Waukeenah

  

Before the establishment of Jefferson as a county, settlers had taken up land grants near what is now Waukeenah. Among the first of these settlers was John G. Gamble, of Virginia. His grant called "Welawnee" after a rivulet, was near the point where the St. Augustine or Bellamy road crossed the local road going south, which point was called "Marion Cross Roads," but later, when a post office was established there, the name "Waukeenah" was given to it. Waukeenah was the American spelling of the pronunciation of "Joachina" -the name of a Spanish lady from Pensacola, who was a guest at the Gamble plantation. In 1827, General James Gadsden entered government lands, now known as "The Gadsden Place." William Nuttall, a few miles west, settled "El destino;" Prince Achille Murat, to the south developed his plantation, "Lipona;" Dr. Pinkney Bellinger, from South Carolina, settled west of the village; Kidder Meade Moore, from Virginia owned a fine plantation "Pinetucky" and farther to the south was "Belmont," Judge Randall's home. The earliest names to be found among Waukeehan citizens were Jernigan, Ulmer, Gorman, Murphy, Wooten, Russell, Johnson and Carpenter. When a stage line was established from Pensacola to St. Augustine, the route followed the Bellamy road through Waukeenah, One of the first, if not the first, frame house built in the village was erected near the center by W. T. Carpenter and operated by him as an inn and stage coach stand. The house was later owned by Mrs. Ames and is known today as "The Ames house." The local cross road ran from Monticello to St. Marks and Newport, the nearest shipping point and it was in constant use by the merchants and planters of north Florida and South Georgia as a freight route to the coast. Numbers of wagons loaded with cotton passed through Waukeenah bringing on their return trips all kinds of merchandise and farm implements shipped, etc., from the northern and eastern markets.

 

Before any houses of worship were built, services were held in the homes, where neighboring planters assembled to hear the Word of God. Many of the new settlers were Episcopalians, so naturally a Protestant Episcopal Church was the first house of worship to be built, which was in December 1840, and was named "St. Phillips." Abram Grantham had conveyed two acres of land to the Board of Trustees for church purposes and the trustees named in the deed were: John B. Page, John A. Edwards, Octavius Gadsden, Julius High, Alexander Jernigan, Alexander Scott, and Pinkney Bellinger. Reverend William B. Eppes, Rector of Christ Church, Monticello, held services every Sunday afternoon for the congregation. In September, 1853 Maria Ulmer, wife of Tullius Ulmer, deeded to the trustees of the Methodist church in Waukeenah, a piece of land, upon which a large frame building was erected for their place of worship. A cemetery was laid out on the same grounds. The parsonage was built on the St. Augustine road and the preacher in charge filled appointments at a number of stations in the eastern and southern portions of the county. The old cemetery is still used as a place of interment, but the present site of the church and parsonage is on the Monticello and Pinhook road. During the Seminole war, the ministers of the Gospel carried on their work at the risk of their lives. Among these noble men was Father H. F . Howren, whose spiritual zeal led him to brave the dangers of those perilous times and go from one block house to another to hold services and encourage the Christians, so fearfully beset by physical dangers. He served the Methodist church at Waukeenah twice as its pastor and it was there that he and his wife celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. Other early preacheFs were the Rev. William Peeler, E. L. T. Blake, and R. M. Tidings. Reverend Jasper K. Glover, presiding elder of the Tallahassee District, resided in Waukeenah when relieved of his work until his death in 1862.

 

In 1836, when General Winfield Scott was sent by the United States Governmnt to Florida, to settle Indian disturbances, the Governor of Florida, Richard K. Call, authorized the raising of a company of volunteers in Jefferson County, in command of Major McLemore. The other officers were Captain M. K. Holloman, first lieutenant, Joseph McCants, second lieutenant, L. B. Walker. Among the citizens of Waukeenah whose names were enrolled in this company were: Zachariah Wheeler, Irving Granger, Tullius Ulmer and others. General Scott had arranged for a supply of provisions to be stored at the Withlacoochee river, and this volunteer company was ordered to go to the Suwannee river to obtain corn to add to these stores. The company under Captain Holloman marched over the St. Augustine road to Charles Ferry on the Suwannee and thence to Old Town. Under Major McLemore's direction, twelve beeves were slaughtered there and dried; several hundred bushels of corn were collected and loaded on barges, which were barricaded against attacks from the Indians. After reaching the mouth of the Suwannee, they followed the Gulf coast to the mouth of the Withlacoochee, where they expected to meet an emissary of General Scott, in which they were disappointed. Receiving no response to repeated signals they continued up the river for twenty-five miles and still not hearing from the general, built a blockhouse to shelter themselves and to protect the supplies. When everything was safely transferred, Major McLemore and Lieutenant McCants with a few men, returned in the barge to Old Town, where the major died. About forty men were left in the block-house expecting the major's return or relief from General Scott,.when they were besieged by Indians for fifty-eight days. In the meantime the meat spoiled, the corn supply was almost gone, and while starvation stared them in the face, the Indians set fire to the roof. This was finally extinguished by dipping water from the river in a cup and pouring it on the blaze. Captain Holloman was killed during the siege. Three members of the company volunteered to go to St. Marks to get help for the survivors, and Captain Walker, then in command, consented. They departed in a leaky canoe and after repeated vicissitudes reached St. Marks, going from there to Tallahassee. A company of eighty men was immediately formed to march to the Withlacoochee and soon after reaching the block-house, they rescued the half-starved soldiers, and put the Indians to flight.

