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| Chapin, George M., FLORIDA 1513-1913, Past,
Present and Future, Four Hundred Years of Wars and Peace and Industrial
Development, 1914, Vol. 2, 742 pages.
FRANCIS L. DANCY.
Francis L. Dancy, a representative of the Jacksonville bar who is
not only concerned with the interpretation of the law but also with
framing city legislation as a member of the council from the ninth ward,
was born in Savannah, Georgia, September 18, 1882, a son of Edward D.
and Sallie (Champion) Dancy. The
grandfather, Colonel Francis L. Dancy, was one of the early settlers of
Florida, becoming a resident of Orange Mills, near Palatka, about 1852.
He was a West Point graduate and had served in the engineering
department. He came to this state as a government officer to fight the
Seminole Indians and, pleased with Florida, its condition and
opportunities, he remained. In the ’40s he was in charge of the repair
of the seawall at St. Augustine and for a number of years remained in
the government service. During the Civil war he served as a colonel in
the Confederate army and was in charge of the commissary department of
Florida. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Florida Reid, was a
daughter of Governor Reid, one of the territorial governors of Florida.
Colonel Dancy passed away at Orange Mills in 1890 and his wife’s death
occurred in 1894. He was not only recognized as one of the prominent
residents of this state but had a wide reputation and was well known in
various sections of the country. His son, Edward D. Dancy, is a farmer
and makes a specialty of growing potatoes which he markets at Hastings.
He is still a resident of Orange Mills and is numbered among the well
known and representative citizens of that district.
Francis L. Dancy, whose name introduces this review, was educated in the
country schools of Orange Mills, spent two years as a student in
Savannah, Georgia, devoted one year to study in the Massie grammar
school and spent another year in the Chatham Academy. In 1903 he entered
the University of Georgia in preparation for the bar, and after pursuing
a two years’ law course was admitted to the superior court of Georgia in
Clarke county and also to practice in the United States district and
circuit courts in the northern district of Georgia. In September, 1901,
he moved to Jacksonville and after he had pursued his law course in the
University of Georgia he returned to this city, where he has since been
engaged in active practice, winning a large and gratifying clientele. He
has never specialized in any particular branch of the profession but
continues in general practice and his wide knowledge of the various
branches of law is displayed in the able manner in which he handles his
cases. He makes thorough preparation, is strong in argument and logical
in deduction and has won a number of notable victories in the courts.
Mr. Dancy has also been prominent in public affairs, having in June,
1909, been elected a member of the city council, reelected in June,
1911, and again reelected in June, 1913, from the ninth ward, so that he
is now serving in that office. He was a member of the committee on laws
and rules, a member of the officers and police committee and chairman of
the committee on city property. During his second term he was made a
member of the finance committee, chairman of the committee on fire
protection, chairman of the committee on city property and chairman of
the public service committee. At the present time he is president of the
city council, having been elected as such on June 20, 1913, for a term
of two years. He has always been an advocate of protection for the city
and while in office has done much to further the municipal welfare.
Mr. Dancy has various membership relations, professional and otherwise.
He belongs to the state and county bar associations, is a member of the
Kappa Alpha fraternity, of the Woodmen of the World, the Germania Club
and the Florida Yacht Club. Of the last named he is also treasurer and
is serving on its board of governors. His interests are wide and varied
and are always manifest along lines of progress and improvement. He has
pleasant social qualities and is popular and well liked in the different
organizations to which he belongs.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida,
WILLIAM M. DAVIDSON. William M. Davidson is
treasurer of the Jacksonville Terminal Company, having been connected
with it in different capacities since 1895. For forty-five years he has
been connected with railway service and has made an excellent record,
thoroughly mastering all the duties devolving upon him and so directing
the work of his position that the public and the company have alike
benefited thereby. Florida claims Mr. Davidson as one of her native
sons, his birth having occurred at Quincy in 1841. His boyhood and youth
were there passed and when a young man of nineteen years he offered his
services to the Confederate army, enlisting in 1861 in a volunteer
company which he had been largely instrumental in organizing. He was
elected first lieutenant of this command, which became Company G of the
First Regiment of Florida Infantry, under Colonel James Patton Anderson.
On the organization of the regiment at Chattahoochee he was appointed
adjutant and for several months continued in that position, discharging
its responsible duties most satisfactorily, but resigning at the end of
that time in order to be with his company as first lieutenant. He was
with his command on Pensacola bay until the spring of 1862, when Colonel
Anderson was promoted brigadier-general and named Mr. Davidson as his
aide-de-camp, in which rank he remained in connection with the Army of
the Tennessee. In several important engagements General Anderson
commanded a division and in 1864 was promoted to the rank of
major-general and given command of a division in the Atlanta and
Carolina campaigns. As his aid, Lieutenant Davidson’s service was of a
most important character. He took part in the battle of Shiloh on the
6th and 7th of April, 1862, and in his report of that engagement General
Anderson made mention of him as follows: ‘‘Lieutenant William M.
Davidson, aide-de-camp, was constantly by my side except when absent by
my orders, all of Which he delivered with promptitude and intelligence.
While engaged in this and passing from one portion of the field to
another, he made many narrow escapes, having frequently to pass under
the most galling fires to reach his point of destination.” With the
reputation made at Shiloh the young staff officer continued a service by
which he held the esteem of his general and comrades in the battles of
Farmington, (Mississippi), Perryville (Kentucky), Murfreesboro,
Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Atlanta and Jonesboro. At Chickamauga
General Anderson, who commanded Hindman’s division, again in his report
praised the activity and valor of his aide-de-camp. Finally Lieutenant
Davidson joined the army in North Carolina and was present at the
surrender at Greensboro on the 26th of April, 1865.
With his return to civil life Lieutenant Davidson engaged in the drug
business at Quincy, conducting his store until 1868, when he suffered
heavy losses by fire. On the 1st of January, 1869, he entered into
active connection with railway interests, serving as agent, traveling
agent and superintendent of the Florida Central Railroad, and after its
consolidation with the Jacksonville, Pensacola & Mobile Railroad was
made general manager. He continued in that capacity for a number of
years, discharging his duties with the utmost fidelity and capability,
but at length resigned and in 1895 accepted the position of
superintendent of the Jacksonville Terminal Company. In that service he
has since continued and in this, as in other positions, he has made a
most creditable record by reason of his faithfulness, his unflagging
energy and his close application.
In November, 1873, Captain Davidson was married to Miss Clara Agnes
Boulter, of Jacksonville, who died December 30, 1906, leaving two
daughters, Clara Etta and Agnes. The Captain holds membership in the
Country Club and is an active supporter and earnest worker in the First
Presbyterian church of Jacksonville, in which he is now an elder. His
has been an upright, honorable life, commending him to the confidence
and high regard of all who know him. Trustworthiness and fidelity are
among his strong characteristics, evidenced both in his military service
and in his later record as a business man in active connection with
railway interests.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida,
ROBERT T. DEWELL.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida, 1513 - 1913,
Past, Present and Future, Four Hundred Years of War and Peace and
EDWARD THOMAS COLA DICKENSON.
Edward T. C. Dickenson remained at home until
about the year 1863, when he enlisted in the Confederate army, going to the front as a member of
Abell's Flying Artillery. He was at Savannah when
the city fell and surrendered at Greensboro, North
Carolina, after nearly two years of loyal and faithful service. Before joining the army and after his
discharge he worked in the interest of his father,
taking charge of the latter's business at Neals Landing, Florida, and after two years moved to Greenwood,
where he has since been in business. From a
small child he was reared in Decatur county, Georgia,
and returned from there to Florida in order to take
charge of a mercantile branch belonging to the father.
Coming to Greenwood, he later bought out the business there and has now for thirty-eight years been
continuously connected therewith. He is one of the
oldest as well as one of the most prominent merchants
in the city. He has a liberal patronage and his trade
is increasing, owing to his straightforward methods,
his reasonable prices and his earnest desire to please
his patrons. Beside dealing in general merchandise,
he sells wagons, buggies, harness and also wire fencing. In all of his business dealings he is strictly
upright and honorable, his commercial probity standing
as an unquestioned fact in his career. From time to
time he has invested heavily in lands and has now
extensive and valuable holdings, owning four to five
thousand acres in Decatur county, Georgia; three
thousand in Florida, and five hundred and fifty in
Alabama.
On March 23, 1876, Mr. Dickenson married Miss
Lizzie J. Bryan, and they became the parents of eight
children: Samuel Hale, deceased; Annie Bryan, at
home; Mattie Hearn, who resides in Birmingham, Alabama; Julian Lee, who has been in the mercantile
business ever since leaving school; Eagan Hamilton,
deceased; Laura Cola, who after graduating from
college took a course at the Touro Infirmary and is
now a trained nurse, having practiced in New Orleans
for two years; Penelope Erwin, and Edward Hale.
Mr. Dickenson is a member of the Methodist church.
