Mayport Minorcans - Historical Text Archive

Dyle R. Johnson, Mayport Minorcans
Edited by Donald. J. Mabry1
The first thing I learned when I arrive in Mayport was that the names,
“Minorcan and Mullet,” were synonymous. I was fascinated with the art of
catching mullet with a net as they swam along the river shore making no visible
sign to the inexperienced eye. It took me months and then I usually threw where
they had been and missed. One native of Minorcan maternal descent always
told me that you had to have more sense than the mullet to catch them. He
never missed. He would wade out sometimes waist deep and throw the net and
always catch mullet. When the word went out, “mullet on the beach”, the
Minorcans would grab their nets and go. It was often exaggerated that church
would turn out if mullet came during services. I am trying to convey this
connection of Minorcan and Mullet to the realism of Mayport settlers. Almost
1
This was an unfinished, handwritten rough draft written in 1981 before Johnson died in June of
that year. It contains the elements of a writer trying to record his thoughts quickly, using
abbreviations, sentence fragments, the omission of definite articles, etc. Johnson was also
writing for the Mayport community in which he lived, and, thus, assumed that his readers would
be familiar with the people he mentions. He never drew the essay to a conclusion. It just stops. I
have taken the liberty of clarifying his text, partly by changing most abbreviations to full words,
adding punctuation marks, and giving it a title. At times, I smoothed out his writing. I added all
the images, footnotes, and hyperlinks.
1
every family is directly or indirectly, maternally or paternally, descended from
Minorcans.
Mullet is a fresh water fish that comes out of the river to spawn in salt
water every year. Large schools start out of the St. Johns, about September, as
fat mullet. Later in November and December, they are roe mullet. They are
salted, smoked, and just plain fried or made into chowder—a favorite of
Minorcans.
The Minorcans came to New Smyrna with Turnbull in 1768 during the
English occupation of Florida. When Turnbull’s New Smyrna’s experiment failed
miserably, his colony of indentured servants from Greece, Italy, and Spain
(called Minorcans after the Spanish Isle of Minorca from whence many of them
came) fled north to civilized St. Augustine where they were granted asylum. In
1784, they pledged allegiance to the Spanish government when it assumed
second ownership of Florida after the British occupation of 1763-83.2
The first Minorcans to show up in Mayport or at least around the mouth of
the St. Johns River came in about 1790. It is believed that the Minorcans, who
were expert fishermen, came down the beach to the mouth of the St. Johns
River to catch the mullet as they came out of the river in the fall of the year in
large schools. Sometimes the fish would be too far offshore by time they got to
St. Augustine as they swam south for spawning.
On February 8, 1792, Andrew Dewees, from Charleston, SC, arrived in this
area with his family to take over the Spanish land grant known as Naranjal
(orange grove), 2633 1/3 acres bounded by the St. Johns River, the Atlantic
Ocean and Pablo Creek. His family included a wife, Catherine Chicken, 3
daughter Elizabeth, son Philip, and slaves.4
This land had been an English grant in 1772 during the English occupation
of Florida (1763-83). It was on the south bank of the St. Johns River, beginning at
its mouth to N. Wood Esquire.5 This land included what is now Mayport and the
later Dewees Grant from Spain. I have seen foundations of houses off
Wonderwood Drive that I was told belonged to a Spanish plantation probably
“Smyrnea: Dr. Andrew Turnbull and the Mediterranean Settlement at New Smyrna and
Edgewater, Florida, 1766-1777.” Florida History Online.
http://www.unf.edu/floridahistoryonline/Turnbull/index.htm
3 Apparently, the family name was Cherken but local folks pronounced it Chicken.
4 Editor’s Note: Fatio vs Dewees, Florida Supreme Court, Florida Memory,
http://207.156.20.146/items/show/260684 shows how complex these land grants could be and
how Mayport residents fought over them.
5 Editor’s note: I do not know if Johnson meant a person or a place.
2
2
before this time, made with coquina or tabby. It was called San Pablo or Pablo
Planation or Pablo.
San Juan del Puerto (established in 1587 on Ft. George Island), was
captured by the English in 1708; ten missions were reported in 1602. One was
San Pablo, 1½ leagues (4.5 miles) from San Juan del Puerto. All ten were under
the guidance of Fray Francisco Pareja, a Franciscan missionary who arrived in St.
Augustine in 1595. These 10 pueblos contained Christian Indians and had a
population of 500. These missionaries planted orange seeds and could be
responsible for Naranjal.6
The Kings Road ran from St. Augustine to the St. Johns River following a
ridge of 10’ elevation. This ridge was between the ocean and Pablo Creek, and
played an important role in transportation and travel from probably from the
time the Franciscan Missions were established in 1587.
This is the trail or route probably traveled by Fray Francisco Pareja, as he
visited the ten missions established from San Juan del Puerto located on the
north side of St. Johns. The farthest mission, Santa Cruz, was about ½ way
between Ponte Vedra and St. Augustine. This same track followed the Spanish
mail route from St. Augustine to Pablo Plantation in 1821. This route was not used
by Spanish to invade Fort Caroline; their route was west of Pablo Creek.
