the lightship, only to carry the news to his stricken family that there was no hope for Capt John. A raiding party of crews from numerous ships anchored at Indian Key returned to Key Largo the following day, retrieving Capt John’s mutilated body where it was then taken to Indian Key to his grieving wife and children for burial.
John Whalton was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2011
John WHITEHURST
Submitted by Descendant: Erman Edward MURRAY
John A. Whitehurst was born about 1815 in Georgia, he first settled in Hamilton County, Florid about 1835. He fought twice, in 1836 and 1840, with the Florida Militia during the Seminole wars.
He settled in Benson County (now Hernando) about 1841 with his wife Elizabeth and one child Mary Ann. He voted in the first Florida election held 26 May 1845. He and Elizabeth had three more children: Georgia Ann, Susan, and Christopher.
Finally settling in Hillsborough County about 1855 about 8-9 miles from “Old Town” Tampa, John A. and Elizabeth had four more children: Winfield, Harney, Francis, and Henrietta.
At the beginning of the Civil War, he was against seceding from the Union. Being a Union loyalist he refused to join the Confederate Army and had expressed his “intention of fighting for no flag but the one he was brought up and always lived under”. As a result, John A. and Elizabeth lost everything.
John A. and Scott Whitehurst (his brother) were killed by the Rebels when they left Egmont Key (in Tampa Bay) by boat to organize the Union loyalists in Tampa to assist the Union Navy in invading Tampa. The Union never invaded Tampa.
Scott and John A. Whitehurst were buried on Egmont Key by the Union Navy.
John Whitehurst was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2011
Jesse WIGGANS
Submitted by Descendants: Halley Jr., Halley Bronson III, and Halley BRONSON IV
Jesse Wiggans was born Tatnall County, Georgia and moved to Columbia County, Florida where he enlisted in Captain W. B. North’s Company of Florida Volunteers and served from January to June of 1836 and was discharged at Fort Gilliland, Florida.
Jesse moved about throughout North and Central Florida and lived at Lebanon in Levy County, Florida, Fort Brook in Hillsborough County, Florida, and finally settling in Black Dirt in Levy County, Florida. He died at Fort Clark, Alachua County, Florida on the 1st of June 1882. He was married two times but had only one surviving child named Sarah Wiggins who married Bronson L. Lewis.
He appears to have led a rather nondescript life for very little has been found about his life except a Widow’s Pension for service in the Indian War which was filed by his second wife, Elizabeth Wiggins.
Jesse Wiggans was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2003
John Daniel WILLIAMS
Submitted by Descendants: Vivian “Babe” Carter DAVIS; Jessica Harper HOOVER; Sylvia “Peggy” Carter MANN; and Paul Vaughn WYNN
John Daniel Williams was born in Tattnall Co., Georgia in 1816. He came to Columbia Co. Florida, with his parents, William Williams & Sarah Harvey Williams sometime in the early 1830’s. On Oct. 10, 1835 he married Rebecca Sweat, daughter of Abner W. Sweat and Rebecca Anderson. The wedding took place at the Old Fork Mill on the St. Marys River about five or six miles from Sanderson in Columbia Co., Georgia. He and Rebecca raised eight children.
John voted in the first statewide election of 26 May 1845, while serving as Election Inspector in Columbia County, Florida.
It was said, by Rebecca, his wife that he went out with his father Capt. William’s Company in the Indian War. When he came home from the army Rebecca prepared his favorite meal of hoe cake baked in the oven on the coals and collard greens with a side of smoked ribs and coffee made from parched okra seeds with a few bits of sweet potato roasted together. She also cooked him a couple of good sized catfish broiled on the coals which he ate with relish. It was after the War Between the States that their nine slaves were freed and John D. began to feel the crush, his neighbors seeing his need and industry to restore his farm, gave his assistance.
In 1862 John Daniel Williams divorced Rebecca and married a neighbor’s widow, Georgiana Anderson. She had six children from her former husband, Malicahi Anderson, who was killed in the service and she and John D. had several more. It was said that both women were at this bedside when he was dying of cancer. He died on April 27, 1896, and was buried near his home on the middle prong of the St. Marys River.