His political allegiance is given to the democratic
party and he has served as county commissioner,
discharging his duties in that office in a capable and
satisfactory manner. He is widely known in Greenwood, 'where he has spent much of his active life, and
his substantial characteristics have gained him the
warm regard and unqualified trust of his fellow
townsmen.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida, 1513 - 1913,
Past, Present and Future, Four Hundred Years of War and Peace and
JOHN LOCKE DOGGETT.
In the maternal line the ancestry of John Locke
Doggett, of this review, is traced back to Andrew Turnbull, his great-great-grandfather, who was a noted
lawyer of England and was the moving spirit, in connection with Sir William Duncan, in founding the
Minorcan colony at New Smyrna, Florida. Aristides
Doggett, father of John L. Doggett, was born in Jacksonville in 1830 and was graduated from Jubilee
College at Jacksonville, Illinois. He became a distinguished lawyer of Florida and at one time was judge
of the county court of Duval county. He was a valiant
soldier throughout the Mexican war under General
Scott and through the Civil war under General Bragg.
In professional connections and in public office he made
an equally creditable record. At one time he was
chairman of the county board of commissioners of
Duval county and was also corporation counsel for
the city of Jacksonville. His ideals of citizenship and
of public service were high and the record which he
made indicates that he faithfully lived up to these
ideals. He married Ann T. Cleland, a second cousin
of Francis Scott Key, author of the Star Spangled
Banner, and of Chief Justice Taney, of the supreme
court of the United States. Her father was John C.
Cleland, a well known sugar planter of Jamaica. Mrs
Doggett, a woman of conspicuous mental force and
energy, was prominently identified with charitable and
benevolent projects and with the intellectual progress
of Jacksonville. She was one of the three founders of
St. Luke’s Hospital, was the founder of the Daniel
Memorial Orphanage and also organized the Jacksonville Library Association.
John Locke Doggett, whose name introduces this
record, pursued his education in private schools of his
native state, in the East Florida Seminary and in the
University of the South, at Sewanee, Tennessee, from
which he was graduated with the class of 1887. Following his graduation he was appointed clerk of the
criminal court of record at Jacksonville and two years
later was elected to the position. His leisure hours
during his incumbency in that office were devoted to
the study of law and, successfully passing the required
examination, he was admitted to the bar in November,
1890. Three years later he entered upon the active
practice of law and in 1895 was admitted to practice
before the supreme and federal courts of Florida. On
the 17th of June, 1897, he was appointed judge of the
criminal court of record at Jacksonville and although
the youngest incumbent in a court of that character in
Florida he discharged his duties with conspicuous energy and ability and made an excellent record. He
now concentrates his energies upon the general practice of law and is well versed in all the various
departments of the profession. Lie handles his cases most
ably and is seldom if ever at fault in the application of
a legal principle.
On the 10th of June, 1890, occurred the marriage of
John Locke Doggett and Miss Carrie May Van Deman,
a daughter of Erskine Burton Van Deman, of Jacksonville. They have three children, Carita Ann Louisa,
John Locke, Jr., and Mary Anna. Judge Doggett has
been active in military affairs, serving as captain of
both the Metropolitan Light Infantry and the Jacksonville Light Infantry, which were organized in this
city.
His professional standing is indicated by the fact that
he has been honored with the election as secretary of
the bar association of Jacksonville. Something of the
nature of his interests and recreation is shown by the
fact that he holds membership in the Seminole, Florida
Country and Florida Yacht Clubs. His friends, and
they are many, find him a genial, courteous gentleman
and his sociability, his sterling worth and many admirable characteristics make him popular wherever he is
known.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida,
WILLIAM H. DOWLING.
Taken to Hampton county during his early childhood, William H. Dowling was there reared and edcated,
attending the public schools. When twenty
years of age he became a flagman on the Savannah,
Florida & Western Railroad, now the Atlantic Coast
Line, extending between Savannah and Jacksonville.
On the 10th of December, 1889, he was promoted to
the position of freight conductor and subsequently
became a passenger conductor, serving in that capacity until December 11, 1912, when he resigned, having
been elected sheriff of Duval county at the November
election of that year. He was nominated over three
opponents, having a plurality of two hundred and
eighteen in the first primary and a majority of four
hundred and twenty-three in the second. This indicates his personal popularity with the voting public
of the county and is also an evidence of the trust
reposed in him as a citizen. He entered into the
campaign zealously and earnestly with a policy that
won the hearts of the public, and on the 7th of January, 1913, assumed the duties of the office, which he
has since promptly and faithfully executed, his course
justifying the faith reposed in him by his constituents.
On the 12th of February, 1895, Mr. Dowling was
united in marriage to Miss Mary Murphy, of Savannah, Georgia, and they have one son and one daughter,
Hamilton and Margaret. They occupy a beautiful home at No. 258 West Fifth street, which is the
abode of warm-hearted and gracious hospitality. In
fraternal circles Mr. Dowling is well and widely
known. He belongs to the order of Railroad Conductors, in which he was formerly active, serving for
two terms as chief conductor of the local lodge and
twice as international representative to the Conductors’ Convention. At the Boston convention in 1909*
he invited the convention to meet in Jacksonville
in 1911 and the invitation was accepted. His name is
likewise on the membership rolls of the Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks and the Woodmen of the
World, while in Masonry he has attained high rank,
taking the degrees of the York and Scottish rites
and crossing the sands of the desert with the Nobles
of the Mystic Shrine. He is popular and prominent
in these different organizations, to the teachings and
principles of which he is ever loyal.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida, 1513 - 1913,
Past, Present and Future, Four Hundred Years of War and Peace and
RICHARD DANIEL DRYSDALE.
Richard Daniel Drysdale was educated in the public schools of Jacksonville and when he started out in
the business world secured the position of office boy
for the Board of Trade. He was afterward in the
employ of Drew & Hazeltine for a time but ever held
to the laudable ambition of some day engaging in business on his own account. August, 1901, saw the
realization of his hopes, for he then established a lumberyard which he has since conducted under the name
of
the Drysdale Lumber Company. A liberal patronage
has been secured in this connection and the busines is
constantly growing in volume and importance. Mr.
Drysdale is enterprising, energetic and determined in
the conduct of his interests and his well formulated
plans, which are carefully executed, are bringing to
him substantial success. He is also state agent for
the Burrowes Rustless Screen Company and is proving himself a capable, energetic business man. At
the annual election of 1912 he was chosen as one of
the five commissioners of Duval county and the duties
of this office are now added to his other activities.
He is prompt, faithful and capable in their discharge
and is widely known as a loyal and public-spirited
citizen.
In 1898 Mr. Drysdale was united in marriage to
Miss Winifred Lanier Dancy, of Jacksonville, and
they have two children, Richard D. and Winifred
Lanier. The parents are members of St. John’s Episcopal church. They have a pleasant home, the hospitality
of which is greatly enjoyed by their many
friends. Mr. Drysdale is identified with various social
and fraternal organizations and is also a member of
the Board of Trade. He belongs to all the Masonic
bodies, including the Scottish Rite up to the thirty-second degree, and the Mystic Shrine. He is also a
member of the Elks Lodge, the Commercial Club, the
Germania Club and the Church Club. His interests
and activities are wide and varied and his energy has
brought him to an enviable place in business circles
while his sterling traits of character have gained him
social prominence in his native city.
JAY HARVEY DURKEE, M. D.
On the 18th of November, 1897, Dr. Durkee was
united in marriage to Miss Sarah A. Allison, of Stony
Point, New York, and they have five children, three
daughters and two sons, as follows: Cordelia Allison,
Margaret Regina, Joseph Harvey, Allison, and Brewster Jay. They occupy an enviable place in the social
circles of the city, the hospitality of the best homes in
Jacksonville being freely accorded them. That Dr.
Durkee has led an upright, honorable life, commending
him to the confidence and regard of his fellow townsmen, is indicated by the fact that many of his
stanchest
friends are those who have known him from his boyhood to the present time.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida,
CAPTAIN JOSEPH HARVEY DURKEE.
Samuel D. Durkee was united in marriage to Laura
Hurd, a native of Oneida county, who possessed a
strongly marked character and sturdy qualities of the
best type of American womanhood.
While spending his youthful days on the ancestral
farm Captain Durkee attended the common schools and
continued his education in Hamilton College, from
which he graduated with the class of 1861. A northern man by training and instinct, and believing firmly
in the supremacy of Federal power, at the outbreak of
the Civil war he joined the Sixteenth New York
Volunteers, known as “Garrard’s Tigers,” and at the
organization of his company was elected its second
lieutenant, while later he was promoted to the rank of
captain. He lost an arm at the battle of Chancellorsville in May, 1863, and was also shot through the body
and taken prisoner. His shattered arm was amputated by Dr. Todd, who was the brother of the wife of
President Lincoln and was one of the Confederate
surgeons. A few days later Captain Durkee was
paroled and sent home. After he had sufficiently recovered, again to engage in active military duty, he
was
assigned to the charge of paroled prisoners at Annapolis. In the following November he was appointed
inspector-general of the Third Brigade, Second Division, Fifth Army Corps, and continued on active duty
until May, 1864, when, after the battle of Spottsylvania,
he was so debilitated by his old wounds, as to be compelled to ask for relief from field service. He
joined
the Veteran Reserve Corps with the rank of captain
and was on duty at Washington the night of the assassination of President Lincoln. He was the first to
carry
the news of that terrible event to the war department
and to have the reserves called out. He was honored
by being one of the officers to escort the body of the
martyr president to Springfield, Illinois, and received
from congress a gold medal for his part in the sad
ceremony.
