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| Florida Statehood "In God We Trust" by Gil Wilson (introduction) 1845-1861 ab urbe condita - 280 to 296 |
| A Great Country The St. Augustine News reported that the settlers in the counties are rapidly bringing the soil into perfect cultivation an operation which its natural richness renders of an easy accomplishment. If its swamps and their miasmatic influences could be put to rout the 'land of flowers' would be one of the most delightful of the habitations of men. Railroad Route Lieut J. E. Blake, of the United States Topographic Engineer Corps, and party have completed a survey of a route for a railroad across the Pennsula of Florida. Statehood On March 3, 1845 Florida becomes a state. It enters the Union as a slave state paired with the free state of Iowa. However, Iowa did not enter statehood until December 28, 1848. Texas entered before Iowa. William D. Mosley became the first governor. David Levy became the first congressmen. The Democrats, not the Whigs were to be in charge of Florida. Surprisingly on the day of organization it was announced that Andrew Jackson died. Fire An incendiary fire burned the office of Mr. Drysdale and a two story house, billard room and kitchen of Joseph Hernandez. The loss was an uninsured seven to eight thousand dollars. Notes on the Bar The following is the result of an examination of the bar of St. Augustine, made by the collector of customs, and F. L. Daney, Esq: The soundings were all made at low water. The bar or shoal on which was found 7 feet 8 inches at dead low water was not over 20 or 30 yards in extent before they came to much deeper water. The width of the channel is from 300 to 400 yards. the length of the channel leading over the bay from deep water inside to deep water outside is between a quarter and half a mile. The average rise of the tides on the bar is about 6 feet; consequently, at high water, there would be 13 1/2 feet over the bar. Planters Hotel Sale In 1847 the Planters Hotel was listed for sale. The owner stated that "My property will be sacrificed, which cost me not short of forty-thousand dollars (40,000). It will bring in ten years ten times as much as now." The hotel was old wood, well built, about 90 ft by 50 ft calculated to accommodate ninety persons. The brick House (with store below was one of the best constructed and finished house in the place. The Florida Herald advertised the property by George R. Fairbakns, Esq, the Master in Chancery as "bounded on the north by lot of heirs of Franci Medices and Treasury Lane; the east by Charlotte Street on the south by a lot of John w. Hanson; and on the west by premises of Dr. Peck." Public Education After Statehood St. Augustine kept payments up to private schools who would accept students who could not pay the tuition. (See Free School return of 1846) Catholics were also trying to get part of the poor fund money. Students were listed as protestant and poor including: Francis Isabella Southwick, Augustus Virgin Corplan, Mary Hunt, Franca Hunt, and Theodore Hunt. Surprisingly in 1850 there are free blacks listed on the U.S. Census as having received an education. There are only two counties in the State of Florida that listed free blacks as having received an education. Troop Movements The St. Augustine Herald reported on the U.S. troops of the 8th Regiment removed from Florida to Texas. General Worth also took troops across Florida to Tampa from St. Augustine. The following captains: Worth, McKavitt and Hill; Lieuts. Gates, Lee, Sheppard, Jordan, Longstreet, Wood and Smith embarked from St. Augustine. Longstreet who was later to become a CSA General was part of the 8th Regiment. Mexican War On May 13, 1846 the United States declared war against the Republic of Mexico. William Wing Loring was breveted three times for bravery: Cerro Gordo, Churubusco, and Belen Gate. He lost his arm in Mexico. He ended the war as a colonel. The 13th U. S. Infantry Regiment Company K would have Lieut. Edward J Dummett of St. Augustine appointed by President Polk. Fifty-five soldiers from Florida would die in Mexico. William F. Howell a private from St. Augustine died in Orizaba, Mexico on March 18, 1848. A Hotel Tradition Begins - Magnolia Hotel Mr. B. E. Carr, a St. Augustine merchant, built the Magnolia Hotel in 1847 and W. W. Palmer from New York City became the proprietor in 1872. The 200-room hotel was located on St. George Street and boasted great fireplaces in the reading-room and parlor. A specialty of house was the hand-painted menus. In the beginning it was the Magnolia House. In Nov 1, 1847 it was listed as a new and commodous building