USA > Florida > Orange County > Early settlers of Orange County, Florida; reminiscent-historic-biographic, 1915 > Part 6
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Born of an old line of Vermont parentage, January 6th, 1859, the boy, John Cheney, lived the life of the normal New England boy, a student in the common schools of Woodville, New Hampshire, and upon grad- uation entered the New Hampton Literary Institute, of New Hampton, N. H., where he graduated in 1881.
Selecting the law as his future profession, he entered the University Law School of Bos- ton, Mass., where he secured the LL.B. de- gree in 1885.
And now he cast about for a suitable loca- tion and finally decided upon Orlando, Florida, where on December 29th, 1885, he duly ar- ried.
In January, 1886, he associated himself with Author L. Odlin, under the firm name of Cheney & Odlin, attorneys, and almost instant success smiled upon him.
Besides his legal profession he early be- accame a developer of and booster for Or- lando. Associated with others he installed the Orlando Water Company, at that time the finest outfit in the far South. Later
there was added the Orlando Electric Light- ing system, followed by the acquisition of the gas works, and the building of the largest ice plant in this section of the State.
These associated industries have been im- proved with every modern appliance and costly engines and dynamos, forming a most complete system.
Politically, Mr. Cheney is a Republican, and at once upon entering the State, took high council with the best and most honorable men of his party, having had much to do with its policies in the State.
He was elected City Attorney of Orlando, a non-partisan position, in 1889; was supervisor of the United States census for the State of Florda, under President Mckinley in 1900. He was the nominee of his party for con- gress in 1900, and also in 1904, and a guber- natorial candidate in 1908.
In 1906 he was appointed by President Roosevelt, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and President Taft reappointed him in 191C.
In July, 1912, the president appointed him United States Judge from the Southern Dis- triet of Florida, and took the oath of office on September 2nd. Hle presided with great satis- faction to the bar of the State until March 4, 1913, and right here is where the fate of party change stepped in, when the Democratic party succeeded and the Republican party in power and a majority of the Senate refused to con- firm the appointments of retiring President Taft, although Judge Cheney's appointment had been made about eight months previously.
The judge accepted the decree with his cus- tomary optimistic good humor and has har- bored no resentment, but re-opened his law practice in Orlando with his old-time success.
Judge Cheney was president of the Orlando Board of Trade for a number of years and it was under his administration and with his assistance that the first hard-surfaced roads in the county were built and a National Good Roads Convention held in Orlando. He has ever been a liberal and hard-working member of this body and the records show the result of his personality.
Fraternally, he is connected with the Orlan- do Lodge F. & A. M., being Worshipful Mas- ter in 1894; Royal Arch Chapter, of which he was High Priest in 1899, and a member of the Elks Lodge and is an active member of the Orlando Country Club.
52
EARLY SETTLERS OF ORANGE COUNTY
MAHLON GORE
MAHLON GORE
Just at the opportune time when Orange County stood at the threshold of its first great stride forward, there appeared on the scene the man for the hour-a newspaper man, a man with a grasp of large ideals, a builder, not so much of houses as of ideas' in the mass, an encourager and educator of men, a booster, a helper, an advisor.
This man was Mahlon Gore, who had been extensively identified with newspapers in the West for many years, and had charge of large development projects and who had practically retired from journalism because of failing health, To Florida he came, and to Orlando, where a great future unfolded itself before his mind's eye, and the enthusiasm of youth again took possession of him.
The Orange County Reporter was for sale at the time and Mr. Gore bought it and im- mediately converted it into the best news me- dium of this section, and the greatest booster
in the State. Under his able experience and management the paper occupied a large place in the affairs of the county and became an in- formation bureau and immigration agency combined, and was the direct means of bring- ing to Orange County and holding many val- uable citizens.
Mr. Gore personally interested himself in the town and county and surrounding regions and vigorously fathered many an important enterprise. While a member of the town coun- cil, he framed and introduced the ordinance under which Orlando's famous oak shade trees were set out, and later served the city as Mayor for three successive terms and has always been a strong factor in the various Boards of Trade. Never a pessimist-always a booster to the extent of his means and ability, he has lived to the realization of many of his earlier dreams of Florida's development and is still at it.