Another land grant during the English occupation was to J. Tucker Esquire,
10,000 acres near mouth of St. Johns and including Ft. George Island.
In 1776, the town of St. Johns was founded, located at St. Johns Bluff, site
of Fort Caroline. After the return of Florida to Spain in 1783, the little town was
dismantled and moved to the Bahamas. On April 5, 1786, Juan de Entralgo7,
notary of the Spanish grant, published his last and final warning to the effect
that 30 days were given “to take oath of fidelity or depart.”
Governor Juan Quesada granted to John McQueen the island of Ft.
George in 1792. McQueen, a native of Georgia8, had come to St. Augustine
after 1790 and sworn allegiance to the Spanish flag. On March 13, 1804,
Johnson used the date of 1588 for the founding but scholars use 1587. Fray Francisco Pareja
translated the local people’s language into Spanish. Michael J. Francis, “Imagining La
Florida/Imaginando La Florida, “Acción Cultural Española,
http://www.accioncultural.es/virtuales/florida/eng/europeans/fray_francisco.html; Keith H.
Ashley, Mocama Archeology,” University of North Florida Archeology Lab,
http://www.unf.edu/~kashley/Mocama.html.
7 “Entralgo, Juan B.,” Florida Memory, https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/232612?id=3.
8 Actually, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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McQueen sold Ft. George to John Houston McIntosh, who in turn sold same to
Zephaniah Kingsley9 on January 23, 1817.
In June, 1804, McQueen bought and settled 1,000 acres of sawmill tract
that was located about one mile from St. Johns Bluff at the point of Pablo,
Greenfield Creek. He took over a saw mill left by the English and which was still
operational. His home was called “Los Molinas de McQueen” although steam
operated circular saws did not make their appearance in Florida until 1850. His
saws were like a cross cut that were pulled back and forth to rip lumber. One
hundred feet of ripping was a good day’s work. After 1850, saw mills flourished
along St. Johns. The circular saw was a boon to the lumber industry.
During the period after 1783, when the Spanish regained Florida, Governor
Zéspedes was head of the government in East Florida until 1790 when Juan
Nepomuceno de Quesada became Governor. The Spanish were anxious to
populate the area as a buffer between St. Augustine and Georgia.
Andrew Dewees received his Spanish grant of 69 caballerías10 on October
29, 1790. He came here from Charleston, South Carolina on February 8, 1792. He
was the son of Phillip Dewees who was born in Pennsylvania in1721 and died in
South Carolina in 1778. In this same year, Andrew married Elizabeth Chicken who
was born March 23, 1758. She was the daughter of Elizabeth Hortil Chicken and
Will Chicken of S.C.
Philip S. May, “Zephaniah Kingsley, Nonconformist (1765-1843,” Florida Historical Quarterly, 3:3,
January, 1945.
10 2,633 1/3 acres.
9
4
1827 Map of the Dewees Grant
After the Spanish regained Florida in 1783, there was a period of nine
years before Andrew Dewees came to San Pablo. Minorcan fishermen from St.
Augustine had built shacks at the south side of the mouth of St. Johns River. This
5
became part of the Dewees grant, so they were actually squatting on his
property. The fishermen were probably welcomed as fish were a helpful additive
to the food supply for a newcomer to the vicinity in February. Land was plentiful.
Men who had knowledge of this area were not. Some of them probably went to
work on the Plantation. At least one of the young fishermen, José Juaneda
became acquainted with Elizabeth. He was dark and handsome; she was fair
and beautiful. The inevitable happened: courtship, romance, and, finally,
marriage on July 21, 1794.
José Juaneda y Flordi, the Minorcan fisherman and later husband of
Elizabeth Mary Dewees for some reason changed his name or at least the
Spanish version. Taking the last name of his father Juaneda and family name of
his mother Flordi, they came up with the American translation John Floyd. This
union, in my opinion, became the beginning of the Mayport genealogy for
many years, and is still a familiar family name today.
[Johnson spent considerable space in presenting family connections in
this essay as he established that the familiar interrelationships that have
characterized the area’s history. Following his text can be difficult for a stranger
to Mayport. In 2009, Ruth Mack published a Minorcan genealogy online, a very
useful tool.]
To this couple were born the following children: Catherine, born October
15, 1795; Mary who married Dimitrius Solano; John born around 180011; and
Andrew before 180212. They were born at San Pablo on the Plantation near the
location of the Mayport Cemetery. Whether they built this building or not, I can’t
find out, but it was still there when Eli Haworth and William Keeler purchased the
Dewees grant shortly after the Civil War in1870. The Haworths lived in the Pablo
house. Mr. Fred Haworth, a grandson of Eli, is living on Mayport Road at present
and is 92 years old. He described the house to me. It was two story or 1½ story.
Part of the lower level was below the ground and a set of tabby steps in front
and middle to reach to the second floor. It had a breezeway all the way
through the house with rooms on each side. The bottom or cellar had two large
windows above ground level. Inside were rings around the wall to tie slaves or
prisoners
Andrew Dewees died about 1804, and, in 1811, his widow, Catalina
(Chicken) Dewees, sold about 1800 acres to John Forbes and Company.
