THE SETTLING OF SARASOTA (7th in a series)

THE SCOTTISH COLONY ARRIVES
In the previous installments, -it was stated that through chicanery, the Governor of Florida deeded 700,000 acres, some of which included properties' of the Sarasota's pioneer homesteaders, into the hands of land speculators. This led to the formation of the Vigilance Committee and the subsequent shotgun killing of Harrison T. Riley and Charles Abbe who were suspected of cooperating with the speculators.

Although not a party to the trickery, an organization that benefited from the "re-deeding" was the Florida Mortgage and Investment Co. (FMIC) a British concern whose president was Sir John Gillespie (inset). The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lord Dean of the Guild of Edinburgh were directors of FMIC. The economy of Scotland in the 1880's was very poor and an advertisement by the FMIC in an Edinburgh newspaper in August 1885 seeking colonists for the "wonderful new town of Sarasota in the richest and most. beautiful section of the entire State of Florida" drew great interest. Colonists were promised a 40 acre ,estate and a lot in town in exchange for 100 pounds sterling (equivalent to 500 U.S. dollars) before departure. Twenty three Scottish families (totaling 68 people) headed by John B. Browning sold their businesses and personal possessions, paid 100 pounds sterling and met in Glasgow for the steamship crossing. The group was called the Ormiston Colony, after the estate of Sir John Gilespie.

The colonists sailed from Glasgow on the steamship "Furnesia" on November 25, 1885 and arrived in New York on December 10th after a very stormy trip. They passed through customs, were met by Selven Tate, one of the promoters of the colonization scheme, and taken to a hotel. After three days of marveling at the sights of New York, they sailed on the steamship "State of Texas" for Fernandina, Florida, arriving on December 17.

From there, they traveled west across the state on a narrow gauge railroad known -as 'two streaks of rust"- ending-up at Cedar Key on December 18th.

At Cedar Key, Tate told them that they would have to wait several weeks for lumber needed to build portable houses in Sarasota. This was very disquieting, as they had been told that accommodations were awaiting them in Sarasota. Christmas came and went with no lumber.
The colonists chartered the small (less than 100 feet long) side-wheel steamer, "Gov. Stafford" for the trip to Sarasota. The -women and children spent the night in the overcrowded cabin. The men slept on top of the luggage in the engine room.

The next morning Mrs. Lawrie opened a 100-pound chest of tea that she had brought along, asked the captain for boiling water, and made tea for everyone. It helped to cheer the colonists. On December 28th, The "Gov. Stafford" crept to anchorage, 100 yards from shore. It was the first steamer ever to arrive in Sarasota and there was no dock for it to tie up to. After being ferried to shore in small rowboats, they looked for the model town that was shown on the maps given them in Scotland. There was only the company store and an abandoned fish oil plant at the waterfront.

The colonists gathered at the company store and demanded the truth from A. C. Acton, the local representative of the FMIC, who told them that they had come earlier than expected.

The native Whitakers and others who had heard the steamboat's whistle arrived and rafted the colonists' trunks and boxes to shore. When the luggage was unloaded, the "Gov. Stafford" lifted anchor, blew the whistle, and disappeared behind the keys.

Mrs. Lawrie opened her tea chest again, Mr. Acton brought boiling water from the company store, and there was tea for all.

(To be continued)..

(C) Copyright, 2007 - Leland Desmon.

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THE SETTLING OF Sarasota (6th in a series)

Murder stains the history of Sarasota

Charles Abbe (inset), his wife, Charlotte, and teenage daughters, Carrie and Nellie landed in the town of Manatee (now Bradenton) in November 1877. The family had lived in a suburb of Chicago where Charles had been a salesman for the Singer Sewing Machine Company.

Charles had visited Florida during 1875 and 1876 and bought 359 acres along the bay in what is now Sarasota for less than $1.00 per acre. In the spring of 1877, he bought additional acreage from the state and more land in January 1878.

Charlotte and Charles built a house at what is now the intersection of Arlington Street and Osprey Avenue, a few miles south of the Whitaker's home. He advertised in northern newspapers inviting tourists to winter at his "hotel". He farmed a portion Of the property, opened a store, and in July 1878 applied for a U.S. Post Office to be located at his house. It was granted in August, named Sarasota, and served forty families.

In 1879 Nellie Abbe married Furman Whitaker, the son of Mary Jane and William Whitaker. Charles became active in local politics and was appointed Commissioner in 1882.

Under the Homestead Act of 1862, practically all of the land in this federal public domain was opened for colonization. The Swamp Land Act of 1650 made it possible for Florida pioneers in clever deals with Federal Agents to have 22 million acres classified as swamp land, more than half the state.

On June 12, 1883, under the influence of 'business interests', Florida Governor William D. Bloxham signed a deed giving title of 246,052 acres of land to the Florida Land & Improvement Co. headed by Hamilton Disston, a saw manufacturer of Philadelphia. One week later (June 19, 1883) he gave title to 271,796 more acres of Manatee County land to the Florida Southern Railroad and 48,971 acres to the Florida Mortgage and Investment Co., Ltd, a British concern. A total of 697, 846 acres were finally given away, much of it previously deeded to the pioneer homesteaders.

In April 1884, a meeting was held at Jason Alford's home; 17 pioneers attended, and formed the Sara Sota Vigilance Committee. It was said that they organized to prevent their community from being unjustly gobbled up by the land grabbers.

On June 1884, Harrison T. Riley was riding his pony on the trail from Bee Ridge to Abbe's Post Office, when he was hit by three shotgun blasts. Three men came out of the palmetto. One shot him again, and one cut his throat.

A coroner's jury was empanelled, visited the scene and returned the verdict: "killed by parties unknown". Nearly all of the jury members were Vigilantes.

