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16 Plantations (Continued)

Page history last edited by Jefferson County Library 14 years ago

Bunker Hill

 

The northern mail route from Thomasville, by Grooverville, Georgia, to Monticello, then back to Thomasville, passed over a hill northwest of Monticello, called "Bunker Hill", where a post office was established for the convenience of the surrounding planters, whose mail was delivered once a week. This tract of land was bought in 1825 by Needham Bryan, who sold it to Daniel Bird in 1831. In 1832 Daniel Bird moved from South Carolina with his family, slaves and household goods to Waukeenah first, then Bunker Hill. Later he bought a place south of Monticello, named "Nacoosa," which had been the home of Abram Bellamy. He had married Behethland Brooks Simkins, the widow of Jesse Simkins, who had left her possessed of lands, money and slaves. She had four Simkins children; Elizabeth, Emmala, Smith and Lawrence. Daniels first wife was Lucinda Brooks, sister of Behethland and they had one daughter, Louise. Five children were born to Daniel and Behethland before coming to Florida; William Capers, Daniel, Jr., Pickens B. and Sarah Oliver, who, at nineteen years of age was engaged to be married and happened to a tragic accident at Nacoosa. She lay before an open fire, reading, and fell asleep. Her clothing caught on fire and she was so badly burned that she died a few days later. Her grave in the old cemetery at Monticello, has a marble tomb and urn above the place of interment, which bears a beautiful inscription to her memory.

 

William Capers Bird married Caroline Brooks in 1857 and dwelt in his father's home, Nacoosa, two miles south of Monticello, which later came into his possession. They reared three children in this lovely home, and their descendants are the Balls, the Burroughs and others. William Capers was a staunch Episcopalian, as was also his half brother Smith Simkins. Their names figured largely in early records of the church. William Capers was 2nd lieutenant in Captain J. Patton Anderson's company "C", when it was reorganized, and being severely wounded at Shilo, was sent home.

 

The second son, Daniel Bird Jr., married Virginia Butt, who was the mother of two children, Daniel and Lilla. The former married Mary Denham and no descendants are at present living in Monticello. Virginia Bird died when her children were small and Daniel married Catherine Dilworth of St. Mary's Georgia, in 1866. Two daughters were born to them; Margaret Louise and Behethland, who is known as Ethel, Dan.iel Bird inherited his father's home, Bunker Hill, which in its turn has passed down to Scott Dilworth Clarke, son of Margaret Louise and Thomas Lee Clarke, Daniel's home was on the plantation for many years, where a natural love for the soil and a planter's joy in its cultivation kept him busy and contented. His second wife was an energetic, industrious woman, well educated and a leader among women, especially in righteous causes. She was possessed of a forceful character and was an outstanding figure in the history of Monticello, before and after the Civil War. Daniel Bird was a gallant soldier of the Confederacy and lost his life at Perryville, Kentucky. He is buried at St. Mary's, Georgia. His wife bought a home in Monticello built by Pickens Bird, where she continued to reside after her marriage to William Scott, a well-read lawyer of Monticello. They had one daughter, Marion Lamar, who was married to Jas. O. Beazley of Richmond, Va. The descendants of Daniel and Catherine Bird are the Clarks, Smiths, Alexanders, Chamberlaynes, and others.

 

Pickens Brooks Bird bought a plantation near Nacoosa from Needham Bryan and from the magnificent oaks on the lawn, named it Treelawn. He married Caroline Linton, who was a beautiful young woman, much sought after by the youths of the county. There were six children: Brooks, Sarah Behethland, Ella, Janie and Daniel. Pickens Bird, coming from a patriotic family of the South, answered the call to arms in 1861, and joined the army, serving first a lieutenant in Co. E., 3rd Florida regiment and was promoted to Captain in Co. K., 10th Florida. He was mortally wounded at Cold Harbor, in 1864, dying a few days later.

