Florida Pioneer Biographies

Submitted by Descendants:  William Gilbert ADAMS, Jr. & Ellie Ann ADAMS Thomas Joseph Adams was the son of Thomas Adams and Mary Elizabeth Roberts, and was the grandson of Jacob Adams and Wyannie Malone, loyalists from South Carolina, that fled…

Submitted by Descendant:  John Albert BURNETT Hansford Alford was born circa 1812 in South Carolina as per the 1850 census for Columbia County, Florida.  Hansford Alford was evidently in Florida when he served as a 1st Corporal/Private in Day & Wilder’s…

Submitted by Descendants:  Arthur Wesley, Bennie James, Charles Kendrick, Creech Kindrick, Jack Eugene, Jack Eugene, Jr., and Roselle Grantham ALLEN Council B. Allen and his wife, Susan Elizabeth Creech, migrated to West Florida from the Barnwell, S. C. area in…

Submitted by Descendants:  Thomas Edward BRONSON Eliza Allen was born about 22 November 1811 in North Carolina.  She married David Gornto in Irwin County, Georgia, about 20 November 1827. It is unknown exactly when she and David moved to Florida,…

Submitted by Descendants:  Michelle Marie CAMPOS; Christopher Allan, Mabelle, and Teresa D. SARDINAS Tomas Sebastian Andreu was born the 22 of December in 1757 in Mercadal, Monorca, Balearic Islands, a British Colony at the time.  He was the youngest son…

Submitted by Descendants:  Michelle Marie CAMPOS; Christopher Allan, Mabelle, and Teresa D. SARDINAS Tomas Sebastian Andreu was born the 22 of December in 1757 in Mercadal, Monorca, Balearic Islands, a British Colony at the time.  He was the youngest son…

Submitted by Descendant:  Jeannette Marie SAY 1 April 1828 is the day that marked the birth of Venancia Andreu in St. Augustine, Florida to Josef Juan Andreu and his wife Maris Dolores Masters.  Venancia was part of the second generation…

Submitted by Descendants: The LUJAN / PAPY / TOPPINO Families Clara Arnau (aka Arnow) was born 5 March 1804 in St Augustine, East Florida, purportedly into a family originally from Minorca.  At some point Clara became a ward of her…

Jose/Joseph FONTANET/FONTANE Submitted by Descendants:  Laura Lee BERENSON, Johanna Schuster JONES; Emily Johanna PERKINS and Mary Pauline SCHUSTER Edward Ashton was born between 1746 and 1748 in Ireland to Samuel and Margaret O’Dair Ashton.  After immigrating to the colonies he…

Submitted by Descendant:  Sandra Caillouet BOYES Thaddeus was born in North Carolina in 1826.  He seems to be associated with James and George Baker who came to Florida from North Carolina in the 1830’s to settle first in Jefferson then…

Submitted by Descendants:  The SUTTON, LEITNER, & McINTOSH Families William Barber was born in 1805 in southeast Georgia.  He was a Private in the First Regiment, also known as Warren’s Regiment, in the Florida Militia starting on 13 June 1837. …

Submitted by Descendants:  Garrett Armstrong, Heath William, Stuart Armstrong, and Whitney Susan BAILEY Time was born in 1871, he was a second generation Floridian. His family was in the cattle business.  He became a stock trader and had moved to…

Submitted by Descendants:  Anna Rae, Mary Hannah Miller, and Emma Jean Woodall RIGSBY Rosa Myra Monteil Bass was born in Americus, Sumter County, Georgia on November 30, 1881 to parents Needham Franklin Bass and Emma Ada Tatum.  When Rosa was…

Submitted by Descendants:  Jeannette Louise Saunders FLYNN; George Frederick Jr., Louise Beckton, Rebecca Brown, and Robert Franklin SAUNDERS John Warren Beckton was born 2 January 1841 in Madison County, Florida, the son of Joseph Beckton and Jane English who were…