EARLY SETTLERS OF ORANGE COUNTY
5.3
EARL W. EWING
EARL W. EWING
This sterling young man was a native of Galia County, Ohio, where. after graduating from the public schools of his town, he came to Orange County, Florida,, and settled in Winter Garden, where he immediately won many friends, and secured the esteem of the people of that section,
He identified himself with the live business interests of the community, engaging in the selling of real estate and as a merchant, which he prosecuted successfully.
Selling his mercantile business to the South Apopka Supply Company, he went more ex- tensÃvely into the real estate business and was building up a flattering trade in lands at the time his health gave way.
He was happily married to Miss Willie Carnell, and they were blest with a young son. Sad indeed was it that amid happy sur- roundings and a successful life and many friends, Mr. Ewing, at the early age of twenty-four, was called hence,
All who knew him contributed to the fact that he lived an upright, straight-forward life, quiet and kindly of spirit, courteous and con- siderate of others and that his death proved a sad loss not only to his immediate family and friends, but the town as well,
But even a few years of such a life proves of great value and as in his case left its im- print upon the times and the people. Mr. Ewing died February 2, 1913.
54
EARLY SETTLERS OF ORANGE COUNTY
JOSEPH A. BARBER
JOS. A. BARBER AND WIFE
Joseph A. Barber was born at the south end of Lake Conway in Orange County, Florida, on December 18th, 1860.
Look backward a moment, some of us who claim to be old settlers and that date seems a long while ago.
He had only the advantages of a common school education, although that was considered of some importance at that early date in this section.
With this as his equipment and the natural gifts he was endowed with he has succeeded in the enterprises he has engaged in.
On March 10th, 1887, he married Miss Mag- gie S. Simmons, who was born Oct. 4th, 1869. She also is from a large family of the older settlers of Orange County.
Mr. and Mrs. Barber are the parents of a family of eleven children, all of them living at Conway and are occupied in farming, the most important of any occupation in the de- velopment of the country, as is evidenced by the "Back to the Soil" advocates of the pres- ent age, and the fact that nearly all the new- comers into Florida have that in view, wheth- er fitted for it or not.
Added to farming this family are success- ful stock raisers and citrus growers. both profitable lines when properly handled, as most old-time Floridians know.
Mr. Barber remembers Orlando when its present corporate limits could not have con- tained over twenty inhabitants.
He remembers Orange County when its
magnificent pine and oak forests were un- broken and when all kinds of game, both large and small, were abundant, and when its lakes and streams abounded in the finny tribe, when wolves, bears and panthers roamed the woods, when deer and turkeys ravaged the field crops, as do the rabbits today.
Mr. Barber did some of the work on the first railroad that ever crossed Orange Coun- ty, viz: the South Florida Railroad, which was built in 1875. He well remembers the time when the town-site of Sanford was cov- ered with virgin forest.
The home industries of this early time, 1862- 1865, stand out vividly in his memory, when his mother took the cotton as it came from the field, ginned it, carded and spun it and wove it into cloth, afterward dyeing the cloth with any desirable color and making it into clothing for the family.
These are memories dear to the heart and there are others too sacred to mention.
For two years Mr. Barber was elected to and served as Tax Collector of Osceola Coun- ty, 1890-94, and made final settlement with the county and State for the first seven years of that county's life.
Ile was not favorable to bonding Orange County, preferring that the county should re- main as it was, without a dollar of debt against it, and he says he voted his convictions.
At the time of this writing Mr. Barber holds the honorable position as member of the County Democratic Executive Committee.
EARLY SETTLERS OF ORANGE COUNTY
55
ANDREW J. BARBER
ANDREW J. BARBER AND WIFE
Andrew J. Barber is the son of William Barber and was born in North Florida, July 9, IS39.
His father died when Andrew was but two years of age. Sixteen years of his life was passed in Nassaua, Hernando and Columbia Counties.
He came to Orange County August 15th, 1855 and of course there was no Orlando, no Sanford, no Kissimmee. All was wild and the roads were but trails, many of them twin- ing in and out through the woods, but all lead- ing in the same general direction, and travel was by compass. the sun, and at night, by the stars.
The newest place of trade was Melonville on the south side of Lake Monroe-St. Johns River.