For some years after the actual close of the war
Captain Durkee continued in the government service
and in December, 1865, was sent to Florida as a representative to the Freedman’s bureau, his duties being
those of disbursing officer and superintendent of
schools. He continued to act in that capacity until
January, 1868, when he resigned and retired from the
army. Florida’s natural attractions and opportunities
proved an argument for residence which he could not
resist and he determined to take up his permanent
abode in this state. Settling in Jacksonville he studied
law and in 1879 was admitted to the bar. Duval county
recognized his worth as a man and citizen and in 1872
he was appointed county sheriff, which position he
filled for two years. Subsequently he was elected to
the state senate and the indorsement of his service in
that connection came to him in a reelection, but before
the close of his second term he resigned to accept an
appointment to the office of United States marshal for
the northern district of Florida. He acted in that
capacity until 1885, when he tendered his resignation
and became master of chancery of the United States
courts. In 1876 he was appointed receiver of the
Florida Central Railroad and later held the same relation to other railways in the state. His activities
in
support of public improvements and progress in Jacksonville produced results, and the city numbered him
among her valued residents. He was president of the
Loan & Improvement Company, of the Cemetery Association and of the Seminole Club. His life throughout
the period of his residence in Florida was one of
intense and well directed activity, and his labors
were an effective element in promoting general progress
and improvement.
On the 2d of November, 1869, Captain Durkee
was united in marriage to Mrs. Cora L. Eaverson, nee
Wilcox, of Baltimore, who survives him, as does, also,
their only son, the latter being Dr. Jay Harvey Durkee,
a well known physician of Jacksonville.
On the [nth] of August, 1905, Captain Durkee died,
and upon the occasion of his passing the city of Jacksonville lost one of her foremost citizens — a
patriot in
war and a model citizen in peace. Captain Durkee’s
services proved to be a distinct asset to his adopted city
and state, and his name is held in affectionate memory
by Jacksonville’s citizenship.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida, 1513 - 1913,
Past, Present and Future, Four Hundred Years of War and Peace andIndustrial Development, (c) 1914,
Volume 2, p. 595-596
ROBERT NAUDAIN ELLIS.
Mr. Ellis has resided almost continuously in Jacksonville since 1872 and for many years has occupied the
position of engineer of the board of bond trustees.
Elis life record had its beginning in Fredericksburg,
Virginia, on the 6th of January, 1843, his parents being
James E. and Elizabeth (Naudain) Ellis. He comes of
English and Huguenot ancestry. The Ellis family was
founded in America by William and James Ellis,
natives of England, who crossed the Atlantic in the
latter part of the seventeenth century and settled in
North Carolina. The family of William Ellis afterward
removed to Virginia, where his descendants have lived
many generations. In that state Dr. James E. Ellis,
father of R. N. Ellis, was for many years a prominent
physician and ranked with the leading citizens of
Fredericksburg. He married Elizabeth Naudain, connected with a well known French Huguenot family
that was established in Delaware in the early days.
Robert N. Ellis’ grandfather, Arnold Naudain, was at
one time a member of the United States senate.
During the early boyhood of their son Robert, Dr.
and Mrs. Ellis removed with their family to New York
and he acquired his education in the public schools of
that state and in the academy of Fergusonville.
Attracted to the profession of civil engineer, he began
studying under private instruction, completing his
course in 1858. He made his initial step in the business
world as a draughtsman for the Baldwin Locomotive
Works, of Philadelphia, in 1859, and after serving in
that capacity for about two years secured an appointment, in 1860, as a member of the engineering corps of
the United States navy. He saw service during the
Civil war under Admirals Farragut and Porter, and was
in most of the important navy battles both on the
Atlantic and Gulf coasts. In January, 1863, he was
captured at Galveston, but was held prisoner for only
a few months before he was exchanged. He remained
in the naval service until 1867, when he resigned and
became a resident of Florida, turning his attention to
the cultivation of oranges at Orange Mills in November
of that year.
Five years later Mr. Ellis resumed the practice of his
profession in Jacksonville and his work as civil and
mechanical engineer has made him widely known
throughout the state and gained him prominence in his
profession. In 1873 he formed a partnership with
A. E. McClure, which was continued until 1888. Their
attention was devoted to architectural and engineering
projects, their services being in demand on important
contracts in adjacent states as well as Florida. In 1878
In connection with his profession Mr. Ellis has
studied broadly and deeply and is interested in every
problem bearing upon civil and mechanical engineering.
He is studying, too, the needs of the state, its possibilities and its opportunities and is an earnest
advocate of
the improvement of the inland waterways and of the
building of good public roads. The Jacksonville Board
of Trade numbers him among its leading and influential
members, and his efforts in behalf of the public welfare, both within and without that organization, have
been far-reaching and beneficial.
In 1873 occurred the marriage of Mr. Ellis and Miss
Frances McClure, a daughter of the Rev. Edward and
Sarah McClure. Their children were seven in number,
six now living: Robert N., Clarence H., James E.,
Frank H., A. Wright, and Florence M.
The family attend St. John’s Protestant Episcopal
church, of which Mr. Ellis is a communicant. He also
holds membership with the Church Club and is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His
political support is given the democracy, but the honors
and emoluments of public office have little attraction
for him, as he prefers to concentrate his energies upon
his business affairs, which, capably directed, are bringing to him notable success and well deserved
prominence.
HON. ION LOWNDES FARRIS.
He was born September 14, 1878, in Savannah,
Georgia, and was but seven years of age when brought
to Jacksonville by his parents, Oscar Alexander and
Mary M. (Detyens) Farris, both of whom were natives of South Carolina, the former born in Charleston and
the latter in Georgetown. About 1886 the
family removed to Marion county, Florida, where
the son was reared. He attended the public schools
but displayed such aptitude in his studies that he was
always about two years ahead of pupils of his own
age. The oratorical ability which he displayed gained
for him among his classmates the title of the Demosthenes of the high school of Ocala. Shortly before
the time of graduation, however, when he was sixteen years of age, he was obliged to leave school and
go to work. While assisting his father, who was
a boilermaker, he devoted his leisure time to the
study of stenography and when seventeen years of
age entered a law office, where he served as stenographer and clerk, supporting himself in this way while
reading law. He closely applied himself to the mastery of the principles of jurisprudence, gained valuable
knowledge from actual experience in law work,
and was admitted to the bar on attaining his majority.
He then removed to Jacksonville, where he has since
practiced when not occupied with his official duties,
and has been a most successful criminal lawyer, employing his gift of oratory in the clear, forceful and
eloquent presentation of his cause. He has ever
carefully prepared his cases, is seldom if ever at
With the work of framing the laws of Florida Mr.
Farris has also been closely and prominently identified. Duval county elected him as its representative
in the state legislature in 1906 and endorsed his first
term's service by reelection in 1908. He was chosen
speaker of the house in 1909, being the youngest man
ever so honored in Florida, as he was but thirty years
of age when called to that position of responsibility.
In 1912 he was once more elected a member of the
general assembly and again as speaker is making a
record which indicates him to be a strict and unbiased parliamentarian, while his discussion of political
points with his colleagues of the house shows
him to be thoroughly conversant with all of the important questions and themes affecting state government.
In politics he is arrayed on the side of the
progressive democrats and is a warm admirer and
strong believer in the policy of W. J. Bryan. He has
fought for initiative, referendum and recall and is
still active in support of those measures, believing
the rule of the people as against special interests. It
is his desire to live to see the American people liberated from the chain of political and industrial
slavery,
and it is not in his nature to give up any contest in
which he enters. He eagerly embraces and improves
every opportunity for furthering the interests of the
commonwealth at large, and his position upon vital
problems indicates him to be one of Florida’s farseeing statesmen.
In Marion county, on the 30th of January, 1901,
Mr. Farris was united in marriage to Miss Allie M.
Liddell, a daughter of J. M. Liddell. She was reared
and educated in Tennessee and they were sweethearts
from childhood. Theirs is largely an ideal home life
and their marriage has been blessed with three sons:
Ion Lowndes, Jr., J. Liddell and Lawrence Bryan, aged
respectively eleven, nine and five years.
The family attend the First Methodist church of
Jacksonville, of which Mr. Farris is a member, and
he belongs also to the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of the World, the Red Men and the Odd Fellows
lodges. His position is never an equivocal one
upon any important subject, and his public record
indicates that he has ever been faultless in honor,
fearless in conduct and stainless in reputation.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida,
DUNCAN UPSHAW FLETCHER.