 

The citizens of Waukeenah had their share of trouble from wandering Indians. When the news of massacres in the county reached their ears, they immediately journeyed to Monticello and took refuge in the block-house. A family by the name of Singletary was murdered in Cuba swamp, near Waukeenah, and the only member saved 'was a small daughter who escaped to the woods and hid until rescued. At the Gorman home the kitchen was invaded by Indians one night. In the room a number of boards had been placed across supports, like a long table, to contain peaches cut for drying, over which white cloths were spread. It is supposed that the savages mistook the cloths for the covering of dead bodies, and left without molesting anything or even looking for the inmates, who were concealed in the main part of the house. After the cessation of hostilities between the Indians and whites, settlers began to arrive and build homes, and soon the village presented the appearance of a busy center.

 

The pioneer settlers from Virginia, and North and South Carolina, were persons of wealth, education and refinement, and desired their children to have the advantages and environment that they had enjoyed. Their first effort towards this, was the establishment of a seat of learning at Waukeenah, which was centrally located, facilitating the attendance of the children of the surrounding plantations. A plain, wooden, two-story building was erected, the second floor being used as a Masonic lodge room. The principals of this early Academy were college bred men, among them L. D. Fleming and E L Engle, both of whom afterwards became lawyers of note in Jacksonville. Also, William O. Girardeau, later principal of the Academy of Monticello, and in 1859, Samuel Pasco from Boston, Mass., were heads of this school. Samuel Pasco retained this position for two years, then in 1861 when war was declared, his sympathy with the South was so strong that he organized a company of infantry from the young men of Waukeenah and joined the Third Florida regiment. A Cavalry company was also organized, commanded by William S. Murphy.

 

Besides those pioneer planters, the histories of whose lives have been incorported in that of the historic plantations, there were many others. Among them was Captain Tullius Ulmer, prominent in Indian warfare, who married Maria Stevens and whose descendants are still living near Waukeenah. Lafayette Wooten was a staunch citizen of the village, whose father was a pioneer settler and successful farmer. Dr. Pinkney Bellinger from South Carolina established his home on a plantation west of Waukeenah. He practiced medicine throughout the country and was a fine physician of the old school. His son, William Bellinger, also a physician, married Henrietta Moseley, a kinswoman of Governor Moseley, and they were the parents of four sons and three daughters. Dr. Bellinger operated a mercantile and drugstore combined, and the post office occupied the rear part of the building. In 1874 he was made post master and served until his death. Another physician of note was Dr. James Palmer, son of Martin and Amelia Palmer, early settlers of Monticello. Dr. Palmer married one of the daughters of the Reverend John Rhodes. Dr. T. H. Edwards, son of Captain James B. and Mary Turnbull Edwards was a physician of prominence, having an enviable reputation as a most intelligent member of his profession. He graduated from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania and settled in Waukeenah. He was a surgeon in the civil war and ranked among the notable physicians of Florida, until his death in 1892.

 

Joseph Richard Saunders was a planter, his fields being near the village. He was deeply interested in education. His two sons, Joe and Paul J., hold responsible positions in their respective home cities, Tampa and Jacksonville. Abner and Quince Wethington from North Carolina bought a plantation south of Waukeenah, this land being a part of Lipona, Prince Murat's estate. Abner Wethington's grandchildren still own this property, making it their home. Other well known citizens in this community were: Pinkney Grantham, county Tax Assessor for many years; Reverend Samuel Woodbury, a Methodist minister, also principal of the Academy for a number of terms; James Kilpatrick, Ed McClellan, Buchanan Alexander who married the daughter of Octavius Gadsden, Tom Hill, who owned "The Hill Place," Charlie Russell, who married the daughter of Tullius Ulmer, and many others of note. Their farms encircled the village for miles around in each direction and quantities of vegetables, fruits, grain, forage and cotton were produced for home consumption and commercial purposes. Pecan culture has been an industry for many years. The country surrounding Waukeenah is possessed of unlimited, undeveloped water power. As yet there are only dreams of the possibilities contained in the beautiful Wacissa river, with its bubbling springs of great depth that head five" miles south of Waukeenah and flow serenely on to the Gulf of Mexico. State road Number 19, a paved highway from Pensacola to Tampa, now passes through the village, making it easily accessible from points north and south, east and west.

