Publications: Search for Yesterday

Chapter 1: Levy County   (19 pages)

Available at Internet Archive.

• Introduction by Jean Cooper
• Dedication to Sidney Estus Gunnell by Archives Committee: Resha E. Hudson, Sr., Lindon J. Lindsey, Jean Cooper, Norma M. Hutson, Iris N. Garner, Norene Andrews, Kay Hall, Kathryn Harris
• The Land and The Waters by Sidney E. Gunnell
• Florida Indians by Charles A. Cason
• The First Settlers by Sidney E. Gunnell 

Chapter 2: The Levy County Commission (18 pages)

Available at Internet Archive.

• Introduction by Sidney E. Gunnell
• Excerpts from the Minutes of County Commissioners of Levy County, Book A, April 1850 - December 1878 compiled by Jean Cooper.

Chapter 3: Slowpoke (31 pages)

Available at Internet Archive.

by Sidney E. Gunnell

This chapter contains various short essays on his experiences in Levy County.  Titles are:

• The Nearsighted Catfishermen
• Hafele's Ditch
• Slow Riders
• December Dawn
• A Little of Gulf Hammock
• Mr. Atkins
• Episode at Yankeetown
• Bird Creek Revisited
• Gulf Hammock Impressions
• Lazy Day on The Suwannee
• Florida Post 236
• Shell Mound
• Williams Landing
• Sunset
• Otter Creek Homecoming
• Suwannee Cathedral
• The Williston Gunnells
• Ishie Day, 1977
• Pine Landing
• Clyde
• Gulf Hammock, Fall of 1976
• Museum at Cedar Key
• Dust

Chapter 4: The Levy County Commission (20 pages) 

Available at Internet Archive.

compiled by Norene Andrews.

• Contains excerpts from the Minutes of Levy County Commissioners, March 1, 1879 - July 6, 1891.

Chapter 5: Levy County Marriages (32 pages)

Available at Internet Archive.

• compiled by Kathryn P. Harris
  • Contains an alphabetical list of marriages in Levy County between 1854 and 1887.

 Chapter 6: From The Old Documents (19 pages)

Available at Internet Archive.

• compiled by Sidney E. Gunnell
  • Excerpts from Levy County court records beginning in 1842 and ending in 1912. 

 Chapter 7: The McCall Tapes...transcript (25 pages)

• By Marilyn Lindsey
  • from interviews of Levy County elderly residents done by students of Doyle McCall, Chiefland High School, 1968.
• The Strongs by Lindon Lindsey & Sidney E. Gunnell 
• Memories of Otter Creek by Charles F. Kimble
• Letter to Mrs. Keifer excerpts provided by Doris Delaino
• Cedar Key Tidal Wave, 1896 by W. P. Delaino (1882-1958)...made available by Doris Delaino
• Lukens, Florida by Sidney E. Gunnell

Chapter 8: From The County Commission Minutes, 1891-1897 (November 1979...32 pages)

Available at Internet Archive.

• Compiled by Resha E. Hudson, Sr. 
• The Fourth Book of Minutes compiled by Marilyn & Lindon Lindsey.
• Minutes of Levy County Commissioners, Book 5, 1903-1910 compiled by Kathryn P. Harris.
• Minutes of Levy County Commissioners, Book 6 
  • Excerpts and hand-drawn maps of the area in the early years of Levy County.
• The Seventh Book of Commission Minutes compiled by Sidney E. Gunnell. 

 Chapter 9: April 1980 (37 pages)

Available at Internet Archive.

• Introduction by Sidney E. Gunnell
• Dedication to J. Min Ayers by Norma Hutson, Norene Andrews, Resha Hudson, Lindon Lindsey, Jean Cooper, Kathryn Harris, S. E. Gunnell, and Iris Garner
• The High Sheriff  Several essays written by former sheriffs who served Levy County.
• Some Highlights from Ten Years as The High Sheriff of Levy County by G. T. Robbins (served 1945-1955)
• A Few Things Remembered by James W. Turner, Jr. (served 1944-1945)
• And Then Came The Sixties by Pat Hartley (served 1965-1977)
• The Seventies by Horace A. Moody (served 1977-????)  Note: He was sheriff when the chapter was published.

