No collection of stories describing the early days of Jacksonville would be complete without a historical description and illustration of its namesake and 7th President of the United States of America, Andrew Jackson.

Five days before his 60th birthday on March 10, 1821, Jackson was appointed by President Monroe as the first Governor (Military Governor) of the then Territory of Florida preceding William Duval (Duval County) the first Governor elected after Florida became a state. Governor Jackson served as Territorial Governor for ten months.

From its inception in 1791, our town (Jacksonville, Florida) was called Cowford. Indians had named the area Wacca Pilatka meaning “Cows Crossing Over.” The exact location of the Ford (where cows could swim across the river) was at Liberty Street behind the current Duval County Courthouse and King Street on the Southbank. The Spanish considered this point so significant to its continued commerce that a fort was built on the southside. The Spanish named it Fort St. Nicholas.

When Isaiah Hart named our city Jacksonville, Florida, in 1822 (honoring Andrew Jackson), it immediately followed Jackson’s appointment as Governor.

Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, in a location known as the Waxhaws Region just south of Charlotte, North Carolina. Several books describe the Waxhaws as a geographical territory directly on the border of North and South Carolina which spreads into both states named after the Waxhaws tribe.

His father and mother had fled Ireland to escape British rule. Not long after Jackson was born his father died of natural causes. His mother raised the boys to hate the British crown.

Jackson’s brothers were poorly educated. His mother requested that Andrew work hard on his studies. Andrew Jackson was educated in a poorly built meeting house which used split log benches instead of chairs. Instead of a public educational system, wealthy or well-todo citizens would contribute funds to allow poorer local boys educational opportunity.

At 14, he was called to duty along with his two brothers to fight the British. One brother died in the first skirmish. Jackson and his older brother were threatened by a British officer. He requested that they clean
mud off of his shoes. Defiantly, the brothers said, no. With that, he struck Jackson’s brother head with his sword. Turning, he attempted the same maneuver with Jackson. Jackson raised his left hand to thwart the
blow. Jackson saved his own life but lost most use of his left arm with the damage received. His brother died days later from a Smallpox outbreak in the area. His mother, who was nursing others with the disease, died soon afterward after becoming infected. Jackson was now the only family member left alive.

After these altercations with the British, Jackson was determined to study harder and do something with his life. He decided to request the assistance of a local judge to train him in the law. Soon he was practicing the law and making a serious fortune working in hard to reach locations.

His legal career could be described as accelerated. Soon he was made a judge in Tennessee.

He performed well in his judgeship for eight years then retired in 1804.

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The original Florida state flag was totally white with the circular state seal in the middle from when Florida became a state until 1900 when two red bars were added. These solid red diagonal stripes (known as a red saltire or St. Andrew’s cross) criss cross the flag providing a subtle reminder of time when the United States was divided.

The Governor responsible for this addition, Governor Francis Fleming, requested that State adopt this change in order to avoid its flag from appearing like a white flag of surrender. He may have had an ulterior motive since he was a proud Confederate Veteran. Requesting that the red saltire not include white stars or remain solid red suggests that the Governor could have predicted the day when someone might challenge flags’ associated with the Confederacy. And with these minor modifications, Florida’s flag would remain intact.

Today, the only state flag containing a full Confederate battle flag is the state flag of Mississippi. Though attempts have been made to remove it, the latest referendum (in 2001) failed to achieve the necessary votes.

Arkansas’ flag contains a portion of the Confederate battle flag. It avoids criticism because its blue-striped white-starred ribbons are not crossed but form a diamond. Also, the shade of blue is darker than the Confederate battle flag’s shade of blue.

South Carolina, Alabama and Florida raised the actual Confederate battle flag over their statehouses almost 100 years after the Civil War. South Carolina placed the Confederate battle flag on its statehouse in 1962. It remained there in defiance of boycotts until it was finally removed in 2000. Alabama flew the Confederate flag from 1963. Once it was lowered for renovations to the statehouse (1992), it was never raised again. Florida was still flying the Confederate battle flag on its capitol building in 2000. Raised in 1978, it flew alongside the Spanish flag, the French flag and the British flag, historically the four flags that had flown over the state. When the Confederate flag was removed for renovations, Governor Jeb Bush suggested that it never fly over the capitol again. It has not been flown since.