 

Gadsten Plantation 

 

Colonel James Gadsden, a man endowed with the military spirit and soldierly courage of his ancestors, was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He was aide to General Andrew Jackson, when the latter was sent to Florida in 1818, to quell the disturbances of the Indians, while Florida was still under Spanish rule. In 1823, at the treaty with the Indians at Moultrie Creek, near St. Augustine, James Gadsden was one of those who had been appointed to negotiate this treaty.

 

In 1827, he bought an estate in Jefferson County, three miles from Waukeenah, and when he went back to South Carolina, he packed up his household goods, and conveyed them, together with his slaves, to Florida, accompanied by his brother and his possessions.

 

By the territorial council of 1824, a new county from the Appalachicola river to the Suwannee was set off and named for James Gadsden.

 

In 1825, the same council selected him as one of three men to investigate a route for a ship canal, which should obviate the dangerous, passage around the Florida Keys. It was this report which first revealed the difficulties, which have long prevented the accomplishmen of that project, though it seems, today, as if it is near attainment.

 

James Gadsden took an active part in the establishment of Jefferson county in 1827, and was appointed one of the five commissioners, who depended largely upon his sagacity and clear judgment in planning the county's polici.es and the best methods of her development. In the early county records and documents, his signature is not always found on them, for he was absent much of the time during the Seminole War, engaged in quieting the Indians.

 

When the first treaty was signed, it was understood that all the Indians in Florida should remove to that part of the State around Lake Okeechobee and Charlotte Harbor in the southern part, and to the country around the Withlacoochee in the northern part. They were to be paid for their lands and receive the protection of the United States government. A great many of the savages refused to go, after thirtytwo of their chiefs had signed the treaty, consequently more trouble arose between the tribes and the many settlers coming into Florida at that time. New negotiations for their removal to Arkansas territory, in 1832, were conducted by James Gadsden, which plan was delayed for several years. In 1835, Indian massacres increased and strenuous measures had to be undertaken, to prevent so much wanton blood shed and devastation of property. Acting Governor Walker called out two hundred and fifty men, each to furnish his own horse, then he sent to Georgia for muskets, rifles, and military supplies, and James Gadsden was appointed quartermaster-general of the Florida troops.

 

In 1836, General Winfield Scott of the United States army was ordered to take charge of the war in Florida. He highly commended James Gadsden for his services and made him chief of staff. As history relates there were seven years of this bloody warfare and James Gadsden served in it to the end. He was appointed minister to Mexico, and during his tenure of office, the dispute between the boundary line of the United States and Mexico was settled, by a treaty calling for the purchase of a tract of land lying in the southern part of New Mexico and Arizona, since then known as "The Gadsden Purchase."

 

James Gadsden was married to Susan Gibbs Hort, November 6, 1837. They had no children and his brother, Octavius H. Gadsden fell heir to his property. There is no trace of his plantation home, except the avenue of ancient live oak trees that stand as living evidences of the fact that once the roadway they shelter and beautify must have led to the abode of an early settler.

 

Octavius Gadsden did not inherit the qualities of a soldier and a statesman as did his brother James. He was a typical southern planter, and in his attire, a gentleman of the old school. He always appeared in a frock coat, a high collar, spreading tie, a beaver hat, and was never without a gold watch and chain and a gold headed walking stick. His home was renowned for its hospitality and was frequently filled with guests from the surrounding plantations and towns. He was a devout Episcopalian and was instrumental in building the little church at Waukeenah, where his family worshiped each Sunday afternoon, the minister from Monticello conducting the services. On Sunday mornings the slaves were assembled under the umbrella-like oaks and he read the church service to them and taught them the prayers and hymns. He was a vestryman of Christ Church, Monticello, for many years. Octavius married Mary Annie Porcher Prioleau and they had two children: James and Rebecca Harriett, who married Joel H. Weston in 1855. In 1857 James married Ann Hill, whose father was a neighboring planter. They were the parents of two children, Nancy and Arthur. In 1868, Nancy was confirmed in the Episcopal Church in Monticello, and in 1874 she was married to Francis Russell, at the Gadsden Place. Arthur Gadsden moved to Cairo, Georgia, but returned to Lloyd, where he was married to Ira Davis, and their family of three children are the only descendants of the Gadsdens, bearing the name.