 Chapter 10 October 1980 (31 pages)

Available at Internet Archive.

•  Life in Bronson, 1920 to Early Thirties by Charles F. Kimble
•  History of The Williston Airport by Ray Stoel
•  Gulf Hammock, The Town by Carol Swaggerty Snider
•  The Pioneer Carters by William Patrick Carter (1862-1944)
•  Judson, Florida by W. P. Carter (1862-1944)
•  More Slowpoke by Sidney E. Gunnell

 Chapter 11: Added January 1982 (30 pages)

Available at Internet Archive.

• The Levy County Courthouse, 1906-1937
• The Yearty Family by William S. Yearty (1877-1971)
• Anderson Philpot (1819-1866)
• Thomas Charles Love (1825-1864)
• Robert P. Philpot (1861-1926)  These 3 short biographies compiled by Marjorie Mims Dick.
• Memories of an Old Timer and His Wife by Katherine & Jason McElveen, transcribed & edited by Lindon Lindsey
• Hodgson Hill in Cedar Key by Charles C. Fishburne, Jr.
• History of Pine Grove Baptist Church, Organized July 10, 1871 by Resha E. Hudson, Sr.

 Chapter 12 (October 1982...36 pages)

• Picture Captions in This Chapter by Sidney E. Gunnell, Archives Member
• Where They Lived...census lists...
• From the 1867 Census
• From the 1880 Census, Bronson & Levyville Precincts
• A Few Levy County Landowners, 1877...a list...
• From the 1874 Tax Roll
• From the 1887 Tax Roll
• From the 1896 Tax Roll
• President of the United States to the United States Senate, About Cedar Key...a letter from Benjamin Harrison, June 6, 1890, to the Senate.
• Number Four:  A Mystery Solved? by Charles C. Fishburne, Jr.
• Hiers by Mary Coleman Brookins
• Eliza Hearn and Life on Way Key, 1867-1873 As She Saw It by Charles C. Fishburne, Jr.
• Corrections and Additions to previous chapters 

Chapter 13 (March 1983...28 pages)

Available at Internet Archive.

• Introduction by Norene Andrews, Sidney E. Gunnell, Kathryn Harris & Lindon Lindsey
• Dedication to Mrs. Annie Sue Wellman
• Johann Conrad Christian Wellman
• The Latest News, About A Century Ago from The Levy Times-Democrat
• Excerpts from the newspaper beginning October 22, 1896 to June 17, 1917
• Map of Levy County, 1891 courtesy of Mrs. C. A. Daly 

Chapter 14 (June 1985...40 pages)

• Early Newspapers by Jack Holland
  • Lengthy article about the many newspapers published in Levy County since the 1860's.  Includes parts of actual pages from various publishers.
• The Bryant-Hardee Connection by Eugenia Smith Rowe
• The Ellzey Methodist Church by Marie G. Meeks
• Henry Mims Mattair (18  -19  ) transcribed by Eugenia Smith Rowe
• What Rye ... Key, That Is? by Charles C. Fishburne, Jr.
•  The Cedar Keys, Steamboats, and The Suwannee River by Charles C. Fishburne, Jr.

 Chapter 15 (April 1986...32 pages)

Available at Internet Archive.