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This week we travel to the naturally stunning destination of Colorado Springs, Colorado, one mile above sea level. If you have never visited this city, be sure to add this to your bucket list (things to do before you die). The city is dwarfed by giant Pikes Peak mountain towering high above. Though I personally pick Jacksonville as the number one city to live in the world, Money Magazine chose Colorado Springs as its number one BEST BIG CITY “Places to Live” in 2007.

If you travel there, the six top sites to visit include Pikes Peak, the United States Air Force Academy, the historical town of Colorado Springs, the picturesque mountain zoo (with more giraffes than any zoo in the world), the Colorado Springs Hotel and finally the treasure of nature “Garden of the Gods” rock formation.

Just 4 ½ miles from the “Garden of the Gods” in Colorado’s Evergreen Cemetery, rests our city’s own Charles Cornelius Hemming. His name you may recognize and immediately associate with Hemming Plaza in the center of downtown Jacksonville.

In 1899, our town council renamed St. James Park (St. James Hotel bordered the park) to Hemming Plaza to honor Hemming and his gift of the Confederate Civil War Monument. He had paid $20,000 for the monument honoring those fallen Confederate soldiers of the Civil War. Measuring the relative value of money in 1898 using the Consumer Price Index, this $20,000 is similar to a $535,000 donation made today.

What you have never been told of Hemming is that at an early age he was a true American hero. Charles Cornelius Hemming was born September 16, 1844, in Jacksonville, Florida.

Growing up, Hemming had two very close friends from Lake City, W.M. Ives and Seth S. Barnes. The boys nicknamed him “Charley.” He cherished the title and allowed close friends to use it until the day he died. The three companions agreed that just as soon as they were old enough to leave Florida and had a few dollars to spend they would move to Texas to fight Indians and kill Buffalo. While Hemming and Ives studied in school, Barnes became an apprentice of a local Jacksonville jeweler.

In spring of 1861, Barnes and Hemming started classes in Florida’s first state-supported institution of higher learning, East Florida Seminary (founded 1853) in Ocala.

Almost immediately after they started school, hostilities broke out between the North and the South. Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861. By the Fourth of July, 1861, the three friends were ready to join the war. Hemming enlisted in Company A, 3rd Florida Regiment, Ives enlisted in Company C, 4th Florida and Seth enlisted in J.J. Dickison’s, Company H, 2nd Florida Calvary. During the war, Seth was wounded but survived his wounds.

EAST COAST SEMINARY CLOSED ITS DOORS AFTER MOST OF ITS STUDENTS JOINED THE WAR. IN A LAND TRADE, THE STATE OF FLORIDA MOVED SEVERAL OF EAST FLORIDA SEMINARY BUILDINGS TO GAINESVILLE. THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA USED THESE BUILDINGS UNTIL 1911 FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. UNVERSITY OF FLORIDA TRACES ITS ROOTS AND FOUNDING DATE TO THE ERECTING OF THAT FIRST SEMINARY BUILDING IN 1853. EPWORTH HALL (A FORMER EAST COAST SEMINARY BUILDING, CIRCA 1884) STILL STANDS IN GAINESVILLE AS A TRIBUTE TO THAT PERIOD.

Hemming fought in every battle of the Western Army that the Florida troops aided. He became seriously ill just before the battle of Chickamauga and was sent home to Jacksonville to recuperate. Just as soon as he regained his health, he rejoined his men and fought in the battle of Perryville, Kentucky, October 8, 1862, where he was wounded.

Hemming participated in the famous battle of Missionary Ridge, Chattanooga, Tennessee, on November 25, 1863. Over 64,000 Confederates engaged 56,000 Union soldiers. The Union lost 753 soldiers and only 361 Confederate soldiers were killed. The number of wounded on both sides were tremendous. Figures from the war attest to the fact that 4,722 Union soldiers were wounded and 2,160 Confederates were wounded. A strange figure that may even up the death calculations is that the Union had 349 missing soldiers and the Confederates had 4,146. This may be due to Confederate bodies being obliterated by cannon fire.

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THE FOUNDER OF ROTARY, PAUL P. HARRIS, ASKED FOR HER MOTHER’S HAND IN MARRIAGE

This week’s Headstones: Who’s Who is dedicated to the life of a Jacksonville treasure who passed away August, 28th, 2009, and one of the most fascinating women I have ever met, Grace Bell Seagraves Rogers. She was a direct descendant of several of Florida’s most influential citizens.