While Mr. Fletcher comes of good old Virginia
ancestry, Georgia numbers him among her native sons,
his birth having occurred near Americus, Sumter
county, January 6, 1859. He is a son of Thomas J.
Fletcher, who for four years was a soldier of the
Confederate army, while seven of D. U. Fletcher’s
uncles were also numbered among the boys in gray.
During the course of his military experience Thomas
J. Fletcher rose to the rank of captain and was acting
as colonel of his regiment at the time of the surrender of General Lee and his forces at Appomattox
Court House. He returned to find his home devastated, the destructive hand of war having been laid
heavily upon the plantation, which was situated near
Forsyth. The father took up the difficult task of
bringing order out of chaos, finding encouragement
and appreciation in the sympathy and assistance of
his wife, who in her maidenhood was Rebecca E.
McCowan, a native of Monroe county, Georgia. As
the years passed the family fortunes were somewhat
retrieved, so that the father was enabled to give
his son better educational opportunities than could be
afforded in the public schools. He became a student
in the Gordon Institute, a preparatory school at
Barnesville, Georgia, and afterward entered the Vanderbilt University at Nashville, Tennessee. There
he was graduated and subsequently pursued a year's
course in the law department.
Mr. Fletcher entered upon the practice of his
chosen profession in Jacksonville, Florida, in July,
1881, and has constantly risen in prominence till his
position is that of one of the foremost members of
the Florida bar. His success has been builded upon
the foundation of an excellent college record. While
in the university he was elected by his literary society
to contest for the Young medal and during the succeeding year for the Founders’ medal. The next year
he was graduated and his class elected him as its representative to make the address of the commencement
day. The following year he was elected by the law
faculty as one of the law class to argue the moot
court case as part of the commencement exercises,
and the same year was elected alumni orator by the
alumni association for the following year and delivered the address in June, 1882.
Mr. Fletcher had been a practitioner at the bar
of Jacksonville for only three years when he was
called to become an active participant in public affairs
through his election to the city council, on which he
served for several years, being connected with many
constructive measures resulting in municipal benefit
and improvement. His service in that connection
recommended him for still higher honors and in 1892
Duval county sent him as its representative to the
general assembly, where he served in the house through
the session of 1893. During that term he was largely
instrumental in securing an enactment of legislation
that enabled the city of Jacksonville to issue bonds
for a million dollars for public improvements, this
being the initial step which has brought Jacksonville
out of the village class and placed it with the foremost cities of the south. While still a member of the
legislature his fellow townsmen chose him mayor of
Jacksonville and his administration was thoroughly
progressive, resulting in the inauguration of various
public movements which have been and still continue
to be important features in the city’s growth and
improvement. Tangible evidences of his public spirit
are found in the municipally owned lighting plant, in
the waterworks which were rebuilt and extended and
in the miles of brick pavement which were laid during his administration. He was found equal to the
emergency when in 1901 a great fire swept over Jacksonville, laying waste a district containing
twenty-five
hundred buildings. He grasped the exigencies of the
situation and following his reelection as mayor put
forth effective effort for the wise upbuilding of the
city and its development along lines which not only
met the emergency of the hour but have constituted
a force in later growth and prosperity.
The educational interests of Duval county have likewise found in Mr. Fletcher a stalwart champion, whose
labors have been of far-reaching effect. In 1900 he
became county chairman of the board of public instruction and so served until 1907, when he refused
to become a candidate for reelection. He sought the
improvement of the schools just as assiduously as he
had labored for municipal progress, and through his
skillful management of educational financial resources
several handsome school buildings were erected at a
time when the county seemed to be without funds
for such purpose. The buildings, the educational
facilities and the work of the public schools of the
county today speak eloquently of the labor put forth
by Mr. Fletcher.
From early manhood Mr. Fletcher has been an
earnest worker in political circles, ever recognizing
the duties and obligations which devolve upon the citizen. It is well known that his position is never an
equivocal one, that he stands firmly in support of what
he believes to be for the best interests for the community, state and nation. He has frequently been a
delegate to congressional and state conventions and
has done much active campaign work, his oratory proving a convincing element in support of many candidates
and measures. In 1904 he was chosen a member of the democratic state executive committee, which
made him its chairman, which position he held until
he announced his candidacy for the United States
senate in 1908, when he resigned his position on the
executive committee.
The campaign that resulted in Mr. Fletcher becoming the democratic nominee for United States senator
from Florida was a notable one in the annals of the
party. With the history thereof there has been written as follows:
“The vacancy occasioned by the death of United
States Senator Stephen R. Mallory, in December,
1907, was filled by the appointment of Hon. William
James Bryan, a distinguished young attorney at law
of Jacksonville. Mr. Bryan had previously been recognized as a candidate to succeed Mr. Mallory, and
being a lose personal friend and political campaign
manager of the governor of Florida, the appointment
occasioned no surprise. Shortly after Mr. Mallory’s
death, announcement was made by Congressman William B. Lamar, of the Third Florida District, that
he was a candidate for the senatorship. Thomas J.
L. Brown, of Tampa, Florida, was already an announced candidate as were Hon. Park Trammell, of
Lakeland, and Hon. John S. Beard, of Pensacola, and
with these candidates in the field Mr. Fletcher announced his candidacy. During his campaign Mr.
Fletcher made the following significant remark in connection with his candidacy: T am solely responsible
for making the race and bearing its burdens. I did
not ask anyone’s permission to run, and 1 am running solely on whatever merits I possess and addressing
myself directly to the people, who alone make the
choice.’ Within four months from the date of his
appointment Senator William James Bryan died in
Washington, and this further complicated the senatorial camgaign. Congressman Lamar was making
an active campaign; John S. Beard, of Pensacola, a
lawyer of ability, and who had attained considerable
prominence as a member of the state senate, was in
the field, and Mr. Fletcher made the fourth candidate.
Shortly after the death of Senator Bryan, Florida’s
chief executive, Governor Napoleon B. Broward,
announced that he would become a candidate for the
democratic nomination for United States senator. Mr.
Brown soon retired from the race, as did Hon. Park
Trammell, and then began a four-cornered fight that
was waged with vigor and energy from one end of
the state to the other. It was soon recognized that
the real campaign was between Governor Broward
and Mr. Fletcher. The friends of these candidates
rallied to their support and one of the most strenuous
campaigns the state had ever known was waged. Mr.
Fletcher went before the people and conducted one
of the cleanest, fairest campaigns that has ever been
known since the primary system was adopted in Florida. This was largely a campaign of literature and
public speaking in every county, hundreds of thousands of pamphlets and circulars being used by each
of the four candidates and speeches, day and night,
delivered from one end of the state to the other. As
the date for the first primary drew near the interest
increased. Mr. Fletcher made friends wherever he
appeared. He is a man of winning personality, and
his arguments carry weight. He stood squarely for
control of interstate carriers by Interstate Commerce
Commission, for an income tax, for tariff revision and
benefits to Florida farmers and fruit growers, for
duty on Egyptian cotton, government appropriations
for harbors, inland rivers and waterways, for currency reform, and declared his opposition to trusts
and monopolies. The first primary resulted in Mr.
Fletcher and Governor Broward securing the largest
number of votes, but as neither received a majority
both entered the second primary. This campaign was
short, but it was most strenuous. Both candidates
worked day and night, and when the second primary
was held on June 16, 1908, Mr. Fletcher had a majority of three thousand five hundred and ninety-eight
votes, and was duly declared the nominee.” The election which followed placed him in the position of
junior member of the United States senate from Florida, to serve from 1909 until 1915, and he is making
a creditable record in the national house of legislation,
seeking the interests of the country at large just as
conscientiously and just as effectively as he has promoted the welfare of his adopted city.
Never before had Mr. Fletcher sought election at
the hands of the people of the state, although he had
filled various important positions by appointment. He
had always preferred to give his attention to his profession, in which he attained prominence as a general
practitioner. He has been admitted to practice in the
state and federal courts and is a member of the American Bar Association. Every subject, however, that
touches the general interest of society or affects the
welfare of the city or state claims and receives the
earnest consideration of Mr. Fletcher, who supports
or opposes such questions with all the earnestness of
his nature as he believes in their efficiency or their
worthlessness. Flis course, however, has been one of
a constructive rather than; a destructive nature. He
believes not in tearing down but in building up and
is ever seeking improved conditions. He is much interested in the question of waterways and at the
convention of the Gulf Coast Inland Waterways Association, now the Mississippi and Atlantic Waterways
Association, held at Columbus, Georgia, November
9-11, 1908, he was elected president and is greatly
interested in making a ship canal across the state of
Florida as a part of the continental system of waterway development.