John Daniel Williams was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2000
John Daniel WILLIAMS
Submitted by Descendants: John Albert and John Edward BURNETT
John Daniel Williams was an early pioneer of Florida during the Territorial Period (1821-1845) of the State’s history. He was the son of William Williams and Sarah Harvey and was born circa 1814 at Bryan County, Georgia. In the 1830’s he migrated to what was then the Florida Territory and settled in Columbia County. He was first married to Rebecca Sweat (1816-1897) around 834. John Daniel and his first wife had the following children:
1) Sarah Williams (1834-1903) married 1st James Prevatt, 2nd John Crews
2) Elias Williams (1836-1909) married Jane Coombs
3) Polly Ann Williams (1845-1905) married William Thompson
4) William Jackson Williams (1842-1903) married Courtney Raulerson
5) Elizabeth Williams (1843-1934) married Jesse W. Harvey
6) Caroline Williams (1845-1934) married John Burton Arnold
7) Nancy Williams (1848-1938) married Joseph Crews
8) John Commander Williams (1850-1921) married Amanda Frazier
9) Eliza Williams (1853-1941) married James Harvey
10) James Jasper Williams (1856-1946) married Sarah Bennett
11) Martha Lee Williams (1856-1885) married Lee Dugger
12) Llewellyn L. Williams (1861-1921) married Sarah J. Rhoden
13) Charity Williams (1862-bef. 1875)
John Daniel Williams served in Captain Bird’s Florida Mounted Volunteers during the Florida War against the Seminole Indians. He served from 1838 until 1840. He later served in the Confederate Army as a Sergeant in Co. K, 2nd Regiment Florida Cavalry. He was a farmer by occupation and at one time owned a small number of slaves he used for his farming operations.
John Daniel Williams divorced his first wife Rebecca (Sweat) Williams and married Georgia Ann (Rewis) Anderson on February 14, 1868. Georgia Ann Rewis Anderson was the first wife of Malachi Anderson and was the mother of his five children: Martha, John, Jacob, Robert & George Anderson. John Daniel Williams and Mrs. Anderson started their relationship sometime around 1860 and several of their children were born previous to their marriage. Their children were:
1) General Jackson William (1865-1928) married Elizabeth Davis
2) Julia Ann Williams (1865-1916) married John B. Starling
3) William Henry Williams (1866-1943) married Ella Dugger
4) Randle E. Williams (1867-1941) married 1st Julia Roberts, 2nd Della Register Davis
5) Selena “Lena” Williams (1870-1933) married 1st John Clark and 2nd Edward Norton
6) Thomas Jefferson Williams (1873-bef 1955) married 1st Jane Dugger and 2nd Florida Parrish
7) Ella Williams (1876-1963) married Washington Ruis
8) Missouri Williams (1880-1907) married James Oscar Kelly
John Daniel Williams and his families lived in the area of Columbia County, Florida that would eventually become Baker County, Florida. He developed skin cancer and died on the 27th of April 1896. Both of his wives were at this bedside when he died. He was buried in what is called the Williams Cemetery near the middle prong of the St. Marys River in what is now the Osceola National Forest. Neither of his wives is buried with him. Rebecca Sweat Williams is buried at Cedar Creek Cemetery and Georgia Ann Rewis Anderson Williams is buried at Taylor Cemetery. All cemeteries mentioned are located in Baker Co., Florida. John Daniel Williams was often referred to by his nickname “Jocham” Williams. His descendants are numerous throughout the State of Florida.
John Daniel Williams was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2000
Manning Jiles WILLIAMS
Submitted by Descendants: Jetti Rae, Luke Quin, Rafael Quin, and Virginia Belle GODWIN; and Dena Elizabeth JOHNSTON
Manning Jiles Williams possessed a true “pioneer” spirit. At the fledgling age of fourteen (born June 21, 1823), the young Georgian answered the call to Florida and volunteered for the first of five military enlistments in the second Seminole War (1835-1842) joining the Mounted Militias as a Private led by the likes of Capt’s Bradley, Edwards, Langford, and Turner as well as Lieut. Wiggins. He settled in Madison, FL., upon arrival and on January 21, 1845, with his war days behind him, married fellow Georgian Cynthia Warren in Madison, going on to have seven children (four girls, three boys).