11
12
February 3, 1800 in St. Augustine, St. Johns Co., FL
October 14, 1805 in St. Augustine, St. Johns Co., FL.
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The second Spanish occupation period lasted 36 years until 1819,13 and
the U. S. acquired Florida by treaty in 1821. There was a change of flags with
ceremonies in St. Augustine for East Florida.
In the years that followed the birth of John and Andrew Floyd, nothing
seems to appear until about 1820, when the St. Johns Bar Pilots were established.
The following men were the charter members: Captain John Arnau, Frank
Majones, Peter Masters, Captain Whiteman, Philip Dewees, John and Andrew
Floyd. These pilots, in the beginning, used whale boats to board the vessels.
There were also river pilots that piloted the vessels up the river to Jacksonville,
which was known as Cow Ford until it was surveyed and named in honor of
General Andrew Jackson in June, 1822. General Jackson was made Provisional
Governor of Florida, after East and West Florida was ceded to the U.S. by Spain.
Duval County was created by 1822.14
I will name some of the Pilots that came along later as their names are
families in the Mayport genealogy. Captain William LaMee, a native of France,
born 1812, became a pilot in 1838; John Johnson (Bie) born in Norway; James
Latimer of Ft. George; John Clark; Charles Brown; Robert Houston of Talbot
Island; and George Gilbert.
John Bie Johnson
Actually it was 1821 when the Spanish left.
Johnson wrote that Florida was ceded to the U. S. on February 22, 1819 and the treaty as
ratified two years later on Washington’s Birthday, February 22, 1821. The cession occurred in 1821
but the United States government was in control of Florida long before the Adams-Onís Treaty of
1819. Florida extended westward into what is now eastern Louisiana. Americans, including
Andrew Jackson, had been illegally invading Spain. Spain could not hold Florida in the face of
such hostilties and needed to marshal its efforts elsewhere in its vast empire. Americans had
substantial tort claims against Spain. The U.S. government agreed to pay its own citizens, ridding
Spain of that liability. A sweetener!
13
14
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In the second half of the century, the names included S. L. Houston,
James Falaney, Robert Gordon, Robert Latimer, Joseph Floyd, Joseph King,
Charles Wilson, and John Daniels.
On January 20, 1827 the rate of pilotage at the bar of the St. Johns’ River
was established by the council. The pilots were owed $2.00 for each foot of
water the vessel drew and $2.00 for each day the pilot was detained on board.
Should any vessel refuse a hailing pilot, such pilot could demand and collect
same fee. Outbound vessels refusing were liable to pay half fee. This act was an
important factor in establishing a settlement at the mouth of St. Johns’ River
called Hazzard prior to 1846. The old lighthouse was referred to as the Hazzard
Light. Alexis Andrew was listed as Postmaster of Hazzard in 1842.
Some of the pilot boats were the “Maggie B,” the “Wallace,” and the
“Swift.” These were sailing boats and owned jointly or singularly by the pilot. I will
return to the Pilots who were serving at the end of the century later.
I would like to go back a bit and relate an incident that was responsible
for persons that lived in this area being here.
During the Seminole uprising in 1812, New Switzerland, the home of Francis
P. Fatio, Jr., was burned and destroyed.15 His father settled this plantation during
the English occupation and was very prominent during Governor Grant’s term of
office. Judge Fatio, his wife, and several members of his family, along with two
slaves, escaped down the St. Johns River to the north. From there, they went up
Sisters Creek to Fernandina and on to St. Mary’s, Georgia. The slaves were
cleaning the silverware and that was about all they got away with. They
grabbed that and ran to the escape boat.
Judge Fatio became active in his profession in Fernandina until 1817 when
he came to Pablo. George Fleming, his brother-in-law, was operating the
plantation which was owned by John Forbes and Co. Mr. Fatio and family came
to assist in the operation.
George Fleming was responsible for establishing the first mail route
between St. Augustine (Florida) and St. Mary’s, Georgia. Soon after Mr. Fatio
settled in, Captain Fleming moved with his family to St. Augustine where he was
in regular service of the Spanish government.
This is today’s Switzerland, Florida. Francis P. Fatio, Sr. was Swiss and came to New Switzerland
in 1771 to manage the plantation of the partners Thomas Dunnage, John Francis Rivas, and
himself. “New Switzerland,” Florida History Online,
http://www.unf.edu/floridahistoryonline/Plantations/plantations/New_Switzerland.htm.
15
8
The mail route between St. Augustine and St. Mary’s was established 1821.
The Spanish government, through the influence of Captain Fleming, who
assumed responsibility of postmaster in St. Augustine, would send two soldiers
with the mail for North Florida, Georgia, and U.S. Territory to Pablo every
Monday. Fatio would sort the mail and send it by his boat up Sisters Creek to
Fernandina where Farquhar Bethune (1781-1856) would sort and send it to I. F.
Clanchat16 in St. Mary’s Georgia. Mail was returned by the same route in
reference to St. Augustine. John Floyd acted as Postmaster in 1821 in Pablo.
In the 1814 census, from the St. Augustine Historical Society, the slaves
working the plantations on and around Pablo numbered 500. Other plantations
noted in this area were owned by Chaires, Fitch, Baker, and Don Bartolo.