being completed, and furnished and was taken by Mr. M. J. Thomas. Its newspaper ads would read that it was good for invalids because the rooms faced south. In the 1850s a Mrs. Davis conducted the house. The Magnolia also had billard tables and a ten pin alley. In 1859 a guest could stay at the Magnolia for $1.25 per day. However, the rate for second floor accommodations was $6.50 per month, and guests staying in the attic paid only $4.00 a month. By 1886 the Magnolia had 250 rooms that rented for $4.00 a day. In 1892, it advertised filtered rainwater for drinking, and by 1894, porcelain bathtubs on each floor were advertised. Fire Engine (Feb 1848) B. E. Carr held a Bond against the city for $250.00 and interest for the Fire Engine. All the funds collected over and above the expenses of the city would be appropriated to the payment of the bond. The expenses of the city for 1848 were Salary of Clerk of the Council $50.00 Treasurer's Commission $30.00 Salary of City Marshal $146.00 Salary of Scavenger $72.00 Printing $40.00 Contingencies $110.00 Total City Budget $448.00 March 25, 1848 Shipwreck On sunday last the wreck of a schooner of about 80 tons burthen, was discovered on the North beach, about 8 miles from this city, by some of our civizens. On reaching her they found the headless trunk of a female in a state of great decomposition, which they buried on the spot as decently as circumstances would permit. Several articles of female clothing were found, among others part of a rich silk fashionably made, together with a quantity of men's apparel. There was nothing by which the name of the vessel could be ascertained. The name on her stern having been completely obliterated by the action of the sea, with the exception of the letters PAT. Two anchors and a chain were saved from her.--Efforts are making we understand to ascertain any clue to the discovery of her name and the place whence she hailed from. It is supposed to be the wreck of the schooner Vesta which was capsized about two months since on her passage from Darien to Charleston. September 25, 1848 Hurricane The two wharves in St. Augustine were destroyed. The water was at one time a foot and a half deep in the post-office. Nearly all the enclosures in town were blown down and very few houses have escaped injury. New Military Force In October, 1848 the steamer Panama arrived in St. Augustine carrying Company K, 2d Regiment U. S. Artillery with George Edwards commander and W. Adams the 2d Lieutenant. The Florida House In 1848 the Florida House was "repaired, refitted, and furnished with special reference to the comfort and convenience of private families, travellers, and invalid strangers." It was reopened on November 15 with Mrs. Margarett Cook as proprietress. The buildings of the Florida House were built entirely of wood and the rooms were heated with fireplaces. Families could have suits of rooms and separate tables. Soldiers Passing Through March 6, 1849 Colonels R. E. DeRussy, J. K F. Mansfield and R. E. Lee, and Major R. Delafield, arrived here on the 6 in the U. S. Schooner Phoenix. they sailed shortly after for St. Marys. Mardi Gras (Florida Herald and Southern Democrat March 12, 1849) The usual amount of "tom foolery" was exhibited yesterday in some of our streets, by the customary number of vagrant boys and foolish young men. There were but few tights, (a matter of some congratulation,) but we are sorry to say, that the other scenes peculiar to this ridicious observance had many actors. It is high time that these things should be stopped. Mr. Editor: I noticed in your paper of the 23d of February that you are under the impression that the "Carnival" is a "religious festival" among Catholics, and I beg leave to inform you, that so far from being so, it has always been reproved by the Church. As a "provincial custom" you announce "with deep regret" that " it is for us dead." I respect your opinion, but I hope that you will tolerate mine, and that you will not be displeased if I say that I am glad that it is dead, and without any hope of resurrection. With respect and attention, I remain your ob't Felix Varela, Catholic Priest Indian Troubles On July 22, 1849 Lieut Adams and a small detachment of men left the fort for Indian River. 