Mr. Fletcher was united in marriage on the 20th
of June 1883, to Miss Anna Louise Paine and they
became the parents of two daughters: Ellen Abbey
and Louise Chapin. Mr. Fletcher and his family hold
membership in the Unitarian church. He is a man
of scholarly attainments and has found his most helpful line of reading in the Bible, in Shakespeare and
in history. He has been a student of the sociological
and economic as well as political problems of the country and is identified with various organizations
which
seek to ameliorate hard conditions of life for the unfortunate and to promote intellectual and moral
progress. He is the vice president of the Children’s Home
Society of Florida and the president of the Jacksonville Society of Sanitary and Moral Prophylaxis. He
is a director of St. Luke’s Hospital of Jacksonville
and is connected with other humanitarian societies.
He is likewise president of the Citizens Bank of Jacksonville and several industrial and business
concerns.
His success in those lines gives him scope for his
activities for the benefit of his fellowmen. He is a
trustee of the Jacksonville public library and also of
the John B. Stetson University at De Land, Florida.
He holds fellowship in several secret societies, is connected with the Jacksonville Board of Trade, the
Seminole Club and the State Horticultural Society.
His interests are indeed broad and varied and he has
exercised an immeasurable influence on the city of
his residence ; in business life as a lawyer, financier
and promoter of extensive industrial and commercial
enterprises ; in social circles by reason of a fine personality and unfeigned cordiality ; in politics by
reason
of his public spirit and devotion to the general good,
as well as by his comprehensive understanding of the
questions affecting state and national welfare; and in
those departments of activity, which lessen hard conditions of life by his benevolence and his liberality.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida,
JOHN B. FLINN.
John B. Flinn was reared in Jacksonville to the
age of nineteen years, when he came to Palatka.
When a boy of twelve he began selling papers and
a little later began work at the cigarmaker’s trade.
He entered the employ of E. H. Gato and gradually
worked his way upward until he became foreman in
the factory that employed between four and five hundred people. Mr. Flinn continued with Mr. Gato
for eighteen years and during the last fourteen years
was foreman, being the only American who has tilled
the position of foreman in a Spanish shop in Jacksonville. The factory was located in the Reid building
but was afterward removed to the place built for
them at the corner of Bay and Cedar streets. Subsequently Mr. Flinn entered business with M. J.
Wineman & Company. For twenty-four years he has
been engaged independently in cigar manufacturing.
He had a partner in the early days but for ten years
has conducted the business alone under the name of
the El Perfecto factory. He owns his factory building, which is a two story structure, thirty-five by one
hundred and fifty feet, at the corner of Reid and
First streets. The business has constantly grown
since its inception and something of the extent
of the trade is indicated in the fact that about thirty-five people are now employed in the manufacture
of between five and six thousand cigars daily. The
output is shipped all over the United States and the
business is constantly growing. Mr. Flinn is also
extensively interested in real estate in Palatka and
Jacksonville, mostly handling residential property.
About thirty years ago Mr. Flinn was united in
marriage to Miss Sarah Lee and they had two children: Josephine, deceased; and John B., who is in
his father’s employ. For his second wife Mr. Flinn
chose Josephine Piacetti, a lady of Savannah. His
present wife was formerly Zeolide W. Richardson,
a native of Massachusetts. Mr. Flinn was reared in
the Methodist Episcopal church. He belongs to the
Elks and he gives his political allegiance to the democratic party, of which he has ever been a stalwart
advocate and earnest supporter but never an office-seeker. He may truly be called a self-made man,
for his start in life was made practically on the
streets of the city, but his industry and determination
overcame difficulties and obstacles and his gradual advancement has brought him to a creditable place
among the prosperous merchants and business men
of the city.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida,
On the 27th of October, 1896, Mr. Foster was
united in marriage to Miss Ellen D. Roff, of Titusville, Pennsylvania, and to them have been born two
children, Ellen E. and Stephen E. Mr. Foster has
received from Allegheny College, his alma mater, the
honorary degree of Master of Arts. He belongs to
the Masonic and Odd Fellows societies and is a member of the Jacksonville Bar Association. He is also
connected with the Country Club but his attention
chiefly centers upon his professional duties and he
is always careful to conform his practice to a high
standard of professional ethics.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida,
CHARLES EDWIN GARNER.
Mr. Garner was born at New Albany, Indiana, April
11, 1853, his parents being P. M. and Mary Adeline
(Bence) Garner. His ancestors were early colonial
settlers of Virginia, his great-grandfather having been
born in that state in the latter part of the eighteenth
century. He removed to Jessamine county, Kentucky,
but after a few years made his way northward with
his family to Charlestown, Indiana. He was the first
Methodist minister in that state and traveled what was
known as the Silver Creek circuit, covering about one
hundred miles. His salary was sixteen dollars per
annum. The family continued to reside in Indiana
and Charles E. Garner, spending his youthful days
under the parental roof, acquired his education in the
common schools of New Albany and in a business college in that town. He started in the business world as
a clerk in a grocery store at New Albany and with his
advancement in the business world became proprietor
of a wholesale tea house in Cincinnati. Finally, however, he, too engaged in steamboating, to which
business his father had directed his energies, and in 1881
came to Jacksonville on the steamer Port Royal, plying
between Jacksonville and Green Cove Springs.
In all the intervening period, covering almost a third
of a century, Mr. Garner has taken active and prominent part in advancing the welfare and upbuilding of
Jacksonville through the direction of his private business affairs and through his cooperation with public
movements. His steamboat interests have from the
beginning done much to increase the wholesale business
of the city and as these interests grew their importance
to the commercial world increased. He has become a
cooperant factor in many important enterprises and
movements, both commercial and industrial, and his
sound judgment and enterprise have been valued factors in their successful growth and control. He gained
for himself a leading position in financial circles as
the president of the Florida National Bank and president of the Florida Bank & Trust Company. After
his retirement from the presidency of the former he
was named as chairman of the board of directors. He
is also the president and general manager of the
Independent line of steamers; president and general
manager of the Jacksonville & Mayport Steamboat
Company; president of the South Jacksonville Water
Works Company; a director of the American Oak
Leather Tanning Company; a director in the Jacksonville Development Company; and a director in the
Jacksonville Loan & Insurance Company. His connection with all these indicates much of the breadth of
his
interests and, more than that, of his talent and ability
along various lines. Whatever he undertakes he carries
forward to successful conclusion, brooking no obstacles
that can be overcome by determined, persistent and
honorable effort. He seems to readily see the conditions and the possibilities of every situation and has
displayed notable power in coordinating seemingly
diverse elements into a unified and harmonious whole.
It is not alone his individual business affairs, however, that have given Mr. Garner the prominent
position which he now occupies in public regard as a leading
citizen of Florida. He has done much important public
service and in 1907 was appointed assay commissioner
by President Roosevelt. Long before this he had
figured prominently in democratic circles and in 1884
was a delegate to the national convention of his party.
Something of the mettle of the man was indicated in
his work at the time of the disastrous fire of 1901,
when thousands of people were rendered homeless,
awakening the sympathy, manifest in generous aid, of
people throughout the country. To handle the situation
the Jacksonville Relief Association was organized that
the funds might be used to the best advantage for the
deserving. Captain Garner’s fitness for the position
at once led to his selection for the presidency of the
association and he gave not only of his means and his
time but of actual labor to relieve existing conditions,
earning the gratitude of hundreds of the homeless.
For eight successive terms Mr. Garner was chosen
president of the Jacksonville Board of Trade — a fact
which further attests his high position in business and
financial circles. He was the first who gave real stimulus to the growth and development of the
organization,
which under his guidance grew very rapidly and accomplished much excellent work. He was prominently
spoken of as successor to Senator Bryan, deceased, of
the United States senate. It is impossible to determine
how valuable has been Captain Garner’s service to the
eastern coast. All, however, recognize his ability and
his public spirit and know that Florida is greatly indebted to him for his efforts.
Captain Garner was married October 15, 1882, to
Katie T. Greer, a daughter of Jasper Franklin and
Mary W. Greer, of Macon, Georgia. They have two
children, namely: May, now Mrs. W. P. Smith; and
Charles Edwin Garner. Captain Garner has always
spent much of his leisure time in reading and study,
with Herbert Spencer and Shakespeare as his favorite
authors. He belongs to the Seminole and to the Florida
Country Clubs. Evenness and poise are evident in
Mr. Garner, and any one meeting him would know at
once that he is an individual embodying all the elements
of what in this country we term a square man — one in
whom to have confidence, a dependable man in any
relation and any emergency. His quietude of deportment, his easy dignity, his frankness and cordiality of
address, with a total absence of anything sinister or
anything to conceal, foretoken a man who is ready to
meet any obligation of life with the confidence and
courage that come of conscious personal ability, right
conception of things and an habitual regard for what is
best in the exercise of human activities.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida,
HARRY GOLDMAN.
Harry Goldman had but limited educational opportunities in his native land, as schooling for members of
his race was prohibited by the Draconic law
of the government. Naturally he turned to a land
that would give him broader opportunities, his laudable ambition directing him in this step. He was in
his twenty-fourth year when in 1887 he sailed for
America, landing at Baltimore practically penniless.