 

Rebecca Gadsden Weston became a widow and in 1868, she was married to S. Buchanan Alexander, from South Carolina. He was an energetic, thrifty planter and raised a family of three girls and two boys. The sons, James and John, reside in South Florida. -The three girls are Mary Anne, who is the wife of J. R. Cooksey; Helen, who is the wife of Benjamin Cooksey; and Catharine Murat, the wife of George Grantham. The latter five live in South Florida and the first two have prosperous farms near Waukeenah. The sisters recall many happy days spent at the home of their grandfather, O. H. Gadsden. Every fourth of July was celebrated with a picnic dinner spread under the oaks, with all kinds of delicious food, to which every member of the family was invited. This was a pleasurable reunion, which everyone anticipated with enthusiasm.

 

Colonel Gadsden, like all planters on a large scale, employed an overseer, who managed the work of the slaves, also their conduct, their housing arrangements and their rations. Many of the overseers possessed education and business ablity, and were much better managers than their employers. Octavius Gadsden's overseer and superintendent was John Burgoyne McCall, who was born in 1820, and when a small boy, came to Georgia from South Carolina, with his mother and father and four brothers. His parents very likely succumbed to the hard experiences of pioneer life; for these boys traveled on to Gadsden county, where an uncle had located on a tobacco farm. John remained with his uncle, working on the farm and in a tobacco factory, until his uncle moved to Texas. By this time John had reached manhood and, like most young men, wanted to visit other places, so he rode horseback to New Orleans, traveled on to Texas, looked over the country and the propositions offered him, then turned around , and came back to Florida, where he accepted the work offered by Octavius Gadsden. His next years were spent there, applying his energy and time to his duties, which made him a valued employee. He married Miriam Narcissus Pinckard of Georgia and children came to their hearthstone, and were well cared for; but he desired a place of his own. Eventually he bought the Hill Place, a few miles distant, which has been known since as the McCall Place. There were ten children in the family when the youngest one, Sydney Lee, joined it in 1865. The oldest daughter, Laura Ella, was married to Dr. A. B. Harrison, and they resided in Monticello many years. Sydney Lee married Mamie Lester, and a family of four boys and two girls, all of whom are married except the youngest daughter, were reared and educated in Florida.

 

The Gadsden plantation was purchased several years ago from a real estate firm, by Sheldon Whitehouse, a native of Newport, Rhode Island. He has been prominent in the business and political world of men, having been at one time Minister to Guatemala. He is now preparing to spend his remaining years, at least in winter, in the soft, genial climate of Jefferson. His beautiful home on the old Gadsden place, when completed, will bring to memory the stately residences and style of living maintained by the forefathers of the county.

 

Pinetucky

 

Seven miles from Waukeenah lies the historic plantation, Pinetucky, owned by Kidder Meade Moore,who was an early settler of Jefferson County. He married Caroline Croom the daughter of Joshua Croom and Penelope Cobb of Leon County. They were the parents of four children: three boys, Tom, Egbert, and Willie, and one daughter Helen, who was married to Oscar Edwards of Lloyd.  

 

Kidder Meade Moore was a planter, and the history of plantation life in those days has been so clearly and interestingly recorded in the diary of his daughter, Helen, that permission was obtained to quote the following verbatim:

 

"My father moved to his plantation twenty miles north of Newport in Jefferson County, where we had a beautiful home. Not a large house, only six rooms with a piazza on three sides and a portico in front. The kitchen was made of brick, and - as so many old southern homes - away from the house. The house was located on the top of a hill, which was said to be higher than the pine trees in the flat woods which extended to Newport. There was an avenue of trees down to the foot of the hill, and we had the gulf breeze all the time. My mother taught me my letters, how to spell, read and sew. My older brothers were sent away to school where there were good school teachers and were never home except at vacation times, and for Christmas. This Christmas was always a big time on our plantation. The negroes were given a big dinner, and the table was spread under the oaks between the negro quarters and the big house. The men were called and given a drama and some money and the women were given clothes and shoes. On the Fourth of July the negroes were given another big dinner under the oaks.

