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A 
 
 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY 
 
 KEY WEST, ELORIDA, 
 
 V'' , 
 
 WALTER C. MALONEY. 
 
 AN ADDRESS 
 
 DELIVERED AT THE DEDICATION OF THE NEW CITY HALL, 
 JULY 4, 1876, 
 AT THE REQUEST OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY. 
 
 NEWARK, N . J . : 
 
 PKINTKD AT THK ADVKRTISKR PRINTING HOUSK, 
 
 187 6^ 
 

ADDRESS. 
 
 Mr. Mmjor and Gentlemen of the City Co\incil : 
 
 It is scarcely more than two weeks since I had the honor 
 of being informed that, it was the pleasure of 3^our Honor- 
 able body to have me deliver the address on this occasion ; in 
 compliance with the Proclamation of the President of the 
 United States, issued in pursuance of a Eesolution of Congress 
 recommending that, the commemorative exercises of the day 
 should be of a historical character. 
 
 The shortness of the time, advanced age, impaired eye- 
 sight, to an extent which has seriously interfered for more 
 than two years with my professional business, and more than 
 all else, an unfeigned distrust of my ability to interest or 
 instruct an audience, whose critical acumen and literary taste 
 might lead them to expect much more than it is in my power 
 to submit, might well lead me to hesitate about assuming 
 the task. Indeed, gentlemen, I see before me now scores of 
 citizens better qualified for the task, the advantage on my side 
 lying only in a longer residence in your city than many 
 others. But the invitation was in my view a work of 
 distinction which no citizen, thus highly honored, could with 
 propriety treat with indifference or neglect, and therefore I 
 appear before you, prepared to discharge the duty assigned 
 to me to the best of my ability. 
 
 " Passant quia passe videiitur." 
 
 Happily my labors have been lessened by finding prepared 
 to ray hand much of the early history of your city, from the 
 
pen of Mr. William A. Whitehead, with whose name, at 
 least, all are familiar, as the crentlemen who surveyed and 
 mapped out the city in tlie days of its earliest settlement, 
 and who subsequently bore a conspicuous part in its affairs 
 for many years. To the kindness of several other gentlemen 
 of the city am I also indebted for favors in the preparation 
 of this paper, which I here gratefully acknowledge. 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen : 
 
 Doubtless material enough exists which, by diligent search 
 and industrious application, might suffice to fill a book 
 in making a history of your city, but the labor of as 
 many months will scarcely be expected in a work occn- 
 pying only fifteen days in its preparation. I will not 
 weary your patience, nor nni)r()fitably consume your time by 
 narrating the earlier history of Florida in the times of Ponce 
 de Leon or De Soto. The object of the present address is to 
 give a succinct and truthful sketch of the history of the 
 "City of Key West," and, inasmuch as Key West is the 
 County seat of Monroe County, some attention will also be 
 given to the history of the County. In short, I propose to 
 give such statistical data as will no longer leave it doubtful 
 that there is a certain portion of the State known as, or at 
 least called "South Florida," of Avhich Key West, the 
 largest City in the State, is the commercial emporium. 
 
 "It is probable," says Mr. Whitehead, "that, from the 
 " time of the first visit of Ponce de Leon until the cession 
 "of the Floridas to the United States, the Islands (or 
 " Keys as they are termed, a corruption of the Spanish 
 " word ' Cayo ') which extended in a South Westerly direc- 
 " tion from Cape Florida, were only resorted to by tlie 
 " aborigines of the country, the piratical crews with which 
 " the neighboring seas were infested, and the fishermen (many 
 " of them from St. Augustine) who were engaged in supply- 
 " ing the market of Havana from the 'finny tribes' that 
 " abounded in their vicinity. Of the occasional presence of 
 