He made his way to Philadelphia, where he found
employment, although it was with some difficulty that
he secured work, as he was unfamiliar with the English language. In the latter part of 1887 he came to
Florida and sold goods through the country as a
peddler. He passed through the yellow fever epidemic
and although he was not stricken with the disease, it
seemed most marvelous that this was so, for he nursed
a friend for forty-eight hours who was suffering with
the fever. After the quarantine he returned from
Fernandina to Jacksonville, and twenty-five cents was
all of the capital which he possessed. There he met
a friend who divided with him a small stock of dry
goods and he started out again upon the road in
peddling. In this he continued for two years, after
which he turned his attention to merchandising on his
own account, opening a store on Broad street in connection with a partner, who proved faithless and
dishonest and at the end of two years he was again left
penniless. In 1894 he obtained a position with the city
health department as inspector at a salary of sixty
dollars per month. He remained in that position for
five years, supporting his family on that salary, and
by 1898 he had saved up about three hundred dollars.
Investing that capital in a stock of dry goods, he again
engaged in merchandising for two years, but the venture did not prove profitable. He then left
Jacksonville for Atlanta, Georgia, and opened a furniture
store there, but that undertaking was not a success and
he remained only three months. He then engaged with
a partner in the bottling business, remaining in Atlanta for four months, during which time the partner
again reaped the profits and Mr. Goldman the experience. However, this experience, well paid for, proved
the first step in his upward business career. On his
return to Jacksonville he opened a small paper and
bottling goods plant and from that time forward has
prospered in his undertakings. His trade has steadily
grown until he has an extensive business and is one
of the well known and respected citizens of Jacksonville. His plant is thoroughly equipped with modern
machinery and the excellence of his product and the
reliability of his business methods commend him to a
constantly growing trade.
In 1890 Mr. Goldman was married to Miss Annie
Watchman, of Chicago, and they became the parents
of four children: Abram S., Framme, Rosie and Leopold. Mr. Goldman holds to the religious faith of
his fathers. He belongs to several of the leading fraternities and clubs, is a Mason, has taken the
degrees
of the Scottish Rite and has crossed the sands of the
desert with the nobles of Morocco Temple of the
Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to Florida Lodge,
No. 1, I. O. O. F., to the Fraternal Order of Eagles,
to Davis Lodge No. 15, K. P., and to the Germania
Club. He is deeply concerned in matters of citizenship and his influence is always on the side of progress
and improvement. He was elected a member of the
city council from the seventh ward in 1911 and is
serving on the taxation committee, the fire committee
and is chairman of the sanitation committee. His attachment to his adopted land is deep and sincere and
is manifest in his loyal service in support of the best
interests of the community in which he lives.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida, 1513 - 1913, Past,
JONATHAN C. GREELEY.
Jonathan C. Greeley acquired his early education in
the public schools of Waldo county and after completing the preliminary course worked his own way through
college. After laying aside his books he came to Florida for the benefit of his health and, having gained
strength in the milder climate, entered the general
merchandise business at Palatka, where he remained
for about four years. At the end of that time he returned to his home in Maine and paid off the mortgage
on his father’s farm, remaining in his native state for
some time thereafter. During the Civil war, while
he was outspoken in his sympathies for the Union
cause, he remained a non-combatant, turning his attention to political affairs. He represented Putnam
county from 1862 to 1863 in the state legislature and
during one of the most trying periods in the country’s
history accomplished much constructive and progressive political work. Soon afterward he returned to
Duval county, where he has since resided, being one
of the oldest residents in this section. In 1874, when
the Florida Savings Bank & Real Estate Exchange
was organized, he was elected president and served
in that capacity for thirteen years, or until the enterprise was abandoned. He still continues his
connection with real-estate interests, however, having an office in the Blum building, where he handles a
large and
important business.
During the course of his residence here Mr. Greeley
has always been prominent in politics, having continued
the public career begun in Maine in this state. Soon
after his second settlement in Florida he was elected
treasurer of Duval county and in 1883 served as state
senator, an office which he filled with distinguished ability. In addition to this he was in 1885 a member
of
the constitutional convention, which drew up and
promulgated the present laws under which the state
of Florida is governed. Aside from the purely political field Mr. Greeley has always been active in the
support of constructive public projects and the promotion of progressive enterprises which have for their
object the general advancement and welfare. He was
one of the original trustees of St. Luke’s Hospital and
of the Daniel Memorial Orphanage, and he is connected
in the same capacity with the Jacksonville public library.
He was the first chairman of the board of public
works and served for several years as deputy collector
of internal revenue for Florida. From 1872 to 1873
he was mayor of Jacksonville and his public career
has been distinguished by constructive, straightforward and honorable work in the best interests of the
community and has been as varied in service as it has
been faultless in honor.
Mr. Greeley has been twice married. In 1858 he
wedded Miss Lydia Forward, a daughter of Judge
W. A. Forward, of Palatka. To this union was born
one son, who with his mother was lost at sea in October,
1865. In 1867 Mr. Greeley was again married, his
second union being with Miss Lenora Kepp, of Lake
City, who died in April, 1886, leaving three children:
Allan, who resides in Jacksonville; Florence, who married Dr. James G. De Veaux, of New York city; and
Mellen, who resides in Jacksonville. Mr. Greeley is
now eighty years of age but in spirit and interests
seems yet in his prime. His life has ever been upright
and honorable and he has always endeavored to deal
fairly with his fellowmen and to shape his conduct in
accordance with the principles of good citizenship.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida,
MELLEN CLARK GREELEY.
Mellen C. Greeley was a pupil in the public schools
of Jacksonville and afterward pursued an academic
course in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. He then put
aside his text-books, in 1898, to enlist for service in
the Spanish- American war, joining Company I, Third
United States Volunteer Engineers under Colonel
David DuBois Gilliard. He served for ten months in
this country and in Cuba with the army of occupation,
his battalion taking over the flag of the Fort San Savarino on New Year’s day of 1899, there being present
about four hundred American soldiers and approximately thirty thousand Spanish troops which had been
brought there to be transported to Spam. Mr. Greeley
says it was a most touching sight to see the old grayhaired men giving up their flag under which they had
fought and suffered. Yet history has proven that this
was a step toward that liberty and civilization for which
all peoples are striving.
Mr. Greeley made his initial step in the path of his
chosen profession when in 1901 he associated himself
with J. H. W. Flawkins, an architect of this city, with
whom he remained until 1908, when he went to New
York. He was then with Flenry C. Pelton, one of
the leading architects of the metropolis, and gained
valuable knowledge and experience in that connection, in which he remained until 1909, when he returned to
Jacksonville. He has since practiced his
profession independently and has secured a gratifying
clientage. His first important commission was the
Florida Country Club. Many of the more beautiful
homes of the city have been planned and erected by
him. He was the designer of the residences of J. H.
Crosby, F. W. Haward, James Bacon, C. S. Adams,
Isaac Brereton, William Moore Angus, Dr. Raymond
C. Turck, Dr. C. E. Terry, Dr. G. R. Holden and Mrs.
J. E. Harkisheimer. He has also designed several of
the important commercial buildings of the city, including the ten-story storage warehouse for Delcher
Brothers, a three-story apartment house for FI. and
W. B. Drew and two for the Ames Realty Company.
He was associated with Edward F. Stevens, of Boston, in the erection of St. Luke’s Flospital — a group of
nine buildings. He thoroughly understands the great
scientific principles underlying his work as well as
all of the practical phases of the profession, and his
patronage is a constantly increasing one.
On the 22d of June, 1905, Mr. Greeley was married
to Miss Alice Driggs Seeley, of Jacksonville, and they
have two children: Barbara, born July 20, 1906; and
Phyllis, born April 15, 1912. The parents are members
of the First Presbyterian church and are interested in
all that pertains to the progress of the city along material, intellectual, social and moral lines. Mr.
Greeley
is a member of the Country and Commercial Clubs,
the Spanish American War Veterans, the Board of
Trade, and in the line of his profession, is a charter
member and one of the directors of the Florida Association of Architects. He holds to high standards of
life, both in his profession and in other connections,
and has ever endeavored to lift himself to the level of
his ideals.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida,
HON. WILLIAM A. HALLOWES, Jr.
William A. Hallowes supplemented his early education, acquired in the common schools of Duval
county, by a course in the University of Georgia,
from which he was graduated in 1903. He had pursued the study of law there and following his graduation was
admitted to practice at the bar of the
state. He then opened an office in Jacksonville,
where he has since remained, and has gained a notable and enviable position in connection with the
work of the courts here. In 1906 he was appointed
one of the referees in bankruptcy of the United
States district court in the southern district of Florida
by Hon. James W. Locke, district judge, and was
reappointed in 1908. The same year he was elected
states attorney and so excellent was the record which
he made in that connection that he was reelected in
1912 without opposition. Certainly no higher testimonial of his efficiency, fidelity and capability could
be given. He carefully prepares his cases and safeguards the interests of the public at large, presenting
his cause in a strong, forceful, logical manner. He is
a member of both the local and state bar associations
and has the high respect of his professional brethren.
