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FLORIDA PIONEER
HERITAGE & GENEALOGY
By Mike Miller Updated April 20, 2024
Most Florida Pioneers are descended from Southerners who moved down from South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama shortly before and after the U.S. Civil War ended in 1865.
That's not a hard and fast rule, however, because many Yankees who came down in that era became so Southern in culture they are pioneers in a way too.
Some of these pioneers came down by horse or mule drawn wagons. Many rode their mules or horses. An amazing number of them walked.
The Southern states were poor even before the Civil War, but they were physically and economically devastated by the war. Farms and businesses had been destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of Confederate soldiers had died.
Florida was a chance for these Southerners, including veterans and other survivors to get a fresh start in life.
The best resource for researching Florida pioneer genealogy is the website of the Florida State Genealogical Society. They have a "Florida Pioneer Descendant Certificate Program" that honors descendants of Florida pioneers who settled in Florida before statehood.
This means your ancestor had to move to Florida between March 3, 1845 (statehood) and December 31, 1900. The Society even gives a certificate to descendants who can verify their ancestry.
I have noticed they also give certificates to descendants whose ancestors came to Florida before statehood in 1845. If your ancestor came to Florida, for example, in 1825, you are probably considered a 7th or 8th generation Floridian.
If you would like to have a listing on our website, our requirements are not as strict. We'd like our pioneers to have come down here at least 100 years ago.
You might discover relatives you didn't know you have on our list. If your ancestors came down back in the day we'd like to hear from you.
At the bottom of the following list of family names and bios, you will find a form for your entry if you'd like to submit a name and history.
FLORIDA GENEALOGY SUBMITTED BY OUR VISITORS
As of November 8, 2023, these family names have been submitted. More details by scrolling down.
Akins, Albrecht, Allen, Anderson, Arnold, Ashton, Barber, Barnes, Batton, Bethea, Bishop, Blue, Bond, Bridges, Brooks, Broome, Broward, Brown, Bryan, Carlton, Carmichael, Carter, Cason, Chaffin, Chancey, Chesser, Clements, Clemmons, Cooper, Cordery, Council, Creamer, Crews, Crum, Cuesta, Curry, Daniel, Davis, Doke, Dowling, Dozier, Driggers, DuBose, Dukes, Durrance, Edgemon, Falkner, Faulkner, Flanigan, Fletcher, Gavin, Gillett, Gittens, Goff, Graham, Granger, Griffin, Griffis, Hall, Hamlin, Hamilton, Hammond, Hancock, Hankins, Harper, Harrell, Hedges, Henderson, Hendry, Hill, Hilliard, Hogan, Holland, Howard, Jennings, Johns, Johnson, Jones, Kelly, Lanier, Lawson, Lee, Livingston, Maddox, Manly, Martin, Matkovich, Matthews, Maxcy, McDonald, McElroy, McKinney, McMullen, Miller, Montes de Oca, Moore, Mosely, Nettles, Newsome, Oglesby, Olliphant, O'Steen, Parrish, Pellicer, Pillans, Prince, Raulerson, Rawls, Renfroe, Roberts, Rousseau, Sallis, Sands, Sapp, Saunders, Sheffield, Silas, Sistrunk, Sloan, Smith, Solana, Spencer, Stafford, Stapleton, Starling, Story, Summers, Taylor, Tedder, Tucker, Underwood, Weeks, Wells, Whiddon, Whitman, Williams, Wilson, Woodward, Yelvington, Yon
AKINS
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Fl, US)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name:Francis Marion Akins
2. Your name:James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Ware, Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1880
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Bradford, Fl.
ALBRECHT
1. Your ancestor's first and last name. Charles Theodor Albrecht
2. Where did your ancestor come from? Germany
3. What year did your ancestor come to Florida. 1910
4. Where did they settle? Homestead
5. Tell us what else you know about your ancestor.
Charles Theodor Albrecht emigrated from Germany in November 1881 and settled in Minnesota where he lived for many years. He then retired about 1910 to Homestead, Florida with his wife Marie and two sons: Alfred and Charles John.
The Albrechts became orange and grapefruit growers. On an early postcard, their fruit farm is identified as C. T. Albrecht & Sons, Redland, Florida.
Marie died in about 1923 and Charles died in December 1932. The son Charles may never have married. The son Alfred married a woman with the maiden name of Bernecker.
ALLEN
Allen family, by Elizabeth Allen Sacco (Sacramento, CA).
1. Your first and last name. Elizabeth Allen Sacco
2. Your ancestor's first and last name. Lorenzo Dow Allen
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Saratoga New York
4. What year did your ancestor come to Florida. 1840s
5. Where did they settle? Duval, Florida Territory
6. Tell us what else you know about your ancestor.
I've enclosed an old plat map of Jacksonville Florida that shows Allen land. Lorenzo Dow Allen lived in Duval, Florida Territory and is found on the 1840 census. He was born in Saratoga New York; I am not sure when he arrived in Florida.
In 1841 he purchased 39 acres in the Jacksonville area and started his family. Sometime between 1850 and 1860 his wife and three of his four children died. (I believe it was from yellow fever.)
In 1861, Lorenzo and his oldest son John, enlisted in the Confederate Army in the 3rd Fla infantry Co F (Capt. Hardee's Cowboys). Lorenzo was captured on Sept 18 1862 in Glasglow Ky, paroled and discharged on Oct 29.
John was wounded and captured at Missionary Ridge in 1863. He then joined Company H, 3rd regiment of the USA Volunteer Infantry and spent the remainder of the war in frontier service in the Northwestern Territories.
I believe Lorenzo may have died during the war. John settled in Alabama after the war.
Editor's Note: The fact that John had to serve in the Union army to get out of prisoner camp is similar to this story of Calvin Rellim in Galvanized Yankee from Florida.
ANDERSON
1. Thomas Vinson Anderson
2. Lucretia Dinkla Norman
3. Appling County, Georgia
4. 1870
5. Lake Butler, Bradford County, Florida
ANDERSON
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Anderson, Angus Lane
2. Your full name: Anonymous
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Unknown
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1824
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Walton County
From Florida Genealogical Society
Among Angus Lane's descendants are David Earl Homza, Rachel Elizabeth Homza, and Thomas Michael Homza.
ARNOLD
John Arnold and his wife Ellender Baker Arnold moved from Georgia to Florida with their boys in about 1845. John and at least 3 of his sons served in the Confederate Army. John was in the Home Guard. One son died in Richmond at the Florida Hospital. Another son, John Burton Arnold, was shot at Chickamauga and he lost part of his arm. He married Caroline Williams of Baker County, Florida.
ASHTON
by Julie K. Cox
St. Augustine
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Edward Ashton
2. Your name: Julie Kay Taylor Cox
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Ireland
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1783
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? St. Augustine
BARBER
My name is Charles Howell from Tifton, Georgia.
My 2nd great uncle was Moses Barber of O’Brien, Florida. Don’t know if he descends from the Moses Barber of the famed Barber- Mizell feud or not?
He was a Cowboy that understood horses, cattle, and oxen.
BARNES
Earl Barnes was reportedly born in Eustis, Florida on August 22, 1889.
His father was Theodore Barnes and his mother was Rena Grey. This information has been provided by a daughter of Earl, Alta Godwin of Snohomish, Washington.
Please provide any information on this family to alta.godwin@comcast.net.
Research on Florida genealogy is difficult in many cases because of the absence of accurate birth records in the early days.
BATTON
1. Your first and last name. JASON BATTON
2. Your ancestor's first and last name. WILLIAM BATTON
3. Where did your ancestor come from? NOT SURE
4. What year did your ancestor come to Florida. EARLY 1900s
5. Where did they settle? POLK COUNTY, FLORIDA
6. Tell us what else you know about your ancestor.
Batton Family In Florida by Jason Batton (Lynchburg, Va). My last name is Batton. My father's family goes back at least three generations probably more. My grandfather and my great uncles were definitely an interesting bunch. My father tells me stories about them all the time. He says they were true Florida pioneers.
My father is 73 yrs old, and grew up in the native Florida culture. It is certainly a culture all of it's own. Not all of it good but distinct nonetheless.
They wrestled gators, fought mosquitoes, lived in the swamps, had drunken brawls, made moonshine, had a disdain for northerners, and a unique relationship with blacks and Native Americans. They were also very tough.
Through my fathers stories, I have some good insight into this dying culture. My father also has a real native Floridian accent. People always ask him where his accent comes from, because they can not place it.
I hope my family history helps to keep this dying culture alive. To understand the Batton family is to know what it means to be a native Floridian. Most of my father's stories took place in the Polk County area. They were an interesting mix of English and French ancestry. I would invite anyone to research this.
Florida Back Roads Travel Says: Jason has provided additional information for his family. Here it is:
First Name: Jason Batton
E-Mail Address: battonjason@yahoo.com
Jan 15, 2014:
I would like to apologize for the missing info concerning the Batton name. I wrote that shortly after discovering your site. Therefore I was not quite sure what you were looking for. My grandfather's name was William Batton. His brother's were Skip, Raymond, and Lamar Batton.
My grandfather was born in Polk county in 1910. I will give you my great grandfather's info as soon I get it. I would also like to add that my father knew Katherine Harris and Ben Hill Griffin Sr really well. He used to work for Katherine's father ,George Harris, at Citrus & Chemical bank in Bartow.
Ben Hill and Katherine are two new names you just added to your site. He has told me many stories about them. You may want to do some research on C & C Bank too. It was started by Ben Hill Griffin while Katherine Harris's dad George and my father were instrumental in keeping it up and running.It played a major role in native Florida history and culture.
Anyway, sorry about the missing info. I will give you more when I get the time. Thank you. One more thing. My father's name is James Lamar Batton. He was born in Bartow, Fl in 1941.
BETHEA
by Douglas Bethea
(Ormond Beach)
My Grandad, Hugh T. Bethea, was born in 1891 near Crewsville, Zolfo Springs. Family came from the Carolinas. I would like to find some information that goes further back.
BISHOP
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Fl)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: George Marvin Bishop Jr.