 

After the war, the widows and the oldest sons who were left carried on the business of farming, trying to forget the horrors of war and learning to re-establish their business, their homes and life in general. The negroes worked from now on, for wages, and contracts with ,them were drawn up, signed and recorded in the courthouse records. Caroline Linton Bird made contracts, with her husband's old slaves and carried on the work of the big plantation, with the help of her oldest son, Brooks. In the case of the widowed mother, her oldest son was looked upon as the head of the house, · and was called “Young Marster” by the servants. When Brooks grew to manhood he married Maria Ulmer, oldest daughter of Captain John Ulmer, and built a home at the southern end of Treelawn, near Drifton or the Junction as it was called for a long while. His sister, Sarah, married Buckingham Smith of Georgia and after his demise, she became the wife of Judge Howry of the United States Supreme Court. (She lives in Washington, admired by and endeared to a large circle of friends.) Brooks Bird's mother lived many years after the war, watching her many descendants grow to manhood and womanhood. The second daughter Janie, who was considered the most beautiful girl of her era, was married to Jack Davidson, of Quincy, and two children were born to them.

 

The youngest boy, Daniel, married Elizabeth Ulmer, a sister to Brook's wife. Their one child, a son Thomas B. Bird, is the county Judge of Jefferson, served as a captain in the First World War and a man highly respected by the whole community. He has a wife Martha Van Dalsem and two small girls, Elizabeth Lee and Martha Ann. An automobile accident resulted in the death of his mother, Elizabeth Ulmer Bird and her sister-in-law, Janie Davidson.

 

Brooks Bird lived to be over eighty, having grown grandchildren, his wife preceding him to the better land many years earlier. They had nine children, eight of whom are living, known under the names of Robertson, Carmichael, Frishmuth, Cooper, Summer, Bird and Ramsey. Preston Bird, third son, lives at the old home and cultivates the farm lands, noted for their fine watermelons.

 

The three Bird plantations, Bunker Hill, Nacoosa and Treelawn flourished before the Civil War and even some years afterwards, but the loss of the two brothers, Daniel and Pickens and the wounding of the other brother, William Capers, were catastrophies too great to be outlived to say nothing of the freeing of the slaves and the losses entailed by it. Nevertheless, work was continued, all the products for sustenance were raised and though no one lived in affluence, no one was near starvation.

 

A young writer, Ralph Barbour, and his mother spent several winters in Monticello and while there he gathered material for one of his later books, The Orchard Princess, in which ,the scene was laid at Nacoosa.

 

Edgewood

 

The residence of Charles M. Pugsley, is one mile northwest of Monticello. It was originally owned by Gordon Clarke, a pioneer settler from South Carolina, who moved to Florida with his family and slaves, and settled at Waukeenah. His children were John, 'Cooper, Marion, Carrie and Cornelia. He moved from Waukeenah and bought what is now Edgewood, including the property across the lake road for several miles. The old homestead must have stood eight feet south of the home of the present owner, for when the workmen were preparing a driveway, a brick pillar was unearthed. When Gordon Clarke died, his son, Marion, inherited the homestead. His sister, Cornelia, had married Thornas S. Johnson, Jr. and her inheritance was a well wooded tract of this same plantation, a mile or two down the lake road. She wished to live in the old home, so when Marion Clarke married Susan Ann Williams, he and his sister exchanged places. Marion and Susan Ann reared a large family of children, only one of whom, Sarah C. West, is living in Monticello at present. Thomas Johnson and his wife, Cornelia, had three children whom they reared on the old home place. The house was destroyed by fire. Not wishing to rebuild, the land was sold to an aristrocratic German named Graff. He built a home, where he resided many years, then sold it to Abe Simon, who bought it for speculative purposes, although he was quite proud of the results of his farming operations each year. Finally he sold it to Charles M. Pugsley, of Buffalo, New York, who selected Monticello as his winter home, forty-five years ago. He named his place Edgewood, and did not destroy the house, but rebuilt it and added a second story, piazzas, and bath rooms. The lower floor was tastily arranged to conform to modern architecture, and the woodwork, walls and floors handsomely finished in accordance with the ideas of the owner and his wife. Both of them delighted in acquiring antique furniture, and it was not long before they found out where much of the antebellum stuff of the old homes of Monticello had drifted. They were frequently seen going in and out of the negro cabins of former slaves or family servants, and to the shame of the descendants of the old aristocratic families of Jefferson County, these strangers found priceless pieces of mahogany, old lamps, clocks, vases, candlesticks and other relics, which had been given away or sold for a song. Appreciating these antiquated articles, Charles Pugsley paid liberally for them and had them restored at great expense. Today, in his home in Monticello, he has two exquisitely modeled sofas that belonged to Prince Murat and a real Duncan Phyfe mahogany dining table that once belonged to Ellen Adair White . His son's home in New Haven, Conn. , contains also many antiques such as these , which were found in and around Monticello.