Manning voted in the first statewide election of 1845, voting in Madison County.
For the young Manning’s war efforts, he received 361 acres in land grants in the mid 1850’s with all of the land coming in Madison County where he stayed, worked as a farmer, raised his family and eventually died on January 30, 1880, due to Dropsy. He is buried right next to his wife Cynthia in Macedonia Baptist Church Cemetery in Madison County, a church he – along with Cynthia and six others – help found.
Manning Jiles Williams was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2006
William Henry WILLLINGHAM
Anna E. “Annie” HILLIARD
Submitted by Descendants: Holly Hill, Riley Davis, and Taylor Hill HAYNES; Caroline Grace, Jonathan Bennett, Michael Robert, Robert Lewis, and Robert Lewis HILL Jr.
Although the exact date and location of William Henry Willingham’s birth remains a mystery, the 1840 census shows his residence as Ware County, Georgia. There in 1838, he married Annie E. Hilliard, daughter of Silas and Abigail Hilliard. Annie and William were the parents of nine children, three of whom died at a young age.
William served four enlistments in the Second Indian War in Ware Count and farmed for his livelihood. Prior to 1845, the family relocated to Columbia County, Florida, where William voted in Florida’s first statewide election. A few years later, they moved to Hillsborough County’s Itchpossassa Settlement, near present day Mulberry. The tax rolls of 1862 record that William owned 1550 head of cattle. He had over 400 acres of land, 160 acres of it granted as bounty land for his service in the Second Indian War. While in Hillsborough County, William served in the Third Indian War.
When he felt it was safe to move farther east after the Indian Wars, he sold his land and cattle and moved to Chloroform Branch, a large range in the Kissimmee River Valley. About ten years later, he gave both land and cattle to a son and relocated near Ft. Meade in Polk County, where he raised cattle, owned orange groves, and operated a ferry service across the Peace River.
For her husband’s service during the Indian Wars, Annie received a widow’s pension after William died in 1886. She died in 1901 while visiting her daughter Ellen in Basinger, Florida, and was buried in the Basinger Cemetery.
William Henry Willingham was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
Anna E. “Annie” Hilliard was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2008
William Henry WILLINGHAM
Submitted by Descendants: Waldo W. DAVIS and Gloria Beatrice Ann HART
William Henry Willingham was born 18 April 1816, possibly in Oglethorpe, Georgia. William voted in the 1845 state election in Columbia County and served four enlistments in the Indian Wars.
He married Anna. E. “Annie” Hilliard on 23 July 1838 in Ware County, Georgia. Anna was born 19 March 1815 near Waycross, Georgia. To this union were born nine children: Isabelle, William W. “Bill”, Serena, Matilda, Ellen, Mary Ann and three others who died young.
The family settled near Fort Meade on the east side of the Peace River. At one time William had over 10,000 head of cattle plus orange groves. William died on 2 February 1886 and is buried in Pleasant Grove Cemetery in Fort Meade.
After William died Annie filed for and received a pension for his Indian War service. On 24 April 1901 while visiting her daughter Ellen Willingham Parker in Bassinger, Florida, Annie passed away and is buried in the Bassinger Cemetery.
William Henry Willingham was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
Charles L. WILSON
Submitted by Descendants: Debbie, Jann, & Alexis ROTSTEIN
Oral history tells us that Charles L. Wilson was born in Bangor, Maine in 1818. Charles L. Wilson registered to vote in the 1845 statewide election in Mineral Springs, Columbia County. He married Lydia Gillett. Their first daughter, Susan Elizabeth Wilson, was born 31 October 1847, with their second daughter Martha Jane in 1849, followed by twins, Frances E. and Matilda J., born in 1854. Charles L. Wilson assumed responsibility for a 13 year old Jerome Jones in 1847, who is listed with the family in the 1850 Federal Census for Alachua County.
In the fall of 1849, Charles L. Wilson ran for the office of Sheriff of Alachua County. Charles served the citizens of Alachua County from 1849-1855. He was appointed Elisor of Levy County on 11 December 1850. This is the de facto tax collector, coroner, process server, and possible sheriff for this neighboring county.