2. Your name: James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Barnwell, South Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1839
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Jefferson
BLUE
1. Your Ancestor's Family Name: BLUE
2. Your full name: Anonymous
3. Where did your ancestor come from? North Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1856
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Taylor County
BOND
by Anne Wade
(Atlanta, Georgia
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Henry Jackson Bond
2. Your name: Anne Wade
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Belfast, Ireland
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1825
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Tallahassee
Captain Henry Jackson Bond was a Tallahassee merchant and owner of a fleet operating out of St Marks, 1825-1858. His store was on the NE corner opposite the Florida State Capitol.
BRIDGES
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Fl)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Stephen Bridges
2. Your name: James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Edgeville, South Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1829
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Jefferson, Florida
BROOKS
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Fl
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: James O. Brooks
2. Your name: James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Oglethorpe, Ga
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1829
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Alligator Settlement, Alachua
BROOME
by Lynda Broome
(Jacksonville Florida)
James Emelius Broome was the third Governor of Florida after the territory became a state. Information referencing his governorship is available if Googled. Information not readily available and having to be researched includes the following:
Governor Broome came to Madison with his family in 1838, returned to Hamburg SC and married his first wife. They moved to Leon County where his wife Amelia Dozier Broome, died in childbirth. John Dozier Broome was the son born to them, he survived.
Gov. Broome married 3 more times, two more wives died. After his term as governor and after the Civil War he married a lady from the state of New York. They were married about ten years and until his death.
On the last day he served as governor he named Orlando as the county seat of Orange County. Later in the 1870s his nephew John Walker Broome was an attorney in Lake City, Florida. John walker Broome along with another man traveled to Orlando and with a group of locals, incorporated the city.
Afterwards, this nephew of Governor Broome did not return home and was never heard from again. After Broome's term as governor he relocated to Fernandina Beach, Nassau County. Broome was good friends with David Yulee. When the Civil War's northern troops were closing in on Fernandina, Broome, Yulee, and a group of others jumped on Yulee's train and fled to south Florida.
I have reason to believe it was around Deland. The street Broome's house was on in Fernandina is named for him, Broome Street. The island below Orlando was purchased by Governor Broome's brother's daughter when a different railroad was trying to expand south, she would not sell. She never lived there, at the time James Emelius Broome, his 4th wife, his son John D. Rome, his niece and her husband were residing in New York. Former Gov Broome was also a state senator, representing Nassau County Florida. Several relatives and descendants from the name John Dozier Stockton, resided in Jacksonville Florida.
Editor says: Lynda, this is interesting information but we have limited time to edit submittals. We spent 30 minutes capitalizing many names and places, but this still is not as clear as we'd like it. Please consider editing and resubmitting.
You can use the template provided as discussed in the requirements for submittals:
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name:
2. Your name:
3. Where did your ancestor come from?
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida?
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida?
Thanks.
BROWARD
Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, Jr. was born on April 19, 1857, and died on October 1, 1910. He was raised on various family farms along the St. Johns River near Jacksonville. During the Civil War, the family farm was burned by Union troops that occupied Jacksonville.
Broward began to work on tug boats and eventually owned a steamboat named "The Three Friends". Broward and the boat became famous for running guns to Cuba during their revolution against Spain in the late 1800's.
Broward became sheriff of Duval County, Florida, and later won election as a Florida representative. He ended his political career as the 19th Governor of Florida from 1905 to 1909.
BROWN
1. Your Ancestor's Family Name: Brown
2. Your full name: Anonymous
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1832
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Columbia County
From Florida Genealogical Society
Robert BROWN, was born in Camden County, Georgia on 14 December 1804. He married Eliza Ann Clementine PENDERGAST on 24 November 1829, and was settled in Columbia County, Territory of Florida by 1832. He was a Justice of the Peace, and the first representative to the Territorial Legislative Council to represent Columbia County only. In Territorial Papers, he was appointed Judge of the County Court in 1834; appointed J. P. in 1835; and was appointed Appraiser of the Union Bank of Tallahassee for Columbia County, in 1837. He was voter #5 and Election Clerk at Robert BROOKS Precinct, Columbia County in the first statewide election 26 May 1845. He was Speaker of the House in 1846. Robert served as a colonel in the 12th Regiment of the Florida Militia. According to an entry in Names, in the 1841 Session of the Territorial Legislative Council, he requested the government to settle claims for the regiment he commanded,for military services in 1838. Robert and Eliza Ann's children were: John Vincent; David William "Willard"; George Washington; Brooks; Georgia Ann Florida; and Epaminondas
BRYAN
by Landon Fontenot
(DeRidder, LA)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Philemon Leigh Bryan
2. Your name: Landon Fontenot
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Georgia via North Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1827
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Hamilton County
Philemon (1779-January 1858) who married Nancy Ann Hawthorne, daughter of John Hawthorne, a Revolutionary Soldier, moved to Wayne County, Georgia. He served in the War of 1812 as a private soldier in Captain Allen Took's militia company on the Pulaski County frontier; was clerk of Superior Court of Wayne County; was one of the early settlers of Appling County and served as a Justice of the Inferior Court; was one of six citizens empowered by the Georgia Legislature to set up the new county of Ware; and served as Justice of the Inferior Court and State Senator from Ware. In 1827 he moved his family to Hamilton County, Territory of Florida, where he served as a county commissioner and inspector for "John Bryan's Old Store Precinct #5 in Hamilton County" in the first statewide election. Philemon also served three tours of duty in the Seminole Wars. A primitive Baptist, he joined Concord Church and later Prospect Church.
CARLTON
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Fl)
Your Ancestor's Full Name: Stephen S. Carlton
2. Your name: James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Lowndes, Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1855
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? New River
CARMICHAEL
by Kyle Pennington
(Tampa, FL)
1. George A. Carmichael
2. Kyle Pennington
3. Bullock, AL, born 1845
4. Came to Florida in the 1870s, record as Saloon owner in Ocala by 1887
5. Ocala, FL (Marion County)
CARTER
by Marian Kimrey
(St. Augustine, Florida, USA)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: George W. Carter
2. Your name: Marian Andrew Kimrey
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Wiregrass, Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1850
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Putnum and St.Johns Counties
CASON
by Patricia Kribbs Johnson
(Friant, California, USA)
Elijah "Eli" B. CASON was the son of James Cason Jr. & his wife, Sarah Henley. Eli was born in Pitt County, NC & Married Cassandra O'Steen, & moved to Columbia County, Florida, before 1835.
I am related through their son, John Ransom Cason & his wife, Phoebe Cason. Their son, Elijah "Lige" Cason was my great grandfather who ran the grist mill at O'Leno, Florida which is now part of O'Leno State Park. Sadly there is nothing left of the grist mill today.
In December of 1887, he was trying to get home during a hurricane when a tree fell on him & he was trapped for three days. They got him home on Christmas Eve, but he died the next day of internal injuries. At the time he had a young daughter, Frances A. but on March 5, 1888, his son was born and named Osceola Cason.
His parents were Indian sympathizers & had hidden the Indian leader, Osceola, on their farm at one time when the Army was chasing him.
When Lige's son was born, the local Indians that were left in the area helped raise him & taught him many things, including how to call alligators. A cousin told me he had to climb a tree when my grandfather would call one then walked away laughing. A neighbor also witnessed this many years later.
My grandfather worked as a surveyor as a young man and after marriage worked for the State road department and put down the first lines on the roads.
He was a very gentle man who never got mad & left matters in God's hands. He was also very spiritual and often knew who was on the telephone when it rang & what the caller wanted.
Eventually they settled in Lakeland, Florida & he first ran a gas station then became a janitor at the Lakeland High School.
My grandmother, Louise Wilcox Cason, ran a small store across the street from the school & made hamburgers which everyone loved! She had the store for close to thirty years & had fed almost all of the town's fireman & police officers her hamburgers.
CHAFFIN
Earnest Calvin Chaffin was born in 1883 and died in 1958. He came to Miami, FL. in 1921 from Swords, Georgia. He and his wife Vada Hanson Chaffin (1887-1965) are both buried at Southern Memorial Park, North Miami Beach, FL.
CHANCEY
by Maury Kolchakian
(Wakulla Fl)
1. Edmund Lafayette Chancey
2. Maury Kolchakian
3.Clinch County Ga
4. 1840
5. Hamilton County Fl (Moved from Hamilton to Manatee around 1864 to Duette area)
CHANCEY
1. Ancestors Name: Edmund Lafayette Chancey
2. Your Name: Christopher Chancey
3. Where did ancestor come from: Georgia
4. When did they come do Florida 1830's
5. Where did they settle? Hampton County/Manatee County
My father, Mike Chancey, lives on the property which Edmund purchased in 1864 IN Duette, Fl in Manatee Co. (Where he is buried in our family cemetery)
Moved from Hampton County, Ga. Also, he fought for a brief time in the first Seminole war, his son Samuel Chancey fought in the 2nd Seminole Indian war as well.
We are related to Gillettes and Keens, Parrish, Albrittons.
CHESSER
by Alisa Graham
(Ocala, FL)
By Alisa Graham, Ocala, Florida
1. Your Ancestor's Family Name: CHESSER
2. Your full name: ALISA RUTH CHESSER GRAHAM
3. Where did your ancestor come from? CHESSER ISLAND, GEORGIA
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1800s
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? UNION COUNTY, ALACHUA COUNTY
CLEMENTS
by Charles Mock
(Emporia, Va)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Clifford J. Clements
2. Your name: Charles Mock
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Petersburg, Virigina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1896
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida?Okeechobee
CLEMMONS
by William
(Ocala, Fl)
1. Clemmons
2. William E. Clemmons
3. Not sure prior to Civil War.
4. Pre Civil War.
5. West of Palatka, Florida
COOPER
by Douglas Cooper
(Montville, NJ)
John Jordan Cooper and Douglas Earl Cooper. John Jordan Cooper was born May 20, 1820 in Pulaski County, Georgia. John's father, Washington, was 22 years old and his mother, Nancy would have been 28 years old.
During the time of John's birth, Pulaski County shared it's western border with the Creek Indian Nation and it wasn't until 1827 when John was 7, that the Creek Indians sold all their land in Georgia to the United States and moved to the Arkansas Territory.
