In 1790, during the second Spanish period, Spain began to offer land grants to encourage settlement in the colony of Florida. When Florida became a territory of the United States in 1821, the United States agreed to honor any valid grants. As a result, family researchers now have access to those records which offer a fascinating look at the history of our area and the families who settled here.
Florida Memory has published their collection of Spanish Land Grants including scanned copies of the original grant documents. The collection is searchable by name or location.
Below is a list of “confirmed” land grants in St. Johns County. Beginning on page 18 of the land grant collection, the “unconfirmed” grants are listed. Note also that the place names and descriptions have changed over time so the list below may have missed grants in those areas.
- Margaret Acosta – St. Augustine vicinity
- James Alexander – St. Augustine vicinity
- John Andrew – North River/Guana Creek
- Clara Arnau – St. Augustine vicinity
- Clara P. Arnau – North River
- James Arnau – North River
- Joseph Arnau – North River/Capuaca (east)
- Stephen Arnau – St. Augustine vicinity/North River
- Mariano A. Berta – North River/Cartel Point Neck
- Roman Catholic Church – Esperanza/St. Augustine
- James Bosley – Bella Vista/Moultrie Creek
- Sarah Bowden – Julington Creek
- Antonio Canobas, Jr. – St. Augustine/Matanzas River
- Lorenzo Capella – St. Augustine (town lot)
- Lorenzo Capo – North River
- Benjamin Chairs – North River/Cabbage Swamp
- Stephen Cheves – Matanzas River/plantation of Tom Johnson
- C. W. & G. J. F. Clarke – Matanzas River south of Moses Creek
- Charles & George Clarke – Matanzas River
- Chas. & George J. F. Clarke – Matanzas River, Durbin Swamp, Johnsons Swamp, Emerys Swamp
- Daniel Clarkd – Durbins Swamp, Road to St. Johns Bluff
- James Clarke – Durbins Swamp
- James & George Clarke – Matanzas River (west)
- Margaret Cook – St. Augustine (town lot)
- Alexander Creighton – St. Johns River
- Emanual Crespo – St. Johns River (Toco)
- James Curtis – North River
- Mary Ann Davis – St. Augustine vicinity
- Phillip & Mary Dewees – Guana River
- Horatio S. Dexter – St. Johns River, McCulloughs Point, Picolata
- Guidon Dupont – Moultrie Creek, Matanzas River
- John Edge – Julington Creek
- F. Falany – Matanzas River, Moultrie Creek
- James Falany – Matanzas River
- Francis J. Fatio – Sampson’s Creek
- Francis P. Fatio – New Switzerland, St. Johns River
- Francis Ferreira – St. Augustine vicinity
- Jesse Fish – Tods Field, Matanzas River
- Valentine Fitzpatrick – Sams Hammock, Matanzas River
- Heirs of Valentine Fitzpatrick – Grahams Swamp
- Davis Floyd – North River, Guana Creek
- John Floyd – Guana Creek
- Mary Fontane – Moultrie Creek
- Ramon de Fuentes – St. Augustine (town lot)
- Francisca Fusha – St. Augustine vicinity
- Edward R. Gibson – Moultrie Creek
- Robert Gilbert – Matanzas River
- Charlotte Gobert – St. Marks, St. Augustine vicinity
- Elias B. Gould – Durbins Swamp
- Lewis Guibert – Cedar, St. Johns River (east)
- Joseph Hagins – Julington Creek
- James R. Hanham – North River, Guana River
- Frederick Hartley – Old Field Branch, Julington Creek
- George Hartley – Old Field Branch, Julington Creek
- Henry Hartley – St. Johns River vicinity
- Joseph Hernandez – St. Augustine (town lot)
- Anthony Hiasman – Araguey
- John Huertas – St. Johns River, Tacoi, Buena Vista, Big Cypress
- Daniel Hurlburt – Levet, St. Augustine vicinity
- Stephen M. Ingersoll – St. Augustine vicinity
- James James – Julington Creek
- John Kershaw – Chimnies, Guana River
- Flora Leslie – Springer’s Branch, St. Augustine vicinity
- Bartelome Lopez – St. Augustine (town lot)
- Heirs of Juan Lorenzo – St. Augustine (town lot)
- Bartolome M. Maestre – Matanzas River, Holmes Old Plantation
- Heirs of Theresa Marshall – North River
- Geronimo Martinely – Guana Creek
- Ferdinand D. McDonnell – Matanzas Bar, Pellicer Creek
- Francis Menicis – North River, St. Augustine vicinity
- Pedro Mestre – North River vicinity
- Francis Miles – North River, Camino San Diego
- Peter Miranda – Blides Old Field, Cabbage Swamp, North River
- Robert Mitchel – Mitchells Grove, St. Augustine vicinity, San Sebastian River
- Joseph Noda – St. Augustine vicinity
- Lazaro Ortega – North River, Guana Creek
- Andres Papy – Moses Creek
- Joseph Papy – Fort Picolata vicinity, Six Mile Creek
- Michael Papy – Deep Creek
- Juana Paredes – Marshalls Plantation, North River, Guana Creek
- Mathias Pons – Matanzas River, Cassapula
- Jose Reyes – Moultrie Creek
- James Riz – Picolata
- Eliza Robinson – Stockade, St. Augustine vicinity
- Charles Robion – Matanzas River (west side)
- Nicholas Rodriguez – Anastasia Island
- Antonio Rogero – St. Augustine (town lot)
- F. P. Sanchez – Guana Creek
- Joseph M. Sanchez – St. Augustine vicinity
- Joseph S. Sanchez – Navarro Creek, North River
- Scipio (A Free Black)* – Padanarum, St. Johns River
- Peter Sevelly – Long Bay, St. Augustine vicinity
- J. Allen Smith – St. Augustine (town lot)
- Manuel Solana – San Sebastian River, Solana’s Ferry
- Phillip Solana – Two Sisters, Diego Plain, Guana River
- Thos Travers – St. Augustine vicinity
- William Travers – North River
- Phillip Weadman – Picolata Road, St. Augustine vicinity
*For more information, see “Spanish Florida offered land grants to African-Americans” by Susan Parker.
You are looking at the southwest corner of the St. Augustine National Cemetery. The marble slab on the ground in the corner is plot 1 and contains the remains of Lieut. Stephen Tuttle. The nearer slab is plot 4 and contains the remains of John Winfield Scott McNeil. If you are thinking these were among the first burials in this cemetery, you would be wrong.
Stephen Tuttle was a 1st Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers and was serving in St. Augustine on a huge project to rebuild and extend the seawall protecting the town. He died in 1835. J.W.S. McNeil served with the 2nd Regiment of Dragoons and died in 1837 of wounds received in action at Mosquito Inlet. Both were originally buried at the Huguenot Cemetery just outside the city gates and reinterred at the National Cemetery many years later.
Some time back, I received a call from Greg Moore, Command Historian for the Florida National Guard, wondering if I had run into these two officers as part of my Huguenot Cemetery research because he thought they had been buried there first. Sure enough, looking at a cemetery inventory from 1892 published in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register (