• Spaniards & Pirates in the Cedar Keys? by Charles C. Fishburne, Jr. & Boaz C. Wadley, Jr.
• The Family of Joseph Fleming Prevatt by Elaine Presnell
• Meeks by Eugenia Smith Rowe
• The Bronson Methodist Church by Elizabeth Griffin, Harriet Shewey, Faith Weeks
• Elmira Prison Camp by Cindy Goss
• Shell Pond & Judge John Francis McDonell by Kathryn Harris
• A History of the McDonell Family by Wilson Sistrunk
• Holcombe-Griffin by Eugenia Smith Rowe
• Sawmill at Williston, 1902 by Don McCormick
• The McCalls of Florida by Sybil Browne Bray
• Eddie Buie by Jacob Wynn
• Bronson in 1889 by Sidney E. Gunnell
• A Few Pioneer Families by Kathryn Harris

Chapter 16 (December 1986...42 pages)

Available at University of Florida Archive and the Internet Archive..

• Dedication to Norene Andrews, Charter Member of Levy County Archives Committee
• Introduction by Kathryn P. Harris
  • This series of articles was written by Sidney E. Gunnell for the Chiefland Citizen under the sponsorship of the Levy County State Bank in 1976.  The series was entitled Search for Yesterday...from which the Levy County Archives Committee derived the name for our set of chapters: Search for Yesterday: A History of Levy County. 
    • Old Roads & People
    • The Civil War, Here
    • Saga Of A Jug
    • The Night The Stars Fell on Long Pond
    • Cedar Key Docks
    • Old Red
    • The 1850 Decade
    • The 1850 Decade, Again
    • The 1860 Decade
    • Contemporary Folkways: The Voices   
    • Some More Wonderful Kids
    • Night Storm
    • Place Names
    • How They Talked
    • The Shift
    • Gulf Hammock Hunting Camp
    • Turpentine
    • The Courthouse
    • In 1902
    • Genealogy in General
    • Local Government
    • The Old Automobiles
    • Old Schools
    • The Synthetic Man
    • 1830, Some Speculations       
    • The Quincey Family
    • Ebenezer
    • Bits & Pieces of Bronson
    • The Political Rallies
    • Book Review by Gloria Jahoda
    • To Your Wagons, Men! by Sidney E. Gunnell
    • Tooke by Sally Baylor
    •  The Sanchez-Sheffield Family by Edith L. Graham

 Chapter 17 (January 1989...31 pages)

•  Dedication to Lindon James Lindsey by Norene Andrews, Sidney Gunnell, and Kathryn P. Harris
•  Ancestor Chart compiled by Lindon J. Lindsey
•  Levy County Marriages, 1888-1906 compiled by Kathryn P. Harris

Chapter 18 (January 1989...27 pages)

Available at Internet Archive.

•  Dedication to Sidney E. Gunnell by Lindon Lindsey, Norene Andrews, and Kathryn P. Harris
•  Levy County Marriages, 1888-1906, Part 2 compiled by Kathryn P. Harris

 Chapter 19 (January 1989...53 pages)

Available at Internet Archive.

• Orange Hill Cemetery
  • A listing of people in the cemetery...including birth & death dates

 Chapter 20 (September 1990...28 pages)

• Sidney Estus Gunnell, Jr. by Kathryn P. Harris
• Seven Generations of The Family ancestor chart for Sidney E. Gunnell, Jr.
• Growing Up in New Town, Florida by Isaac W. Faircloth (1898-????) transcribed by Sidney E. Gunnell
• Thomas Jefferson Faircloth, Early Settler of Levy County, Florida compiled by Kathryn P. Harris with assistance of Mary Whitener Faircloth and Grady Faircloth.
• The Island City by Jessica Lee, Age 9, Bronson Elementary School
• Atsena Otie Family by Norene Andrews & Katie Andrews
• Seahorse Key Cemetery by Lindon Lindsey
• Cemetery on Little Hickory or Hodge's Island, Port Inglis by Lindon Lindsey
• History of Chiefland by Hazel R. Etheridge, 1979
• Bronson Post Office, Levy County, Florida
• Bronson Town Council Minutes compiled by Norene Andrews
  • Begins October 1926 through October 1953.
• Around Levy County by Norwood F. Ishie (1911-1979), published in the Levy County Journal circa 1974
• Big Time Mayor
• Notes from Minute Book L compiled by Sidney E. Gunnell
• Begins September 1925 through July 1926.
• The Old Water Mill by J. C. Partin
• Road to The Watering Place by Sidney E. Gunnell