In 1852 it appears that Charles and Lydia have given up living on a farm/plantation and moved into the town of Newnansville. By the summer of 1854, it seems that the marriage is over for Lydia and Charles, and a divorce was granted on 15 December 1854.
Charles L. Wilson then married Mary Caroline Tison Russell on 28 December 1854. A son, George F. Wilson, is born to this marriage.
It is noted in Alachua County Judgment Record A, page 504, dated Monday 11 May 1857, Charles L. Wilson had died. His place of death was most likely Columbia County and the location of his grave has not been identified at this time.
Charles L. Wilson and Lydia Gillett daughters’ married and raised families in the Alachua and Columbia County areas.
Charles L. Wilson was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2011
Henry C. WILSON
Submitted by Descendants: Corey Ryan, Karen Lyn, Kaylee Ann, Maedell “Mae” Routh, and Max Clinton CARR, Jr.; Kaitlin Courtney, Kimberly Kay Carr, Kristin Nicole, and Lindsey Kay MARTIN; and Glenn Franklin ROUTH
When you consider the professional positions he held and his beautiful handwriting you expect to find Henry C. Wilson had a very good education. The information available suggests Henry Wilson was an outstanding citizen of the community. He was elected Probate Judge, elected Clerk of the Court in 1843 and signed off on an election of Senators and Representatives in 1844. He operated a 160 acre farm and owned 2 forges, a blacksmiths house and lot. Also, he voted in the first statewide election and signed petitions supporting issues that were important to the development of the Territory of Florida.
Henry Wilson was born c1816 in North Carolina. In an application he made in July 1843 for 160 acres of land to settle upon in Alachua County, Territory of Florida he stated in writing that he became a resident of Florida in June 1838. He was the head of a family having married Martha B. Tison on 1 April 1841 and was the father of five 95) children. Unfortunately, Henry Wilson died on 23 December 1853 at the age of thirty-six (36). The cause of his death is unknown.
Henry C. Wilson was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2000
Jasper Newton WILSON
Submitted by Descendants: Aliah Anne FARLEY; Audrey Michel, Austin Ray, Ethan Kyle, Ira Henry, Keira Elizabeth, Kyle Edward, Michael Lee, Reece Everett, Susan A Routh, Thomas Cole, Thomas Harold, and Trace Michael JACKSON
The eldest of five children, Jasper Newton Wilson was born 27 March 1842 in Newmansville, Alachua County, Florida, to Henry C. Wilson and Martha B. Tison
The Jesse Talbot Bernard Institute, was established in 1852 and Jasper, age 10, listed as a student in Ms. Bernard’s diary.
On 3 September 1861 at age 21, Jasper enlisted in the Confederate States Army in Starke, Florida. He served until 1865 and on 4 April 1866 married Laura Strobar Guinn in Alachua County. The census records list Jasper as a farmer, and he and Laura had ten children, six boys and four girls.
Jasper was baptized at Gallows Pond on 4 April 1890 and worshipped at Forrest Grove Baptist Church near Alachua.
Jasper’s application for a homestead certificate was signed by Grover Cleveland on 6 July 1893, but Jasper passed away from cancer on 21 March 1893 at age 51, never knowing of its acceptance. Jasper and his wife Laura are buried together in the Forest Grove Cemetery in Alachua County, Florida.
Jasper Newton Wilson was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2001
Jacob WORLEY
Submitted by Descendants: Christina M., James M. Jr.,
Lisa L., Raylene M., and Stephanie M. WORLEY
Jacob Worley was born about 1821 in Camden County, Georgia. He appears on the list of voters from the Cedar Creek area of Duval County for the first Florida election held in 1845. On 3 March 1847 he married Mary Alderole in Duval County. The young family moved south around 1852 and are shown living in Marion County, Florida in 1860 with three sons.
Jacob enlisted in the Confederate Army on 12 April 1862, was assigned to Company H, 7th Infantry Regiment and his occupation was listed as a wheelwright. Marion County voter lists for 1867-1868 indicate Jacob had been in Florida for 41 years and a resident of Marion County for 15 years.
Jacob and Mary, along with sons John, William, James and Jacob migrated to Hernando County between 1868 and 1870, making this their final home. Jacob Worley died on 8 August 1881 and is buried in the West Elfers Cemetery, in what is now Pasco County, Florida.