 

The Edgewood lawns and gardens, and the grounds approaching 'these are always well tended and give great pleasure to the motorists who enjoy driving through the lovely woods. These woods contain many holly trees, which have never been allowed to be cut down or even denuded of their branches, but have been nurtured and permitted to grow from year to year, unhampered by other growths around or near them, until it is a veritable holly woods.

 

A stream called Pugsley's branch flows through the place, and a high point on its banks, south of the house, is called Indian Point, from the fact that the Indians began to do some marauding on the place during the early days, and as one brave was making his escape with a young negro girl, he was shot, and fell at this point. She was not hurt, but lived to be the mother of a negress, who was a servant of the Pugley's for many years.

 

Among the relics of bygone days owned by Charles Pugsley is a pair of duelling pistols, once owned by John M. Cuthbert. In the early days, duelling was a recognized manner in which to settle a dispute , especially concerning offended honor. Many prominent men fell victims to this maner of liquidating debts of honor. These pistols figured in two duels, in one of which the participants were Everett White, brother to Joseph M. White, and Abram Bellamy. The day for the duel was decided upon, seconds were chosen, and a strip of land, two acres in size , in dispute on the border of Georgia and Florida, was selected, but the duelling pistols owned by John Cuthbert were found to be fired by friction, so it was desired by all concerned to have them changed to fire by percussion. They were sent north to a locksmith, who performed a neat job, but it took several months and in the meantime their friends hoped that the animosity between the duellists would abate. It is still a matter of conjecture as to the result of this quarrel. Some say the duel took place and Everett White fell; others say it never occurred. Before coming to Florida John Cuthbert's father fought a duel with Wm. Nuttall in North Carolina, using the same pistols, but neither party was hurt.

 

Parrish and Sunrise

 

Colonel Richard Parrish came to Jefferson County from Wilmington, N. C., in 1819, at the age of forty-nine years. He married a widow, Dorothy McGee Major, and five children composed their family: two sons, John and Richard, and three daughters, Laura, Lydia, and Caroline.

 

Colonel Parrish entered government lands in Leon and Jefferson Counties, all of his land bordering on Lake Miccosukee. His homestead must have been located in Jefferson county; for the family burying ground is on the McLeod place, not far from the line separating the two counties. When he bought his lands and selected a site for a home, he ordered his house from Wilmington, each piece r eady . to be fitted to the next, so numbered that they could easily and quickly be put together. He engineered many needed improvements and an1.ong them was the Parrish Ford. Until the railroad was built in 1858, there was no way of getting to the capital city except on horseback or by carriage and horses, and when the lake was filled with water by incessant rains, to cross it was a hazardous undertaking. The first . Monticello-Tallahassee road for the settlers of Jefferson County and for traders from south Georgia crossed the lake not very far from the bridge on No.1 highway. As more settlers came in, more land was t aken up and planted, and more cotton was produced, necessitating more travel over this dangerous road. Colonel Parrish, sensing the difficulty, found a way to remedy it. He built a most substantial ford, and for many years this was in constant use, making a journey to Tallahassee an easier matter. Though the ford , which went by the name of Parrish ford, has long since been abandoned, Colonel Parrish's name will go down in history as a benefactor of mankind.

 

His daughter Laura was married to Joel Blake of Leon County where they made their home. He was killed in the Civil War, leaving his widow with four daughters. She was married several years later to John Leonard, and their descendants in Jefferson County are the Lowries and the Lloyds.  

 

Lydia died unmarried. Caroline was married to Dr. James Theodore Turnbull, who was born in Abbeville, S. C., in 1811. He studied medicine, graduating in 1834 from Charleston Medical College, then came to Florida and in 1835 married Caroline Andrew Parrish. She was born in Wilmington, N. C. in 1817.  

