1999 Heart and History

Broxson Family

The oldest cemetery in the Leonia community is the Broxson Cemetery. The oldest land acquisition record made in the Leonia area was made by Thomas Broxson, in 1854. People sometime waited for years to take legal steps to own the land on which they squatted. We believe that Thomas Broxson was one of these. He was listed in the 1850 Census, age 56,farmer, born in South Carolina; his wife, Laura A, born in South Carolina. Their children, all born in Florida, were:

(a) James, 20;
(b) Thomas, 17;
(c) Susan, 14;
(d) George, 13;
(e) Sarah, 11;
(f) Isaac, 7;
(g) John, 6;
(h) Rutha, 5;
(i) Rebecca, 4;
(j) Laura, 3;
(k) Robert, 2

There were two other Broxson families living in Holmes County in 1850. The head of one of them was Robert Broxson. He was a neighbor to Thomas Broxson and undoubtedly was a relative. Unlike Thomas, most of his children were born in Alabama.

Clark Broxson, the other head of a family, was born in Georgia. All the children listed in his family were born in Alabama.

John Broxson, Thomas Broxson, and G W Broxson served with Capt Laird’s Gulf Rangers during the Civil War. The Broxsons owned slaves before the war. The only black family living in the Leonia community went by the name of Broxson. I have been told that the Broxson Cemetery had some slaves buried in it.

My brother, Preston Padgett, married a descendant of this family, Alice Broxson. They had one daughter, Lounette Padgett. She married Bloxham Singletary. Preston and Alice married when they were very young. Preston had his teeth cleaned and his mouth became infected and he died. Alice was left with a small baby to care for. She had dropped out of school to get married. She went back to school, earned a high school diploma, and a degree for college. She became a successful teacher and taught school until she became a victim of cancer in her fifties. Her determination to be independent won the admiration of the Padgett family.

Excerpts used with permission of publisher, Sue Cronkite, from Heart and History of Holmes County, by Anna Paget Wells. This 347-page book is full of info, stories, and pictures. It can be ordered from the Holmes County Advertiser, 112 E Virginia Avenue, Bonifay, FL 32425; phone 850-547-2270.