On March 30, 1822, Judge William P. Duval was appointed the civil
Governor of Florida. On August 12, 1822, Duval County was created by dividing
St. Johns County.17
After the U.S. gained the Florida territory, there were many disputes about
the ownership of property. In order to settle these questions of legality of the
Spanish Grants, commissioners were appointed. In 1824, the commissioners
denied the sale of the Dewees property by Dewees widow Catalina to John
Forbes. On September 26, 1825, the U.S. Commission confirmed to the heirs of
Andrew Dewees 2,290 acres. Catherine Floyd, a granddaughter, became one
of the heirs. She was born October, 15, 1795, on Pablo Plantation. John Floyd
(José Juaneda) had been living on a grant he had taken over on the North
River, which he farmed until he died, about 1818.
Excerpts from Commissioners’ report in 1823 reads as follows: John Floyd,
heirs of Catherine Floyd, Margaret Floyd, Mary D. Floyd, John Floyd, Andrew
Floyd, children of John Floyd otherwise known as Juaneda18, claim October 23,
1823, through John Rodman, Collector of Port, St. Augustine, 200 acres on the
North River about 20 miles from St. Augustine. Governor Quesada‘s head rights
to Augustine Buyck (February 1, 1793) who transferred same on April 30, 1799 to
Jose Juaneda who cultivated it until his death about five years ago (1818).
Catherine married William Hall in 1814. They had one child, a girl, named Mary
Virginia Hall who married John Carrol Houston.
Francis P. Fatio returned to his plantation in Switzerland up the St. Johns
River after the Dewees property returned to heirs. Records do not show that all
of his family did return with him but census records of 1850 show Lawrence Fatio,
This name was unclear in the original text and may not be correct.
Actually, he was appointed April 17, 1822.
18 Some genealogists spell it as Joaneda.
16
17
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age 60, was a bar pilot with 7 children, one in particular was Adeline D., age 10,
who later figured in start founding of the Presbyterian Church in Mayport.
[Editor’s note: Johnson then returned to the issue of post offices to
establish when Mayport became Mayport.]
The next time we see reference to the Post Office, it was located at St.
Johns, January 30, 1828. Elizabeth Jenks was Postmistress. On August 10, 1832, it
moved back to Pablo with H. C. DeMasters, Postmaster. Then to St. Johns Bluff,
May 12, 1838, Nathan Jenks Postmaster, discontinued September 15, 1836.
Pablo, January 23, 1836 – March 30, 1841, John Floyd, Postmaster. Hazard,
December 8, 1842, Elixes (aka Alexis) Andrew, Postmaster. St. Johns Bluff, June
12, 1844, John Mitchell, Postmaster. Hazard, June 28, 1846. Discontinued
December 1, 1848. Mayport Mills was established June 27, 1849. Batten School
changed May 11, 1850 to Mayport Mills. Discontinued June 15, 1869. Mayport
was established October 7, 1869. Mrs. John R. Hogan appointed December,
1871. After her death in June 1882, her husband John R. received the
appointment.
Before the Civil War, Mr. Hogan lived in Jacksonville but lost his property
during this epoch. After the war, he came to this area and tried farming the
Pablo Plantation but could not depend on help that was available so he retired
to the Village of Mayport. He worked as carpenter and a boat builder. He
assisted his wife in the Post Office. The Post Office was in their residence.
After the first Lighthouse was built, it became known as Hazard, probably
because of the bar being so hazardous to cross as the channel was ever
changing from the effects of the wind.
Hazard seemed to prosper and grow. On March 6, 1841, a memorial was
sent to the President, William Henry Harrison, by citizens of Hazard and vicinity
expounding the reasons the customs house should be moved to Hazard from
Jacksonville.
In order to portray the feeling of these citizens and also a list of names,
these pages from Territorial Papers follow.
10
11
12
Major Cornelius Taylor’s name appears in the petition. He is important in
the next episode of history in Hazard. He had come from Virginia In command of
the army against the Seminoles. According to court records, Major Cornelius
Taylor appears in the record on June 26, 1826 regarding the release of dower by
Mrs. Mary Taylor to Josiah Gates, 450 acres in the Dewees Grant, same deeded
to Mary or Polly Dewees, born 1792, died 1826, age 34. She was married to
Cornelius Taylor, 1822-26. If these records are correct, they separated before she
died as this document (release of dower) appeared June 26, 1826. Taylor to
William Hickman and Stephen D. Fernandez, 1000 acres more or less known as
Pablo Plantation, on which Taylor lived for the past 11 years, on which James
Simmons now resides. May 6, 1843 deed to Henry M. Lindsey from C. Taylor,
½acre of land in Hazzard for all his interest if he had any in Pablo Estate.