 

Dr. Turnbull possessed a scientific mind which was engaged, much of his spare time, in the effecting of cures by applying certain remedies. He practiced medicine throughout Jefferson County, from the Georgia boundary to St. Marks. His only means of traveling, and by far the quickest way was on horseback, so it may readily be seen what an arduous task it was in those days, to minister to the sick. No physician traveled without well filled saddle bags, for, as no drug stores were available, he had to be the pharmacists as well as the doctor.

 

He settled, with his family, on a plantation three miles south of Monticello and built a house which is still standing, staunch and habitable, but showing the ravages of time. Dr. Turnbull and his wife had eleven children, six sons and five daughters. Their place was known as Sunrise. When his boys were old enough to receive higher mental training than that obtained at Monticello, he moved to Oxford, where they could attend a college. His health began to fail and he and his family returned to his home at Sunrise. He died in 1854, at the age of 43 years. Dr. Turnbull was the first physician to use quinine to kill malaria germs, and what a boon it has proven to mankind. He experimented on his slaves, and though he was not successful at first, the price was small compared to the great benefit it has proved to be. ~ He and his wife, his sister Lydia, and two of his daughters, Emma Reid and Caroline Smith, are buried in the family cemetery at Sunrise. A great deal has been written and spoken of the splendid work of Dr. Turnbull throughout the county in his short career, but little has been handed down exploiting the handiwork of his noble wife. Dr. Turnbull's work took him away from home much of the time, and like' all other physicians, his moments at home must be spent in peace and quiet. The work then of rearing seven boys and five girls devolved upon Caroline Turnbull, and the future careers of her boys prove she did her work well, and when she walked to the breakfast tables every morning, carrying the Bible in one hand and a switch in the other, ~ the act proved how earnestly she desired her sons to be brought up as Christians, but how well she knew the proximity of the bad man in each boy and the efficacy of the rod.  

 

Sunrise was bought by Alex Ritter and his grandson owns most of it, at present. The children of Dr. Theodore and Caroline Turnbull are, Richard, Emma, Junius, Theodore, Caroline, John, Alexander Noble, Samuel, Julia Jane and Decimus Septimus. Julia Jane was married to Smith Simkins in 1868. Their descendants are the Simmons, the Baileys, and others. Decimus died unmarried, Alexander Noble died in youth, and two daughters married and moved away. Richard and Junius married sisters, whose histories are found elsewhere. John Turnbull married Juliette Turner of Georgia. They reared a family of four boys, two of whom are living in New York City or near there, both holding responsible positions. Theodore married Mary Simpson and lived in Miccosukee, their descendants being the Yarboroughs. Samuel married Rosa Williams and one son, Theodore, blessed their union. Rosa passed away a year or two later, and in 1868, Samuel married Virginia Finlayson. Their family consisted of five boys and two girls. Their descendants are Sloans, McElveys, Stokes, Hilliards, and Daniels.

 

The Dilworth Plantation

 

The country between Lloyd and Monticello is well adapted to farming and judging from the excellent produce raised in the past on the plantations dotted along the old country road, the early settlers long ago discovered its fertility . Paul Ulmer was one of the pioneers to establish his home along this route.

 

Adjoining the Ulmer place was a plantation owned by William Dilworth. He was the son of William Dilworth and Elizabeth Scott, a sister of James Scott. The Dilworth family originally came from England and this branch settled at St. Marys, Georgia, soon after the Revolutionary War. William Dilworth moved to Quincy where he died leaving his widow with three sons and one daughter. James Scott had settled in Jefferson county and married Margaret Bailey, sister of General William Bailey. Naturally, Elizabeth with her children joined the new settlers, where she could receive the aid and assistance of her. brother and the uncle of her children.