By the time John was ten years old his family had moved down to Thomas County, Georgia. Sometime between 1830 and 1840, Washington had moved his family further south into Florida.
During the 1840 Federal Census for Jackson County, Florida we find John with his father, Washington A. Cooper, his mother, Nancy and his younger sister.
During the month of May 1856, John and his family settled next to a basin off the Blackwater River, which today is named Cooper Basin in Santa Rosa county, near Milton, in the Florida panhandle. Their homestead encompassed the eastern portion of the basin, which gave them easy access to the river.
Based on documentation we know that John Jordan Cooper was in the US Army and served in the Indian War. It is assumed that it was the second Seminole War.
On September 25 ,1867 John Jordan Cooper registered to vote in Santa Rosa County. He was voter #23 and his father, Washington A. Cooper, was voter #22. An interesting point is that Florida had just been reinstated into the Union after seven years.
John Jordan Cooper received a gubernatorial appointment to the Reconstruction Government in Santa Rosa County and served until 1877 at the end of the Reconstruction period in Santa Rosa County.
John died during the Flu epidemic of 1892, which also took 2 sons, 2 grandsons, and 2 daughters-in-law. His final resting-place is in the old Cooper Cemetery near Cooper Basin, east of Milton, Florida.
CORDERY
E. Alonzo Cordery was born in New Jersey in 1851. He moved to Florida about 1893. In 1895, he started raising a tobacco crop near Fort Meade using workers imported from Cuba to plant seed beds. He formed the Cuban Tobacco Growers Company. He died in 1920.
Some of the information about this Florida pioneer came from an article in the October 29, 1897, edition of the Miami Metropolis Newspaper. The title of the article was "Culture of Tobacco".
COUNCIL
by Jean Faulk
(Sarasota, Florida)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Jesse Fairy Council
2. Your name:Jean Faulk
3. Where did your ancestor come from? South Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1890
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida?
My ancestor (one of them) helped bring the Atlantic Coastline Railroad down through Florida. He first lived in Ft. Myers and eventually became the District Superintendent in Lakeland. His daughter, Jessie, married Edward O. Sloan, son of DH Sloan Sr., who was son of Orvil Sloan, who was son of Daniel Sloan.
DH Sloan married Ruby Estelle Wilder and the lines continue back through the Wilders, Hendrys, Carltons, Whiddens, Hancocks, Friers and back to the original member, Ryan Frier who was a traveling minister and had his daughter, Charity, in the Panhandle in the 1820s.
Long time for my family here in Florida.
CREAMER
by Jonathan Hill
(Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: John D. Creamer
2. Your name: Jonathan Richard Hill
3. Where did your ancestor come from? South Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1850-1853
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Washington County
John D. Creamer first enlisted in the Confederate Army, but deserted at St. Andrew's Bay in Washington (now Bay) Co, Florida, and went to the Union Army. The Union Army took care of him and his family and sent them to Cedar Keys, Florida, to live out the remainder of his life.
CREWS
by Debra Crews Floyd
(Zolfo Springs, Fl)
We believe Dempsey started in south( cornmeal . He cane here in early 1800s. They settled in central Florida . We have a community called Crewsville where I grew up.
CRUM and LYKES
Crum Family in Florida by Pat Knox Ketchie
(Salt Springs, Florida)
I'm a Sixth Generation Native Floridian...and a Fifth Generation Native of Hernando County, Florida. I love learning more of Florida's history and remembering some things that I've forgotten.
My Great-Great-Great Grandmother, Charlotte Wynn Pyles Crum, one of the first settlers in Hernando County, was killed by a band of Seminole Indians in 1842 shortly after the close of the Second Seminole Indian War. She was the 1st person buried in what is now Brooksville Cemetery. That property was on the original Homestead of her husband, Richard Crum.
Of course I can only remember my Grandfather, David M. Crum. born February 1879, deceased April 1963.
What great stories I remember.
Anyway May 3, 2003, the Florida Historical Society had a great dedication honoring her. The marker was placed at her grave site that day, 161 years after her death. The Historical Society did a marvelous job contacting many of the heirs. A day I'll never forget. I have saved any and everything regarding our heritage.
I also have a copy of the Homestead Certificate that was issued to my Great Grandfather, John W. Crum. Homestead Certificate No. 7038, dated April 29, 1890 signed by President Benjamin Harrison and registered with the "Register of the Land Office at Gainesville, Florida, pursuant to the Act of Congress 20th day of May, 1862". That Homestead contained 161 acres.
It reads: One hundred sixty one acres and eight hundredths of an acre.
Amazing what we learn. Marion, Citrus, Hernando, Pasco and I think Sumter counties were all part of Alachua County for many years.
Didn't mean to bore you with our family history, If you'd like more of Hernando County we may be able to supply you with lots of history. Some in Pasco County also, lots of ancestors and history there too.
Keep up the good work and I will be looking forward to all of your issues.
Comments for Crum Family in Florida
Mar 10, 2013
by Susan Crum
Hi, I'm the wife of wife Timothy Crum. I just read your post and thought I'd contact you as my husband is the fourth son of Creighton Hale Crum(deceased) of Brooksville Florida. We live in California but have visited Brooksville several times. We have not been to the Brooksville cemetery but will certainly do so the next time we visit. We did find the Crum cemetery,quite by accident, near Ocala a couple of years ago.
CRUM AND LYKES
by Pat Knox Ketchie (Salt Springs, Florida)
Crum and Lykes Families in Florida There are so many amazing true stories that many people have never heard and some that many people have forgotten. I thoroughly enjoyed reading some of the older issues of Florida Heritage Ezine.
When I have some time, I'll send you some info regarding more "ancestor history". Salt Springs (not where I live now) between Aripeka and Hudson (Pasco County). Desalination from the Gulf, salt supplied to the Confederate Army, etc.
My Grandfather and the Lykes family started in the cattle business together. Lykes Bros. went on to the commercial, Cattle, Orange groves, shrimp and shipping businesses and made millions.
My grandfather had a smaller cattle farm (about 1500 to 2000 acres) and seven children.
Someone in my family has always been the manager of Lykes Cattle Ranch in Brighton. First was Morris Crum, (my Mom's double-first cousin - brothers married sisters) then his son, Tommy Crum. After that it was Freddie Griffin. His grandfather (Fred Crum) and mine were brothers.
I could go on for days.
Have info from my Grandmother's family also. Alice Eiland Crum. Her sister, my great-aunt Mary Demeritt, was probably the first, or one of the first females that was an Ordained Minister. She and her family also owned/managed a zoo in the New Port Richey/Tarpon Springs area.
I recall that we attended an Annual Reunion at the Townsend House Cemetery...Between Spring Lake and Dade City. SR 41..at the County Line. Her Bro-In-Law, great Uncle Archie Burnsides was Clerk of Circuit Court, Pasco County for many years. Then his son, Stanley became Clerk after he retired. Also the other son, Walter Burnsides was Circuit Judge in Hillsborough County for many, many years.
I'm getting excited and nostalgic just thinking about facts that have been stored in my mind for years.
Maybe one day we will meet and we'll share some history
CUESTA
by Charles A D. von Laudermann
(Boston, Ma.)
Virginia Cuesta settled or was born in Ybor City , Tampa.Fla. from cigar business family approx. 1850s. Associated with the cigar factory Cuesta-Rey and co. is now a museum . My grandmother was 1/2 German and Spanish of Cuban descent.
CURRY
By Josephine Usina
Newport, North Carolina
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: James Moses Curry
2. Your name:Josephine J. Curry Usina
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Danville, Kentucky
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida?
About 1826
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida?
Duval, Jacksonville Florida
He served in the 2nd and 3rd Seminle wars and the civil war, died from illness as a POW in Richmond Va. in 1862, married Sarah Frances and they had 4 children.
My 2nd great grandfather was his son William H. Curry, from Duval, Co. Fla. he married Catherine Jane Hartly of Mandarin Fla.
He died in 1921 in Mandarin. Their son William Edward was my great grandfather, he died the same year as my 2nd great gg but no information on when or where.
His son John Moses Curry was my grandfather. He married Ella Nora Carter from Wayne Co. Georgia and they had one son in Hardee Co. Fla, my father.
DANIEL
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Abraham Daniel
2. Your name: Cassandra C Shepherd
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Screven Co GA
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1830
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Near Springgrove PO, Alachua Co FL
DAVIS
by John R. Davis
(Jacksonville, FL)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Alexander Ladd (or Locke) Davis
2. Your name:John R Davis
3. Where did your ancestor come from? North Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? on or before 1857
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Palatka, Putnam County
Married Sarah McConn in 1857 in Putnam County
Enlisted in Confederate Army Infantry in 1862
Alexander Ladd Davis Jr was born about 1872 in Palatka, Florida, my paternal Grandfather.
Other members of Davis family moved to the Coast, Daytona and Miami.
My Father, Gossie J Davis was born on Hutchinson Island in 1902. His family moved to Miami shortly afterwards.
DAVIS
by Anita Davis Revell
(Sebring, Florida)
Arthur Weston Davis and his new bride, Jessie Eliza Elcock Davis (nee Wright)came from Solihull and Halesowen, England, respectively in April 1911 and settled in Fort Myers, Florida.
Their son, John Seymour Weston Davis, was born on Main Street in August of 1913.
Additional information has been provided by a daughter of John Seymour Weston Davis, Anita Davis Revell of Palm Beach County, Florida.
DOKE
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Fl)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name:James Blake Doke
2. Your name:James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Baker Co., Ga.
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1873
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Alachua Co.