 

My mother had three splendid cooks, Rachel, Mandy and Tessie. They took turns about the cooking. We had two grown housemaids who kept the house, scoured the andirons and candle sticks and kept the walk swept in front of the house. When they finished the house duties they were required to sew or knit. The yard boy cut wood for the house and drove the horses to water three times a day, and drove the cows every afternoon. We had about thirty milch cows. The extra milk was given to the negro children. These children were kept in a house just outside of the yard and an old woman would come and get their food from the kitchen. The woman's name was Liddy, but everybody on the place called her "Granny." There was an old man whose name was Emery but was called "Pap." He greased the harness, made mats for the house, collars for the plough mules and rooked after the garden. There would be weddings among the negroes. They would come up and be married in the yard. We had a pretty shady yard and there were stands on each side of the house where a big fire would be lighted every night. A pile of light wood was just by the stand and the light was kept up until bedtime.

 

My mother had a nice carriage and two bay horses. My father kept his own buggy and' horse and there were always horses in the stable for horse back riding.

 

People who came to visit in our house must have thought it Paradise, judging from the length of time they stayed.

 

Every morning at daybreak Bob, the wagoner, blew his bugle and awakened the hands, and then he would come and knock on father's window and wake him and get orders for the day, then the dogs would howl and wake everyone in the house and then we would get up.. If it was summer, we would go down to the spring and bathe and get back in time for breakfast. The "Spring" was at the foot of the hill on the south side of the house. By the time we climbed that hill we were ready for breakfast. We had a nice bath house there where the clothes were all washed. After breakfast the day's work commenced and one day was like the other, hardly a variation. We children going to school and mother with her household duties, which were many. During the war spinning and making clothes for the soldiers. There were two looms going and five or six women spinning and dyeing thread and picking the burrs out of wool. Mother had counterpanes, table cloths, towels and blankets, and the chest in her room was piled high with bolts of all kinds of cloth. There was a double pen house just outside of the back yard. One room was the loom house and the other where the negro children were put every morning and were taken care of by Granny, as she was called. She was also the midwife on the plantation and for the neighborhood also. There was a blacksmith and a cooper house where the work for the plantation was done. The place had the appearance of a town with so many coming and going, and so many noisy children laughing, crying, singing, talking and the tinkling at the shops.

 

Father had a lot of negro men down in the salt works near Newport, and a white man named Sam Story down to over-see them. A great deal of salt was made and it was sold for forty, fifty and got as high as seventy dollars per bushel. Wagons from Georgia would come down with sacks of flour and exchange for salt. The farmers were not allowed to raise much cotton but were allowed to raise provisions for the soldiers and the families of those who were not able to support them. I have seen government wagons come and carry away loads of hay, fodder, corn and other things, and crowds of women from the flat woods whose husbands were in the army would come and get provisions.

 

My first memory of war time was something that happened one day as I was sitting by mother learning to sew on a quilt. She said "The next one we make must be of homespun" and when I asked why, she said, "because there is going to be war and we would have nothing to wear but homespun." The year before the war commenced my father had a big log school house built just beyond the negro quarters, and one of mother's cousins, Oliver Jones, came to teach just the three of us children. Later, I was sent to Monticello, to school, and I boarded at Dr. Peeler's house. Next year Miss Hattie Carpenter came to teach at our school and Miss Hattie continued teaching until the war ended. The neighbors children also came to our school.

 

My two older brothers, Tom and Egbert, left for the war as soon as war was declared. They belonged to Johnson's army and my next older brother, Willie, was with Gen'l Lee, in Virginia. He joined when he was seventeen years old and did not have a furlough or come home at all until after the surrender at Appomattox. He was in all of the hard fighting around Richmond and Petersburg. He was never sick a day and did not get a scratch. He walked all of the way home from Virginia. My brother Egbert was killed while the army was in trenches near Atlanta. He was sitting out in front, writing, when a shell burst and killed him. I have the letter now and prize it as one of my greatest treasures. My father during this time had broken in health, and being an old man when the war ended he could never adapt himself to the changed circumstances and did not live long after. In 1868 he rented the plantation to a man named Tuberville and he went back to Newport where he spent one year, but we had such poor health that we moved back to our plantation. My mother never regained her health and passed away in October 1868.

 

The negroes used to come to the house and dance in the yard under a big mulberry tree. No one made them do it - they loved to dance and seemed so happy, such laughing, singing and clapping of hands. One of the men had a tambourine, then one of them had a horse's jaw bone with pieces of tin tacked on which be could beat. It made a fuss and they kept time with their feet. After a while the negroes got religious and father let them preach in our school house, and they made a shelter for the white people at one end and put seats there, so we could listen to them some time. There was a very nice negro man, a refugee from Fernandina, named Joe Berry, who preached. He married Mr . Wooten's housemaid, named Sarah.

 

Before my brothers went to war, they had lots of company from Madison and other places. I remember at one time a crowd went from our house to a ball at Newport, and my father sent them down and paid their expenses at the hotel, and everything else.