In those days Mr. Barber could count on his fingers the families residing in the county. It was the time of the Seminole. Indian war, and Mr. Barber's chief business for twenty-one months was Indian fighting. He served during this time under Journegan, Bullock, Carter, Sparkman and Kendrick, and it was a life of excitement and adventure, as the history of the Seminole wars duly attest.
Those of us who are enjoying today the peace and prosperity brought about by the
hardships of those early Indian fighters owe a debt of gratitude to such men as Mr. Barber, who bore the brunt of the battle, for no matter how much romance may be woven about the Indian and the disposition of his lands, the carly fighter for the white race had in mind something much more practical to him and posterity, and that was the preservation of peace and the element of safety for his own home; hence he fought a desperate warfare from flowing stream to rising hillock, from behind the stately trees of the pine forests and amid the dense jungles of the black ham- mocks.
After the wars were over, the Indians dis- persed and the remnant pressed down into the Everglades, Mr. Barber turned his attention to stock raising, for which parts of Orange Coun- ty, as it then was, offered exceptional ad- vantages, and as time went on he raised from the seed one of the finest orange groves in what became Osccola County, cut off from Orange.
Stock raising, orange growing and farming were liis occupations through a long and use- ful life, and now in his 76th year of age, lie lives over again in memory those earlier eventful and later peaceful scenes of the long ago.
56
EARLY SETTLERS OF ORANGE COUNTY
TION. II. IL. WITHERINGTON
H. H. WITHERINGTON
11. 11. Witherington was born on a farm in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, during the Civil war, in 1862. Came to Orange County, Fla., in 1883, and settled at Apopka, where he now lives. He was attracted to that section on account of its high rolling lands and ideal climate.
He began clerking in a grocery store, and later embarked in the mercantile business for himself, which he followed for twenty years continuously, during which time, assisted by Mayor John B, Steinmetz, of Clay Springs, he built and equipped probably the first rural tel- ephone line in Orange County, and among the first in the State, in the year 1901.
Like most persons who came to Florida in those days, he began the task of making an orange grove, and to experiment in farming on a small scale. He soon was able to prove to the most skeptical that both corn and hay could be successfully grown on the high pine lands of Florida and has since been one of the few men who has grown his own stock feed from year to year.
Like many others, his hopes were somewhat blighted when the freeze of 1894 and 1805 killed his beautiful orange grove to the ground, and he wondered for a time whether or not the orange grove was worth the effort, but soon revived his courage and began rebuilding his once blighted prospects and is today re- warded by being the owner of a beautiful grove, which at harvest time cach year shows
forth its picture of green intermingled with yellow, and brings the usual dividend to the owner as a reward for his efforts.
He never aspired to political honors, al- though he was appointed in 1896 as member of the Board of Public Instruction of Orange County to fill the unexpired term of Hon. T. G. Hyers, and was re-elected and served con- tinuously for fourteen years-declining to be elected again, claiming that there were young- er and more capable men perhaps, who might fill the position more successfully.
The only distinctive honor claimed by him during these fourteen years of service was that the school interests were never once sac- rificed for that of the individual.
lle was married at the age of twenty-five to Anna Belle Turner, also of Alabama, an acquaintance of his boyhood days. To them were born five children-three boys and two girls, who are living and are practically grown.
Being a firm believer in the future possibili- ties of the State as a winter resort for older people from the Northern States, a healthful resort for the afflicted, a veritable pleasant re- sort for those able to afford it, a country, in fact, destined to become one of the most pro- ductive in fruits, vegetables and field crops of all kinds, with a climate unsurpassed, he de- cided to enter the real estate business and continually sings the praises of Florida, the State of his adoption.
57
EARLY SETTLERS OF ORANGE COUNTY
HION. J. H. SADLER
J. H, SADLER
Orange County is cosmopolitan and the sons of many States contribute to her sturdy popu- lation, None more so than the scions of old South Carolina.