DOWLING
by John Walker
(Greensboro, NC, USA)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: James Riley Dowling
2. Your name: John Walker
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1855
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Baker County
DOZIER
by Scott Dozier Sheftall
(Jacksonville, Florida)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Thomas Edward Screven Dozier
2. Your name: Scott Dozier Sheftall
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Georgetown District, South Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1861
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Fernandina Beach
DRIGGERS
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Fl)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name:Andrew Jackson Driggers
2. Your name:James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from?Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1845
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Madison
DUBOSE
by Lisa Tucker Melvin
(Henderson TX USA)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Ezekiel Dossey DuBose
2. Your name: Elisabeth Tucker Melvin
3. Where did your ancestor come from? South Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1860
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Lake City Area
DUKES
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Fl)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Mary Ann “Polly” Dukes
2. Your name: James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1855
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? New River
DURRANCE
by Kevin Hall
(Pinellas County Florida )
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Nathan Burton Durrance
2. Your name: Kevin Hall
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Born in Providence, St John’s Florida
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? Born in 1847
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Polk County
EDGEMON
by Martha
(Lake Placid, FL)
1. Your Ancestor's Family Name: Noah Hatcher Edgemon
2. Your full name: Martha Lee Shackelford
3. Where did your ancestor come from? TN
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1915
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Hicoria FL
FALKNER
by Cheryl Blanton Batchelor
(Alexandria, Virginia)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Blake Falkner
2. Your name: Cheryl Blanton Batchelor
3. Where did your ancestor come from?
Blake was born in North Carolina in 1785. In 1812, he was living in Humphreys County, TN. From there he moved to Alabama (1830-Tuscaloosa County; 1840 - Jefferson County).
He moved to Mississippi after his wife Elizabeth died in 1846. In 1850, he is living with or near his family members in Pontotoc County, MS. He purchased and sold a lot of land - living on his own land in each of these places.
4. What year (approximately) did your ancestor come to Florida?
Blake came to Florida around 1855 with some of his daughters. Several of his sons had joined the Confederacy in Pontotoc. His daughter Jane, married a local man, William Collins in Plant City (Hillsborough County) in 1856.
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida?
Blake settled in Plant City. My sisters and I still own a portion of the land he bought from his son-in-law in 1860 and the subsequent land across the road that came from a homestead land grant to his grandson in 1894. We have both the original hand-written deed for Blake's purchase and the land grant with President Grover Cleveland's seal.
Blake died in 1868 and is buried in Bethlehem Cemetery outside of Plant City. His grave is the oldest in that cemetery. Joab Falkner, his 6th son and my direct ancestor, assumed the family farm. Following Joab, his son William Falkner owned the farm and then my grandfather D.J. Faulkner (the "U" was added in this generation) owned the farm. My mother, Virginia passed the land to us. They are all buried in Bethelehem Cemetery.
FLANIGAN
by Paula Jennings Patrick
(Orlando, Florida)
William Pope Flanigan and his wife Eliza Rawls Flanigan came to Lakeland, Florida around 1888 by train from Thomasville, Georgia.
FLETCHER
by Debbi Hartzell
(Columbus, Ohio)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Henry Hezekiah Fletcher
2. Your name: Deb Hartzell
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1860
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Madison County
GAVIN
by Jonathan Hill
(Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Thomas Abraham Gavin
2. Your name: Jonathan Richard Hill
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Bertie, North Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1850
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Holmes County
A schoolteacher, he settled in the Holmes Valley area where his daughter married a Harrell in 1850.
GAVIN
by John Gavin
Lakeland, Florida
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: John E Gavin
2. Your name: John S Gavin
3. Where did your ancestor come from? North Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1860
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Alachua County at first,then migrated through Sumter to Hillsborough. Eventually ended up in Polk County around 1880. Distantly related to the Gavins of the panhandle.
GILLETT
by Sandra Gillett Odermatt
(Tampa, Florida )
By Sandra Gillett Odermatt of Tampa, Florida
My grandfather's family immigrated from France in the 1700's.
Two brothers with their families frst arrived in the Carolinas. One went north and the other brought his family first to Georgia, Alabama and north Florida then to Alachua Florida.
In the 1840s Daniel Gillett established a community: Gillette FL. An E was added to the town name although not known why. It was there one Gillett was shot in the head and killed while sitting in his rocking on his front porch during the Seminole Indian war.
The chair still bears the mark of the musket ball that that caused his fatal injury The chair has been on exhibit at the Gamble mansion in Ellenton, Florida. The same chair has also been on exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution.
They made there living in cattle ranching, fishing and citrus. My grandfather Arthur Alonso Gillett. was a cowboy...a true Florida pioneer.
GITTENS
by William McDaniel
(Palm Bay, FL)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name:Bessie Louella Gittens
2. Your name:William McDaniel
3. Where did your ancestor come from?
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida?1890
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida?Daytona
GOFF
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Florida)
Your Ancestor's Full Name: Nancy Ann Goff
2. Your name:James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Worth County, Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1885
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Sumter County
GRAHAM
by Glenn Fraller
Fort Myers, Florida
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: WALTER SUMNER GRAHAM
2. Your name: GLENN FRALLER
3. Where did your ancestor come from? PHILADELPHIA, PA
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1880s
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? MIAMI
GRANGER
by Wanda Stone
Tampa, Florida
1. Your Ancestor’s full name: Furnifold G “Furney” Granger
2. Your Name: Wanda Stone
3. Where did your ancestor come from: Horry County, SC
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1834
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Jefferson County, FL
GRIFFIN
Ben Hill Griffin, Sr. was the father of Jr. He gave him a 10 acre orange grove as a wedding gift, and Jr. turned it into one of Florida's largest fortunes.
Ben Hill Griffin, Jr. was born on October 20, 1910, during a hurricane in the former town of Tiger Bay near Fort Meade, Florida.
He was a citrus baron who operated out of Frostproof, Florida. He donated money to the University of Florida who named the stadium in Gainesville "Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field". Ben would be happy that it's nationally known now as "The Swamp".
GRIFFIS
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: James S Griffis
2. Your name: Lucretia Dinkla Norman
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Emanuel County, Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1840
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Bradford County, Raiford, Florida
HALL
by Diane
(Georgetown,SC)
My name—-Diane Ward Fox. Halls came from Georgia. after civil war.. Settled in what was known as McCrea in Clay County( Keystone Hgts area now).
HAMILTON
by Cherylyn Roddenberry Morgan
(Tallahassee, Florida)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Andrew Jackson Hamilton
2. Your name: Cherylyn Roddenberry Morgan
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Thomas County, Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1870
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Greenville to Aucilla to Citrus County.
HAMLIN
by Wendy Lawson Hicks
(Lakeland, FL)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: John Hamlin (Hamlen)
2. Your name: Wendy Lawson Hicks
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Maine
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1821
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Founded a town (now defunct) called Magnolia, FL on the St. Marks river. He was related to (I believe 1st cousins) Hannibal Hamlin Governor of Maine, Senator and first Vice President for Abraham Lincoln.
HAMMOND
by Paul Kemp
(Merritt Island, Florida)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: William Braxton Bragg Hammond and Mollie McFarland Hammond
2. Your name: Paul Kemp
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Dadeville, Alabama
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1880s
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Apopka / Zellwood
HANCOCK
by Camela Langston Holder
(Bartow, Florida)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: James Thomas Hancock Sr
2. Your name: Camela Langston Holder
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Worth, Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1852
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Hillsborough county, now Polk
He married Serena Willingham from Waycross, Georgia. They had twelve children.
HANKINS
by Mark Hankins
(Land O Lakes, FL)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Dennis Dupont Hankins and Sarah Conner
2. Your name: Mark Hankins
3. Where did your ancestor come from? South Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1829
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Cherry Lake
HARPER
by Jack Harper
(Gainesville, Fl)
1. Oliver Andrew Harper
2. Jack Harper
3. Georgia (I think)
4. He was born in Florida around the 1870’s
5. Pierson and Ft McCoy Florida
HARRELL
by Jonathan Hill
(Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: John J.A. Harrell
2. Your name: Jonathan Richard Hill
3. Where did your ancestor come from? North Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1827-1830
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Jefferson County
John Harrell (1775-1834) first settled in Georgia, where he was the Justice of the Peace in 1820 in Bullock County, Georgia. By 1830, he is a resident in Jefferson County, Florida. His son, Henry Haywood William Harrell (1821-1904), settled in Holmes County, where he married his wife Elizabeth Gavin, in 1850.
HEDGES
by Karen Peers Amundrud
St. Petersburg, Florida
Your Ancestor's Full Name: Thomas Edgar Hedges
2. Your name: Karen Peers Admundrud
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Flemingsburg, Kentucky
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1910
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? LaBelle, Florida
He brought with him two box car loads of furniture that had to be floated on a barge down the Caloocahatchee River to LaBelle. In two years his son and family arrived.
These people included my grandmother, Olive, who married after moving to LaBelle. I still have a pie safe, a desk, and a rocking chair that came in that load of furniture.
HENDERSON
Henderson Family In Florida by Jason Batton (Lynchburg, Va)
1. Your first and last name. Jason Batton
2. Your ancestor's first and last name. ? Henderson
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Don't know
4. What year did your ancestor come to Florida. 1800s.
5. Where did they settle? Don't know.
6. Tell us what else you know about your ancestor.
The Henderson name came from my great grandmother on my dad's mother's side of the family. It was her maiden name.
The Hendersons go back too far to tell. It is likely they go back at least to the early 1800's in the sunshine state. Like many pioneers, they were a very back woods people. They lived off the land and did not have much education. However, they certainly were not lacking in intelligence.
Although they survived off the land. There are many stories about Henderson men having unusual hobbies like playing chess and reading literature on philosophy. My great grandmother was said to be very opinionated, feisty, and quick to speak her mind.
She did not possess one pretentious bone in her body. She did possess a kind heart however and was very hospitable to anyone in need of help. She would often leave food out for homeless strays to eat and was quick to offer her home for the night to travelers.
The Henderson ranch was full of cactus apples, Florida panthers, bobcats, and black bears and encounters with this wildlife were not uncommon in those days.
The Hendersons were of mostly English and Scottish ancestry. They were also Methodist. So it isn't suprising that they were not too thrilled when my great grandmother married my Irish Catholic great grandfather. Catholics were the minority in the sunshine state back in those days and were not always well received.
My great grandfather's family the Gilooleys, were never totally accepted by the Hendersons. Unfortunately, what I know about the Henderson family has been passed down to me by my 73 year old father.
