Department of the South Census 1864

On June 18, 2018 By Denise OlsonIn Census, MilitaryLeave a comment

By 1864 parts of coastal Florida, Georgia and South Carolina were under Union control. During that time a census was taken in the Jacksonville, Fernandina and St. Augustine areas. Members from several area genealogical societies found and transcribed the census records which was then published by the Florida State Genealogical Society.

From the forward to “Census” Department of the South November, 1864

One of the forgotten legacies of this era was a special census of eastern Florida conducted on the orders of Federal military authorities. Its motivation is to this day unclear, but it seems likely to have been part of the work done to help register voters under Lincoln’s “10%” reconstruction plan. African-Americans living in the region were also enumerated despite the fact that they did not yet have the legal right to vote. The number, age and gender of all “contrabands” would be of great interest to Union military men who were always on the lookout for new recruits for the growing number of United States Colored Troops regiments being formed. Thus, this special census data opens a unique window on Florida’s Civil War population that has heretofore been closed.

You will find a copy of this census at St. Johns County’s Southeast Branch Library. A search for “Census” Department of the South, November 1864 in WorldCat.org will tell you which other libraries have a copy. A print copy can also be purchased at Amazon. Cost is $35.00.

If you have ancestors living in the areas covered by this census, we will be happy to do lookups for you. Use the comment box below this post to make your request.

St. Johns County Biographies

On June 17, 2018 By Denise OlsonIn BlogLeave a comment

The USGenWeb Archives for St. Johns County biographies contains an impressive collection of genealogical material, including biographies for the following people:

George Washington Bassett, Jr.
Barton B. Bigler
Goold Taylor Butler
Edward Noble Calhoun
Charles Augustus Choate
Harold Wilfred Colee
Louis Albert Colee
Granville D. Coxe
Augustus H. Craig
George Rainsford Fairbanks
Herbert Felkel
Robert S. Garnette
William P. Genovar
Obe P. Goode
James B. Griffin
Louis F. Hindry
Fountain N. Holmes
Charles F. Hopkins
John Johnson
Lack A. Lew
Joseph Albert McDonald
Maria Catalina Bonelli Pacetti
Thoedore V. Pomar
G. Walter Potter
Frank A. Rolleston
John Warren Sackett
Leonard F. Sanchez
Henry Edwin Sewall
General Edward Kirby Smith
Reginald White

Military Land Grants for War of 1812 Soldiers

On May 8, 2018 By Denise OlsonIn MilitaryLeave a comment

Jackson Square

Linda S. Ayers has transcribed a list of St. Johns County Soldiers who received land grants for their service in the War of 1812. Information in this dataset includes the Soldier’s name, unit and the name of the grant recipient. You can find this dataset at the USGenWeb Archives.

Photo credit : Jackson Square, New Orleans, photographed by Wayne Hsieh via Flickr.

Obit – Emory L. Dalton

On July 12, 2017July 12, 2017 By Denise OlsonIn BlogLeave a comment

Received today in the mail . . .

I am sending out obituaries that came from Melanie Crain’s “Dalton Newsletter” that she published for about twenty years. After publishing the Newsletters she archived them on a web site she maintained for a long time. But, she could no longer maintain the archival site and I thought the data should remain available to the American genealogical community. I suggested sending them to the GenWeb community and she concurred. So, I’m sending them to the coordinators.

Emory L. Dalton

Ponte Vedra Beach, St. John’s County, Florida

Emory L. Dalton, 72, died Sunday, Dec. 21, 2008, at his home in Florida. He was born July 15, 1936, to Jesse and Lula Dalton in Campbell County Virginia.

Emory was a longtime resident of Palm Valley, flew his own private airplane for a number of years, and played triple A baseball for a season with the New York Yankees.

Survivors include his wife, Hazel Wern Dalton; four children, Elizabeth Barkoskie (Martin), Jeffrey Farris, Karen Farris and Cory Dalton; one sister, Elizabeth Vernon; two brothers, James Irving Stockner and Donald Akers; two grandchildren; and one great grandchild.

[Contributed by Sharon Minton Hill to the “Dalton Gang Letter” published by Melanie D. Crain, Vol. XIV, No. 1, Winter 2009]

Spanish Land Grants

On November 1, 2016March 7, 2017 By Denise OlsonIn Blog3 Comments

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.

The Minorcan Cultural Society

On October 28, 2016 By Denise OlsonIn AssociationLeave a comment

The Menorcan Cultural Society was founded in the 1980s to preserve and promote the heritage and culture of the Menorcans who left their Mediterranean homeland to make a new life in the New World. We are the only Menorcan society in the United States, and we enjoy a worldwide membership.

http://www.menorcansociety.net

Florida Public Archaeology Network

On October 28, 2016October 28, 2016 By Denise OlsonIn Association, BlogLeave a comment

original colony location — View from the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park across to the great cross at the Mission of Nombre de Dios.

The Northeast Region of Florida’s Public Archaeology Network is headquartered at Flagler College in St. Augustine. Although archaeology seldom provides details on individuals, it does a great deal to help us understand the environment our ancestors lived in. This is especially useful when records are lost due to disaster, war or other events. Their purpose is . . .

The Florida Public Archaeology Network is dedicated to the protection of cultural resources, both on land and underwater, and to involving the public in the study of their past. Regional centers around Florida serve as clearinghouses for information, institutions for learning and training, and headquarters for public participation in archaeology.