James 11, Sadler was born in Anderson County, South Carolina, April 21, 1859, the son of James H. and Catherine E. Sadler,
The father laid down his life for his State in the Civil strife, in 1864, and the year fol- lowing, the mother, with the three children, James H., Alice I, and Anna E., removed to her fathers. James G, Speer's home in Orange County, Florida, because her husband's estate was lost, being hastily closed up in fear of destruction at the hands of Sherman's army,
But very new and somewhat serious condi- tions awaited them in the newly adopted home. The nearest postoffice for all the region was Apopka, and the neighboring people took turn about in going for the mail once each week, Money-real money-was a very scarce article, and the interchange of help one to another had to take the place of laborers and money, Each helped the other do the thing most needed, and reserved a portion for still an- other helping at some future time,
Family life was rife in the district, for the whole neighborhood was as one great big whole-souled family.
A luxury-loving chap from the cities of in- dulgance might have voted the living of those days rather hard, consisting, as it did of corn- bread, sweet potatoes, milk and hominy, beef. pork, fish and game of every sort, with biscuits
on Sunday-but it was no hardship for these royal folks who lived near to nature's heart and nature's God.
Sure, they made many sacrifices for each other, but then it all developed many big- hearted, unselfish, rugged characters, of which it is really refreshing to remember, in these days when modern advantages and conveni. ences enables one to live almost an isolated life so far as an ont-stretched, helping human hand is concerned, the opportunity for mutual help being thus removed and the human appeal and helpfulness, one of the greatest pleasures of community life, and the best in human na- ture seems almost lost.
In these early times agriculture and horti- culture were the only pursuits open to one and, naturally, these were entered into by Mr. Sadler as he grew to manhood's estate,
He married Miss Minnie M, Tilden, April 15th, 1887, and thus another link in the Speer- Sadler-Tilden chain was forged, and nine chil- dren have blessed this union, two sons are liv- ing in Colorado, one at Homestead, Dade County, Florida, and the others are home.
He believes in doing the best possible for his children and that the finest legacy he can leave them is to educate them, and this interest reaches out to the children of his townsmen, and the splendid school facilities he and his fellow citizens have helped to give to that section attest to the interest shown.
Mr. Sadler is reckoned a successful business man and has demonstrated this by giving his best thought and energy to the original lines he engaged in and by applying modern ideas and specializing. He was among the original growers of vegetables for Northern markets, and was also the first grower to irrigate his fields, which of itself opened up a new era in truck growing, Also, he has always been a successful orange grower and is possessed of real estate all over Orange County, in Dade County, and among the oil fields of Oklahoma, Ile was elected to the office of County Treas- urer three successive terms and is now one of the Bond Trustees of the new brick road fund. Ile is president and director of the Bank of Oakland, director of the Winter Garden Wat- er & Light Company and a director of the South Lake Apopka Citrus Growers' Associa- tion, This little sketch is simply set down for future reference, for the life of "Jim" Sadler is as an open book to all who know him and fortunate is he who calls him friend.
58
EARLY SETTLERS OF ORANGE COUNTY
HON. SAMUEL S. GRIFFIN
HON. S. S. GRIFFIN
A Floridian in nativity and by inclination, Samuel S. Griffin was born in Gadsden County, Florida, November 5th, 1871.
He claims to be an early settler of Orange County by virtue of the fact that before he was one year of age his parents moved to Orange County, and naturally he accompanied them. He went to the public schools of the county and began early in years to take an active interest in the business of life.
His father was a mill man and the boy's first task was the humblest, but he steadily moved upward and when he became head- sawyer, he understood the timber and saw- milling business, because of having learned every detail.
His next adventure was railroading, and here again he started at the beginning and worked up to the top of the locomotive-en- gineering department, giving it up when he en- tered railroad contract work during the time of the Spanish-American war.
True to his instincts, he started modestly and so thoroughly worked up the business that he became the chief contractor in railroad ties on the lines of the Orlando Coast Line Railroad of the State.
So that, as may be seen, Mr. Griffin's chief characteristic is thoroughness, and this quality seems to govern him in his actions, private and public.
Thus, he saw the possibilities there were in the real estate business a few years ago and opened a small office and commenced to list a few properties and eventually he handled some of the finest land propositions in this section.