13
Source: Dyle R. Johnson Collection, Beaches Museum and History Park
14
Source: Dyle R. Johnson Collection, Beaches Museum and History Park
15
On June 4, 1844, Cornelius Taylor was, at this time married to Catherine
Floyd Hall.19 He sold and deeded to David L. Palmer and Darius Ferris all the
Pablo Tract, reserving 100 acres to John Carrol Houston, ½ acre known as
Dewees burial ground. John Carrol Houston was married to Mary Virginia Hall,
daughter of Catherine Floyd Hall Taylor, so she was part heir to the Dewees
grant. Twenty acres and the steam saw mill were sold by C. Taylor to Royal
Boulter and Amanda Persons, ½ acre to William Houston, ¼ acre to S. L. Burritt, ½
acre to Andrew Floyd, ½ acre to Henry Lindsay, ¼ acre to Theodore Hinsdale, ¼
acre to Charles Brown, reserving 100 ft. fronting St. Johns River bordering east on
Reservation of William Houston, south and southwest by reservation of Amanda
Parsons and Royal Boulter, extending back to top of sand hills. Also four acres
including and adjoining lighthouse of St. Johns beach.
According to my belief and detecting, this lighthouse had to be the
second one built. The foundation of the lighthouse could be seen after 1914, as
described by Mrs. Stark being under her fishing pier that extended 1000 feet in
Ribault Bay built by John Tillotson. The foundation could be seen under 2 or 3
feet of water 100 feet out. Two lighthouses were standing during the Civil War.
The older one built in 1834 was referred to in the deed along with 4 acres. The
new one, built at the foot of Palmer Street after the town of Hazzard was laid out
in 1844, and was completed in 1859. It contained 26 acres, later sold to John
Daniel in1929 (the sole bidder). I do not have any reference to the acquisition of
the property by the Coast Guard of the lost lighthouse at this time. I think it
appropriate to follow with the history of the Lighthouse Service at the mouth of
the St. Johns River.
According to Gold’s History20, in February 1835 the coldest time ever
recorded to this time and since, was 7 below zero. [Editor’s note: Why Johnson
inserted this fact in unknown.]
When Palmer and Ferris purchased Cornelius Taylor’s holdings, composed
of parts of the Dewees grant, including present day Mayport, on June 4, 1844,
Taylor was already married to Catherine Floyd. This was Taylor’s second
marriage, his first being to Mary Dewees, an aunt of Catherine, who was born in
1792 and died in 1826 at 34 years of age.
William Dewees was born in Charleston before his father Andres came to
Florida. He married Mary Dell Maxey. His stepson was Henry W. Maxey. Their
She was had married William Hall in 1814. Their daughter was Mary Virginia Hall.
Pleasant Daniel Gold, History of Duval County Including History of East Florida, (St. Augustine:
The Record Company, 1929).
19
20
16
daughter Louisa (born 1814) married Louis Mattair in 1828. Louis Mattair’s land
south of the Dewees Property sold to Haworth.
It might be Interesting to some readers as to the exact legal descriptions
of the Dewees Grant from the Spanish Grant under royal order of October 29,
1790 to Andrew Dewees called Naranjal (Orange Grove).
To elaborate on the description it is as follows―69 caballerías or 2633 1/3
acres. The first line runs south 195 chains from edge of marsh of St. Johns River to
the stake with cross on edge of the sea beach, the second runs West bounded
by lands of John McQueen, 130 chains from said stake to similar stake on edge
of marsh on Pablo Creek, the 3rd and 4th lines from front along marsh of St. Johns
River. This is a copy of the original issued by Spanish Governor Quesada and
confirmed May 4, 1804.
According to the document dated March 3, 1823, approval of Land
Commissioner, District of East Florida, Item 13, present claimant John McQueen,
original claimant Rupert C. Maxey. Date of Patent or royal Title June 6, 1804.
Quantity of land 1000 acre. Conceded by White; Royal Order of 1790; Surveyed
January 29, 1792 by Samuel Eastlake, at the Point of Pablo Creek. This property is
known as Greenfield. Also at this same time, 1804, Governor White confirmed
the Dewees grant and had it bounded on the South by lands of John McQueen.
These two pieces of property run from the Atlantic Ocean westward across
Pablo Creek including Greenfield and timber tract east of Pablo Creek. The
Battery built by Quesada was recovered in the Navy base digging operation
and returned to St. Augustine from whence it was moved here (1790-1800).
Another Spanish grant was to Bartolomé de Castro y Ferrer in 1815, 1000
acres which was south of the Dewees, commencing at about where the county
line crosses Mayport Road (Church St) and extending across Atlantic Boulevard
and including Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach.
In1817, the Spanish Governor, Coppinger, summoned the militia of St.
Johns and Nassau, who were known as patriots, to meet at the Pablo Plantation.
They were planning to run MacGregor’s Carthaginians out of Fernandina.21
MacGregor had come here in the spring of 1817 with about 65 men. He
anchored in the harbor and sent word that he had been sent by Mexico to take
the town. The inhabitants fled and his men occupied the homes. When he
moved on Fort San Carlos, the Spanish commander surrendered without a shot.
Thomas Frederick Davis, MacGregor's Invasion of Florida, 1817: Together with an Account of
His Successors, Irwin, Hubbard and Aury on Amelia Island, East Florida. (Florida Historical Society,
1928) analyzes this incident.
21
17
His stay in Fernandina was short lived, about 69 days. The Spanish did attack but
were not successful. Afterward, MacGregor left on his own accord after
financial support from up north was withdrawn. Fernandina became a pirate’s
haven following his withdrawal.