Through archaeological digs, we now know that the original St. Augustine colony was located in the area that is now part of the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park and the Mission of Nombre de Dios.

William Wing Loring

On October 3, 2016June 18, 2018 By Denise OlsonIn Historic Site, MilitaryLeave a comment

Loring Monument from the author’s collection

This imposing monument presides over the plaza to the west of Government House and overlooks the busiest intersection in downtown St. Augustine. In actuality, it’s more than just a monument. It’s also the grave of William Wing Loring, a man who served in three armies including as Pasha in the army of Egypt.

LoringPasha — William Wing Loring via Florida Photographic Collection

Born December 4, 1818 in Wilmington, North Carolina, William moved to St. Augustine with his parents in 1823 – just two years after Florida had become a United States territory. At the age of 14 he enlisted in the Florida Militia and fought in the early skirmishes of the Second Seminole War. He was promoted to lieutenant before he left the militia to finish his schooling in Virginia. After school, he passed the bar exam and spent some time as an attorney and even served in the state legislature from 1843 to 1845. He joined the Army and served in the Mexican War where he lost his arm during battle in Mexico City. In 1849 he took command of the Oregon Territory as part of the Mounted Rifles and served in the west until 1859. When the Civil War erupted, he resigned to join the Southern cause serving at Vicksburg, in Tennessee, North Georgia and in the campaign against Nashville. In 1865 he surrendered to General Sherman in North Carolina shortly after Appomatox. A group of Confederate and Union veterans later served in the Egyptian army after being recommended to the Khedive of Egypt by none other than William Tecumseh Sherman. Loring served for nine years, attaining the rank of Fereek Pasha (Major General). On his return to the states, he wrote a book about his experiences titled A Confederate Soldier in Egypt (1884). He co-authored another book, The March of the Mounted Riflemen, which was published after his death. Upon his return from Egypt, Loring spent his time working on his book and traveling between his Florida home, New York and the western states. From a profile in the New York Times dated October 17, 1886:

One evening I heard a fine looking old gentleman extolling the United States Government, and saying many kindly things of Lincoln and of Grant. I also noticed that he carried upon his right side an empty sleeve, which he at last alluded to indirectly by saying: “I lost one arm in the service of my country at the storming of the citadel of the city of Mexico, but I have another left which is always ready and loyal to do her bidding.” I then asked who the gentleman was, and I was informed that it was “old Billy himself”….There is no man more warmly embosomed in the hearts of Floridians than Gen. Loring.

General Loring died in New York on December 30, 1886 from pneumonia. Robert Hawke tells the rest of the story in Florida’s Army:

Loring’s reinterment and public funeral in St. Augustine during March of 1887 was one of the grandest events in the city’s history for that decade. It was used as an occasion for a combined encampment, and week-long meeting, of the Union and Confederate veterans organizations of northeast Florida. Both groups, in conjunction with other local civic organizations, sponsored the erection of a memorial obelisk and monument, in Government House Square, inscribed with the details of Loring’s life and military service, and emblazoned with the flags of the United States, the Confederated States, and the Ottoman province of Egypt. It is a fine memorial to the local militiaman who became a pasha of Egypt.

South side of the Loring monument from the author’s collection

References:

Hawk, Robert. Florida's Army: Militia, State Troops, National Guard, 1565-1985. Englewood, Fla: Pineapple Press, 1986.
William W. Loring. Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_wing_loring]
William Wing Loring. Civil War Home [http://www.civilwarhome.com/loringbio.htm]
Florida Photographic Collection. State Archives of Florida. [http://www.floridamemory.com/PhotographicCollection]

Family History Centers

On September 22, 2016September 22, 2016 By Denise OlsonIn Research SupportLeave a comment

Family History Centers are facilities operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There are more than 4,600 family history centers in 134 countries. All family researchers are welcome to take advantage of the services these centers offer. Services include free public access to online resources, one-on-one help, how-to classes, and microfilm and microfiche readers. You can also order genealogical materials from the Family History Library which will be sent to your local center for you to view.

Find a Family History Center near you using the locator at FamilySearch.

First Plots?

On June 1, 2016November 2, 2016 By Denise OlsonIn Cemetery, MilitaryLeave a comment

SANYO DIGITAL CAMERA 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.

This cemetery served the U.S. Army Post of St. Augustine long before it became a National Cemetery in 1881. The first interment was 1828 with most of the early graves resulting from casualties of the Seminole Wars. Most notable among these was the Dade Monument [ see article at Graveyard Rabbit of Moultrie Creek].

Tuttle 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.

McNeil 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 (see Huguenot inventory ), we found both men with descriptions of the graves and the inscriptions on their tombstones. These tombstones match the descriptions from the Huguenot inventory.

A search in Google Books turned up an Annual Report from the Secretary of War published in 1916 stating:

“During the year the following remains of soldiers were removed from fields and abandoned cemeteries and reinterred in national cemeteries: . . . 2 known officers from old Huguenot Cemetery, St. Augustine, FL to the St. Augustine (Fla.) National Cemetery; . . .”

Huguenot Cemetery had been closed in 1884 and there are many reports of various efforts to clean up and restore the cemetery. The first serious project didn’t begin until 1946 so from the Army’s perspective this cemetery may well have been a concern for the veterans interred there.

So, why were these Soldiers initially buried in the public cemetery instead of the post cemetery? What were the circumstances of their move? And, how did they become the first plots at the National Cemetery? This mystery will take a lot more research to unravel.

The plots thicken.