HENDRY
1. Your Ancestor's Family Name: Francis Asbury Hendry
2. Your full name: flsgs.org
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? About 1851
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Hillsborough County, also Monroe County
HILL
by Jonathan Hill
(Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Everett Hill
2. Your name: Jonathan Richard Hill
3. Where did your ancestor come from? North Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? Between 1845-1850
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Listed in the 1850 Florida census in Washington County. He died in 1858 in Jackson County.
His descendants remain largely in the Jackson County and Washington County areas. His son Redding Henry Hill, my great-great-grandfather, was born in 1845 in North Carolina, so we know that they settled in Florida after 1845 and before 1850. Some of his descendants married into the Sims and Brock families, who were some of the earliest Mormon settlers in the Panhandle.
HILL
Dr. James H. Hill was born on September 13, 1819 in Monroe County, Georgia, and died on August 6, 1865. He married Martha Thomas on March 28, 1844 and they moved to Columbia County, Florida about 1855. Dr. Hill was in the 3rd Florida Infantry during the Civil War.
Harold Hill Murphy is the great great grandson of Dr. James H. Hill and as of January 2014 was living in Lake City, Florida.
HILLIARD
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Fl)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name:Benjamin Hilliard
2. Your name:James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Ware Co., Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1850
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Ichpossassa Settlement, Hillsborough, Fl
HOGAN
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Zilpha Roberts Hogan / Archibald Hogan
2. Your name: Jo N Carlson
3. Where did your ancestor come from? GA
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1830
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Alachua, FL
Zilpha married Archibald Hogan in 1823 and they moved to the Sundance River and Little St. Mary's River area. They had trouble with Indians, but survived.
They moved to Columbia Co c1840. Archibald voted in 1845. Some of their children intermarried with the Lee family of Hamilton Co. Archibald died in 1846 and Zilpha died in 1890.
Zilpha's father, Richard Roberts was a Revolutionary War Patriot (DAR).
HOLLAND
Spessard Lindsey Holland was born on July 10, 1892, in Bartow, Florida, and died on November 6, 1971.
His father was Benjamin Franklin Holland and his mother was Virginia Spessard Holland.
Spessard was the 28th Governor of Florida from 1941 until 1945, and then a United States Senator from 1946 until 1971. A lifelong Democrat, he never lost an election.
HOWARD
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: John Gatewood Howard
2. Your name: Jo N Carlson
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Kentucky
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1840
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Gadsden
Dr Howard had a urge to travel. He was born in VA, grew up in KY, and lived in LA for his early married years. After dealing with a yellow fever epidemic in LA, his health was poor and he brought his family to Gadsden Co, FL for the warmer weather.
He voted in 1845, and died in 1865. His g-grandfather, William Howard, Sr. was a Revolutionary War Patriot (DAR).
JENNINGS
by Elizabeth Dorman Stewart
(Maitland, FL)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: GEORGE JENNINGS
2. Your name: Elizabeth DORMAN Stewart
3. Where did your ancestor come from? England
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1830
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Hamilton County
GEORGE JENNINGS was born approx 1790 in Cambridgeshire, England. He sailed from England to North Carolina. In NC he married Elizabeth Strickland abt 1811. All their children were born in NC. They all made their way to Hamilton County, FL by 1830.
Their oldest son, WILLIAM THOMAS JENNINGS was born abt 1812 in NC. He married Elizabeth Towler abt 1831 in Hamilton County,FL. All of their children were born in Hamilton County, FL.
Their oldest daughter, ELIZA JENNINGS, was born abt 1832 in Hamilton County, FL. She married ELIJAH DEES in 1848 in Hamilton County, FL. All of their children were born in Hamilton County, FL.
Their 9th child, GODFREY DEES was born abt 1859 in Hamilton County, FL. He married Ellafair Decker in 1892 in Hamilton County, FL. All of their children were born in Hamilton County, FL.
Their 4th child, NANCY ABBIE GAIL DEES, was born in 1898 in Hamilton County, FL. She married JAMES LOUIS DORMAN of West Lake, FL in 1914 in Hamilton County, FL. Only two of their children were born in Hamilton County, FL.
Their 6th child, WILLIAM KENNETH DORMAN was born in 1928 in Apopka, FL. He married Johnsie Pearl Green in 1949 in Apopka. All of their children were born FL.
Their oldest child, ELIZABETH DORMAN STEWART (me) was born in 1950 in Orlando, FL. My son and all of his children were also born in FL.
JOHNS
Jeremiah Johns moved to Hamilton County, Florida from North Carolina about 1826 and settled on Camp Branch where he lived until his death.
He raised 6 sons and 3 daughters.
One son, Hezekiah, the great-great-grandfather of Harold Murphy (as of 2014, living in Lake City, Florida), fought in both the Seminole and Civil wars. Jeremiah was also in the Seminole wars.
Jeremiah was born in 1788 and died in 1869 and is buried in Prospect Primitive Baptist Church in Hamilton Co. Fl.
JOHNSON
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Johnson, David
2. Your name: Anonymous
3. Where did your ancestor come from? South Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1829
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Leon County
JONES
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Fl)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name:Harriet "Doll" Jones
2. Your name:James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Berien, Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida?1880
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Bradford, Fl.
JONES
1. Your Ancestor's Family Name: Jones
2. Your full name: Anonymous
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1824
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Alachua County
From Florida State Genealogical Society
Nathaniel JONES was born 29 July 1799 in Georgia and married Kiziah JOHNSON, born 19 December 1800, in Georgia. We do not have a marriage date. Nathaniel bought land in Alachua County in 1844, but was settled there as early as 1831, when Territorial Papers show that he also signed the petition to retain Judge Joseph SMITH; and the Memorial asking that separate and distinct Territorial Governments be created. Alachua County Book of Records-Deeds of Lands 1826-1849, pages 202 and 204 establish that on 27 June 1844 Nathaniel purchased a tract of land located in Alachua County, containing forty-one acres. He served as Postmaster at Fort Harlee for a short time in 1845. He was voter #9 and Election Inspector, at the Fort Harlee Precinct (House of Mrs. Ann Monroe) in Alachua County in the first statewide election 26 May 1845. He
died on 10 July 1866 in Alachua County, and is buried at the Prevatt Cemetery, Bradford County, Florida. Kiziah died 12 July 1879, also in Alachua County.
JONES
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: 2nd Lt Simeon Howard Jones
2. Your name: Cassandra C Shepherd
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Macon GA
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1844
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Levy Co FL
KELLY
- Your Ancestor's Full Name: Dennis Wellington Kelly
- Your name: Wayne Howard Wallace
- Where did your ancestor come from? Bahamas (UK)
- What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1844
- Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Key West
LANIER
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Florida, USA )
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Nancy Lanier
2. Your name: James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Dublin County, North Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1857
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Hillsborough
LAWSON
by Wendy Lawson Hicks
(Lakeland, FL)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: James A Lawson
2. Your name: Wendy Lawson Hicks
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? Sometime prior to the 1870 census, received a land homestead in 1899
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Lafayette County
LEE
John Lee was born in 1794 in South Carolina and died in September 1884. He and his family moved to Georgia.
In 1830, John and his family moved to Columbia County FL. He was married to Avarilla (Ava) about that time. Together they had ten children.
He and his first wife Elizabeth Jones, had five (maybe 6) children. He and some of his family voted in the first election, in Florida. The Lee family lived in several counties in Florida: Hamilton, Lafayette, Columbia, Taylor and Jefferson.
They are mentioned in the Pioneers of Wiregrass Georgia, by Huxford.
LEE
by Jerry Yates
(Vidalia, Georgia)
Some family names descended from John Lee: Hightower, Cason, Hunter, Pennington, Roberts, Smith, Walls, McLeod, Jones, Hogans, Cone, Chesire and MacDonald.
John Lee came to Hamilton County in the 1830's from St. Mary's, Georgia. He had some 18 children, in all, between his three marriages.
He was my GGG Grandfather. His descendants today number in the thousands, among the family names that came from his children are Hightower, Cason, Hunter, Pennington, Roberts, Smith, Walls, McLeod, Jones, Hogans, Cone, Chesire and MacDonald. He was remembered as a veteran of the Seminole Indian Wars and a civic leader during his many years in Hamilton County.
LIVINGSTON
by Charlotte Carlile
(Daytona Beach, Florida)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: John Stephen Livingston
2. Your name: Charlotte Carlile
3. Where did your ancestor come from? New York, New Yok
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1840
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Micanopy
He brought his bride, Susan Waterbury from NY in 1842. They were married in Palatka then took the Stage to Micanopy. In 1855 they relocated to Putnam County and grew citrus.
MADDOX
by Jo Dame Shafer
(Yakima, Washington, USA)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: William Sanders Maddox
2. Your name: Jo Dame Shafer
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Land grant in Georgia, between Columbus & Macon, 50 miles east of Columbus on the Macon Road
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? After the War Between the States, approx. 1866-67
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Forbes Trading Post, later named Apalachicola Cotton Exchange
MANLY
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Fl)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name:John B. Manly
2. Your name:James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1837
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Madison Co. Fl
MARTIN
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Martin, Delila
2. Your full name: Anonymous
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1827
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Madison County
Delila Martin was born in Georgia in 1807. Among her descendants are William Paul Hayman, Patricia Fountain, and Terry Lee Mobley.
MATKOVICH
by Shirley Motes
(Tavares, Florida)
Your Ancestor's Full Name: Nicholas Matkovich
2. Your name: Shirley Motes
3. Where did your ancestor come from?
Austria
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida?1846
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Key West Florida
MATTHEWS
by Dorothy Matthews
(Jacksonville, Florida)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: John Elmer Matthews
2. Your name: Dorothy Matthews
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Midway, Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1815
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Micanopy, Fl.
MAXCY
Latimer (Latt) Maxcy was born on November 7, 1887, in Columbia, South Carolina.
During a camping trip in 1904 after a devastating freeze, Latt observed that the citrus and vegetable crops around Lake Reedy near Frostproof, Florida, were not affected.
He persuaded his family to acquire 70 acres on the south side of Lake Reedy and plant a citrus grove. This was the beginning of one of the largest citrus and cattle empires in Florida history.