His political life records the same charac- teristics. He was for some years a member of the Orange County Democratic Executive Committee and in 1914 became a candidate for the State Legislature. Now, that he made good in the session of 1915, a number of his friends claim the honor of having "brought him out," but it is claimed by others that he is simply following the natural bent of his his- tory and needed no one to "bring him out" or to "drive him," when once out. He originated several important legislative bills, one of them known as the Hotel Protection Bill, and was known among his colleagues as "The Investi- gator," that is, he never "went it blind," but believed in possessing the facts.
Mr. Griffin's family history records that he is the son of Lawrence Jefferson Griffin, whose native state was Georgia, and who was an honored Confederate soldier.
In 1901 Mr. Griffin married Miss Willie L. Vick, daughter of Ex-sheriff Vick, of Orange County, and they are the proud parents of three bright children, Misses Hilda, Helen and Master Stanley S. Griffin.
59
EARLY SETTLERS OF ORANGE COUNTY
FREDERICK AUGUSTUS LEWTER
Mr. Lew-
ter was born in Halifax county, N. C., on the 14th of De- cember, 1854, and is a son of James Madison and Mary (Dav- is) Lewter, the former
of whom
traced his ancestry back to Mar- tin Luther, the name having been changed FREDERICK AUGUSTUS LEWTER since the em- igration of the American progenitor. The mother of the subject of this review was a second cousin of Jefferson Davis.
Frederick Augustus Lewter acquired his early education in Elm Grove and Buck Horn Academies in Hertford County, North Caro- lina, and spent his vacation (two summers) teaching school in Northampton County, North Carolina, and two years in the drug business with his uncle, Dr. John T. Lewter, in Mur- freesboro, North Carolina, and later entered Richmond College. Richmond, Virginia. After leaving the latter institution he went to Phil- adelphia, arriving in the city in 1876, and there he spent one year as manager of several hotels. At the end of that time he returned to Halifax County, North Carolina, having succeeded to a large farm left by his father, and operated successfully three stores, until 1883, when his buildings were entirely de- stroyed by fire. After paying all his debts, Mr. Lewter found himself with a cash capital of sixty-eight dollars, and he determined to seek his fortune in other fields. Accordingly he moved to Florida. arriving in Orlando in 1884 with two dollars and thirty-five cents.
He secured a position in a general store in this city and after clerking for a short time, bought the enterprise, agreeing to pay for it within three years on monthly payments. So rapidly did he attain success, however, that the store was free from debt within one year
thereafter. In 1885 he turned his attention to the real estate business, and he has since been continuously active along this line.
During the first ten years he sold land on a commission basis. but since that time has purchased his property outright and today owns valuable holdings in city and farming lands, and is perhaps the largest tax payer in this section of the state. His business has continualy increased for he has become known as an expert judge of land values and a man who never uses his knowledge or ability to defraud or inconvenience a client. By reason of his honorable and conscientious methods of dealing and his strict adherence to high standards of business integrity, Mr. Lewter has made an enviable reputation for himself and has built up a business which is one of the largest of its kind in this section of Florida. For a time he owned also the largest chicken farm in the State, having forty-four distinct breeds of chickens and as many as five thousand fowl. Hle sold twenty- thousand dollars' worth of eggs and chickens per annum and kept twenty-seven incubators in constant use. However, fire destroyed this enterprise some years ago, and he has since devoted all of his attention to his real-estate interests.
In 1885 Mr. Lewter was united in marriage to Miss Linnie Wilkins Holshouser, a daugh- ter of William Simpson and Cynthia Ann Roberta ( Dickenson ) Holshouser, of Paris, Tennessee. Mr. and Mrs. Lewter have become the parents of the following children: Irma, Roberta. Laura Louise. Zelma Kight, Robert Dickenson. Medora Inez, William Frederick, Elva Jouett, Frederick Augustus, Jr., and Jew- ell. The family are devout members of the Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodist churches.
Mr. Lewter gives his allegiance to the dem- ocratic party, but is not an active politician, preferring to spend his leisure hours in his home, for he is a devoted husband and father. He is justly accorded a place among the prom- inent and representative citizens of Orlando. for he belongs to that class of men whose en- terprising spirit is used not alone for their own benefit, but also for the advancement of com-
inunity interests. Ile has excellent ability as an organizer. forms his plans readily and is determined in their execution. This has enabled him to encounter obstacles which would deter many a man and has been one of the salient features in his success.
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