USA > Florida > Duval County > Jacksonville > History of early Jacksonville, Florida; being an authentic record of events from the earliest times to and including the civil war by Thomas Frederick Davis > Part 5
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molasses, salt, cigars, fruit, etc2. And so the foundation of the present splendid wholesale trade was laid way back in the 30's, when the importa- tion of goods was by means of sailing vessels only, a transportation that was slow and uncertain.
At that time Jacksonville was nothing more than a hamlet of 250 people, or less, far too small in itself to warrant the establishment of a bank and a newspaper or the building of a railroad ; but scattered all around, both up and down the river, were the plantations of wealthy men, who trans- acted their commercial and legal business here, and it was their moral and financial support, as well as the progressiveness of the citizens of the town, that inspired these important measures.
THE GREAT FREEZE OF 1835.
February 8th, 1835, was the coldest day in the history of this section. A temperature of 8 de- grees Fahrenheit, was observed here, and the ex- treme temperature was without doubt some lower. At Fort King, now Ocala, a temperature of 11 de- grees was noted; immediately after the freeze the observer obtained a new thermometer which averaged two degrees lower than his old one, and therefore it is a reasonable deduction that the low- est temperature there on February 8th was 9 in- stead of 11 degrees. The St. Johns River at Jack- sonville was frozen several rods from the shore and afforded the inhabitants a spectacle as new as it was distressing. Fruit trees were destroyed,
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most of them roots and all; even some forest trees were killed by the extreme cold'. In the light of present knowledge concerning freezes in Florida, it may be safely stated that there were several days of extraordinarily cold weather, February 8th being the coldest.
For the purpose of comparison, there is here ap- pended a table showing the days on which the tem- perature at Jacksonville fell to 20 degrees, Faht., or below', record complete since 1835 :
Date
Degrees
1835, February 8. 8
1845, December 21 20
1852, January 13. 20
1857 S January 19. 16
January 20. 18
1868, December 25 20
1870, December 24 19
1880, December 30 19
1886 ( January 11. 19
January 12 15
1894, December 29 14
February 8. 14
1895 1 February 9. . 19
1899 (February 13 10
February 14. 16
1900, February 18 18
1901, December 21 20
1905, January 26. 17
1909, December 30. 19
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During the cold weather of January 13, 1852, snow fell all the forenoon, and when it ceased the ground was covered to the depth of half an inch. In 1899, on the night of February 12-13th, rain changed to sleet at 9:45 p. m. (12th), and this to snow at 10:15 p. m. Snow continued during the night, ceasing before sunrise of the 13th. That morning the ground was covered with snow to the depth of 2 inches, with a temperature of 10 de- grees, and in sheltered places it remained un- melted for several days'.
BIBLIOGRAPHY, CHAPTER V.
1 Memoirs of Florida, Fleming.
2 History of Florida, Webb.
3 From Judge Bethune's original diary.
4 Letter from Mrs. M. C. Powers, daughter of Albert G. Philips.
5 From an old newspaper clipping.
6 Acts of the Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida.
7 Records in possession of Weather Bureau.
8 Jacksonville Tri-Weekly Sun, February 19, 1876.
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CHAPTER VI.
THE SEMINOLE WAR PERIOD.1
During the summer of 1835, it was known that the Indians were on the verge of outbreak, but every one thought the war would be of short dura- tion and after a few skirmishes the Indians would be so badly punished they would be glad to emi- grate to the West. A prolonged war was simply out of the question from the view-point of the whites. Planters went about their farm opera- tions as usual and trade with the interior con- tinued unabated. In the fall there were ominous mutterings of coming trouble, still the popular be- lief was that it would not last long. Short-time volunteers were called for to frighten the Indians into agreeing to emigrate. Several companies were raised in Nassau and Duval Counties. The names of Colonel Warren and Major Mills are mentioned in connection with these commands- probably John Warren and William J. Mills of the Jacksonville neighborhood.