One reason given later for Riley's death was that he was living with Widow Mary Suringer, (without benefit of clergy), and that he intended to steal her property. Riley's murder was also a "test" meant to discover whether the authorities (the sheriff lived forty miles away) would do anything about it.

(To Be Continued)..

(C) Copyright, 2007 - Leland Desmon.
The information on this page may not be reproduced or republished on any other webpage, website, or publication. Please LINK TO US instead.

THE SETTLING OF SARASOTA (5th in a series)

After the Civil War was over and the shock of Abraham Lincoln's Assassination (April 14, 1865) passed, the Whitaker's fortunes improved, the cattle herds increased and Mary Jane and William Whitaker sent to Ohio to obtain Miss Harper, a tutor for their children.

In February 1867, John (inset) and Eliza Webb left their home in Utica, N.Y. to build a new life in Florida. Eliza had asthma, and her doctor suggested that the warm climate would be beneficial health-wise.

The Webb's had heard about the Sarasota area from a Federal soldier who had been in the area during the Civil War, and who spoke of the warm weather, beautiful vegetation and abundance of fish and game. He said nothing about mosquitoes, alligators, or snakes.

They set sail from New York City with their five children, Jack, Will, Ann, Lizzie, and Ginny, plus Mrs. Webb's sister Emily Graves, and her father Deacon Graves Sixteen days later they arrived in Key West, and were very glad to set foot on land.

While in Key West, they learned of a location near Sarasota Bay that seemed to be a good home site, described to them by a Cuban fisherman who was familiar with the area. He told them that it was near an Indian burial mound, had fresh water springs and was high enough to be safe from flooding. The area is now called Spanish Point.

The entire Webb family group traveled from Key West to Manatee where they bought a sloop and investigated the area south of Manatee. They met Bill Whitaker who was familiar with all parts of the area; he recognized the description of Spanish Point, and helped the Webbs find it. They claimed their land under the Homestead Act of 1862 (September 10).
The Webbs built a log house 50 feet long, large enough to house the entire family.

The roof was made of thatched Palmetto. Lumber was being milled in Manatee and the family purchased some of these boards to construct an interior room. The women and children slept inside the room and the men in the outer area.

They cleared land and planted sugar cane, peas, corn, squash, and sweet potatoes. The deer and wild turkeys invaded the growing crops. Keeping these animals from destroying the crops kept the family in venison and turkey meat.

As the sugar cane crop ripened, John Webb opened a manufacturing plant to refine sugar and produce syrup.

He also built the first 'winter resort' that had individual guest cottages. It was
advertised in northern newspapers as Webb's Winter Resort on Little Sarasota Bay, a
special Paradise. Tourists began to arrive by the dozens.

A small community grew up in Webb's neighborhood and in 1884 he applied for a post office. The community was named Osprey in accord with his wishes.

Guidebooks were being published which told of the 'idyllic' destination. In addition to a place to vacation, people who were seeking opportunity in farming and agriculture came as did those interested in hunting and fishing.

The Webbs made many contributions to the community known as Sarasota and are one of the most influential families of the early pioneer homestead era. For forty years, the family farmed more than 10 acres. They shipped vegetables, citrus, and sugar to markets in Key West and Cedar Key.

On site at Spanish Point is a pioneer cemetery where members of the Webb family are buried.

(To Be Continued)..

(C) Copyright, 2007 - Leland Desmon. The information on this page may not be reproduced or republished on any other webpage, website, or publication. Please LINK TO US instead.

THE SETTLING OF SARASOTA (4th in a series)

On September 10, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act of 1862 that opened 270 million acres (10% of the area of the USA) to settlers' claims. To claim a 160 acre of land, 1/4 of a square mile), a homesteader had to be the head of a household, 21 years of age, live on the land, build a home, and farm it for 5 years. The total filing fee was $18.

How Bill Whitaker got title to his homestead is unknown. His grant states that it was made under the provisions of the Act of 1847. According to the Library of Congress, there is no Act of 1847 that would apply.

There was an "Armed Occupation Act of 1841 " (August 4) which awarded 160 acres of land in certain areas of east Florida to men able to bear arms against the Indians. This Act was short lived, however, due to the opposition of planters and land speculators who "foresaw an uncontrollable land boom" but really didn't want common folks to become independent. It was as a result of this Act that Bill Whitaker at age 18 came to the area and fought in the Seminole Indian War.

In January 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves. Hannah and Jeffrey, two of Whitaker's slaves had lived happily on the Whitaker Plantation until they were liberated and taken to Key West by Union soldiers. After the war ended, Jeffrey chose to return to the Whitaker's but Hannah stayed in Key West.

As the Civil War continued, raids on the Whitaker homestead by Union soldiers, some of whom were deserters, became more frequent. All the livestock disappeared and edible crops were destroyed; Whitaker moved his family to Manatee.

While living in Manatee, Whitaker worked hard to support the Confederacy. He operated a gristmill deep in the Myakka Lake area that provided grits and corn meal for local families. Supplies of durable goods normally obtained from the north became unavailable because of the Union blockade of the southern ports.

Bill ran the blockade in his wagon pulled by a team of mules, to buy shoes, materials, etc. in Gainesville. When shoes jumped in cost from $2 to $12 a pair, and calico to $5 per yard, the runs stopped because no one could afford to purchase them.

The Civil War ended on April 9, 1865 when Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General U.S. Grant at the Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, and the Whitaker family returned to their homestead in what was to be Sarasota.

(To be continued)..

(C) Copyright, 2007 - Leland Desmon. The information on this page may not be reproduced or republished on any other webpage, website, or publication. Please LINK TO US instead.