I met Grace while completing a book on the history of the founder of Rotary, Paul P. Harris. It turned out that Grace Rogers’ mother, Grace Mann, had dated Paul P. Harris (Paul asked for her hand in marriage) 10 years before young Grace was born and during the time Paul was developing and founding Rotary Club organization. In fact, she read the first club by-laws. Today, Rotary has 1.2 million members world-wide.

Grace Rogers’ grandfather, Austin Shuey Mann, made it rich as an attorney who held several northern patents (one may have been a high-heel shoe) in the late 1800’s. He moved to Florida buying large tracts of citrus acreage (originally named Mannville now known as Citrus County) near Tampa. In 1883, Mann was elected to the Florida State Senate and represented Hernando County from 1883 to1887. He was present at the 1885 Constitutional Convention. In 1887 he was instrumental in the division of Hernando County into Citrus, Pasco, and Hernando Counties. Also during this year he moved to Brooksville and bought a newspaper business. In 1891, he was elected into the Florida House of Representatives on the Farmers’ Alliance ticket.

Grace Rogers’ aunt who is listed as “one of the most influential women in Florida of the 20th Century” (she started a movement that saved the Florida Everglades) married William Sherman Jennings, who served as Florida’s First Governor of the 20th Century (1901-1905). Governor Jennings was the first cousin of Presidential hopeful (Presidential candidate 1886) and one of the United States most famous orators, William Jennings Bryan. Grace Rogers’ mother Grace served as Governor Jennings’ personal secretary during his term as Florida’s Governor.

The story, I thought, was all about Paul Harris but little did I know it would end up being all about Grace and her family. I first met Grace after her 91st birthday. George Linville (local realtor and great friend), explained that he had read a story about her mother written by a local Jacksonville historian in the Rotarian magazine. He said interviewing her might add additional information to my story. Knowing that few people live to the ripe old age of 91, I asked George, “Is she still alive?” He replied, “Yes, and she is still working every day.”

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Lion and Tiger Tamer, Animal Trainer and Showman

Only one headstone in the city of Jacksonville has a giant granite Lion guarding its safety. This is the memorial of one of the greatest showman of animal acts of the late 1800’s, Colonel Percy James (P.J.) Mundy. Using the words “Retired Circus Magnate” to describe Mundy’s life, his Florida Times-Union obituary barely mentioned the fact that a half dozen Mundy Animal Shows traveled all over world entertaining millions.

When the exceptional 30 acre amusement park known as Luna Park opened at Coney Island, it was Colonel Mundy who dominated the animal acts with his “Mundy’s Menagerie” consisting of over 200 wild animals ranging from lions to dozens of elephants. His hired entertainers combined acts involving, birds, dogs, cats, horses, buffalo, elephants and even pigs. Other rare
animals were added as the show expanded. Soon, the show was so large that it had to be performed in the Hagenbeck Hippodrome.

Thanks to Percy Mundy, Luna Park showcased more elephants than any other park in the world. With attendance exceeding a million per year, early employees who speculated on a show percentage versus salary earned 6 figure incomes in one year. Annual salaries for showmen like Colonel Mundy exceeded 7 figures. [click to continue…]

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When you stroll through cemeteries, those mausoleums, obelisks, headstones and other memorials of unique design catch your eye. The more elaborate the memorial the more expensive they would have been to manufacture, especially in the 19th and early 20th Century. Unless they were erected as a public display of affection, these marble and granite creations definitely point us toward those with the most individual or family wealth.

Erected at Evergreen Cemetery, stands the oversized monument of Wellington Willson Cummer and his wife, Ada Gerrish Cummer. This granite stone is oddly shaped. At over 6 ft. tall and nearly 14 ft. wide it is the largest of its style in the cemetery. Not only is it larger than most, but the property surrounding it is unobstructed indicating the family owns one of the largest plots in the cemetery. Two enormous planters stand as sentries guarding the site. This monument faces the giant Cummer mausoleum directly across the street. These two structures truly capture ones imagination and begs the question “Who was this man?” and “How did he earn the wealth to afford such a memorial?”

Anyone who has lived in Jacksonville, Florida, for any period of time has visited the Cummer Art Gallery. So, the easiest conclusion to draw is that this was the famous man responsible for its construction. In fact, it is common knowledge of Jacksonville residents that a portion of the existing museum structure was part of the Cummer family home.

This was not Wellington Cummer, but Wellingtons’ son Arthur Gerrish Cummer who inherited the family name, fortune, and work ethic established years earlier. Arthur benefited from direct tutelage from both his grandfather, Jacob Cummer and his father, Wellington.