On February 23, 1844 a franchise was granted to Joseph Finnegan to
establish a ferry at or near Constancia on St. Johns River.
On March 6, 1845 David L. Palmer was authorized to build a tall bridge
with flood gates and dikes across Pablo Creek where the post road from
Jacksonville to Mayport crossed the creek.
I’d like to relate a little about the History of Ft. George Island, known as
Island of Alimacani by the Timacuans. Ribault landed here in 1562 but crossed
over to south side of river to place markers claiming Florida for the French. In a
map drawn by H. S. Duval in December 1882, under instructions for the Surveyor
General, District of Florida, sited out, shows the first Lighthouse about ¾ miles off
shore. This lighthouse, built in 1830, was supposed to be about the same location
as the Ribault Monument. We had lost that much land to the sea and wind in 52
years. By this time, the map shows that the 2nd lighthouse also washed away
along with the Confederate Battery of the Civil War.
Ft. George, its English name, was called San Juan by the Spanish. The first
Jesuit priest was murdered by Indians. San Juan del Puerto, the Spanish mission,
was captured by Oglethorpe, and was base of Florida operation in 1740.22 It was
a grant to J. Tucker Esquire, May 8, 1767, during the English occupation of Florida
and, then, a Spanish grant to John McQueen in 1792. He sold the island to John
Houston McIntosh on March 13, 1804. McIntosh sold it to Zephaniah Kingsley on
January 23, 1817. It became the headquarters for Kingsley’s slave trade. Kingsley
(died 1843) had deeded it to his nephew, Kingsley B. Gibbs on May 24, 1842.
Gibbs to John Lewis, December 21, 1853. Lewis to Charles R. Thompson, 1854,
Thompson to Charles H. Barnwell, 1860, Barnwell to George W. Beach and
Abney C. Kenney, April 5, 1866. Foreclosure. March 1, 1869, to John F. Rollins and
Richard W. Ayer, 1874. Rollins purchased Ayer's interest in 1864 and in 1874 they
started selling small tracts and Ft. George became a winter attraction. Several
hotels were built in the next 10 years. They either burned or were torn down.
John Bie, a Norwegian, came to Ft. George Island by 1840. In Norway, he
was known as Knude Sorensen Bie but adopted the name John Bie Johnson in
“The British Invasion (Part Two),” The Florida Memory Blog,
http://www.floridamemory.com/blog/tag/general-james-oglethorpe/
22
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the United States.23 John Johnson’s first wife was Charlotte Bush. They were the
parents of Charles W. Johnson. The only living older pilot was William LaMee,
now retired. John Bie Johnson, Bar Pilot in the 1840’s, was married to Ruth White
Houston. He lived most of his life on Fort George. Some of his descendants still
live on the island. He died 1884.
Another old Pilot William LaMee married Antonia Arnau. His descendants
are still in Jacksonville. Some own LaMee Florists.
I’d like to relate about some of the genealogy that leads up to the ones
we are families with today.
Joe Juaneda (John Floyd) and Elizabeth Dewees. First son John (b. ca.
1800-d. 1845) did not figure much in Mayport genealogy. He was married to
Frances, b. ca. 1807 who later may have married John Williams.24
The second son Andrew, b. ca. 1800/181025 was listed in the 1840 Census
for Duval County thusly: male 30-40, 2 under 5, 2 age 5-10, one female, 20-30. He
married Clara Arnau after 1830. A. Joseph b. 1831 B. James b. 1833 C. Antonio b.
1835 married May 7, 1851 Federica Cercopoly, b. October 15, 1831, d. May 19,
1923 (92 years. Their children all as follows:
1. Genevieve-b. 1866
2. Catherine Clara- b. 3-22-69 M. Fred Torrible (Bar Pilot)
(A)
Josie married Hurlbert
(B)
Fred
(C) James
(D)
Daniel
(E)
Emma
3. Lenora married Ben Strickland
Willie
B. J.
4. Henry B. 1871 – D. 1909
5. Samuel B.-1874, D -19-?
D. Frank (Francis) B. 1842/46 D, 1909. M-11-22-69 Genevieve Pons (Ponce) Aunt
Babe
“Capt John "Knude Sorensen Bie" Johnson,” Find A Grave Memorial.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=63200535 provides information in
Johnson and his three wives.
24 Francisca Elizabeth Arnau. She married Capt. John Antonio Floyd in 1831. She married Williams
on April 18, 1851. http://minorcanfamily.com/Mayport%20Family/Tree/pafg94.htm#174.
25 Actually in 1805.
23
19
Their Children
1.
2.
3.
4.
Edward Joseph (Joe Happy) b. 8-13-70
William Martin (Uncle Bill) b. November 12, 1872
David Raphael b. April 28, 1875, d. June 18, 1936
Stephanie b. July 1, 1877. d. June 19, 1896
E. Magdalina
B. 1843
F. Raphael T. (Rufelo Floyd), B. 1848. D. February 5, 1909. 1928?
Walter Floyd
September 1869
Raphael married Maria Estella Scola, b. February 27, 1873
2nd Marriage Ellen to Jane Brown, December 31, 1876
This takes care of the third and 4th generation of Floyds. John, Andrew,
Frank and children. You know the rest.