 

Martha Dilworth was the eldest child. She was born in 1819 and was a girl of fourteen or fifteen years when her mother married Henry Womack. At seventeen years of age Martha was married to William Jefferson Mills whose forefathers were English, settling in North Carolina, then coming to Georgia, living between Bainbridge and Tallahassee. Their married life was not spent in Jefferson County, but three of their daughters married and lived in Monticello until death claimed them. The daughters were: Mary Camilla, wife of Daniel L. Oakley; Emma Rebecca, the wife of Benjamin W. Johnson and Anna Augusta, the wife of Alexander R. Knighton. The oldest son William Hilliard, married Frances Ann, the daughter of Rev. Daniel H. Bryan, and their first home was in Jefferson county, but they moved near Whigham, Georgia. After her husband died Frances Mills returned to Monticello, where she made her home until her death. She was a woman possessed of fine traits of character, and was imbued with the true spirit of christianity. Her husband had one brother, who married and lived in Georgia and his eldest sister Elizabeth Scott never married, but many are those whom she cared for in sickness and in trouble, who rise up and call her "Blessed." Another sister, Laura, lived in Georgia.

 

William Dilworth studied law and became a prominent member of that profession. He gained an enviable reputation in matters pertaining to law, for his sound judgment and careful discrimination. During the Civil War he joined the Confederate army in response to a call for two additional regiments to defend the coast of Florida. He enlisted in the 3rd Florida Infantry and was made Colonel of the regiment. After the transfer ' to Chattanooga, the First was joined by Dilworth's Third and these with the First Cavalry and Martin's battery represented Florida in the famous invasion of Kentucky in the summer and fall of 1862. After the war Colonel Dilworth returned to his home and continued the practice of law. He was married to Cornelia Gaulden of Quitman, Georgia, and they had three children: Elizabeth, Laura and Charlie. In the early fifties he built a handsome home in Monticello, which they occupied in winter, living at their plantation home in summer.

 

Cornelia Dilworth was a faithful member of the Presbyterian Church and very much interested in teaching the children of the slaves to become Christians. The young daughters of the church members were selected as their instructors each Sunday afternoon. Mary Mills, a girl of sixteen, was a niece of Cornelia's husband, who lived with them in order to finish her education at the Jefferson Academy. She was given a class of ten little colored girls, their ages ranging between eight and ten years. Mary was told to teach them orally what she herself had learned about the Gospel of Christ, as there were no books available. Mary was no teacher, that is of the Scriptures, without a Sunday school manual, but she thought she would teach them something, anyway, and being little pickaninnies, what difference did it make? They were eager to learn, and delighted at being in the "white folks" church and being taught by a "white lady." While hoping to grasp some inspiring thoughts of Christian living to impart to the minds of her scholars, Mary had a bright idea, or at least one that relieved her of further mental struggle. She taught them this verse:

         "Peas porridge hot,

          Peas porridge cold,

          Peas porridge in the pot

          Nine days old."

 

The little negroes repeated it with gusto, using accompanying gestures, and quickly committed it to memory. When her aunt came around to find what progress Mary had made, they stood up in a row, and repeated the lines enthusiastically. Needless to say, Mary was never called on again to teach a class of little slave children, greatly to her satisfaction.

 

Cornelia Dilworth's health failed during the strenuous days of the war and after the birth of her son she continued to grow worse until death claimed her. Her mother, who was still living, undertook the care of the children after Colonel Dilworth's death, until she, too, passed away. In 1870 Elizabeth joined her mother and father in the better world when only fourteen years of age. Laura or Lula became the wife of Samuel Puleston in 1877, and they had a family of three boys and two girls, all of whom are living except the youngest boy.

 

Colonel Dilworth, at one time, was considered a wealthy land and slave owner, but, like so many others, after the emancipation of the slaves, entailing the loss of their value, bes'ides their work, homes and plantations had to be put under mortgages, and so, many of the citizens were too old to recover from the effects of these changes. His home in town and part of the Dilworth plantation passed into the hands of others; but a portion still remains in the possession of the oldest daughter, Sarah, and of her husband, J. A. Taylor, who cultivates it. Colonel Dilworth's only son followed the ministry and is a Baptist Divine, living at West Palm Beach.

 

William Dilworth's brother James died when he was a young man, and George moved to Texas, married Elizabeth Norwood, of Texas, and reared a family, whose descendants are residents of that State.

