ASHLAND P. BECKETT. [resident of
Tarpon Springs, Pinellas County, but married a woman born in
Jefferson County]
Ashland P. Beckett is the cashier of the Greek-American Bank of
Tarpon Springs and is also closely identified with other
business interests which are constituting features in public
progress and improvement as well as in individual success. In
fact he is classed with the representative and valued
business men of this enterprising southern city. He was born in
Apalachicola, Florida, October 21, 1873, a son Alfred Stranger
and Jennie (Lind) Beckett. The father was born at Red Bank, New
Jersey, August 21, 1849, and the mother at Apalachicola,
Florida, March 6, 1855. The latter passed away in her native
city March 4, 1874. Her parents were Jacob and Margaret
(Hetzock) Lind, natives of Germany, who were married, however,
in Ohio. They became pioneer settlers of Florida late in 1837
and both died at Apalachicola, where the father had
followed merchandising save for the period of his service in the
Confederate army. The Beckett family is of English origin and
the grandparents of our subject were William and Rebecca (Jones)
Beckett, the former emigrating from England to the United States
and settling at New Jersey. His son Alfred S. Beckett was born
and reared at Red Bank, New Jersey, and when a young man removed
to Florida about 1871. He was engaged in the lumber business for
two and a half years. After the death of his wife he returned to
New Jersey and his last days were spent in Washington, D. C.,
where he passed away August 26, 1884.
Ashland P. Beckett, the only child, was reared by his
grandmother at Apalachicola. He went to Poughkeepsie, New York,
in order to enter Eastman’s Business College, from which he was
graduated, October 17, 1891. He had completed the high-school
course in Florida and after taking his business course he
returned to this state and was employed as bookkeeper by Herman
Ruge's Sons for six years. He was afterward in the office of the
Cypress Lumber Company of Apalachicola for some time and on the
9th of December, 1899, came to Tarpon Springs, where he entered
the sponge business as a pioneer, continuing in that line until
about two years ago. He was one of the organizers and original
directors of the Sponge Exchange Bank for three years. The
Greek-American Bank, of which he is now cashier, is a strong and
well established institution, of which N. A. Van Winkle is
president and Duncan Morrison vice president. Mr. Beckett is
active in the conduct and management of the bank and is a
popular official, always courteous and obliging and at the same
time loyal to the best interests of the institution which he
represents. He is a large property holder in Tarpon Springs,
owning a fine brick block on Tarpon avenue including eight
stores and much other property. He is the secretary and
treasurer and one of the directors of the Excelsior Ice Company
of Bradentown and Manatee and has cooperated in other business
projects which have been of immense benefit to the district. He
is now treasurer and one of the stockholders of the Tarpon Inn,
Incorporated, which is erecting a modern hotel with one hundred
rooms. The Greek-American Bank under the guidance of Mr. Beckett
and the other officers has made a most creditable record. It was
opened October 20, 1911, as a state bank, is capitalized for
fifteen thousand dollars and its total assets now amount to over
one hundred thousand dollars. In the past year it paid a
dividend of eight per cent.
On the 17th of June, 1907, Mr. Beckett was united in marriage to
Miss Mary Linton, who was born in Monticello, Florida, May 5,
1879, a daughter of Samuel and Mollie (Johnson) Linton, who were
natives of this state and representatives of old families of
Jefferson county. The mother is now deceased but the father, who
was a cavalryman in the Confederate army, is still living in
Monticello. Mr. and Mrs. Beckett have one son, Ashland P., born
at Tarpon Springs. There have been only two male members of the
Beckett family through the past generation.
Mr. Beckett has been most active and helpful in promoting
educational interests at Tarpon Springs and is now a member of
the county board of education of district No. 1. It is largely
through his efforts that this city has secured its beautiful new
school building. However, in many other ways he has contributed
to general progress and improvement here and at all times has
been an interested witness of the changes which have occurred.
He has been a member of the city council and in that connection
exercised his official prerogatives for public good. Fraternally
Mr. Beckett is connected with the Masonic lodge of which he is a
past master and with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His
religious faith is that of the Episcopal church in which he is
serving as vestryman. An active, useful and well spent life has
gained him a prominent position in public regard and his circle
of friends is a most extensive one.
Chapin, George M., FLORIDA 1513-1913, Past, Present and
Future, Four Hundred Years of Wars and Peace and Industrial
Development, 1914, Vol. 2, pp. 601-602
|