Jacob Worley was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2007
William WORLEY
Submitted by Descendants: Christina M., James M. Jr.,
Lisa L., Raylene M., and Stephanie M. WORLEY
William S. Worley was born to Jacob and Mary in February of 1856. In 1880 William was listed on the Manatee County census as a single man and a herder. By 1881 he had marks and brands of his own registered and in 1883 William purchased property in Fort Odgen, Manatee County, which is now entirely in Desoto County.
Well on his way to becoming a respected cattleman in his own right, William married Missouri Langford on 9 September 1886 and they had nine children. It is said William died suddenly on 23 October 1911 after returning from what would be his last cattle drive. William Worley and his wife Missouri are buried in the Joshua Creek Cemetery in Desoto County, Florida.
William Worley was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2007
General Floyd YATES
Submitted by Descendant: Anisca “Nickey” Bronson NEEL
Floyd was born 30 May 1882 at Shingle Creek, Osceola County, Florida, the son of William Henry Yates and Mary S. Bronson. He was the grandson of pioneers James Yates, Jr. and Mary Polly Lamb and great grandson of pioneers James Yates, Sr. and Agnes Rowland. Years ago it was common to name sons “General” and this was true in Floyd’s case as he did not serve in the military although he did register for World War I.
He married Edna Arnold on 12 May 1912 in Osceola County. Edna was born 14 November 1894, the daughter of Joseph Wheeler Arnold and Azaline Montsdeoca and granddaughter of Manuel Montsdeoca and Matilda Willingham.
Floyd and Edna had five children all born in Kissimmee: Alvena Lucille “Al”, Thelma Rosetta, Earl Floyd, Edna Marcella “Marcie”, and Lois Fay Yates.
Floyd, a hardworking man, worked for the City of Kissimmee for forty-five years. He died 29 September 1952. Floyd and Edna are buried at Rose Hill Cemetery, Kissimmee, Florida.
General Floyd Yates was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2002
William Henry YATES
Submitted by Descendant: Anisca “Nickey” Bronson NEEL
William Henry Yates was born circa 1851 in, Orange, now Osceola County, the son of pioneers James Yates, Jr. and Mary Polly Lamb, and grandson of pioneers James Yates, Sr. and Agnes Rowland.
In circa 1867 he married Mary S. Bronson, daughter of James Robert Bronson and first wife Sarah Yates. William Henry Yates and Mary S. Bronson had eleven children: James Radford, John Leonard “Jack”, Edward D. Mary Margaret, Vina Vianner “Viney”, William Robert, Rebecca “Becky”, General Floyd, John Quincy Adam, Henry William and Sallie Lizziebeth Yates, all born at Shingle Creek, Osceola County, Florida.
William Henry died 3 February 1903 in Gadsden County, Florida.
William Henry Yates was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2002
Robert YOUNGBLOOD
Submitted by Descendant: Nancy Lee Eaton SHIVER
Robert Youngblood is listed on 1820 U.S. Federal census in Nassau County, Florida. His parents are unknown. He is listed on census as being born in Georgia. In 1829 he married Mary A. Watson in Duval County, Florida.
He was well educated and held different occupations. He was Constable in Alachua County, Florida 12 March 1838. He was Clerk of County 14 December 1847 to 1849. 1850 his occupation was Wheelwright and in 1860 he is listed in Hillsborough County, Florida as a School Teacher.
Robert and Mary had 7 children:
Mary A. E. married Wade H. Bryant
Sarah A.
Tara
Martha E.
John W.
Adaline,
Rebecca Jane
Martha, John, and Adaline all died in infancy. Tara died when she was 2.
Robert and his brother Daniel N. Youngblood were neighbors on the 1860 Hillsborough County, Florida Census.
Mary A. Watson Youngblood Coleman lived with their daughter Rebecca Youngblood Nettles until Rebecca died in 1880’s, then Mary lived with her sister Katherine E. Watson Lanier who married Isaac Mills Lanier.
Mary is said to be buried at Bull Creek where Katherine is buried Osceola County, Florida. It is unknown where Robert is buried. Robert never married again after he divorced Mary.
Robert Youngblood was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2004