The war opened December 29, 1835, when Osceola and twenty followers shot and killed Gen- eral Wiley Thompson and others at Fort King, now Ocala, and Major Dade's command was massacred in Sumter County, near the present town of Bushnell, two separate events on the same day. The news of these disasters spread through
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the country like wild-fire. People everywhere in the interior abandoned their homes and collected in the towns for protection. Many of them came to Black Creek and on to Jacksonville. Trade with' the interior gradually ceased, and although it was expected that hostilities would be confined to the middle portion of the peninsula, the stoppage of trade with the interior, a large portion of which was handled through Jacksonville, was perceptibly felt in business circles here.
THE BLOCK HOUSE.
The Governor of Florida issued a proclamation to the people advising them to build block houses in every community, as a means of protection against the Indians. One was built in Jackson- ville, probably in 1836, at the northeast corner of Ocean and Monroe Streets. This structure was one of the famous buildings here and is mentioned in nearly every account of the early town. It was a structure of logs-a large square room raised high above the ground on a pedestal-like base. It was entered through a door in the floor, by means of a ladder. In the event of attack, the ladder would be drawn up and the opening closed. Port- holes were provided on all sides, and also in the floor, through which to shoot. The object of the overhanging construction was to prevent its being set on fire, since in trying to fire the house an Indian could be shot from overhead. The block- house stood at what was then the frontier of the
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town. All north and west of it was barren waste. Every rumor of Indians in this section caused the timid residents to seek its protection at dark. Sentries did guard duty at night and "many an amusing scene could they relate, caused by the electric imagination of the weak-nerved when it came their turn to go on post".2 The Coy House was built on this site in the winter of 1851-52. During its fifteen years of existence the old block house served the community well, first as a fort and then as a place for holding religious services.
Jacksonville was a supply depot during the war, sub-commissary to the chief post at Middleburg. The government built a long one-story wooden building on the south side of Bay Street, between Main and Laura, near Laura, as a storage for sup- plies. This was popularly called the "government building"". It was built high above the marsh-for that region was then nothing more than marsh land over which the tide frequently came-and along the Bay Street side a raised sidewalk fur- nished an entrance. This building stood for many years.
ATTACKS BY THE INDIANS.
In the summer of 1836, the Indians attacked and destroyed several plantations along the lower St. Johns, among them those of Colonel Hallowes and Mr. Travers. They also appeared here and there in Western Florida, between the Suwanee River and Tallahassee. The settlements in the
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Black Creek country and on the east side of the St. Johns above Jacksonville had, many of them, been broken up, although a few planters who had been kind to the Seminoles, remained on their farms and were never molested.
On September 15, 1836, a band of Indians at- tacked the house of a Mr. Higginbotham seven miles west of Jacksonville, but they were driven off by members of the household, who barricaded themselves in the house and fired at the Indians with shot and ball. After the Indians left, Mr. Higginbotham rode post-haste to Jacksonville to give the alarm, and Major Hart and twelve men immediately went in pursuit. Major Hart's party found all well at the Higginbotham home and pushed on down the trail toward the Tallahassee road. When they reached the Johns farm they found the house a heap of smoking ruins in which were the charred remains of Mr. Johns. Several miles farther on, at Mr. Sparkman's, they found Mrs. Johns, severely wounded, but still alive. Mr. and Mrs. Johns were attacked at 10 o'clock in the forenoon, while they were in the yard of their home, and although Mr. Johns was shot through the chest, both he and his wife managed to reach the house and close the door. The Indians soon broke open the door and shot Mr. Johns dead. They dragged his wife to the door and told her to go, but at that moment an Indian shot her through the arm and neck. She fell through the doorway, but they dragged her back into the house and with
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a large butcher knife fiendishly skinned all the hair off of her head. They then plundered the house and set fire to it. Mrs. Johns, though greatly weakened from loss of blood, managed to crawl out of the burning house after the Indians left. Fainting from weakness at frequent inter- vals, she at last reached a nearby swamp, got some water, and laid down to die. Here searchers found her at 2 p. m. They took her on a horse and conveyed her to a neighbor's, Mr. Sparkman's, several miles away. She was later removed to Jacksonville and placed in a comfortable board- ing house, where medical attendance and humane attentions soon relieved her of much of her physi- cal suffering and she finally recovered3.