 

Plantations South of Monticello

 

The Kilpatrick family has long been associated with Jefferson County's history. Several years before the civil war, the progenitor of this family, James Kilpatrick, came from North Carolina and taught school near Bolton plantation, and later moved to Waukeenah. He married Priscilla Lang, whose father was born in Georgia, but came to Florida when he was a boy, with his mother and stepfather. While he was a lad he bought some slaves and began to plant for himself. Soon he acquired a farm of his own seven miles south of Monticello, where he built a home, cleared land and erected a grist mill and sawmill, which are still intact. James and Priscilla Kilpatrick had a family of seven children. The eldest daughter, Martha May, was married to the late John Cocksey and their home was a part of the Lang place, including the old mill, which is a picturesque spot and an ancient landmark. One son, James Kilpatrick, is living in Waukeenah. Another son, Richard L. was born in Waukeenah in 1857. He engaged in farming most of his life. In 1881 he was married to Isabelle May Bailey, the daughter of Isabelle Murray and Alvin May. She was a widow with two children: Clay and Isabelle. In 1886 she passed away, leaving four daughters: Nettie, Eva, Julia and Katherine. In 1887 Richard married his wife's cousin, Emma May, whose one child was the late Richard M. Kilpatrick, of Monticello.

 

In 1895 Richard L. Kilpatrick was made deputy sheriff under Major T. B. Simkins, sheriff. This necessitated his moving into Monticello, where his interesting family of girls attended the Jefferson Collegiate Institute. In 1898 the crushing casualty of Major Simkin's death left the office of sheriff vacant and Richard L. was appointed to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term. In 1900 he was elected sheriff and he filled that office for many years with much credit for his bravery and firmness of character.

 

Edward G. Kilpatrick was the third son of James and Priscilla. He was clerking in the dry goods store of J. H. Perkins, soon after the Perkins building was erected. Ed was a robust, wholesome looking young man, full of energy and vigor. A gas pit back of the building contained the facilities for lighting it, and Ed went down into the pit to arrange the current for the evening lights. When he was missed for some time from the store, search was made for him, and he was found in the pit, asphyxiated. Every means of resuscitation were resorted to, but life had been extinguished. The fumes from the gas escaping had done their deadly work. Thereafter, the gas plant was abandoned.

 

Howren Kilpatrick was the youngest son of James and Priscilla. He was a quiet, unassuming man, always courteous, and faithful to his duties. He was city marshal for many years. When his health failed he moved to a small farm, which he cultivated diligently, though suffering from a lingering malady, which finally caused his death.

 

The members of the Cocksey family in the county are descended from John Cocksey, who was born in Georgia in 1826. He came to Jefferson county before the civil war and married Emma Lang, sister to Priscilla Lang Kilpatrick. Their home and farm were near Sardis church, which they attended whenever there were services. The family consisted of five boys and one girl. The boys were reared on the farm, taught self-reliance and courage to make their way in the world. They have a reputation in the county for being peaceable, energetic, desirable citizens. Three of the boys: John, Benjamin and J. R. bought farms on the road to Waukeenah, married and raised families of boys and girls who have taken their places in the industry of the county. Another brother who lives between Lloyd and Monticello, where he reared a family of five children, who married and scattered over the county.

 

Between Monticello and Capps, on Highway No. 11, an antebellum home, built substantially of well seasoned timbers, presenting a most homelike and pleasing aspect to the eye, is that of Honorable W. B. Bishop, the present representative to the State Legislature. This home and farm was originally the home of Alvin May, whose son, Asa May, was prominent in the affairs of the county in reconstruction days. His second sister became the wife of John A. Morris, whose plantation and home was near Ashville. Asa May sold the homestead after his parents died and bought a place near that of his sister. Late in life he married Alice Cunningham.

 

At Capps is the estate of the late John Bailey, eldest son of Edward Bradford Bailey. His wife was Janie Lovett, daughter of J. T . Lovett, a prosperous farmer and merchant of Capps for many years. One son, John Bailey, survives his parents.