Submitted by Descendant:  Harriet Holmes RAFFO William Bellamy was born in South Carolina in 1802 and settled in the Jacksonville (Cowford)-St. Augustine area with his parents.  After a couple of years his father and mother along with the children moved…

Submitted by Descendant: Lynda Blanton WILSON James A. Blanton was probably born in Sampson County, North Carolina on 07 August 1813. He died 12 September 1894 in Taylor County, Florida. On 09 December 1835 he married Catharine McDonald.He was a…

Submitted by Descendant:  Lynda Blanton WILSON James Ellis Blanton was born on 09 October 1844. He died 28 September 1917 in Lee, Madison County, Florida.  On 01 February 1866 he married Sarah Delilah Morgan.  She was born on 02 February…

Submitted by Descendant:  Marabeth BLANTON William Lee Blanton Sr. was born 1 May 1892 in Clearwater, Pinellas County, Florida where he lived with his mother and sisters and brother.  His father, Luther Lloyd Blanton, died just a few weeks before…

Submitted by Descendant:  Jeannette Marie SAY Antonia, born 16 April 1786 in St Augustine, Florida, was the first generation of Bonelli’s born in Florida.  She was the fifth child and second daughter born to Joseph Giuseppi Bonelli and Maria Moll. …

Submitted by Descendant:  Nancy Evelyn Strauss WHITTLE Antonia Paula Bonelli was born 6 April 1786 in St. Augustine, Florida.  She is the daughter of Josef Bonnelli and his wife Maria Moll.  Her father was born in Livorno, Italy; her mother…

Submitted by Descendants:  Marguerite Jule Pacetty BROWN; Frances Mordina Brown EVANS; David William, Marguerite Marree Evans, and Robert Thomas MATHEWS Joseph Bonelly, son of Tomas Bonelly & Maria Mariano, was born about 1757 in Livorno, a port city on the…

Submitted by Descendants:  Marguerite Jule Pacetty BROWN; Frances Mordina Brown EVANS; David William, Marguerite Marree Evans, and Robert Thomas MATHEWS Maria Catalina Antonia “Mary” Bonelly was born 20 February 1784 in St. Augustine, Florida, daughter of Joseph Bonelly of Livorno,…

Submitted by Descendants:  Barnelia Woodward KRANZ, Charlotte Woodward STRUTH, Laura Woodward WADDELL, and Mary Elizabeth Bostick WOODWARD Tristram Bostick, Jr. was born in Darlington District, S.C.  He was the eldest son of Tristram and Nancy Thomas Bostick.  He married Ann…

Submitted by Descendant:  Virginia Caroline Bowman LAND Edwin Thomas Bowman was born 17 September, 1857 in Schuylkill Haven, PA.  When he was 21 he left his Pennsylvania relatives and moved to Florida, settled in Hernando County, at Fairmount.  There he…

Submitted by Descendant:  Anisca “Nickey” Bronson NEEL John James Bronson was born 3 February 1852 In Osceola County, the son of James Robert Bronson and first wife Sarah Yates.  He married Eliza Lanier on 24 December 1874 in Orange, now…

Submitted by Descendant: Anisca “Nickey” Bronson NEEL Mary was born 11 March 1848 in Hamilton County, Florida, the daughter of James Robert Bronson and first wife Sarah Yates.  The family was listed in the 1850 Columbia County census. Mary married…

Submitted by Descendant:  Thomas Edward BRONSON Thomas Jefferson “Jeff” Bronson was the youngest child of William Jasper Bronson and Easter Lucinda Waters Bronson.  He was born abt. March 18, 1895 in Alachua Co., FL at this home near Trenton and…

Submitted by Descendant: Anisca “Nickey” Bronson NEEL “Ike”, also known as “Handlebar Ike” due to his mustache, was born 16 January 1876 in Osceola County.  He was the son of John James Bronson and Eliza Lanier, maternal grandson of pioneers…