MCDONALD
by John
(Alger,Ohio)
1. Your Ancestor's Family Name:McDonald
2. Your full name:John F McDonald
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Kansas
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida?1880s
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida?Lakeland
MCDONALD
McDonald Family in Florida by Bryan McDonald (Tampa).
1. Your first and last name. Bryan McDonald
2. Your ancestor's first and last name. Peter McCaskill McDonald
3. Where did your ancestor come from? North Carolina
4. What year did your ancestor come to Florida. 1830s
5. Where did they settle? Walton County, Florida
6. Tell us what else you know about your ancestor.
The McDonald name appeared in Walton County, Florida in the 1830s or so when they moved from North Carolina with a number of other Scotch-Irish settlers. They are listed on page 41 of John Love McKinnon's book "History of Walton County" as one of the pioneer families of the region. My grandfather, Peter McCaskill McDonald was born in or around Eucheeanna Florida in 1898 or so. My name is Bryan McDonald , and I'm a Tampa resident interested in Florida pioneer culture and history. Thank you for your informative site.
Note from Florida Back Roads Travel:
Bryan, thank for your submittal. I did a little research about Eucheeanna Florida and learned from a Walton County website that it was named for the Euchee Indians, and the it was the first Scottish settlement in the Florida territory.
It was a small village with a courthouse, jail, school, a couple of fellowship halls, some stores, a grist mill and a sawmill. Eucheeanna was the county seat of Walton County until the courthouse burned down in 1885 and the county seat moved to DeFuniak Springs.
In September 1864, Yankee troops under General Asboth razed and plundered the small town on their way to Marianna and Tallahassee.
Thanks for the family history.
McELROY
by Brenda C McElroy
(Waxhaw NC 28173)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Cyrus W McElroy
2. Your name:Brenda Conner McElroy
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Stewart Co Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1870
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Trenton
McKINNEY
by Bec Rushing
(Alabama)
Charles McKinney was born in South Carolina in 1794. He was my GGGGF. He married Elizabeth Kelly. They were part of the migration from South Carolina to Florida. The McKinney family were mostly landowners and farmers. Charles was a veteran of the Indian wars.
I believe he purchased land in St Augustine, Florida in 1820 but I know that lived in Columbia County, Florida as well.
The McKinney family was a very big branching family and many of them lived in Sampson City, Florida when ground was first broken there. Sampson City is an unincorporated community in Starke, Bradford County, Florida, United States. It is also known as Sampson and is located near Lake Sampson.
MCMULLEN
by Mari McMullen Martin
(Land O' Lakes, Fl)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: James Parramore McMullen
2. Your name: Mari McMullen Martin
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Quitman, Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1841
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida?He arrived first at Rocky Point, which is located between Clearwater and Tampa, and then went across the bay to a high bluff, which became known as Bayview.
The 7 McMullen Brothers and their settlement is well documented in Pinellas County History.
MILLER
1. Your Ancestor's Family Name: Miller
2. Your full name: Anonymous
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1825
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Washington County
Info from Florida State Genealogical Society:
William MILLER was born 24 November 1790 in Georgia, probably in Laurens County. His parents are unknown, although there is some indication that his father was also named William. He married Sarah "Sally" Miller in Laurens County on 3 March 1814. In 1824 the Territorial Governor of Florida granted him the right to operate a ferry over Holmes Creek at a site later called Millers Ferry, and now identified on state Road 284 in Washington County, where the road crosses Holmes Creek.
MIZELL
by Sharon Corbett Cain
(Reliance, Tennessee, USA)
1. Your ancestors Full Name: David Mizell, Jr.
2. Your Name: Sharon Corbett Cain
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Camden County, Georgia
4. What year (approximately) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1830
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Alachua County
David MIZELL married Mary Cornelia PIERCE in Camden County, Georgia in December 1829.By the census in 1830 in Waltons Station, (I think this was Micanopy) they were living in Alachua County, Florida.
David was in Micanopy by 1831 where his first son Joshua was born. My grgr grandmother, Anne Elizabeth MIZELL ROBERTS was born in Micanopy in 1832. David was active in politics in Alachua County.
In 1858, the whole family moved to Orange County, Florida and established Winter Park.
David had five sons in the War Between the States and two died. David was a signer of the 1868 Florida Constitution allowing Florida back into the Union.
David's son, David William MIZELL was sheriff of Orange County in 1870, when he was shot from ambush and killed. This started the BARBER-MIZELL feud in Orange County.
David, Jr's son, John Randolph MIZELL, was a judge in Orange County.
David MIZELL, Jr, and wife Mary PIERCE MIZELL are both buried in the Conway Cemetery in Orlando, Florida.
I have my Florida Pioneer Descendants Certificate thru David MIZELL, Jr.
MONTES DE OCA
Your Ancestor's Full Name: Juan Montes de Oca
2. Your name: Clint H Monts de Oca Jr
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Cuba
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1830
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Tampa
In 1834, Juan (aka John) registered to vote in Tampa.
He was part of the fishing ranchero group in Tampa Bay in the 1830s and later served as an interpreter and Indian agent to the Seminoles for the soldiers at Ft Brooke.
Juan married a Seminole woman and had a daughter, Victoria. She was raised by the Jackson family, as her mother died soon after her birth.
Victoria married Alfonso DeLaunay.
Captain John Montes de Oca, as he became known, married again and had three sons, Charles, Manuel and John.
Charles and Manuel both served in the Confederate Army.
There is a multitude of family members who continue to live in the Central Florida area.
MOORE
Allen Irving Moore and his 17 year old daughter Carolyn Adela Moore came to Cocoa in 1884 from Islip, Long Island, New York.
Mr. Moore had to leave his wife and older daughter in Islip when he came to Florida. Mr. Moore was a former carriage maker who came to Cocoa because he had a married sister who lived in Cocoa with her husband. His health was poor, and he felt the climate would help him.
He must have been right, because he lived to age 84.
Carolyn told her descendant Marion Jackson that she used to sing for the Indians who came into town to shop and who camped along the Indian River at the foot of what is now Little John Lane in Rockledge.
They are buried in Cocoa Cemetery near the water tower.
MOSELEY
Julia Daniels Moseley and her family settled in Limona (now Brandon) in Hillsborough County in the 1880s.
A collection of letters (titled "Come To My Sunland" written by Julia Daniels Moseley describing life in early Florida was published by her granddaughter who still lives at the family homestead.
Mrs. Moseley was friends with Henry Plant and a myriad of other early Florida characters.
NETTLES
by Chris Russell
(Daytona Beach, FL)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: George Nettles
2. Your name: Chris Russell
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Georgia via South Carolina
4. What year did your ancestor come to Florida? Before 1840
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Nassau County
NETTLES
by Bobby J. Nettles
(Ocala Fl. USA)
1. Henry Nettles
2. Bobby J. Nettles
3. Born in Florida in 1843.
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1843
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Nassau County near Boulogne.
Henry's father, William F. Nettles, went to Hillsborough County in 1844 to claim land on the armed occupation act. He never returned. I later found his grave site between Ft. Brooke and Ft. Lonesome. No other information. Research is ongoing.
Henry's Mother remarried after 7 yrs to Burris Brewer, Henry was not adopted, other wise my name would be Brewer. They lived in St. Marys Ga. until Burris died, then moved back to Nassau County.
War broke out and Henry and His Uncle John Joined the Florida 1st Regiment Calvalry out of Jacksonville Fl. Later captured at Missionary Ridge. sent to Rock Island POW camp in Ill. After the war came back to Nassau co Fl. Died 1916.
NEWSOME
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Fl)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name:Mary Newsome
2. Your name:James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from?Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1854
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Madison Co., Fl
OGLESBY
by Riley L. Oglesby
(Opp, Alabama)
George W. Oglesby was born in Twiggs County, Georgia in 1824. Sometime after 1830 he moved with his family to Florida and settled in what is now Fort Walton Beach in Okaloosa County. He fought in the Seminole Wars and the U.S. Civil War.
OLLIPHANT
by Helen Collins
(Naples, FL)
Your Ancestor's Full Name: Christine mcrory olliphant
2. Your name:helen christine collins
3. Where did your ancestor come from? sparks ga...bartow fl
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? born in fl or sparkd ga. 9-21-1909
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? bartow fl
O'STEEN
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Fl)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Cassandra O’Steen
2. Your name: James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Beaufort District, South Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1829
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Alligator Settlement
O'STEEN
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Capt James Allen O’Steen
2. Your name: Cassandra C Shepherd
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Liberty Co GA
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1824
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Alligator Settlement FL
James O’Steen was among the first families at Alligator Settlement (now Lake City area). On May 28, 1839 he was shot and killed by Indians during a raid on the homes of several Indian Soldiers.
O'STEEN
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Fl)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: John Alexander O’Steen
2. Your name: James Mitchell Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from? North Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1829
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Alligator Settlement, Columbia, Florida
OSTEEN
by Gloria Olson
(Washington State)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: John Osteen (No middle name or unknown)
2. Your name: Gloria Olson
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Lived in Ware County, Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? abt 1847
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? First known in Putnam County, then to Volusia County, Fl.
This John Osteen was not one of the other John Osteens. He lived in Volusia from abt 1857 and died in Volusia after the census taken in 1880. He was not on the 1885 Census. His parents were William Osteen and Elizabeth Davis from North Carolina.
He married Sarah Williams. Nothing has ever been found on her. She was born 1795-1801 in Georgia. She and John Osteen had 5 children we know of: William Bryant Osteen, Nancy Ann Osteen Walker, Mary Elizabeth Osteen Tucker, Leona Osteen and James J Osteen. We have found no record on Leona and James. We know they must have descendants and we would really like to know who they are.
We have no documented information on Sarah Williams. Our oral information is that both her parents died when she was very young and raised by another family. This may have been an Oglesby family. She may have been in Fl as early as 1818 and may or may not have married there in 1818.
We have DNA for one of her children linked to the McBee family. No further information about them.
PARRISH
by Henry Redding
(Lake Butler, FL, USA)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Josiah Parrish
2. Your name: Henry Redding
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Bullock, GA
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1829
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Alligator settlement.