 

Neely

 

The grandfather of the present members of the Neeley family in the county was Samuel Neeley, who came to Jefferson County from Tennessee, in the early 40's, while the Indians were still making raids among the homes of the white settlers. He bought land and built the house which has been owned and occupied by Benjamin Morris for nearly sixty years. He had a family of five boys and two girls. His son, Samuel, settled in Leon County and John remained in Jefferson. The other boys moved to other states. John Neeley married Fannie Harley, the daughter of another pioneer planter, whose farm was in the neighborhood. John bought land on the road south of Monticello and operated a successful farm, raising a family of three boys and one girl. He recently answered the Master's summons to leave his earthly home and come up to a higher life. His daughter lives at the old home, with the mother, and carries on the work of the farm . A son and his family reside near, on another prosperous farm, making a specialty of chickens and eggs.

 

Morris

 

Among the early settlers of Jefferson County, whose descendants have formed the backbone of her agricultural interests for over a century, was James D. Morris Devere, who was born in Kent County, England, in 1813. His father, James M. Morr is Devere, was a citizen of France and was appointed, much against his will, one of the judges of Louis XVI. His strong opposition to the terrible sentence passed upon that unfortunate monarch was the cause of James Morris' exile from his own country for nine years. He left for England, placing his children with his deceased wife's relatives. He married Elizabeth Cadmark in England and when he returned to France with two sons, some of his children by his former union were married and most of them settled in businesses of their own, having divided their father's estate among themselves, thinking he had passed away. He was possessed of a comfortable income and settled in Normandy, France, until 1830, when France was convulsed by another revolution. He was reduced to penury and decided to emigrate to America to redeem his fortune , if possible. A friend told him of General Lafayette's colony in Florida and he decided to take advantage of this offer, of title deeds to a tract of this gift of land. On account of illness, James and his family could not sail with his friends and it was several months before they reached Florida, to find that this friend had destroyed his deed and sold his land. Hard luck followed, as everyone contracted a fever and one son died a few days after their arrival. The mother, weakened by the long voyage, the terrible hardships of this new land, the death of her son and the noxious fever, died a few weeks after reaching their new home. Then the father , completely brokenhearted, cheated of his property, a stranger in a strange land, only lived three weeks after her death. The seven children, the oldest, James, only sixteen, were left to the mercy of strangers. Homes were found for them, some not happy ones, but in time they accumulated property, married and made homes of their own.

 

James D. Morris located in Jefferson County in 1836 and was married to Catharine Mathers in 1838. He opened a mercantile business in Monticello until his marriage, then bought a farm which he cultivated until his death in 1873. Eight children were born to them: Rosa Elizabeth, James Alfred, Benjamin Augustus, Walter Taylor, Mary Louise, Catharine Ann, William Michael, and Louis Napoleon. Rosa was the wife of James B. Edwards of Lloyd; Mary Louise is the wife of Chas. Sloan, both of whom are living and both in their 80's. Five sons settled in Jefferson county, where their sons and daughters have been reared and have gone forth into the outside world, following their varied vocations, doing their part in the building of character and in service to their fellow man.

 

Plantations North of Monticello

 

During Florida's territorial days many Georgians bought farms and moved down, settling along the border. One of the settlers was Asa Anderson, who acquired land and built a house where Milton Anderson's home now stands. Asa was an expert farmer and acquired more land as the profits on his produce increased. When Texas was admitted to the Union in 1844 and land was almost given away by merely settling upon it and recording a claim, Asa journeyed there with his family, leaving only his son, Christopher. He remained in Jefferson County, married Louisa Dawkins, and bought a farm three miles north of Monticello, on the Thomasville Road. He was a successful farmer like his father, and his kind, benevolent nature, nurtured by a christian character, procured him many friends. His only daughter, Annie, married Lucien Folsom, and their farm is near the old homestead. The second son, Frank, died, leaving his widow with four children. The other three sons are married and have families, all being citizens of the county seat, and taking active parts in the business life of the town, as temperate, honest and industrious sons as their forbears were.