Submitted by Descendant: Thomas Edward BRONSON William Jasper Bronson was born abt. 4 July 1854 in Alachua County, Florida.  He married Easter Lucinda Waters on 7 February 1878 In Bronson, Levy County, Florida.  William Jasper was a farmer all of…

Submitted by Descendants:  Jeannette Louise Saunders FLYNN; George, Sr., George Frederick, Jr., Rebecca Brown, and Robert Franklin SAUNDERS Sidney Ann Brownlow was born September 1846 in Florida to Joseph Brownlow, from North Carolina, and Frances Margaret Whitehurst from Florida.  We…

Submitted by Descendant:  Jo Anne ARNETT Kirsten Marie Brun was born in Fredericia, Denmark, left family and friends to marry Valdemar Gram 02/15/1899.  Their first daughter, Bertha (Birta) Christine, was born 11/16/1899, and second daughter Anne Margaret, was born 10/30/1903.…

Submitted by Descendants:  John WHALTON Felicia Buchani was born 20 January 1794in St Augustine, East Florida.  Her ancestors were among the first settlers of New Smyrna having arrived from Minorca in the late 1760’s.  Though we do not know how…

Submitted by Descendants:  Carl Edward, James Edward, and Lora L. KRAMER (This was written by Nancy Tyson Bichard in her original application for Mariah Buford) Mariah Buford Tison and her husband, John Tison, left Nassau County for Brevard County around…

Submitted by Descendants: Thomas Pope BURNETTE, Ansley Elizabeth, David Thomas, Jordan Alana, Melissa Myers Burnette, and Mikayla Myers CORSON Daniel Burnett, Jr. was born in Georgia, possibly Irwin County, now known as Lowndes County.  Deed records in Madison County, Florida…

Submitted by Descendants: Thomas Pope BURNETTE, Ansley Elizabeth, David Thomas, Jordan Alana, Melissa Myers Burnette, and Mikayla Myers CORSON It is believed that Daniel Burnett, Sr. was born in Onslow County, North Carolina circa 1771.  He received land in Bulloch…

Submitted by Descendants:  Alexander P., Lindsay M., and Richard E. BURNSED James M. Burnsed was born 16 January 1817 in Georgia.  In the late 1830’s, he moved from Georgia to Columbia County, Florida, and settled near the trail from the…

Submitted by Descendants:  Jeffords Donalson Jr., Laura Ruth Jones, and Mary Hannah MILLER Mary Bush, born about 1828 in Alabama, was married to Aretus W. Jones on December 23, 1847 in Barbour County, Alabama.  They started their family in Alabama,…

Submitted by Descendants:  Mildred Mable “Millie” CANADA; Pearl Louise Canada COCHRAN; Jeffery Dale EATON Francis Marion Canada was born in Columbia County, Florida in 1840.  About 1862 he married Margaret Albritton, daughter of James and Fannie Raulerson Albritton. He enlisted…

Submitted by Descendants:  Ralph R. and Stuart Allen CAMPBELL; Angela Lynn HILL Daniel Campbell was born on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, on 12 December 1725, to Angus Campbell and Isobell Munroe.  In 1749 he was married to Effia McLean,…

Submitted by Descendants:  Sarah Elizabeth and Thomas Ross MCSWAIN William Cawthon was born in 1785 in Georgia.  In the early 1800s he moved to what was then Henry County, Alabama, the area now known as Dothan.  In the 1820s this…

Submitted by Descendants:  Carl Edward and James Edward KRAMER; Kelly Kramer WEEKLEY Born about 1800 in Bladen County, North Carolina, John R. Cheshire married Tobitha hall in 1828 and settled in Hamilton County, Florida, where he was a farmer.  He…

Submitted by Descendants:  The ALLAY, BYERS, EARNSHAW, & SUMARA Families Catherine Amelia “Kitty” Chesnut was born 31 Aug 1831 in Sampson County, North Carolina, youngest child of Bailey Chesnut and Ann Turlington.  The family moved to Thomas County, Georgia, where…