Frank Floyd26 had a bar of which I have picture [see below]. Joe Happy27
had a dairy and was a bar pilot. Married to Aunt Nica28. William (Uncle Bill)29
used to have a pool room here. Frank’s wife, Aunt Babe30 had a boarding
house. William and David are still represented in Mayport with 6 and 7th
generation.
Capt. Sabas Francis "Frank" Floyd
Edward Joseph "Joe Happy" Floyd
28 Antoinette Josephine "Neka" Houston
29 William Martin "Bill" Floyd
30 Genevieve M. "Aunt Babe" Ponce
26
27
20
Floyd’s Saloon
I have to mention the Houstons. They date back in Mayport history to
William Henry who was lighthouse keeper from January 14, 1841 to August, 1849
with a short interruption from July to September (1842).
The next Houston was John Carrol, born July 8, 1813, probably Talbot
Island, was married to Mary Virginia Hall (born1823) in1835 in Pablo Beach ,
Florida and lived there until 1844. Mary Virginia was the daughter of Catherine
Floyd Hall.
21
Third was Thomas Houston, born in Georgia, 1796, and moved to Mayport
between1850-1860. His brother was lighthouse keeper William Henry, who was 46
in 1860 census,
Joseph Samuel, born 1844, youngest son of Thomas and father of Aunt
Asia31, was married to Mary LaMee, eldest daughter of William and Antonia
LaMee (who married Willie Andreu32, father of Bill Nick and Joe V. Andreu. Joe’s
children are Joe, Walter, Sybil and Bea.
Spencer Lois Houston married another daughter Rosalie LaMee. Their son
was Raphael Spencer Houston who lived in Mayport and carried mail across the
river to Ft. George in an open boat. A after his death, his wife Ruby carried the
mail.
The Floyds are just one branch of the Minorcans that settled here. There
were also Pons (Ponce), Andreu, Arnau, DeMasters, and many others.
We know that Elexis (Alexis) Andreu was postmaster at Hazard in1842. The
next Andreu family members we hear about are Florence33 and Nicholas34, two
brothers, who were heirs to their father Thomas. Florence (born in1843 in St.
Augustine, died 1923) was married to Melana Floyd.35 Nicholas (born on
December 7, 1844 in St. Augustine, died 1903) married Rebecca Farrew. Their
children were: Uncle Willie36 m. Aunt Asia Houston37 (children were Joe and
Willie); Aunt Beck38 married Uncle Ralph Tillotson; Aunt Ella [Etta?] married [the
name was indecipherable but seem to be Pace Kapps].
Florence and Melana had Joseph Andreu who married Aunt Aggie Daniels. One
son was Joseph Vincent Andreu, Senior, an engineer on the Jacksonville,
Mayport, and Pablo railroad and was also an engineer on the Florida East Coast
on the Mayport run. He homesteaded state property on Mayport Rd. He had a
dairy and sold milk to the Continental Hotel.
Another old family is Tillotson, which is not Minorcan, but soon became a
part of the Minorcan group by the marriage of Ralph C. (Uncle Ralph) to
Rebecca (Aunt Beck) Andreu. Ephraim, wife Suzanne, and the oldest children
Asia Gertrude Houston.
William Henry "Willie" Andreu.
33 Florence Francis Andreu.
34 Nicholas Joseph Andreu.
35 Maria Magdalena "Mary" "Melana" Floyd.
36 William Henry "Willie" Andreu.
37 Asia Gertrude Houston.
38 Rebecca Philomena "Beck" Andreu
31
32
22
came from Ft. Clinch, Ohio for health reasons shortly after the Civil War and
settled at Mt. Pleasant.
Annie Elizabeth married Anton Bodenmuller, a deserter from the German
Navy. He was picked up by a ship and claimed to be Norwegian. He spoke four
languages. Finally, he arrived in in Mayport and Fernandina. He rowed in an
open boat in the ocean to Mayport to see Annie. Their children were Ephraim.
Theresa, Marie, Doris, Cynthia, Manes, Joseph, and Jessie. Annie’s second
marriage was to Joseph E. Brazeale and to them were born the last three.
Otto Hahn, Jr. and his brother James were raised in Gilmore. He told me
that with his father, they gill net fished in the river every night and each day
strung the fish on marsh grass, and took them to Jax to sell at 25¢ a string. This trip
was by row boat after fishing half the night. He told me they had two acres of
land and all the scrap fish was part of the compost pile. The place was raked
clean every Saturday, all this went to the compost pile also. He said their grapes,
pears, and other fruit was the finest in this area. His later years were spent in
Mayport where he lived with wife Mary Wingate, and children, Paul. Stella, and
Helen.
Leon Canova, a Minorcan from St. Augustine (his wife Mollie) was the
owner and operator of the party boat “Molly and Me”. He was some storyteller
and fisherman. He loved rich spicy food, and would eat anything and lots of it.
Once, when operated on, the surgeon cut out 4/5s of his stomach. It didn’t take
him long to stretch the 1/5 back to its original size. His youngest child and only
son, Bubba, still lives in Mayport and is dark like his father but smaller.