In his political views Mr. Hallowes manifests a thorough understanding of principles and questions involved
and his position is never an equivocal one. He
is an active advocate of any cause which he espouses
and is well known in both local and state political
circles.
Fraternally Mr. Hallowes is connected with the
Woodmen of the World and belongs to the Masonic
order, and in social circles he is also widely and favorably known. He was married on the 7th of February,
1906, to Miss Sara Rhea, a daughter of W. D. Rhea
of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. They have one son,
who bears the name of his father and grandfather,
William A. Hallowes.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida,
THOMAS WILLIAM HANEY.
In the public schools of his native city T. W. Haney
pursued his education and afterward served an apprenticeship at the molder's trade in the shops of the
Western & Atlantic Railroad. When seventeen years
of age he joined the volunteer fire department of
Atlanta and at the organization of the paid fire department, on the 1st of July, 1882, he was made fore-man
of the headquarters, which position he held
until offered the position of chief of the Jacksonville
fire department on the 5th of September, 1892. He
has since occupied that position and in the intervening
period of twenty-one years has made a splendid record.
It is only at times when the people have to fight the
fire fiend that they awaken to a realization of just how
important is the department to which they must look
for protection. Under the guidance of Mr. Haney the
work of the Jacksonville department has been most
carefully systematized, so that the most potent results
are secured at the least possible expenditure of time
and effort. He was at the head of the fire companies
at the time of the terrible conflagration in May, 1901,
which in less than eight hours burned over one hundred
and forty-eight city squares. His work on that occasion
was favorably commented upon both far and near.
He seemed an almost omnipresent spirit, guiding and
directing the work that was done to stay the flames
in a conflagration almost unparalleled in its intensity
in the period over which it lasted. He has been instrumental in introducing much improved fire-fighting
apparatus and most thorough drills are maintained among
the men, the whole department having reached a high
standard of efficiency. Mr. Haney is a member and
vice president of the International Association of Fire
Engineers, the largest organization of the kind in the
world, and his opinions upon the most practical and
effective methods of fighting fires are largely accepted
as authority.
On the 12th of December, 1893, Mr. Haney was
married to Miss Bessie Melville Smith, of Atlanta,
Georgia, and they have a son and daughter, Harry and
Mary Elizabeth. Mr. Haney is a life member of the
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, in which he has
been honored with the office of exalted ruler. His
acquaintance is wide, his friends are many and he
stands among the foremost citizens of Jacksonville,
where for twenty-one years he has filled a most important position in the public service.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida,
HENRY HANSON, M. D.
Dr. Hanson was accorded excellent educational opportunities, attending the country schools and afterward
entering the University of South Dakota, from
which he was graduated in 1902 with the degree of
Bachelor of Arts. He made an excellent record for
scholarship in that institution and was assistant in
chemistry in the South Dakota University from 1901
until 1904 inclusive. In the fall of the latter year, having determined to make the practice of medicine his
life work, he entered the Johns Hopkins University at
Baltimore, Maryland, and was graduated therefrom in
1908 with the degree of M. D. Soon afterward he
was appointed assistant superintendent and pathologist
at the Milwaukee County Hospital, where he began
his service in 1908, continuing there until appointed
to his present responsible position as state bacteriologist of Florida in 1909. He has since served in that
capacity to the full satisfaction of all who know aught
of the onerous and responsible duties which devolve
upon the incumbent of that office. He has become
widely known throughout the state and is well versed
in the duties of the position which he is now filling.
He is not only concerned with the analytical work
which forms a feature of his position, but also endeavors to make known to the public the preventive
measures which will obviate the causes of disease. His
knowledge and experience as a chemist as well as his
understanding of medical principles have well equipped
him for his work, in which he is proving most capable.
Dr. Hanson is a member of the State Medical Society
of Wisconsin, where he is also registered, the Duval
County and the Florida State Medical Societies, and he
also belongs to the Southern Medical Association and
On the 14th of September, 1904, Dr. Hanson was
united in marriage to Miss Jane Boyles, of Yankton,
South Dakota, and they have one child, Karl. Dr. and
Mrs. Hanson are members of the Baptist church and
are well known socially in Jacksonville. His interests
are broad, keeping him in touch with vital and significant problems of the day, both within and without his
profession. He is a typical American citizen, alert
and enterprising, and his standards of citizenship are
high.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida, 1513 - 1913,
Past, Present and Future, Four Hundred Years of War and Peace and
HOBART C. HARE.
Hobart C. Hare was a lad of eight or ten years
when the family came to the south. His education
was early acquired in the public schools of Jacksonville but when he was still quite young he began to
earn his own living by driving a dirt cart in connection with municipal improvement work. He was
next employed as a clerk by the late Crosby Dawkins, a prominent insurance agent at Jacksonville,
with whom he remained until 1897, when Mr. Dawkins disposed of the business. Mr. Hare then opened
an insurance office on his own account. Under the
firm style of H. C. Hare & Company he has gained
a position among the leading insurance men of the
city, the high rank of the firm being largely due to
his energy, perseverance, determination and business
ability. He operates today the largest local and general insurance business in Florida.
On the 6th of December, 1893, Mr. Hare was
united in marriage to Miss Nellie R. Teynac, of
Savannah, Georgia, and they have two children, a
son and daughter, Hobart E. Hare and Helen F. Hare.
As his interests have extended he has become vice
president of The Commercial Bank and is an active
member of the Board of Trade. He is prominent in
the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and a popular member of the Seminole, Germania and Commercial Clubs.
Mr. Hare by reason of his genuine worth
has won for himself a creditable position in both
business and social circles and is accounted one of
the useful and respected citizens of Jacksonville.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida, 1513 - 1913,
Past, Present and Future, Four Hundred Years of War and Peace and
HOWARD ENSOR HARKISHEIMER.
Mr. Harkisheimer has never concentrated his energies upon his business affairs to the exclusion of all
other interests, but on the contrary is appreciative of
the duties and obligations of life and cooperates in
many movements of general helpfulness. He belongs
to the First Presbyterian church, is one of the directors
of the Associated Charities, is an exemplary representative of the Masonic fraternity and, appreciative of
social amenities, holds membership in the Florida
Country and Florida Yacht Clubs.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida,
JOHN JOSEPH HEARD.
John Joseph Heard has practically spent his entire
life in Florida. His educational opportunities were
those afforded by the public schools of Florida and
the State Normal College of Florence, Alabama.
Starting in the business world, he became connected
with the South Florida Railroad Company as operator and agent, continuing so for six years, and then
was engaged in the mercantile business at Maitland,
Florida, for four years, buying and shipping at the
same time citrus fruits. When the freeze came in
1895 he sold his mercantile business at Maitland and
removed to Arcadia, De Soto county, where he continued in the business of buying and shipping citrus
fruits and where he organized the Arcadia Electric
Light, Ice & Telephone Company, of which he was
president until his removal to Jacksonville in June,
1911. Mr. Heard is still a large grower of citrus
fruits and has a valuable one hundred acre bearing grove near Arcadia, Florida. For the past twelve
years he has figured in connection with financial interests in this state, and his work in that direction
has brought him into prominence as one of the foremost financiers of Florida, possessing notable powers
of organization and administrative ability. He was
one of the founders of the First National Bank of
Arcadia and the State Bank of Arcadia, of both of
which institutions he was president. He was also
one of the incorporators of the American National
Bank of Tampa and is now the president of the Pioneer Bank of West Palmbeach. He first discussed
the idea of establishing a bank in Jacksonville in
1900, but deferred a mature consideration of the
project until the spring of 1910, when regarding the
time propitious, he organized the Heard National
Bank in connection with William Bratton Sadler, who
is active vice president of the institution. The plans
bear the impress of the individuality and ability of
Mr. Heard, who had supervision over their execution
and who is classed with those financiers to whom a
complex problem serves as a stimulus for effort, while
its correct solution is a source of genuine pleasure.
From the day when the Heard National Bank opened
its doors its business has continually increased. Mr.
Heard saw in the rapidly growing southern city opportunity for successful achievement along other lines
and began making plans for the erection of the magnificent bank and office building known today as the
Heard National Bank building, occupying a conspicuous position in the heart of Jacksonville’s business and
financial district. It is a masterpiece of the builder’s
art and a monument to the enterprise and ability of
the man whose name it bears. It is situated at the
corner of Laura and Forsyth streets and is a most
modern, complete and attractive structure, erected at
a cost of about a million dollars. The lower part of
the building is cream colored Travernelle Italian
marble. The architecture is of the Spanish renaissance style, and upon the main structure of fifteen
stories rises an observatory, which really adds three
stories to the building. Above the first floor the structure is used for office purposes. The superstructure
is of marble and brick, the structural features being
steel and reinforced concrete. All of the interior to
the fifteenth floor, the walls, corridors, steps, floors,
etc., are finished in beautiful Italian marble and mosaic
tiling. A most perfect system of plumbing has been
installed so that each room is supplied with a lavatory. The latest improved drinking fountains can
be found here, the water supply passing through refrigerating and filtering plants. A splendid vacuum
cleaning system has been installed, and there is no
feature of the modern office building that will add
to comfort and convenience that is lacking.