 

Father believed in the Confederacy and in the success of it, and took all the ready money he had and put in the bonds, and, of course, when the war ended he had no money - nothing was left but land. He was too old to start again and soon gave up and died."

 

The aftermath of the war was the same tale with the two brothers, Tom and William Moore and their sister, Helen, as with all the Southerners. Life on the farm was not what it had been, with no one to work the plantations but those two and no money forthcoming to pay for the labor of the ex-slaves. Nevertheless, they had to live and the slaves had to be fed, for their labor, so plantations had to be mortgaged and work resumed. In a few years the boys were married and the property divided. Thomas Moore married Mary Y. Simmons, in 1871. She was the daughter of Thomas and Adeline Simmons of Monticello. They bought a home in Waukeenah, the place now occupied by Flora E. Wooten, widow of William, the youngest son of Lafayette Wooten. Thomas and Mary Moore had two girls and four boys. He was an enthusiastic nut grower and when so many nurseries devoted their labor, time and ground to the propagation of fine, thin-shelled pecans, he grew some seedlings in his garden, one of which turned out to be a tree of much :merit, bearing a nut well worthy of propogation which was named for him. The Moore is a long, medium sized, soft shelled, well flavored nut and is now recognized as the best commercial variety of pecans for this section of the South. Mr. Moore grew another round seedling nut named Waukeenah, which was considerably propogated for a time, but finally abandoned by pecan growers in favor of the more superior Moore. The Moore tree is still standing and bearing regular crops of delicious nuts. The descendants of Thomas and Mary Moore are the Moores, Clements and Partridges, William Moore remained on his portion of the farm and is living there at the present time.

 

Helen Moore Edwards lives at Lloyd with two unmarried daughters and is in her eighty-seventh year. Her descendants are the Elliots , Phillips, Richs and Hutchinsons.

 

Lipona

 

In 1825, upon the occasion of the visit of Lafayette to America, the popular hero was donated a township of public land wherever he might select, and Tallahassee was honored by his choice. Lafayette sent some of his countrymen over to colonize his grant of land, but the effort was not successful. However, it led to the coming of one Frenchman of historic name, Charles Louis Napoleon Achille Murat, the oldest son of Napoleons sister, Caroline, and her husband, the king of Naples. Being exiled from France and Italy, he was persuaded by LaJayette to seek a home in Florida, which he did in 1824.

 

He first settled in Tallahassee and showed great interest in the progress and development of Florida. He was elected mayor, and later appointed postmaster of Tallahassee. In 1826, after an acquaintance of eleven months, Prince Murat married a young widow, Catherine Willis Gray, grand-niece of George Washington and daughter of Colonel Byrd C. Willis of Virginia. Prince Murat had established a plantation in Jefferson county, four miles southwest of Waukeenah, to which they moved after their marriage. Econchattie, the name of the plantation, was their home for several years, where they enjoyed a circle of literary and cultured people, from EI Destino, The Gadsden Place, Belmont and Casa Bianca. These homes were the type that gave to the Old South its reputation of chivalry and hospitality.

 

When Prince Murat received notice that he had been assigned to the command of a regiment in the Belgian service, he and his wife left Florida and sailed for Belgium. While residing in Brussels his striking resemblance to Napoleon became a matter of grave concern. Frequently, while walking down the street hewould be hailed by old soldiers who had served under his father, General Murat, who were so moved at sight of him, they covered his hands with kisses. This situation produced much alarm among the authorities who feared that such enthusiasm as that was, would result in the raising of troops to restore the Bonapartes to their respective crowns. The king of Belgium ordered the regiment disbanded. Prince Murat, while bidding his soldiers farewell, spoke to them in seven different languages. He refused all offers of political advancement, which probably was due to the fact of the tragical ending of his father's ambitious career, and the lonely exile of his uncle on St. Helena island.

 

After leaving Belgium, before returning to America they spent some time in London, where they were received by the royal family and moved in exclusive circles. Among well known Americans enjoying the Murat home in London was John Roanoke, of Virginia, and Washington Irving. Louis Napoleon, himself an exile, was a constant guest and he predicted that he would soon be on the throne of France and assured his cousin Kate (Princess Murat) that he would not forget her kindness, and he did not.

 

On their return to America they did not go directly to their home, but went to St. Augustine, where they occupied a quaint old Spanish house which is still standing. He decided to complete a course in law, which he did at this time, and after being admitted to the bar, moved to New Orleans, where he practiced his profession. He bought a handsome home, also a sugar plantation on the Mississippi river, where Madam Murat spent much of her time in winter. Becoming embarrassed financially through extravagance and his plantation operations, and not receiving a large share of his mother's fortune at her death, he sought help in Europe, leaving his wife with her father. He failed to adjust matters to his satisfaction and returned to America, and with his wife went back to his plantation home. He changed its name to Lipona, reversing the syllable of Napoli, his native city in Italy.