The year 1836 closed with the Indians holding their own everywhere. They overran the country, killing express riders, attacking wagon trains, and burning farm houses, and as a result no operations, except those of a military nature, were carried on in the country districts. The comparatively ex- tensive trade that Jacksonville had enjoyed with the interior was entirely destroyed; the Courier ceased publication, and on account of the public unrest such enterprises as were contemplated were abandoned. Instead of being a small affair that would terminate with a display of force and a few volleys from the troops, the war wore on for seven years, furnishing the most wonderful ex- ample of Indian warfare in the history of the United States. As time went by, however, the
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field of operations receded from this section and went farther and farther southward.
PANIC OF 1837 AND THE BANK OF JACKSONVILLE.
In 1830, there began an era of extravagant speculation and reckless enterprise in the United States. Population was increasing and produc- tion was increasing even faster than population. As the means of communication between producer and consumer were decidedly inadequate, a uni- versal need was felt for transportation facilities that would insure quick delivery at moderate prices. The popular demand for railroad and canal construction became so great that conserva- tism and good judgment were swept aside. States, cities, and towns all over the country were drawn into the whirl of enthusiasm, and many of them made large bond issues to carry on the work of construction. Naturally business in all lines be- came inflated, and when such is the case a crisis is inevitable. An over production in the cotton crop of 1836 caused a drop in prices and hastened the panic that had its beginning in 1837. During the hard times that followed many of the States had to resort to extraordinary measures to pay the in- terest on their debts, and some, including Florida, actually repudiated their debts and refused to pay. The States had issued bonds in the aid of the con- struction of railroads and canals, and in the South especially subscribed to bank stock for the pur- chase of which they also issued bonds. Therefore,
.
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many bank failures occurred when the crash came, culminating with the failure of the Bank of Penn- sylvania in 1840, when every bank south of Phila- delphia suspended payment'. Florida had a better excuse for repudiating her debts than the other states, because she was not only caught in the money panic, but at the same time had been and was even then undergoing a disastrous war with the Seminole Indians.
The Bank of Jacksonville made a spectacular effort to weather the storm, by increasing its capi- tal from $75,000 to $100,000. It sent a petition to the Legislative Council asking for permission to open its books for the subscription of stock, and this permission was granted by Act 19, approved February 12, 1837, as follows :
"That the books for receiving subscription of stock in said bank (Bank of Jacksonville) on giv- ing thirty days previous notice thereof, shall be opened on or before the first of October next, in the town of Jacksonville, under the superinten- dence of William G. (J) Mills, James Dell, Joseph B. Lancaster, William Rider, John L. Doggett, and Hardy H. Philips; and said books shall be kept open for one year, unless said stock shall sooner be subscribed for." Assuming that the books were opened on October 1, 1837, it required but four months to raise the necessary $25,000, regardless of the hard times. An act, No. 10, approved on the 30th of January, 1838, provided :
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SEC. 1. Be it enacted by the Governor and the Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida, That the Directors of the Bank of Jacksonville be, and they are hereby authorized, whenever they shall deem it expedient, to increase the capital stock of said bank to one hundred thousand dollars: And the directors of said bank be, and they are hereby autho- rized to receive subscriptions for the increase of stock at the banking house of said corporation, or at such places, and at such times, and in such man- ner, as they, or a majority of them may direct.
SEC. 2. Be it further enacted, That no person but a stockholder, citizen of the United States, or of this Territory and a resident of this Territory, shall be a director of said bank.
SEC. 3. Be it further enacted, That the Presi- dent and directors shall not be authorized at any time, to issue a greater amount of bills than twice the amount of capital stock actually paid in.
SEC. 4. Be it further enacted, That the notes of the bank shall be redeemable at the banking house, during banking hours on demand, in gold or silver, and that the said corporation shall never refuse, or suspend such payment on lawful demand being made; the bearer of any such bill, note, or obligation shall be entitled to recover interest at the rate of ten per centum per annum until they shall make payment, or tender payment thereof with interest as aforesaid.