He was a Captain in the Seminole Indian wars and was the son of Henry Parrish, Continental Army.
PARRISH
by Kevin Hall
(Pinellas County Florida )
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Sleeta Ann Parrish (Durrance).
2. Your name: Kevin Hall
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Born in Columbia County Florida to Oden Parrish
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? Born 1839 in Columbia County Florida
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Polk County
PELLICER
Xavier Lopez Pellicer was born on February 8, 1900, in St Augustine, Florida. The Pellicer family name is prominent in modern St Augustine; they are of Minorcan descent and came to town in the late 1700s after leaving Dr. Turnbull's failed colony at New Smyrna Beach
PILLANS
1. Your Ancestor's Family Name: Pillans
2. Your full name: Anonymous
3. Where did your ancestor come from? South Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1830
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Madison County
From Florida State Genealogical Society:
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.
PRINCE
by Paul Dayton Prince
(Spring Hill, Florida)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Garland Dayton Prince
2. Your name: Paul Dayton Prince
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Horry Co. SC
4. What year did your ancestor come to Florida?1921-1924
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Daytona Beach
RAULERSON
by Victoria Gail Raulerson Reeves
(Crawfordville, Florida)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Noel Rabun Raulerson
2. Your name:Victoria Gail Raulerson Reeves
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Wayne County, Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? About 1835
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Columbia County. His father was Ncabod Raulerson, his mother was Eleanor Baggs. He married Temple F. Whidden in 1839 in Hamilton County, Florida, and had 13 children. His son William Henry Raulerson would be my grandfather.
RAULERSON
William Raulerson was born in 1780 in South Carolina, and died in Columbia County, Florida (now Baker County) in 1858.
His father, John Raulerson, fought in Francis Marion's brigade during the Revolutionary War.
William was a mounted spy in the War of 1812. William moved to Columbia County, Florida and settled near the St. Mary's River and Moniac.
On February 2, 1843, he received authorization to operate a ferry across the north prong of the St. Mary's River.
RAWLS
by Elaine
(Byron, GA)
1. Your Ancestor's Family Name: Colton B. (Cotton) Rawls
2. Your full name:Frances ELAINE McKendree
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Screven County, GA
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1829
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Alachua
RENFROE
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Florida )
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Sarah “Sally” Frances Renfroe
2. Your name: James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Sandersville, Ga
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1846
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Ft Call
ROBERTS
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Zilpha Roberts Hogan / Archibald Hogan
2. Your name: Jo N Carlson
3. Where did your ancestor come from? GA
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1830
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Alachua, FL
Zilpha married Archibald Hogan in 1823 and they moved to the Sundance River and Little St. Mary's River area. They had trouble with Indians, but survived. They moved to Columbia Co c1840. Archibald voted in 1845. Some of their children intermarried with the Lee family of Hamilton Co. Archibald died in 1846 and Zilpha died in 1890.
Zilpha's father, Richard Roberts was a Revolutionary War Patriot (DAR).
ROUSSEAU
by Daniel Rousseau
(Jupiter, FL)
William Henry Rousseau was born in 1818. Some documents say he was born in Florida, other documents say Georgia. We know he was living in Columbia County when he was a boy, in a place known as Pine Grove.
He was a member of Florida's Militia during the Second Seminole War. He voted against statehood in 1845, his reasoning being that if Florida became a state, too many people would migrate in.
He served in the Confederate army during the Civil War, as did his three oldest boys. The first two died, the third one fought in the Battle of Olustee with the 2nd Fl. Cavalry, and survived.
William Henry served Columbia County as a state representative, and in 1858, he co-sponsored legislation that created Suwannee County. He then served as State Senator for Suwannee County until all former Confederates were removed from office by the Federal government and replaced with freed slaves and carpetbaggers from the north.
He is buried in the ROUSSEAU CEMETERY in Clearwater. I am a fifth-generation Floridian. I am almost 83.
SALLIS
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Fl)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: David Sallis, Jr.
2. Your name:James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Warren, Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1854
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Madison Co., Fl
SANDS
by Shirley Motes
(Tavares Florida)
Your Ancestor's Full Name: John William "Red Bay" Sands
2. Your name: Shirley Motes
3. Where did your ancestor come from? The Bahamas
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1870
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Key West, Florida
SAPP
by Jonathan Hill
(Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Levi Sapp
2. Your name: Jonathan Richard Hill
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Colquitt, Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1844
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Washington Co, Florida
His father was a Revolutionary War soldier, Levi Samuel Sapp. The Sapp family remains largely in Washington and Jackson counties in the Panhandle.
SAPP
by Lisa A. Richey
(Vero Beach, Florida)
James Jackson Sapp 1821 Is my GRT.G.G.Granddad
Calvin Wesley Sapp 1854 My GRT.G.Grandad
Henry Jackson Sapp 1878 My GRT.Granddad
Alfred Michael Sapp My Granddad
Pasty Ann Sapp 1934 My Mother
SAUNDERS
by Patrick John Saunders
(Jacksonville, Florida)
My Great Grandfather, John Patrick Saunders, migrated to the Florida Keys from Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas. They were wreckers salvaging maritime ship groundings. My Grandfather was born in KEY WEST and my Father was born in MIAMI as was myself.
SAUNDERS
by Kim Saunders Roane
(Gainesville Florida Alachua)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: William Alexander Saunders
2. Your name: Kim Saunders Roane
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas. Third child, William H. was born in Key West in 1848.
4. When did ancestor come to Florida? 1845-46
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida?
Key west. He was a mariner, a wrecker and sponger. He had a sea route from Havana to Key West to Cedar Key. The family briefly moved to the now Dunedin area in 1864-1867. Then back to Key West. There were eight children born to William Alexander and wife Margaret Albury Saunders.
SHEFFIELD
by Wanda Stone
(Tampa, Florida)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Simeon Sheffield
2. Your name: Wanda Stone
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1840
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Alligator, Columbia County
SILAS
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Fl)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name:John Silas
2. Your name:James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1858
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Hamilton Co., Fl.
SISTRUNK
by Mamie Willoughby
(Orlando, Fl.)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Stephen David Sistrunk
2. Your name: Mamie Willoughby
3. Where did your ancestor come from?He was born at White Springs, Fl 11/25/1844 His father came from South Carolina.
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1844
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? White Springs, Fl.
SLOAN
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Florida)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Daniel Sloan
2. Your name: James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Dublin County, North Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1857
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Hillsborough
SMITH
1. Your Ancestor's Family Name: Smith
2. Your full name: Anonymous
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1827
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Hamilton County
From Florida State Genealogical Society
John G. SMITH was born 10 February 1800, and married Mary Ann MATHIS, born 17 July 1798 in Bulloch County, Georgia. They were married 17 August 1820 in Appling County. Mary Ann's parents were Edmund MATHIS and Unity REGISTER.
John SMITH and Ann were settled in Hamilton County, Florida where he voted in the election of 1833 to elect a delegate to Congress. He homesteaded 80 acres of land on the north side of the Suwannee River, purchasing the land from the U. S. Government when Martin Van Buren was President. This land is located very near to what is now Interstate 75. John G. SMITH was voter #4 at Precinct #3, Francis Ross', Hamilton County in the first statewide election 26 May 1845. Territorial Papers list his appointments as Justice of the Peace, and he is listed as a signer on several documents. He was Sheriff, and held other County Offices. Names lists another John G. SMITH who settled in Jackson County, about the same time as this John G. SMITH Children of John and Mary Ann were:
Absalom Sessions SMITH, married Sarah
Edmund Mathis SMITH, married Mary LEE
Elizabeth SMITH, married Amos CHESHIRE
Sarah Ann SMITH, married William Riley JOHNS
Maisy SMITH
James J. SMITH
Nancy G. SMITH, married W.W. McALPIN
John G. SMITH Jr, married Martha M. __
SOLANA
by Crystal Solana Bryan
(Tampa, Florida )
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Alonso Solana
2. Your name: Crystal Solana Bryan
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Castile, Spain
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1613
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? St. Augustine
Alonso Solana arrived in St Augustine as a lieutenant in the Dragoons and a carpenter.
He married Francesca Peres, who was born 1601 in St. Augustine. We know her parents arrived by 1588, when Santa Elena was abandoned, as they had been part of that settlement on present day Parris Island. However, records of that early period have been lost to the many fires set by English and pirates, or dare I say, English pirates. So we can't authenticate their arrival date.
The family has remained in Florida ever since, being one of only two families with members continuously documented in the state since the First Spanish Period, 1565-1764. We share ties with many of the Minorcan and other pioneers who came, as we tried to avoid marrying cousins! Lol
SPENCER
by Robert Lee Proudfoot
(Tampa)
William Samuel Spencer, my great great great great great grandfather moved to what is now Palma Ceia from South Georgia before 1830.
He was Sheriff of Hillsborough County before and during the Civil War. All three of his sons served in the Confederate military.
Thomas Kennedy Spencer Sr, his youngest son, is my gggg grandfather. He served in the 4th Florida Infantry and the Cow Cavalry. His family also ran the newspaper in Tampa, which he was left to run after his brothers died.
He then went on to become Sheriff of Hillsborough county, where his son , T K Spencer, Jr. also served. T K hired the first black deputy in Hillsborough County.
Many of his descendants still reside in Tampa. Before my family came to Florida, they moved to Georgia in 1754.
STAFFORD
by Judy Benton
(Perry,FL)
My great grandfather was Henry Stafford, his first wife, my grandmother was Viola May Jenkins. I have been told that I am a 6/7 generation Floridian. Henry was from around the Leon County area. My other family names are Lewis, Jenkins, Freeman, Walker, just to name a few. I have always been interested in my family history.
STAPLETON
By Parks Wilson
(Cedar Key, Florida)
I’m trying to get Florida Pioneer status for my Mother and I in Levy County.
We have good ancestry records back to the 1850 census and recently have found Alexander Stapleton, my Great Great Great Grandfather seems to have voted in the 1845 election.