 

Murat found much genuine pleasure in his life as a country gentleman. Standing in his front door, as far as eye could see, extended the endless acres of his domain. Like his uncle, Napoleon, it filled him with a covetous sense of possession, prosperity and power. He loved the voices of the plantation, the plaintive "moos" of the hungry cows, waiting to be milked, the cackling of the fowls, the pottrack of the guineas; while from the corn and cotton fields came the sweet, musical  voices of the negro slaves, singing or calling to each other at their work. Madam Murat was a gracious, lively hostess and their home was a favorite gathering place for a coterie of brilliant men and women. The prince, with sparkling bits of wit, travel and history could entertain a drawing room full of guests for hours. Senator Pasco, in his history of Jefferson county mentions the fact of being a guest at their home, and speaks of the charming manner and courteous treatment accorded the guests by Madam Murat.

 

Being some distance from a source of supplies and entertaining almost constantly, she made strenuous efforts to keep her pantry well stocked. However, on one occasion, after a carriage full of guests had arrived, a kitchen maid informed her mistress that the last barrel of flour was exhausted. She immediately asked her husband to send for a fresh supply, and a negro with team and wagon was hurriedly dispatched to the nearest town. Prince Murat wrote an order in his wretched hand writing and when the negro returned, instead of the flour, he said the merchant gave him a kind of contraption called a "horse-fleam" which was ' used for bleeding horses. Unfortunately for the hungry guests waiting to be fed, the messenger had not been told what article he was to purchase. History does not tell us what expedient was resorted to, but the house wives, in those days, were so resourceful, Madam Murat, one feels sure, knew something suitable to substitute.

 

In the quiet and solitude of the plantation, Prince Murat had much time to devote to pursuits that satisfied the cravings of an active, creative mind. His best efforts were several books written on the subject of the government of the United States, which were well received and widely read in Europe. After completing his books, being of a scientific turn of mind, he spent much of his spare time experimenting in cooking and making discoveries as to the dyeing properties of certain plants and vegetables.

 

On one occasion, some guests from the North were there on a visit. The prince had some unusually dainty bits of meat sent into the kitchen, which, when served, proved so delicious, the guests immediately wished to know what they were eating. Murat refused to enlighten them; but the negro who waited upon them was finally persuaded by Madam Murat to acknowledge that the dish was concocted from the ears of sheep. After that, Murat's gentlemen friends were afraid to dine with him unless his wife was present, for he was quoted as saying that his experiments had led him to discover that alligator tail soup was fine, but the buzzard was not so good.

 

Prince Murat built two houses, one for his dwelling house and another for his cooking and dyeing tests. Once, when he wanted to make some particular experiments with dyes, he suggested that his wife go and spend the day with friends, which she did. When she was returning home, at some distance from the houses, she was alarmed by the sight of a dense smoke arising from a spot near the experiment house. Calling to all who were near, they hurried to the place in frantic haste, to find the smoke arose from a fire kindled under a huge wash pot. In her absence, her husband had decided to make a test with certain plants in order to see if dyes could be made from them. He very proudly exhibited number of garments taken from his wife's wardrobe, towels, sheets and table linen, all dyed a vivid pink the color that casts a ghastly glow over the fairest complexion. Madam Murat often assured her friends that in spite of his eccentricities, he was a most devoted husband.

 

During the Seminole war Prince Murat offered his services and acted as aid-de-camp to General R. K. Call: was commissioned colonel - and appointed to command the forces then guarding the frontier settlements. Here he is said to have handled the situation with much bravery and discretion. Madam Murat, feeling that her anxiety was less when she shared his peril, spent much time with him, watching over him at intervals when he was ill and confronting the possibility of a fate worse than death. He died in 1847, was buried in the Episcopal cemetery in Tallahassee and General George Whitfield read the service at his burial.

 

A short while after his death, the Bonaparte family assembled in France to celebrate the restoration of the Bonapartes to the throne of France. At the urgent invitation of Louis Napoleon, "Cousin Kate" was present. He bestowed upon her 40,000 francs, and the privilege of using the royal livery. True to his promise made to her in London, he offered her a chateau in France. This, however, she declined and after a delightful visit, came back to America. She bought a small plantation and house, named Bellevue, two miles west of Tallahassee. The house, a most unpretentious cottage, sits on the crest of a hill, and here Madam Murat spent her remaining days. The bitter poverty which prevailed in the South at the close of the civil war, weighed upon her. Then, too, two hundred freed slaves were like so many helpless children, totally unable to take care of themselves. Prince Murat had been compelled to mortgage his land and negroes to the Union Bank of Florida, but the generosity of Louis Napoleon enabled her to redeem her property.