Submitted by Descendant:  Jeannette Marie Say Agada Maria Coll was born 4 September 1751 in Mahon, Minorca to parents Bartolome Coll and Josepha Sintes.  It was there in Mahon that she married her first husband in February 1766. Research indicates…

Submitted by Descendants:  Corey James, Heather Ann, Jason Michael, and Mary Ann Sullivan MAMMEN Mary Elizabeth Cox was born in South Carolina, 19 November 1812 to Stephen Cox, b. 24 August 1786 and Mary Borono, b. 26 October 1785.  The…

Submitted by Descendants:  Derald E., Emily Anne, Gabriel John, and Matthew Nicholas EVERHART John Craig, an Irishman from King County, was one of a handful of original settlers to put down roots in Manatee County. Born in May 1813, John…

Submitted by Descendants:  Amy Katherine, John Albert, and John Edward BURNETT Z. A. “Zara” Davis came to the State of Florida and resided in the area that later became Baker County.  He was born 26 September 1826 in Bulloch County,…

Submitted by Descendants:  Amy Katherine, John Albert, and John Edward BURNETT Seaborn Dobson was the son of Isaiah Dobson and Sarah Yelvington and was born 15 December 1825 in what was then Leon County, Florida Territory.  He was married circa…

Submitted by Descendants:  Calista Cameron, James Stephen, Jane Ferrell, Joseph Cameron, Madeleine Claire, and Thomas Benjamin BODIFORD; and Mildred Amelia FERRELL Martin Dolan was born in Ireland about 1823 but it is unknown when he immigrated to America.  He was…

Submitted by Descendant:  Laura Kathryn HERZOG William Hampton Dowling was born 26 May 1811 in Jeffreys Creek, Darlington District, South Carolina.  He was the son of William Hampton Dowling, SR. and Sarah Elizabeth Watson.  Sometime after 1820, his parents relocated…

Submitted by Descendants:  Baxter Jennings, Dakota Jennings, Daniel Jordan, Justin Allyn, Justin Allyn Jr., LaRue Carlton, Reid James, Roper Jordan Jr., Roper Jordan III ELLIS Giles Underhill Ellis was descended from the Virginia Ellises who were early settlers in America. …

Submitted by Descendants:  Idell Elizabeth, Michael James, William Aaron Jr., William Rickey BURNHAM Enos Evans served as a private in Col. John McKinnon’s company during the Florida Indian Wars. During one battle, Enos was shot in the neck.  According to…

Submitted by Descendants:  Andre Eugene FERREIRA Juan Bautista Serapio Ferreira was born in St Augustine, East Florida 13 November 1813.  It was at the beginning of Florida’s Second Spanish Period when his grandfather, Juan Bautista Ferreyra of Villa de Murcia,…

Submitted by Descendants:  Joseph Foster, Thomas Randall, and Timothy Joseph BUTLER Juan Bautista Serapio Ferreira was born in St. Augustine on November 13, 1813.  He was the grandson of Juan Bautista Ferreyra of Portugal who, with his wife Elizabeth Nixon…

Submitted by Descendants:  Brendan Jennings, Frank Joseph III, Marie Cecelia, and Mary Frances SANTRY Juan Bautista Serapis Ferreira was born in Spanish East Florida’s St. Augustine on November 13, 1813 to Francisco Lorenzo Ferreira and Josepha Fernanda Martha Estefonopoly.  His…

Submitted by Descendant:  Paula Townsend MARCZYNSKI Ansel Ferrell was born 14 Sep 1762 in Bute Co., North Carolina.  He was a Revolutionary War soldier who fought at the Battles for Guilford Courthouse and Eutaw Springs (among others), where he was…