 

On the same highway, farther north and extending toward the road to Boston, Georgia, lies the Shuman settlement. The progenitor of this family was Rutherford Shuman, who was born in Georgia in 1829. He married Nancy Platt, who was born in 1836. They were married in 1852 and moved to Florida, bringing all their possessions. They reared a family of four boys and two girls. The eldest daughter, Sarah, was born in 1854, was married in 1870, soon after which time she passed away. All of the boys were thrifty farmers like their father, except R. B. Shuman, known as "Capt.", who greatly differed from his brothers, in that he did not like farming, did not follow it, as his vocation and did not marry. He entered the mercantile business when quite a young man, later coming to Monticello, where he was very successful, continually enlarging his interests until his trading activities took precedence of the mercantile business proper, then sold out that business to his nephew, Little R. Rainey. William, Henry and Joseph acquired farms, married and reared families of children, and Henry lived on his farm the remainder of his life, but William and Joe bought homes in Monticello, where the latter still resides. The youngest daughter was Van Delia, who was married to Isaiah Rainey in 1884. The three boys and one girl of this family were in their teens when the father died. The family then moved into Monticello and bought Josiah Budd's home, where they resided many years, even after the mother had passed away. The children have married and moved to homes of their own.  

 

Plantations Northwest of Monticello

 

In 1845, Robert Davis Johnson, a planter from South Carolina, journeyed to Jefferson County and bought a plantation bordering Raysor Lake. He had married a lady of noted ancestry and she possessed great strength of character and 'poise. There were six daughters in this household whose varied characteristics, gained by inheritance or acquired by training, made them good wives and mothers. Two daughters, Isabella and Sarah, were married to sons of Dr. Raysor, a neighboring planter and physician. Mary and Lucy were married to Samuel and Frank Linton. Rebecca became the wife of William Simkins. His death, in a few years, left her a young widow and in 1874 she was married to Dr. Robert Scott, a widower with five daughters.

 

In 1877, the wife of Robert Davis Johnson died, and he married Julia Edwards, a sister to Kit Edwards, who taught the school at Lloyd. Robert Johnson passed away in 1880 and was buried by the side of his first wife in Mount Zion Cemetery.

 

This plot of land he had selected for a family and neighborhood burial ground. When he heard that Smith Simkins entered government lands in that part of the county, including this spot, he forestalled him and purchased it himself from the government "to be ' forever used for graveyard purposes." The relief workers of the FERAcleared all the cemeteries in the county of grass, weeds and stubble in 1933 and Mt. Zion cemetery was included. Many deceased residents of that neighborhood are buried there and a strong wire fence around it protects it from prowling animals and other marauders. One end was given for the use of the colored citizens in the neighborhood as a burial ground, at the request of Robert Johnson's youngest daughter, Indian, who remained single, and passed away several years ago, survived by her sister, Rebecca, recently deceased.

 

Sarah Johnson Raysor became a widow and in 1884 married a widower, George Taylor, with one daughter, who afterward becamethe wife of Oscar Linton. There were two children born to Sarah and George Taylor; Jack and Sarah, whose birthplace was the Taylor Plantation, but they have lived the greater part of their lives in Monticello. Sarah is the wife of Dewitt Kuder, the agent of the American Express Company, and Jack, who married Isla Brown of Tampa, is the present tax collector of the county. Each family has two girls and a boy. '

 

A neighboring planter to the Johnsons was Benjamin Linton. His father settled in Georgia before the civil war, having moved there from Abbeville, South Carolina. Benjamin was born in 1830 and grew to manhood, married Rebecca Roundtree and was the father of three boys and one .girl, before he moved to Florida. His two brothers also settled in Jefferson County, Tom who was a Methodist Minister and Sam, who farmed below Drifton. Their only sister, Margaret, was the wife of Frank Stubbs, who lived in Georgia.

 

Benjamin settled across the Georgia line, in Jefferson County, where he built one of those solid, substantial mills, that were meant to stand the wear and tear of time and usage. He built a home and as there was a cluster of neighboring farms near the site of the mill, this community went by the name of Linton's mill. When the mill was completed an all day picnic was arranged, with boat races on the mill pond, and a tournament in the afternoon, and a dance in the mill house in the evening, which brought together the whole countryside for a grand frolic. The sons of Benjamin were Moses, Frank and Oscar, and one daughter, Lona, who is the wife of Samuel H. Taylor, of Monticello. Benjamin Linton died in 1883. His wife died in 1896.