His name appears to be misspelled on the elections records as Elaxander Stapleton? Not sure if that would be acceptable to the Florida Pioneer certification?
https://www.floridamemory.com/FMP/election1845/large/hamilton_precinct4_01.jpg
STARLING
by Lori Rebecca Horner
Fort Lauderdale, FL
1. John Starling
2. Lori Rebecca Horner
3. Alabama
4. About 1865
5. Polk County, Fl
John Starling, born 1850 left Alabama and relocated to Polk County, Florida with his mother around the year of 1865. This is the story my Mother, Melba Rebecca Starling handed down to me. My grandfather, Luby Cleo Starling was born in Polk County Florida (1903-1989).
STORY
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Florida)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: John Nathaniel Story
2. Your name:James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Worth County, Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1885
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Sumter County
SUMMERS
by Jeffrey A Whitfield
(Bristol, Florida, USA)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: John W. Summers
2. Your name: Jeff Whitfield
3. Where did your ancestor come from?
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1859
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Liberty, Alachua, and then Gilchrist Counties
TAYLOR
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Taylor, Andrew
2. Your full name: Anonymous
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Virginia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1824
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Leon County
From Florida State Genealogical Society
Andrew TAYLOR was born about 1790, probably in Virginia. He married Mary in Washington County, Georgia about 1811. They were settled in Leon County, Florida by 1824, when their second son, William Thomas TAYLOR was born. Andrew was a planter with a few slaves, and also served as a Methodist "Exhorter". He is listed on the Leon County census records for 1830-1850, and on the Leon County Tax records from 1829 earliest extant through 1850. Territorial Papers list Andrew TAYLOR as a signer of a petition to Delegate to Congress, Joseph M. WHITEBY by citizens of Middle Florida on behalf of Charles E. SHERMAN, Esq., as District Attorney for Middle Florida. His will, filed on 30 May 1851, names two sons, Joshua TAYLOR and William T. TAYLOR, and grandson, James Andrew BROOKS, son of deceased daughter, Martha Ann TAYLOR BROOKS, as heirs along with his wife Mary. James Andrew was listed in the household of Andrew TAYLOR and Mary on the 1850 census.
TEDDER
by Wilene
(Labelle, Fl)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: WILLIAM Hewitt Tedder
2. Your name: Wilene Dyson Marshall
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1879
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Volusia County
TUCKER
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Fl)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name:Elizabeth Tucker
2. Your name:James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1855
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Hillsborough, Fl
UNDERWOOD
by Jonathan Hill
(Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Aaron Underwood
2. Your name: Jonathan Richard Hill
3. Where did your ancestor come from? North Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1850
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Jackson County
Born 1785 in North Carolina, he was a veteran of the War of 1812. He died in 1865.
WEEKS
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Fl)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Ada Weeks O’Steen
2. Your name: James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Carteret, North Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1840
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Alligator Settlement, Columbia
WELLS
by John H. Wells
(Jacksonville, Florida)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Andrew A. Wells
2. Your name: John H. Wells
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Bryan County Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1848
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Orange Springs/Bay Lake
WHIDDON
by Karen
(Sebastian Florida )
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: William Whiddon
2. Your name:Karen Whiddon Olexa
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1821
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Panama City area
WHITMAN
by Allen Oliver
(Homosassa, Fla.)
Michael Whitman and the family of Brothers, sisters and other relatives by the last name of Whitman came from the Carolinas. They staged in Southern Georgia and came to Florida via wagon train in and around 1852.
They settled in the area of what is now Webster, Florida. They had a homestead there. The homestead is still in the family and is forty acres. Many of my relatives are scattered all over Florida, but we still consider Webster our roots.
Many of my relatives are buried in the Linden Cemetery Near Webster. My Great, Great, Grandfather is buried there. He served the Confederacy and was in the "Cow Calvary".
My wife is buried there and I will be there beside her.
WILLIAMS
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Williams, Ira Shine
2. Your full name: Anonymous
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1825
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Washington County
From Florida Genealogical Society
Ira Shine WILLIAMS was born about 1813, the son of John WILLIAMS. He was born in Bulloch County, Georgia, and moved with his parents to Florida about 1819. Ira Shine served in the Indian War from Jackson County, Florida in 1835 and 1836. Territorial Papers list him as a signer of a petition to build a road across the Choctawhatchee River in 1842. Ira Shine WILLIAMS was an Election Inspector and voter #12 in John MILLER's house, Precinct #2, Washington County in the first statewide election 26 May 1845; he is also listed as a Justice of the Peace for Washington County in 1847. He married Sarah BURNS,born about 1817 in North Carolina, the daughter of Anthony BURNS, about 1835. After Sarah's death, Ira married Harriett __ ' then moved on to Smith County, Texas where his brother David WILLIAMS had settled previously. Harriett apparently returned to Washington County, Florida, and Ira Shine divorced her in 1860. He was a cattleman, who carried his cattle to Texas with him, where he had a large farm.
Descendants of this pioneer are in Northwest Florida, South Alabama and Texas.
Shine and Sarah had these children:
Wiley WILLIAMS married Anne Eliza WILLIAMS
John Wesley WILLIAMS
Mary WILLIAMS
Elizabeth WILLIAMS
William WILLIAMS married Mary Catherine SMITH
Emiline WILLIAMS married Warren WILLIAMS
Jefferson WILLIAMS, married Selina __
Walter Wesley WILLIAMS married Theodocia CARMICHAEL
Sarah WILLIAMS
Bowman WILLIAMS
Caroline WILLIAMS married James A. MARTIN
WILLIAMS
by James Grant
(Ormond Beach, Fl)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name:Mary "Polly" Williams
2. Your name:James Grant
3. Where did your ancestor come from?Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida?1845
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Madison
WILLIAMS
by Phil Eschbach
(Winter Park, Florida)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Samuel Williams
2. Your name:Phil Eschbach
3. Where did your ancestor come from? North Carolina
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1776
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? St. Augustine
Samuel Williams was born in Virginia around 1710 but migrated to North Carolina with a land grant from the king around 1735 and raised a family there of at least 7 children.
When the Revolution began, he moved his entire family to Florida in 1776. Florida was the 14th British colony at the time, but when Florida reverted to the Spanish in 1783, Samuel moved back to England with one son, Jacob, the remaining six children settled in Florida or Georgia.
Two sons, William and Henry, moved to the Bahamas and some of their children moved back to Florida in the early 1800s. One daughter moved back to North Carolina. And the rest stayed in either North Florida or South Georgia in St. Marys. Those were Abner, Jane Ashley and Wilson.
After Henry died in the Bahamas, his son Samuel moved back to Florida and founded the Orange Grove plantation in 1803 which is now Daytona. His son William Henry became the first lighthouse keeper at Ponce Inlet and also the first Sheriff of Orange County.
The patriarch Samual's son, William moved back to Florida to found Spring Garden in 1803 - now DeLeon Springs.
When William died he had willed his estate to his nephew William, son of his brother Abner. So young William took over the Springs and married his second cousin, granddaughter of Jane Williams Ashley.
Many of all these children's descendants are all over Florida today. Of the original seven children of Samuel Williams, at least 29 of their children survived childhood, most living in Florida.
One of Henry's children moved back to England, becoming an attorney, and was sent to the new colony of Australia to set up a legal system for the colony. He became the chief justice of their supreme court, his family descendants are still living there. A recent Attorney General of Australia is a descendant as well.
WILSON
Wilson Family, by Deborah Callicott (Russell, Clay Co., FL ).
1. Your first and last name. Deborah Callicott
2. Your ancestor's first and last name. Joseph Wilson.
3. Where did your ancestor come from? South Carolina
4. What year did your ancestor come to Florida. 1824
5. Where did they settle? Duval County
6. Tell us what else you know about your ancestor.
JOSEPH WILSON, appeared in Florida late 1824, and was joined in early 1825 by JESSE WILSON, who along with his young family settled on property along Trout Creek in Duval Co. The two young men, both born in South Carolina, are believed to be brothers .... Both men served in the Seminole Wars, and both eventually settled in southern Duval Co., now Clay Co., in the area now known as Camp Blanding, FL .
Oral history, now confirmed by DNA testing, show this family to be of Scottish Highland origin back to the Isle of Skye region and part of the Clan Donald, even though the Wilson surname is not recognized as a "clan" name.
Both men were involved in multiple industries, including livestock, timber, bridge building, general farming,and cultivation of "fine spirits". Their sons owned naval stores, general stores, turpentine operations, general farms, & fishing operations.
Industry was a way of life, as was political & military service .... The women were the spiritual and educational leaders of the family, helping to bring civility and God to a most inhospitable place.
In the early 1800's the family intermarried with the Weeks, MacBurney, Knight, Conway, Bennett, Bush, Harris, Hogan/Hagen, Carter, Thomas, Murhree, Geiger, Higginbotham, Oglesby, & others who likewise were Florida Pioneer Settlers, and most of whom were of Scottish or Scotch-Irish ancestry ...
This family has left behind numerous descendants of similar fortitude and industry ....
Comments for WILSON
Jul 09, 2012
Interesting Geneology!
by: Anonymous
Deborah, keep providing us with more Florida family-tree history . . . this is so interesting! My brother and his wife are very much interested in genealogy. When our cousin was living in Park City, Utah (he was a DELTA pilot) they spent a lot of time at the Genealogy Museum in Salt Lake City. But Florida family-tree history is so interesting because our State is truly a pioneering one.
WOODWARD
by David Luther Woodward
Pensacola, Florida
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Eaason Isom Woodward
2. Your name:David Luther Woodward
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Dooly, Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1870
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Starke, Bradford County, Florida
YELVINGTON
by Wilene
(Labelle, Fl)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name:Nancy Yelvington
2. Your name:Wilene Dyson Marshall
3. Where did your ancestor come from? Georgia
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1879
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Volusia County
YON
by Sim F Sutterby Sr
(Booneville, MS)
1. Your Ancestor's Full Name: Sim Lafayette Yon
2. Your name: Sim F Sutterby Sr
3. Where did your ancestor come from? NC
4. What year (approx) did your ancestor come to Florida? 1820's
5. Where did your ancestor settle in Florida? Quincy, FL
If you would like to submit information about your own family, this is where you can do it. Please give us all the requested information.
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