It will be noted that Section 1 not only provided for the increase of capital to $100,000, the amount of which was then in hand, but at the same time
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authorized the Bank of Jacksonville "at such times and in such manner" as the directors may elect, to further increase its capital stock. No subsequent record has been found, and a logical inference is, that it struggled along until 1840, and went out of existence together with the other banks with the failure of the Bank of Pennsylvania.
OSCEOLA NIKKANOOCHEE.
During the progress of the war our troops cap- tured a little Indian boy on one of their trips to the interior. An Englishman by the name of Dr. Welsh, residing at Jacksonville, took a fancy to the boy and was allowed to care for him in his own family. It developed that this young Indian was a nephew of the great Osceola, his mother being a sister of the chief. Dr. Welsh later purchased an estate near the mouth of the St. Johns River, where he retired with his protege. He took great pains and pleasure in bringing up his charge in civilized ways, teaching him to read and write among other accomplishments. In 1840, the Doc- tor returned to England, taking young Osceola with him. In the following year he published a book relating to his adopted son, the preface of which stated the object, "To record all events relating to the life and capture of my protege with which I am acquainted in order that in the event of my death the manuscript might inform him of his origin and history and at the same time remind him of one who loved him with the fondness of a
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father." An effort was made to trace little Osceola's history in London after 1842, but with- out successful results4. This Indian boy played with the white children in Jacksonville, joining with them in their childish games. Sometimes he would become very angry, because they teased him, and on one occasion he tried to stab a little girl in the foot, whereupon he was given a sound thrash- ing by her brother®.
It has been said that Jacksonville's growth be- gan with the Indian war, because people from the country districts moved here for protection. This is true to a limited extent and a few permanent residents no doubt did come in that way, but the real cause was directly traceable to the effects of the panic, together with the favorable representa- tions of the country and climate made by the army officers that had been here in connection with the Indian war. The letters of J. P. Belknap®, written from Mandarin, Florida, throw some light upon the conditions prevailing in this section about that time; the following are excerpts from these letters :*
Mandarin, March 13, 1839.
But I must broach the all absorbing, all exciting theme-the mulberry. I thought when at New York I had made a good contract, but it has proved far otherwise, for I found much to my surprise that the
*Silk-worm propagation caused the mulberry rage referred to in these letters.
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fever was raging higher here than at Hartford or New York, for not only had some of the mulberry planters returned from travelling at the North, but several Northern men had come here to buy mul- berry and plant here to avail themselves of our climate ; so instead of finding plenty of opportunities for buying cheap, as I had every reason to expect, I found only buyers riding through the country in search of it. This was a double disappointment, for in the first place I had formed a plan to pur- chase up all the mulberry in my neighborhood as soon as I arrived and with my own take it to New York and make quite a speculation with it * . I have barely time to say that I have sold what I could spare and reserved enough to make a great number this season, but such was my fear that something might occur to reduce the price that I sold them too soon and did not get more than half as much as I might soon after, for such is the rage for plant- ing that they have risen to the enormous price of 3 cents an eye for cuttings. The Davenports have shipped a great quantity. One lot of trees at St. Augustine sold for $50,000.
Mandarin, July 10, 1840.
The unaccountable or rather abominable cir- cumstance of the war, keeping me out of the posses- sion of my place and the total failure of the mul- berry market, deprives me of all resources for the present. * Neither can I do anything at improv- ing my orange grove without exposing myself to danger, for Indians are bolder than ever. They have dispersed themselves into small parties and prowl
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about like wild beasts. They have committed mur- ders near us upon the public roads that have been travelled in safety until this season and the prospect never has been darker than the present for its termi- nation. There is no way to account for this state of things, but by the political condition of our country, being on the eve of a presidential election.
(Near) Mandarin, Jan'y. 1, 1842.