4 Indians attacked settlers and the 4 Indians seemed to have separated themselves from the rest of the Seminoles. The settlers had given a deposition before Judge Bronson that confirmed that it was probably only 4 attackers. However, this extended into a general panic with settlements being broken up and Yulee calling on the government to send soldiers so that the crops may be harvested. George W. Crawford the Secretary of War replied with a cooler head saying that troops were being sent to protect the frontiers but it was necessary to discover if the problem was 4 or 400 Indians. Two additional companies of the 2 Regiment U. S. Artillery were called to St. Augustine. General Twigg was placed in command. By August 22, 1849 a public meeting was held at the Court House in St. Augustine. On a motion of B. A. Putnam the meeting was called to order and I. H. Bronson was appointed Chairman, and Messrs. G. Washington, P. C. Zylstra and John Drysdale were appointed secretaries. At the request of the Chair, the Hon. G. R. Fairbanks explained the object of the meeting to be to take into consideration the character of and cause of the recent outrages of the Indians occupying the Southern portion of the Peninsula, and their present hostile attitude towards the people of East Florida; and in an eloquent and forcible manner urged the duty of our citizens to act and speak with promptness and decision in the present emergency. The Hon. B. A. Putnam succeeded, and still farther enforced the same views, in a few earnest remarks, commenting with just and indignant severity upon the attempt to asperse the character of the people of florida as desirous of a war, and as being the aggressors upon the Indians. The following gentlemen were appointed to a committee to further report: Gen. J. M. Hernandez, Hon. G. R. Fairbanks, Hon. B. A. Putnam, Dr. W. H. Simmons, P. Benet, Hon. W. A. Forward, J. M. Fontane, D. R. Dunham, R. Floyd. On motion of Geo. Washington, the name of the Chairman was added to the committee. Light House Gets Safety Equipment In 1849 the lighthouse received a Francis's metallic life and surf boat. Key West received 2 and Pensacola and St. Martain received one. The mechanical difficulties which made it impossible, at first, to form a good modeled metalic boat were overcome so that boats of this description are made not inferior in model to those of wood. These would be used later by the U. S. Army in the 3rd Seminole War. City Patrols Able bodied citizens were required to serve on the patrol. This nightly watch group's purpose to secure the peace of the city which mostly concerned watching the Africian-American population. Detail of City Patrol for night of 29th December 1849 James M Gould Captain Mathias Andrew Francis Arnau Benj Dupont A Alonzo To Pedro Benet Mayor Protem A negro boy Rip Van Winkle belonging to Mr. A Watson a negro Girl Inez, servant to Mrs Garl? were apprehended by the patrol. One dollar was given by the family of Mr. Watson and the boy was released. The girl Inez was delivered to Mr. James R Sanchez who claimed that it was not yet the time to apprehend negroes. Mr. Sanchez was informed that the facts would be reported to the Mayor to which he agreed James M Gould Captain A Day in the Life of St. Augustine July 1850 Prewar Slavery Slavery was part of St. Augustine's history from the days of the Spanish. However, in the American period it began to take a odious form much like the rest of the sourth. Laws were tightened and life for all African-Americans became more difficult in the period proceding the War of Rebellion. In St. Augustine you would need as a freed slave a white guardian. You would also pay a special tax to the city simply because you were a free black. If there was ever a call for money reparations, this City tax on free African-American individuals would be the place to start. Penality for not paying the tax -- sold back into slavery. To travel around the area you would also need to carry a pass signed by the mayor. (Picture of 1845 passes.) To understand some of the differences in slavery between St. Augustine and the rest of the south there were differences that came from the Spanish heritage of the state and the influence of the Catholic church (see baptisms for notations of last names of slaves). Slaves needed permission to move through the city. (Scipio permission)(Assorted movement restrictions) (ordinance for patrols) (guardians 1838) (Papino and Garvin guardianship) (permission slips from the 1850s). Celebration of the Fourth of July at St. Augustine 1851 The friends and supporters of our glorious Union and Constitution, opposed to secession and disunion, met at Segui's Point on Friday, the 4th July, and commemorated the anniversary of our National Independence by a barbecue. Major B. A. Putnam presided, assisted by Messrs. John Masters, Jr., and Iemacio Lopez, as Vice Presidents. Selections of Washington's Farewell Address were read by Mr. G. Washinton. After the report the following volunteer toasts were drunk: John Masters Jr., The Natives of Florida who