On May 15, 1895, Mr. Heard was married to Miss
Annie Lowe Barker, a daughter of the Rev. Josiah
Barker, a Methodist minister of Montgomery, Alabama. Of this union four children are living: William A.,
Jr., James N., Julia M. and Marguerite D.
Mr. Heard, although deeply interested in all worthy
public enterprises, has never been an aspirant for
political honors and is a loyal democrat. Fraternally
and socially he is prominent as a member of the Masonic order, the Seminole, Country and Commercial
Clubs and is also one of the most active and forceful
members of the Jacksonville Board of Trade, doing
in that connection everything in his power to promote
the commercial life of the city.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida, 1513 - 1913,
Past, Present and Future, Four Hundred Years of War and Peace and
JAMES ARTHUR HOLLOMON.
On the 1st of October, 1892, Mr. Hollomon was
united in marriage to Miss Minnie Gertrude Iverner,
a daughter of Richard P. Kerner, of Kernersville,
North Carolina, and a granddaughter of the founder
of the Moravian colony that settled in Forsyth county,
North Carolina, after coming direct from Germany to
the new world. Mr. Hollomon is a Baptist in his religious faith and a democrat in his political belief. He
does not seek nor desire public office, however, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business
affairs. Keen sagacity has characterized all his investments and reliable dealing has been one of the
features
of his business career that has won for him the high
and honorable reputation which he now enjoys.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida, 1513 - 1913,
Past, Present and Future, Four Hundred Years of War and Peace and
SAMUEL BIRDSEY HUBBARD.
North Carolina numbered him among her native
sons, his birth having occurred at Wadesboro, that
state, on the 13th of June, 1833. His parents were
Charles and Delia (Birdsey) Hubbard, the former a
well-to-do farmer who was descended from a prominent family of Middletown, Connecticut, founded
there in 1650. After a residence of four years in
North Carolina he returned to the old home in Connecticut so that Samuel B. Hubbard was educated
in Middletown, becoming a pupil in the private school
conducted by D. IT. Chase. Much of his life, however, was spent in the south for he made his initial
step in the business world at Pine Bluff, Arkansas,
where he remained until after the outbreak of the
Civil war. He then returned to Connecticut but
with the close of hostilities and because of failing
health came to Florida. The genial, sunny clime of
this state proved the needed panacea and he here
entered upon business connections which brought him
to a place of prominence and honor among the leading citizens of this state. In 1866 he opened a hardware
store in Jacksonville under the name of S. B.
Hubbard & Company and carefully directing its
policy and its interests, so developed his business that
it came to be and still remains one of the greatest
hardware establishments in the entire south. In
1892 it was incorporated under the name of The
S. B. Hubbard Company and at all times its interests have been conducted along progressive and constantly
expanding lines. Mr. Hubbard made a close
study of the trade, its demands and its opportunities,
and his energy and resourcefulness were ever adequate to the occasion and the situation. As prosperity came
to him along that line he extended his
efforts into other fields and from 1888 until his
death was a prominent factor in financial circles. In
that year he organized the Southern Savings & Trust
Company and when reorganization was necessary because of the growth and development of the business the
institution became the Mercantile Exchange
Bank in 1900. He recognized the fact that the bank
which most carefully safeguards the interests of its
depositors is most worthy of public patronage and
therefore he always tempered his progressiveness
with conservatism and made the bank one of the
strongest and most reliable moneyed institutions of
the state. He also operated in the real-estate field, taking an important part in the development of the
Springfield suburb, organizing the Springfield Company and
purchasing the Hogans grant which was developed
into a beautiful and popular residence section. With
the growth of Jacksonville and the recognition of her
needs Mr. Hubbard organized the Main Street Railroad Company of which he became president, successfully
managing its interests. He was likewise at
the time of his death president of the S. B. Hubbard
Company, the Mercantile Exchange Bank, the
Springfield Company and the Citizens Gas Company.
His energy and industry were unabating throughout
his entire life and added to those qualities came the
sound judgment of mature years so that his efforts
were productive of the greatest possible results. One
feature of his business career deserving of highest
commendation was his sincere and helpful interest
in young men. Those in his service found him a considerate employer, ever ready to encourage and assist
them if on their part they showed willingness and
devotion to his interests. His large commercial,
financial and industrial enterprises were of far-reaching importance and value as factors not only
in the growth and progress of Jacksonville but of
the state as well and his example should serve as a
source of inspiration and encouragement to others.
On the 21st of February, 1860, Mr. Hubbard was
united in marriage to Miss Almyra T. Hubbard, a
daughter of Asa and Sarah T. (Tryon) Hubbard,
of Middletown, Connecticut. Mrs. Almyra T. Hubbard died in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 10, 1910.
She was the mother of three children, who survive
her. The eldest, S. B. Hubbard, Jr., who had become secretary and treasurer of the S. B. Hubbard
Company following his father's death, was made
vice president and treasurer of the company. The
second son, Archer Hubbard, was formerly vice
president of the Mercantile Exchange Bank and is
now identified with various prominent business enterprises. The only daughter is Mrs. C. S. L’Engle,
of Atlanta.
Mr. Hubbard held membership in the Seminole
Club, the Country Club and the Yacht Club. He
made these things the needed balance to his intense
business activity. His political belief was that of
the democratic party and his religious faith that of
the Episcopal church. Death came to him June 21,
1903. The previous day he had been attending to
business affairs and thus remained in active life almost to his closing hours. The many employes of
the various enterprises with which he was identified,
in accordance with their request, acted as an escort
to the grave, showing how highly he was esteemed
by those who had been in his service. The death of perhaps no resident of Jacksonville has been more
deeply regretted. All who knew him honored him.
Those who came into contact with him in his business relations trusted him and those who met him
socially had for him the warmest friendship and personal regard. He was a typical American citizen
of the age, alert, energetic and determined, yet he
never regarded business as the whole end and aim
of existence, ever finding time for the duties of
citizenship and the obligations which rested upon
him in his connection with his fellowmen.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida, 1513 - 1913,
Past, Present and Future, Four Hundred Years of War and Peace and
FOREST J. HYDE.
In the public schools Forest J. Hyde pursued his
education and when seventeen years of age, or in 1884,
paid a visit to Jacksonville. While there he was
offered a position with the Standard Oil Company as
shipping clerk and, accepting the office, served in that
capacity for three years. He then became connected
with the firm of Blodgett, Moore & Company, wholesale dealers in oils, with whom he continued until
Gerow & Clarkson succeeded to the business. At that
time he was promoted to the position of bookkeeper
and cashier and so remained until 1890, when he
purchased Mr. Gerow’s interest, after which the business was carried on under the name of Clarkson &
Hyde until 1906. They then closed out the business
and Mr. Hyde took a position as southern manager
of the Pure Oil Company with stations at Jacksonville,
Savannah, Mobile, Pensacola and Bainbridge, Georgia.
This business was sold to the Gulf Refining Company
in March, 1908, when Mr. Hyde was made manager at
Jacksonville, where they have a very large storage
plant. The division of which he has charge covers a
large territory and the business conducted through his
office is very extensive. Careful in its control, active
in its development, enterprising in promoting its interests, his work has given him high standing as one
of the officers of the company and as a leading business
man of this section of the state. In addition to his
other business interests Mr. Hyde is president of the
Cedar Springs Water Company.
On the 13th of November, 1899, Mr. Hyde was
united in marriage to Miss Marie Louise Morello, of
Charleston, South Carolina, and they have eight children: Forest, Jr.; Marie; Cecil; Mildred; Lillian and
Lina, twins; John D.; and Louise.
In social relations Mr. Hyde is well known. He
holds membership in the Elks and with the Germania
and Rotary Clubs but his social and business interests
do not comprise the entire extent of his activities. He
has figured quite prominently in political circles and
his influence has ever been on the side of progress,
reform, and improvement. Especially does he believe
in the constructive measures which are accomplishing
results for betterment along various lines. In 1893-4
he was a member of the city council of Jacksonville
from the ninth ward and in 1901 was elected one of the
commissioners of Duval county. The excellent record
which he made in that connection led to his reelection
again and again until he had served for ten years. He
was chairman of the commission for six years and
during his administration nearly all of the good roads
m Duval county were made. He has been enthusiastic
on the subject of fine public highways and without
creating much talk he succeeded in having the good
roads built, the value of which is now recognized by
all, Duval county being proud of its system of public
highways. In other ways Mr. Hyde has also contributed to public progress and improvement and is
accounted one of the valued residents of Jacksonville.
Source for Biography:
Chapin, George M., Florida, 1513 - 1913, Past, Present and Future, Four
Hundred Years of War and Peace and Industrial Development, (c) 1914,
Volume 2, p. 730
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