Nellie Tillotson married Sam Singleton and from them sprang 13 children
(not Minorcan). Singleton came from England. This family are represented in
Mayport to this day. Mrs. Viola, the oldest living, still attends church in Mayport.
Jessie Tillotson married Captain Edwin Thompson, a Norwegian. Captain
Thompson ran the “Hessie” that carried mail, supplies and passengers to Jax
every day. Their family was not quite as large but some still are living in Mayport.
And everyone knows Uncle John Tillotson. His wife was Fannie, half-sister to
Charles Drew. Two children, George and Mary, who married William Alban
Hawley. He was a fisherman, builder and even Sunday school teacher. He built
a pier for Mrs. Stark after she came in 1914 and ran it on halves. Mrs. Stark says
he was as honest as his eyes were blue. He kept her money in one pocket and
his in the other pocket of his coveralls.
23
Another old Minorcan family was the Arnau’s: Stephen and James.
Stephen married Pancheta García or Gonzalez.39 Steve Arnau married Florida
Brown (from Mandarin). Clara Polly married Joe King, bar pilot, Fannie married
John Gavagan. Frances married Charles Drew. Hannah married Tom Atkins.
Rube Arnau married Nora Haworth.
They probably moved here in the early 1800s. James Arnau was a Bar Pilot
in 1820 and was a boat builder. He had a place in 1870, where the Joe King
house is now, built by his brother-in-law in 1914. James was drowned doing jetty
work, I am told.
Another old family, Charles Drew, came here from Maine. Two sons, John
and Charles F., settled around Mt. Pleasant. Charlie married Francis Arnau and
raised a large family: Fred, Helen. Blanche, Irene, Ethel, Frank, Madeline and
John, a fisherman and fishing guide. Brother John was a conductor on the East
Coast RR. He never married. The family is active in the Presbyterian Church, and
had been from is beginning. The first Charles Drew was a watchman on the East
Coast dock. He was very athletic and used to have a barrel that he would walk
on and roll from one end of dock to other (1000 ft.).
The John Daniels family is another. Daniels was lighthouse keeper, 18591870, credited with shooting the light out during the Civil War to keep Federal
ships from using the light for navigating the channel. His wife was Josephine
García. Their children were: Joe (married Nettie), John (married Annie
Burroughs), Mary (married Joseph Neil Sallas), Florida (married Eddie Squires,
Estell40), Aggie (married Joseph Andreu), and Charlie (married Amy Deming).
John Jr. was the most progressive. He was a bar pilot and always had
money to invest. He owned the Mayport water works, and also the telephone
company. He was the one to bid on the lighthouse property when the Coast
Guard no longer needed it in 1929. He also homesteaded property on the river
shore that was pumped in by dredge. He married the Burroughs girl whose
father had a business and hotel in Mayport. They had two children, Leslie who
succeeded him as bar pilot and Alice who inherited the water works and ran
same for many years until the consolidation of Duval County.
I have to mention the Sallas family. All these old families’ mothers were
called by most everyone Aunt May, Aunt Aggie, Aunt Beck. They had so many
nephews and nieces that everyone called them their aunt, even myself when I
came here in 1937. I remember Fabian, Ernie, Arthur, and Joseph. Fabian had
39
40
Francesca Juana Garcia "Pancha" Pons.
His stepfather was Joseph S. Estell
24
no children, but Ernie was married to one of Captain Thompson’s daughters.
Captain Edwin Andreu Thompson’s other children were Ed, Ale, Eck, Mud, and
Ingrid.
The next family I am going to mention is Haworth. They came here around
1868. Dr. and Mrs. Eli ran the Burnside Hotel, and Dr. Haworth, along with William
Keeler, purchased what was left and available of the Dewees Grant from David
Palmer and Darius Ferris. Their son Alphonso was 18 years old at the time, and
drove two teams of mules here from Missouri.
Alphonso was born in Indiana in1850. He married Ruth Ellen Williams of
Snow Camp, North Carolina, born on September 14, 1862. She died on April 21,
1935. Alphonso died on December 19, 1943 (93 years old). Mr. Haworth worked
for the East Coast RR in a construction crew that built homes and depots for the
railroad system. His father, Eli, was Lighthouse Keeper about 1½ years (1870-71)
and Alphonso was his assistant. Some of his children are May, Leonora, Ray, and
Addison. Fred still lives on Mayport Rd. He was born in 1888 and is 93 years old
now. Their daughter Barbara lives here near Miss Stark’s property
(Wonderwood). She is married to Millard Cooper. Their son Edward lives in
Fernandina.
_____________________
This ends the manuscript.
Johnson was not a Minorcan but lived in a community where most people
had at least one relative who was. For many years, the “white” people in
Mayport and East Mayport intermarried. New DNA was added to the gene pool,
as Johnson notes. He went to Mayport because his sister Lois married Ralph
Tillotson. So Mayport Minorcans and their history fascinated him.
He was Postmaster in Mayport from 1962 to 1969, hence his interest in the
mail and who else was postmaster.
There is no way to guess what a finished manuscript would have
contained or how polished it would have been.
25