have enjoyed the protection, and partaken of the glories and advantages of the American Union for 30 years, can have no charms or joys in Seccession or Disunion. Thomas T. Russell: The Rights of the South, and the Union of the States--Daniel Webster has truly said, that the latter can be preserved, "not by coercion--not by military power--not by angry controversy--but by the silken cords of mutual, fraternal, patriotic affections." D. R. Dunham: Our Glorious Union and Constitution--"Palsied be the arm, and phrenaied the brain" of the man who waking thinks, or sleeping dreams, of destroying the one or subverting the other. J. B. Ponce-- Political Heresies -- No where more monstrous and revolting than in Florida--here where ever since we came under the protection of the Stars and Stripes, we have as a people been participants of the unbounded beneficence of the American Union. Death of Father Varella - Feb 1853 Father Varella, Second Vicar General of Archbishop Hughes was formerly pastor of the Transfiguration Church in New York died in St. Augustine where he had lived for 3 years. 1851 Slave Eacape 5 slaves escaped in a 9 ton sloop belonging to Mr. G. W. Ferguson. Two belonged to Mrs. Sebate, two to Col W. F. English and one belonging to Mr. L. Crawford. The destination was supposed to be the Bahama Islands. City Council Records The City Council in 1854 and 1855 had the usual business. For a view of the council see the extracts. City Taxes in 1855 (Cost) Tax Ordinance On every slave owned by residents within said city, twelve and a half cents. On every slave owned by non-residents of the city, but residents of this county, five dollars. On every slave owned by non-residents of the city and county, but residents of this State, $10. On every slave owned by non-residents of the State $15. On every able-bodied free person of color, male and female, between the ages of fifteen and sixty years, three dollars. 2 wheel carriage $1 more than one horse .50 for each additional 4 wheel carriage one horse $2, more .50 for each additional. Actual 2 horse $4. Hire horses $.50 Milk cows 5 or less - .50 each Silver watch 12 and 1/2 cents Gold watch 25 cents Dogs 50 cents unimproved lots, 24 cents on every hundred dollars value improved same City marshall is the Assessor and Collector of the city tax Be it further ordained by the Authority aforesaid, that this City Council shall grant relief to all persons who may have been over charged or improperly taxed in any way or manner whatever. Tax must be paid by April 1 or tax doubles. Read a Day in the Life of St. Augustine June 24, 1854 Tax Records 1855 The 1855 City of St. Augustine tax records enable you to have a snapshot of the finances of St. Augusitne residents before the Civil War. Putnam Appointed Judge In August 1857 Benjamin Putnam was appointed by Govenor Broome as Judge of the Circuit Court of the Eastern Circuit of Florida replacing William A. Forward. Shipwrecks January 23, 1858 the schooner Ella went ashore on the St. Augustine Bar and became a wreck. Part of the cargo had been landed from the above vessel somewhat damaged. The vessel was about 90 tons. She was commanded by Capt Farrow. On January 27, 1858 the steamer Pee Dee commanded by Capt. Mansfield went ashore on the St. Augustine Bar. The vessel and cargo was a total loss. The Pee Dee was carrying supplies for the U. S. troops. Fugitive Slaves March 1858 a newspaper report in the New York Herald stated that they had received a letter from Nassau that a large sloop was on the west side of the Great Bahama with thirty fugitive slaves from St. Augustine Florida. The Bahama Friendly Society had despatched a vessel in search of the sloop. Kidnapping (September 1858) A boy from Charleston was offered for sale at St. Augustine as a slave. He was about 15 years old and claimed to be white and free. He said he was the son of Philip Ordeel a tailor in Charleston and that 2 years before at Charleston he was enticed on board a steamboat by the engineer and locked up in a room. When the boat went to Savannah he was sold as a slave. A writ of habeas corpus has been granted by Judge Putnam of the Circuit Court, Eastern District, Florida on the application of two citizens of St. Augustine. It was found that the boy was born of a slave mother in Charleston of T. W. Malone. He was called "Bully" The boy was sold to Mr. J. ricardo the proprietor of the Palmetto Coffee House. He was then sold to a German shoemaker who sold him to W. N. Parsell, who sold him to Mr. James Fabian of Savannah. Coastal Survey In February 1859 United States Coast Survey officers, Benjamin Huger, Jr., and Rufus King, Jr. were in the fort