If you were to travel to Cadillac, Michigan, today and mention the name Wellington Cummer, you would probably get a better answer to the questions above than in Jacksonville, Florida. Wellington’s dynasty days of extreme wealth building first occurred in Cadillac, Michigan, then moved to our wonderful city.

What was unique about the Cummer family at the time was the fact that for years they lived in both Cadillac, Michigan, and Jacksonville, Florida.  Initially they called Cadillac home, but later in life they chose Jacksonville as their home and final resting place. [click to continue…]

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In Evergreen Cemetery, under a canopy of moss-covered giant old growth oak trees, stands a tremendous two ton granite boulder with the name BARNETT carved in high relief on its side. This is all that remains of the Barnett Bank dynasty which dominated the state of Florida for nearly 125 years. Positioned on the ground directly in front of this boulder is a 1 ft. by 2 ft. headstone marking the final resting place of bank founder, William Boyd Barnett. His two sons, heirs and banking giants in their own right, Bion and William, rest nearby.

Born in Nicholas County, West Virginia on September 2, 1824, William was the son of William Barnett, Sr., of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. William Barnett, Sr., served as a Captain in the Pennsylvania regiment during the War of 1812. Prior to the war, he was recognized as a pioneer of West Virginia and Ohio.

William Boyd Barnett moved from Ohio to Indiana where he met and married Leesburg, Indiana, native Sarah Jane Blue on November 9, 1848. Sarah’s father, Dr. Elijah Blue, was a successful Leesburg physician.

Their first child, a son, William D. Barnett (Will), was born April 3, 1852, in Leesburg. The family then moved to the “Far West”, which in those days was known as Kansas. Two daughters were born in Kansas but sadly died shortly after birth. It was in Hiawatha, Kansas, that William B. Barnett (already a wealthy man) partnered with former Kansas Governor E.N. Morrill and Vermont Banker Lorenzo Janes to form the Barnett, Morrill and Janes Bank. It was located in a second floor room in the stone corner drug store. The initial investment was $1500 and which was funded solely by Mr. Morrill. Morrill had recently received a windfall from selling land to the railroad.

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This installment of Headstones: Who’s Who takes us far from Jacksonville, Florida, to Washington, D.C. It was here that William Pope Duval died suddenly and was buried in the Congressional Cemetery (as was customary in the day). The Congressional Cemetery, constructed along the Anacostia River, was founded in 1807 and contains the remains of former Congressmen and many influential early American leaders. The cemetery contains landowners, speculators, builders, architects, mayors of Washington, D.C., and Civil War veterans.

Several famous names of those interred who were not Congressmen include composer John Phillip Sousa, F.B.I. Director J. Edgar Hoover, Silent Film Actress Mary Fuller, and Choctaw Indian Chief Push-Ma-Ha-Ta. When it became easier to move deceased Congressmen back to their home states, burying the majority of Congressmen here was discontinued.

Without Congressmen’s bodies, Congress allocated funds to provide Cenotaphs (Greek for empty tomb) for each deceased Congressmen in the Congressional Cemetery. A cenotaph is a memorial or headstone without a body below it (like the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier). In the Congressional Cemetery, there are dozens of such memorials. This tradition was eliminated in the late 1800’s due to the expense.

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Since approximately 2500 B.C., there have been those who wished to be remembered by their memorials. Crypts, vaults and mausoleums were constructed to protect their remains. Those of stature or beloved by their followers had giant rock obelisks hauled to their final resting place. Egyptian kings trumped all others having their slaves build the colossal pyramids.

Not far from the center of our town there is such statuary. Many mark the final resting place of former founders, leaders, developers and successful entrepreneurs of the city we know as Jacksonville, Florida. With a considerable amount of research, we hope to provide insight into those who made their mark on our fine city.

Buried in the Old City Cemetery located near the bottom of West side of the Mathews Bridge is the tomb of Dr. Francis James Gould, M.D. Dr. Gould was born on January 24, 1828, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. It was written that Dr. Gould was an avid reader as a child and excelled in his studies. He was admitted to the famed Phillips Exeter Academy (PEA) at the early age of 15.

Founded in 1871, PEA was an all boys preparatory school with famous alumni such as: U.S. Senator Daniel Webster (1796); Robert Lincoln (President Lincoln’s son (1860); and Ulysses S. Grant, Jr. (1870). Today, it serves both men and women. Always a preparatory school for the wealthy, the 2009 posted tuition is $30,000 per year or $40,000 with room and board provided.

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