Submitted by Descendant:  Submitted by Descendants:  Laura Lee BERENSON, Johanna Schuster JONES; Emily Johanna PERKINS and Mary Pauline SCHUSTER Francisca, or Frances as she was known, was born in St. Augustine on 31 May 1792, and baptized there on 6…

Jane L. WATTS Submitted by Descendant:  Ellen Lavara Gainer WRIGHT William Gainer and Jane L. Watts, who hailed from Georgia, were married 21 January 1813.  During the campaign of 1818, William came into the Territory of Florida with Andrew Jackson,…

Submitted by Descendants: The LUJAN / PAPY / TOPPINO Families Peter Antonio Gandolfo was born 3 April 1802 in Italy.  He arrived in Key West, Florida in 1829 traveling from the Kingdom of Sardinia which controlled his part of Italy. …

Submitted by Descendant:  Charles Williard LORD Peter Antonio Gandolfo was born 3 April 1802, in Genoa, Italy, and arrived in Key West, Florida in 1829, where he declared his intention to become a United States citizen.  The oral history of…

Submitted by Descendant:  Anne Hammond CONNELL John Martin Geiger, born 1798 in Bulloch County, Georgia, was raised in Wayne County, Georgia, where he married Emily Joyner in 1825.  His parents were Felix Geiger, Sr., and Mary Martin.  Paternal Grandfather Hans…

Submitted by Descendants:  Julian W, Paula A., and Waldo W. DAVIS Mary Godwin was born on the 14 of November 1844 in Columbia County, Florida.  She was the daughter of another pioneer, Solomon Godwin and wife Mariah Tyner. Soloman Godwin,…

Submitted by Descendants:  Katherine Grace and Nancy K. EVANS; Josephine Searle KING William Gorman was born in Camden, County, Georgia, about 1790 and purchased land in the Waukeenah vicinity of Jefferson County, Florida, in 1826.  A Leon County, Florida, marriage…

Submitted by Descendant:  Thomas Edward BRONSON David Gornto, the son of Nathan Gornto, was born about 1 November 1805 in Georgia.  He married Eliza Allen in Irwin County, Georgia about 20 November 1827.  It is unknown exactly when he and…

Submitted by Descendant:  Thomas Edward BRONSON Nancy Elizabeth Gornto was born abt. 1833 in Georgia.  She was the daughter of David Gornto and Eliza Ann Gornto.  It is unknown exactly when she migrated to Florida with her parents but it…

Submitted by Descendant: Jo Anne ARNETT Anne Margaret Gram was born in River Falls, Wisconsin, October 30, 1903, moving to Moore Haven, Florida with her parents.  Because there was no local high school, she and sister Bertha boarded and went…

Submitted by Descendant:  Jo Anne ARNETT Frederick Valdemar P. Gram (2/15/1971 – 11/19/1936) whose grandfather was mayor of  Gram, Denmark, and brother Victor became Denmark’s Minister of Defense, came to this country in 1891.  He soon returned to Denmark to…

Submitted by Descendant:  William Thomas TUTTLE Nicholas Grubb was newly married at age 29 when he and his wife, Elizabeth K. Nathans settled in Florida in late 1829 or early 1830.  Nicholas quickly became interested in politics.  His name can…

Submitted by Descendant:  William Thomas TUTTLE Sarah Elizabeth Grubb, the fourth child of Nicholas Grubb and Elizabeth K. Nathans, was born in Quincy, Florida on 13 Sep 1837.  Sarah remained in Florida for more than thirty years.  At the age…

Submitted by Descendants:  Heather Danielle, Paula Townsend, and Tara Lynn MARCZYNSKI James Alfred Hall was born in Georgia, but moved to Florida when he was a young boy.  His family settled in Hamilton County, Florida and he lived there most…

Submitted by Descendant:  Frank HAGAN Francis Burdette Hagan was born 11 September 1827 at Black Creek, Duval County, Florida and traveled with his parents (purported to be the son of Malachi Hagan) over the next few years before settling in…