at St. Augustine to make a survey of the harbor, coast, and North river and establish a base line for connecting their triangulations north and for entering the same south. This will relieve the St. Augustine bar from much of the prejudice now existing in the minds of navigators against it. New Railroad A charter has been obtained for a railroad from Tocoi, near Picolata, Fla, to St. Augustine. $100,000 in stock was subscribed. This would be another advantage to St. Augustine. John Westcott was the general superintendent of the railroad. Deaths Wm W. Oates proprietor of the Planter Hotel in St. Augustine died of heart disease on August 25, 1859. He was a former resident of Savanah Georgia. August 31st Col. Gad Humphreys aged 74 years. He was born in Connecticut and entered the U. S. Army in 1808 as a Lieutenant and served through the war of 1812 being slightly wounded on the Erie Frontier. He was appointed agent for the Seminole Indians in Florida in 1822 and served until 1830 when he was removed. He lost almost everything in the Seminole War. He was Judge of Probate for 10 years. He left a widow, seven children and several grandchildren. Private Schools Throughout the territorial period (1821-1845)there were more than 23 private schools, 9 academies and three seminaries operating in St. Augustine but by the 1850s George L Phillip's Academy and Sarah Mathers School for Young Ladies dominated the private schools. . In 1856 a school building was finally erected for white children. (Picture of cornerstone) The use of this building before the civil war is a mystery since no records of a public school survive. It could be that teachers who agreed to teach the poor were allowed to use the building. However, after the Civil War the building was expanded and used as Public School #1 for the new St. Johns County Public School system. It appears that the last ones to use the school building before the Civil war were the Sisters of Mercy: Gentlemen The Sisters of Mercy respectfully represent to your honorable body that they keep an Academy and free school for the children of this city ; and that owing to the large number attending the latter school together with the absence of apailucents in their present school house commodious enough to permit a sufficient circulation of pure air so desirable at all times but so indispensably necessary where a large number (like that of their publes) are collected together find themselves obliged to procure a more suitable place to keep the free school. In virtue of the above mentioned consideration. They apply to your honorable body and respectfully solicit the temporary loan of the upper room of the building erected in Hospital Street for public education under such regulations as may appear just and reasonable. They also take this occasion to state that their schools are open to all without distinction of creed so as to come within the intentions of those who have appropriated funds for public education. St. Augustine August 24th 1860 --- The Sisters of Mercy beg leave to return their grateful acknowledgements to the Honorable Members of the City Council for the temporary loan of the upper room in the building erected in Hospital Street for Educational purposes; and pledge themselves to comply with all the requisition of said Council. St. Augustine Sept 1st 1860 And Union Soldiers are born Mayor Court 23 July 1860 City of St. Augustine vs Abraham Lancaster (col'd) Complaint made and entered by City Marshal that said Defendant disturbed the peace of the City on the 21 July 1860 by striking Mary Rody and by beating her. The Defendant appeared through his Guardian Rafael B Canova whereupon came the following witness by Order of the Court Elizabeth Terrel whose evidence sustained the complaint made. Whereupon His Honor sentenced the Defendant to be whipped by receiving on his bare back "Twenty Lashes' and stand committed until the cost be paid. The Prisoner having duly received on his bare back the sentence of the Court, and paid all costs in the case, was discharged. Cornelia Leslie The St. Augustine Examiner listed the discovery, by the census marshal, of a negress named Cornelia Leslie who says she is 125 years of age. She was born in Georgia at Silver Bluff; has a distinct recollection of the war of the Revolution; and remembers the siege of Savannah in 1778, when that city was taken by the British. She is the slave of her own son, who is a free negro. Miss Mather’s School Miss Mather, having secured the services of Miss L. Wright, (late of the Female College, Greensboro, Ga.) will re-open her school in this city on the 15th of October. Miss Wright is a lady of superior