 Chapter 21 (January 1, 2000...28 pages)

• Dedication to Toni Collins by Levy County Archives Committee
• Cantonment Morgan on Seahorse Key by Toni C. Collins
• Zachariah Davis ca. 1790-1860 compiled by Evelyn Yearty
• Armed Occupation Bill for Florida, August 1842
• 1850 Federal Census, Levy County, Florida
• History of The Pat-Mac Locomotive compiled by John F. Yearty
• Index to Volume 21

 Chapter 22 (June 2002...37 pages)

Available at University of Florida Archive and Internet Archive.

• Dedication to Gene Osteen
• The Allen & Mary Elizabeth Gaskins Osteen Family in Levy County, Florida by Harry Eugene Osteen, June, 2002
• The Rise & Fall of Cedar Key by Harry Eugene Osteen, March, 2002
• Levy County Town Names & Their Origin
• Levy County Clerks Since 1884
• Levy County Schools Superintendents Since 1884
• U. S. Post Office, Gulf Hammock, FL
• Florida Confederate Soldiers Buried at Elmira, NY
• The Levy County Fair, Premium List & Program, November 8-9-10, 1923, Bronson, Florida
  • This is a reproduction of the program for the first Levy County Fair.

 Chapter 23 (June 2002...44 pages)

Available at Internet Archive.

Dedication to Robert Allen & Chairperson Donna Lindsay

• Applications for Drivers Licenses 1940, Levy County, FL, 1940

Chapter 24 (May 2003...48 pages)

Available at Internet Archive.

• Why The Lumber Dry Kilns at Gulf Hammock became Bomb Shelters by Russel P. Comeaux
  This article includes surveys of the houses and people of Gulf Hammock, Otter Creek, and Ellzey.
• Genealogy of Alfred Rodgers, 1829-1908 submitted by Abbie Jean Rodgers Richner
• Genealogy of Absalom B. Wood, Early Settler of Levy County submitted by the Wood family.
• The Levy Times-Democrat, 22 Oct. 1896...list of Qualified Electors for November 3, 1896
• Book Discloses Details of Hunt for Soviet Subs by Vladimir Isachenkov, Associate Press Writer
• The Bomb and The Kids...a story about some local children (Lindseys and Beckhams) finding a WWII bomb and what they did with it...

Chapter 25 (December 2004...51 pages)

Available at Internet Archive.

• Dedication and Photo in memory of Donna Stewart Lindsey...she'll not be forgotten...
• Death Records for Levy County copied from the index of the Florida
  Bureau of Vital Statistics through 1955. They give the race, sex, and year of death. Compiled by Kathryn P. Harris

Chapter 26 (December 2005...31 pages)

Available as a PDF from the University of Florida Archive.

• Dedication to and photo of Mrs. Kathryn and Mr. Travis Harris...
• Ebenezer Baptist Church History with photos
• Bronson United Methodist History with photo
• First United Methodist Church of Williston with photos
• A Short History of Hardeetown Baptist Church with photos
• Chiefland Methodist Church History with photos
• Otter Creek Missionary Baptist Church History with photos
• First Baptist Church of Otter Creek History with photos
• Bronson Church of God by Faith History with photos

Chapter 27: December 2005 (24 pages)

Available at Internet Archive.

• Dedication to and photo of Mary Hatcher
• Rosewood Baptist Church Historical Highlights with photo
• Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Chiefland History with photo
• History of St. John The Evangelist Catholic Mission of Chiefland with photo
• Joppa Baptist Church History with photos
• The Ellzey Methodist Church History with photo
• First Baptist Church of Bronson History with photos
• Concord Baptist Church with photos
• Saint Barnabas Episcopal Church of Williston with photo
• History of Pine Grove Baptist Church with photos

Chapter 28: Dec 2006

Available at Internet Archive.