 

When the movement for the restoration of Mount Vernon was, started, with strenuous effort, Madame Murat raised $3,000.00. Her intense sympathy for the children made fatherless by the war, for the wives made widows and for the crippled soldiers, led her to sell her jewels, her property and anything of value to help in their support. She, herself would have been penniless but for Louis Napoleon, who came to her assistance the second time by settling an annuity upon her. She passed away in 1867, and is buried by the side of her husband, their graves marked by two marble shafts, with simple inscriptions.

 

Prince Murat was a scholar and a well read lawyer and served Jefferson county many terms as County Judge.

 

Wacissa River

 

One of the most beautiful rivers in Florida lies in the southeastern portion of Jefferson county, and, what a river! It differs in many respects from any other. One rides southward over the hills, through the valleys, passing one plantation after another, then suddenly are the flatwoods, and for several miles it is just that: no hills, no valleys, no farms, only flat piney woods with scattering bays, gums or cypress. An opening appears, and the road "deadends" there.

 

A hundred feet behind stands a wood of full grown trees; in front, a large volume of clear water, appearing from nowhere and flowing south in a steady stream, suddenly bursts upon the sight at the dead end, and one is filled with wonder at this unusual phenomenon. Where does the water come from? At once you begin to understand, when the boat in which you are sitting, is pushed from ashore. Your pole suddenly fails to hit the bottom and parting the water hyacinths and lily pads, which form a blanket over the entire surface of the water, except a space about eight or ten feet wide, running like a ribbon down the middle of the stream, which is the channel, you see in the depths beneath you, springs of crystal clearness, indescribable depths below the surface, boiling up from the glistening white sand of the river bottom. Billions of gallons of pure, translucent water are pouring out of nature's reservoir in the streams before you.

 

As the boat moves down, one sees numbers of other streams pouring in, each only a few hundred feet in length, originating from the same kind of springs. A mile down is found the largest one of all, being two hundred feet across and of unknown depth. This is Blue Spring, on the east bank, and it pours an immense volume of water into the river through a channel, helping to put the finishing touch to an already great stream, which flows slowly and surely on its course, fed at intervals by other streams.

 

On either bank is woodland consisting of moss covered oaks, cypress. bays and magnolias, and a perfect wilderness of under brush forming a jungle untrod by the Caucasian, but no doubt well known to the early tribes of Indians, canoeing up and down these waters, hiding in the wild, dense semitropical thickets and hunting the game that even today resort to the haunts of their ancestors.

 

On the hammocks bordering the lowlands is found splendid timber, beech, hickory, oaks and other varieties. The water in the channel of the river is so clear, you can see at a glance the multitude of fish that are produced in this ideal breeding ground. The Wacissa black bass trout is known over the county for its delicious flavor and the fine texture of its flesh.

 

Far down the stream, the character of the river changes. Instead of gliding in a wide sheet, it begins to flow in deeper channels, winding around and over deep holes, branching off into sloughs, that push their way into the woods and return to the parent stream in some other place. Others, known as the western sloughs, leave the main river, sometimes, for a distance of several miles, some finding their way back to the canal, others to the gulf by emptying into either the lower waters of the Aucilla river or into tide-water. These western streams connecting many places with each other, making a maze of sloughs, which surround heavily wooded islands, some almost unexplorable except by wild life.

 

On the east, one main stream branches from the parent stream, called the Wacissa Race, which flows into the Aucilla. Here, the Wacissa river proper breaks up into numerous small, swife streams, all flowing eventually into one channel, "The Canal," so called because this channel was first dug for a canal, that was intended to connect the Aucilla and Wacissa rivers, so that cotton could be more easily transported to the gulf from middle Florida and south Georgia. The waters of the Canal empty into the Aucilla near "Nuttall Rise."

 

A few miles below the head of the river begin a series of so called Indian mounds. Little is known of their significance, but excavations have disclosed bones and even complete skeletons, so they must have been places of interment for the deceased, of the Indian tribes. In many are found pottery and relics of the dead race that chose to haul oyster shells over a tedious route and to such a distance, in order to build their monuments. The mounds may date back to the race of Mound Builders who were not in any way related to any of the present living tribes. This description of the Wacissa is very inadequate, in an attempt to set forth the beauty and enthusiasm aroused by sight of its surroundings. A lover of beauty would be enchanted, a scientist would find an inexhaustible source of interest and material and the sportsman would discover a paradise.