attainments and of elegant accomplishments, and has had much experience in training the young, having been Teacher of Mathematics and of the Latin and French Languages in the Female College in Greensboro, Georgia and in the Judson Institute at Marion Alabama. Previous to this, she was engaged for two years at Lancaster, Penna. As Teacher of Music, drawing and painting Miss Wright sketches readily from nature, and, in addition to the ordinary studies and the languages, will give instruction in Drawing and Painting of various styles, oil, water colors, &c. Miss Mather can confidently recommend Miss Wright to all the patrons of the school as a finished teacher, and an accomplished lady; and she trusts that her efforts in behalf of education at the South may meet the approbation and win the support of her patrons in every part of the country. Sept 8, 1860 The St. Augustine Examiner Sat Oct 27, 1860 The Impending Crisis The sixth of November is close at hand …. The South will be called upon to choose between submission to the rule of a party whose avowed purpose is the abolition, not the restriction, of slavery, and a glorious career of uninterrupted prosperity as a separate nationality. …. We are defeated in the Union, but out of it we are still masters of the world, for we are a necessity to that world. There will be no bloody conflict now. Not until the south shows, as we firmly believe she never will show, that she is ready to acquiesce in the rule of Lincoln and Greeley, will an army of Wide Awakes be sent to pillage the rich cities and devastate the fair plantations of our section….. But cannot the citizens of our section be united as one man? Shall we not drop all minor issues, and forgetting past feuds, rally around the banner of the entire South? We can never submit to Lincoln’s inauguration; the shades of Revolutionary sires will rise up to shame us if we should do that; but cannot all of the southern people, Bell men, Breckenridge men, and Douglas men, band together to resist the Abolition foe? We have differed among ourselves hitherto, let us drop all dissensions, and form a UNION OF THE SOUTH FOR THE SAKE OF THE SOUTH. Let this be our rallying cry and the gates of the Abolition Hell shall not prevail against us. The St. Augustine Examiner, Dec 1, 1860 [p. 2] The Independent Blues This gallant and spirited corps have tendered their services to the City to act as Minute Men. Few finer companies can be found in the Southern States. It is commanded by Capt John Lott Phillips, and Lieutenants Andreu and Ridgely. The officers of the Independent Blues have seen service in the Indian wars of Florida, and the men are all brave fellows, ready to defend their State. ….. New Military Company A new military organization has recently been formed in this city, called, as we understand, the Milton Guards, in honor of Gov Milton. The corps is chiefly composed of young men from 14 to 18 years of age and drills every evening at the public square under the direction of Major Usina and Lieutenant Andreu of the Blues. The St. Augustine Examiner 29 December 1860 Another Year has Passed The vote for Lincoln and the Chicago Platform, which breathes nothing but death to the rights of fifteen States of the Union, is 1,865,000, while the vote cast in opposition to him and in favor in some way or other of the rights of all is 2, 631,250. Thus do we see that our rights have gone into the keeping of our enemies by a meager minority of the voters of the Union, by whom Lincoln has been elected. The remedy left us by the Fathers of the Republic to avoid this danger is the remedy applied by SC and the remedy which will be applied by all the States whose rights and interests are sufficiently affected by the consequence of Lincoln’s election to withdraw from the Union…….. We doubt not a new Union will be formed by the Slave States in a very few years more powerful and enduring than the present, which is now being broken ….. An ad on the same page: The Union is Dissolved. AN ORDINANCE To dissolve the union between the state of South Carolina and other states united with her under the constitution of the United States of America. Go to Civil War |
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| David Levy Yulee Library of Congress |
| St. Augustine Monthly and Extremes of Temperature for 1843 Oct - 70.77 Nov - 67.06 Dec - 59.09 Spring 64.73 Summer 78.55 Autumn 72.48 Winter 58.56 Year 68.58 Max 93 Min 30 Above Mean 24.4 Below Mean 38.6 |
| RRainfall Spring Summer Fall Winter 1844 8.94 8.18 8.35 4.49 1845 11.31 5.56 1846 5.14 1851 4.25 14.62 9.98 |
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| Magnolia Hotel |