Submitted by Descendants:  Byron Samuel CLEMONS for Holly Mae CLEMONS John Hague (Heck) was born in the Ebenezer Settlement in Effingham County, Georgia on 3 April 1767.  He was married twice.  His first wife was Agnes Poulidge (Pouledge) and they…

Submitted by Descendants:  Carl Edward, James Edward, Lora L. KRAMER, and Kelly Kramer WEEKLEY Tobitha Hall was born about 1808 in North Carolina and eventually settled in Hamilton County, Florida, where she remained until her death between 1860 and1870.  She…

Submitted by Descendants:  Halley Bronson Jr., Halley Bronson III,  and Halley Bronson IV LEWIS Isaac Pierson Hardee was born in Horry County, South Carolina, the grandson of Joseph Hardee who served in the South Carolina Militia at the Battle of Guilford…

Submitted by Descendants:  Ireland Kate, Justin Lee, Lee Henry, Orbra Warthen, and Orbra Warthen HARRELL, Jr.; Caleb Nicholas, Jared Wade and Lydia Karen HATCHER; Karen Harrell Logan LEWIS; David Scott LOGAN; Cindy Logan Hatcher REYNOLDS Henry Haywood William Harrell was…

Submitted by Descendant:  Nicholas J. LINVILLE Margery Harris was born in Nassau County, Florida on 28 January 1845, and lived her entire life in Florida.  She married James Madison Wilson on 6 January 1859 in Clay County, Florida.  They had…

Submitted by Descendants:  Corey James, Heather Ann, Jason Michael, and Mary Ann Sullivan MAMMEN William Hawkins’ actual birth date is unknown, but the 1850 Leon Co. census record states that he was 50 years old.  He migrated to the Territory…

Submitted by Descendants:  Corey James, Heather Ann, Jason Michael, and Mary Ann Sullivan MAMMEN William Charles Hawkins, son of William Hawkins and Mary Elizabeth Cox, was born 21 October 1843 in Leon County, Florida.  His parents were both born in…

Submitted by Descendant:  Filiberto J. R. HENDERSON Juan Hernandez was born 23 August 1761 at Mahon, Minorca, Balearic Islands, Spain.  His parents were:  Gaspar Hernandez and Margarita Triay.  This family can be traced back in the parish records of Mahon…

Submitted by Descendant:  Tally Sanborn BROWN Zilphia Hicks was born 26 January 1806 in Camden County, Georgia, the daughter of John Hicks.  She married Robert Sandlin from North Carolina 12 December 1822. About 1827 they moved to a homestead in…

Submitted by Descendant:  Elizabeth Marion Stover BAILEY Joseph Higginbotham was born 1837 in Spring Grove, Marion Co., Florida, to David Bod Higginbotham and Elizabeth Hughes.  By the time of the 1850 Federal Census Joseph was living with his family in…

Submitted by Descendants:  Waldo W. DAVIS and Gloria Beatrice Ann HART William henry Willingham was born 18 April 1816, possibly in Oglethorpe, Georgia.  William voted in the 1845 state election in Columbia County and served four enlistments in the Indian…

Submitted by Descendant:  Jackson Lee LANDERS John C. Houston was born on Big Talbot Island, Duval County, in August of 1813.  He married Mary Virginia Hall in Pablo Beach on 22 September 1836, and they remained in Duval County until…

Submitted by Descendants:  Joseph Newton and Pamela Newton MOORE; Melissa Moore STOCKHAM John Carroll Houston was a captain in the Revolutionary War, serving with the South Carolina militia.  He was granted 265 acres of land in Beaufort, South Carolina, for…

Submitted by Descendants:  Jeffords Donalson Jr., Laura Ruth Jones, and Mary Hannah MILLER Lucinda Matilda Hutchinson was born 09 Jan 1857 in Bradford County, Florida.  Her parents were William Hutchinson and Elizabeth Meeks of Emanuel County, Georgia.  Her father, William…