*You will doubtless think I had some cause for melancholly reflections when I tell you that I was but little better than a guard for protection-the Indians came into the very neighborhood of Mandarin, murdered one family and plundered and burnt out three, and that I had just gotten settled at my place again after spending 2 or 3 months' time and some money. This is the third time I have been obliged to abandon my place and sacrifice time, money, and everything but my life. * In all former wars with the Indians they never were known to come into Mandarin settlement before. And during this war of more than six years they never have come nearer than Julington Creek (to my neighbor, Mott, adjoin- ing me) ; therefore at this late period when this part of the country had been so long quiet the inhabitants of Mandarin thought no more of Indians than if there were none in the Territory, but now their fears are as great or greater than at any time since the war broke out. It had been long reported and was generally believed that the troops had gotten almost all the Indians out of the Territory and that the war would soon be terminated. But alas! we have just experienced another cruel disappointment
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and there is no more security or prospect for its termination than at its commencement .* ** I have barely room to say that the creeping, skulking Indians never would have ventured into Mandarin settlement but that there are no troops within 100 miles (20 or 30 except) ; they were all taken south in pursuit of Sam Jones and his warriors. I hear that troops are on their way to be stationed near us for our protection. If so I may return to my place, for all that return to reoccupy their places are now fur- nished with provisions till the next crop season .***.
Florida was open to great possibilities and de- velopment, and as there is something about bor- der life that always lures, many people, desirable citizens and adventurers alike, wearied of the hard times in the North, sought this Territory for relief. The adventurers did not settle and left when peace was at last restored, but many good people stayed and a number settled in Jackson- ville. Business increased with their coming and the town began a slow but permanent growth. Church membership increased, the period 1839- 1840 being marked by the organization and incor- poration of religious bodies here. During the last stages of the war, the zone of hostilities had moved so far from Jacksonville that the town returned to almost normal conditions, and despite the fact that attacks were occasionally made by roving bands of Indians near here, trade with nearby points was resumed and gradually extended into the interior.
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Among those who came to Jacksonville from the North during the Indian war was a man who unselfishly gave his best efforts to the advance- ment of this town, and whose influence was a pow- erful factor in the progress of the place. This man was:
DR. ABEL SEYMOUR BALDWIN *.
Dr. A. S. Baldwin was born near Fulton, Oswego County, New York, March 19, 1811. He was adopted by an uncle living near Perryville, New York; had private tutors, and went to Cazanovia Seminary and later to Hobart College, Geneva, New York. Soon after completing his education, he went with a surveying party to Michigan as botanist. On his return from this trip, he decided to go South, in a government ship. He stopped at Charleston for a time, and then came on to Jacksonville. This was in 1839.
Dr. Baldwin was a very accomplished man, in whom were combined two qualities seldom met with together, namely, science and practicality. He was a botanist, and thoroughly understood plant growth and plant life. As a meteorologist, he stood high in the estimation of the officials of the Smithsonian Institution. In his prime, he was considered the best medical practitioner in East Florida. He played on several musical instru- ments, and his carving on wood and ivory was
*This biography was written by the author from reliable data; it is absolutely unbiased and without favoritism.
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said to have been very fine. He was Senior War- den of. St. John's Episcopal church for a great number of years. He was profoundly attached to Jacksonville, and his long and useful life was de- voted to the advancement of the interests of this place. So far as known, his first public act was the setting out of the beautiful shade trees that lined our streets before the fire of 1901. He fore- saw the necessity of obtaining deeper water at the bar, before Jacksonville could make any claim upon marine interests. A citizen committee sent him to Washington in 1852, to present his ideas to Congress, the result of which was an appropria- tion for improving the bar. Thus the first steps in harbor improvement were taken as a result of his efforts; and it was largely through his influence that the question of deeper water to the sea was kept alive after the war. He took the most promi- nent part in the Legislature fighting for the rail- road for Jacksonville, as against the road from Fernandina to Cedar Keys projected by Senator Yulee. And finally, when a railroad for this place was assured, he was elected its first President. He entered the Confederate service and was ap- pointed chief surgeon of the hospitals at Lake City.
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