" tlie first, we have evidence in the marks of ancient fortifica- 
 " tions, or mounds of stone, found in various localities (in one 
 " of whicli, opened some years since, human bones of a large 
 " size were discovered) and tradition has in addition, brought 
 " down to us notices of them which deserve all the credit 
 " conferred upon the same authority in other parts of the 
 " country. The oldest settler in this section of the country, 
 " one whose residence in the neighborhood of Charlotte 
 " Harbor, dated back to about 1785, used to say that, in his 
 " early years he had heard it stated that some eighty or ninety 
 " years previous, (probably al)out the commencement of the 
 " eighteenth century) the Indians inhabiting the Islands 
 " along the coast, and those on the main land, were of diff- 
 " erent tribes, and as the Islanders frequently visited the 
 " main for the purpose of hunting, a feud arose between the 
 " two tribe 5, and those from the main having made an irrup- 
 " tion into the Islands, their inhabitants were driven from 
 " island to island until they reached Key West. Here, as 
 '' tliey could flee no farther, they were compelled to risk a 
 "final battle, which resulted in the almost entire extermina- 
 " tion of tlie islanders. Only a few escaped, (and that by a 
 " miracle, as they embarked in canoes upon the ocean) whose 
 " descendants, it is said, were known to have been met with 
 " in the Island of Cuba. 
 
 " This sanguinary battle strewed this island with bones, as 
 " it is probable the conquerors tarried not to commit the 
 " bodies of the dead to the ground, hence the name of 
 " the Island Cayo Hueso (in Spanish 'Bone Island') which 
 " the English, with the same facility which enabled them to 
 " transform the name of the wine Xeres seco into ' Sherry 
 •' sack,' corrupted into " Key West." 
 
 " That the harbor of Key West was the occasional resort 
 " of pirates, has been proven by the evidence of many who 
 " were connected with them in their lawless depredations, 
 " and by the discovery of hidden articles, that could only 
 " have been secreted by them." 
 
6 
 
 We are not left to conjecture that this island was known, 
 and resorted to by the Fishermen supplying the market of 
 Havana, years previous to the change of flags from Spain to 
 the United States. One of our most worthy citizens, who 
 I hope is within the sound of my voice on this Centennial 
 Jubilee, Captain John H. Geiger, a native of St, Augustine, 
 was a frequent visitor to the waters of our harbor, before 
 that interesting period in the history of our country. 
 
 "On the 26 August, 1815," continues Mr. Whitehead, 
 " for some military services rendered to the Government by 
 " Juan P. Salas, Don Juan de Estrado, then Governor of 
 " Florida, granted to him the Island of "Key West, but noth- 
 " ing was done by Salas in the way of settlement or improve- 
 " ment, and the Island bore the same wild aspect it had worn 
 " for ages, when, on the 20th of December, 1821, Salas sold 
 " liis right, title and interest to John W. Simonton, then of 
 " Mobile, who met with Salas in Havana. Having heard of 
 " the advantageous situation and capacity of the harbor, etc., 
 " Mr. Simonton was induced, from the certain prospect of 
 " improvement throughout the country, by the cession to the 
 •' United States, which his mercantile experience led him to 
 " foresee must advance the interests of a settlement at this 
 " point, he consummated the purchase of the Island for the 
 " sum of Two thousand dollars, and, on the 19th of January, 
 " 1822, he took possession.' 
 
 " Soon after making the purchase of the Island, Mr. 
 " Simonton sold one undivided quarter of his interest to 
 " John Warner and John Mountain,^ and two other quarters 
 "to John Whitehead and John W. C. Fleeming,' also of 
 "Mobile at that time. The interest of Messrs. Warner and 
 " Mountain was soon after transferred to Pardon C. Greene, 
 
 ' See Appendix, Note A. 
 
 "Personal friends of Mr, Simonton. The first was United States Consul, and 
 tlie other Commercial Agent of the United States at Havana. 
 
 ^ See Appendix, Note B. 
 
" who became a permanent resident of the Island from that 
 "time."' 
 
 Mr. Whitehead notices tlie remarkable "jconnection of the 
 
 name " John " with all those who fio-ure-prominently at that 
 
 time in the acquisition and settlement of the island, 
 
 — thus — " JoTin de Estrada, the Spanish Governor of Florida, 
 
 ' granted the island to John P. Salas, who made a condi- 
 
 ' tional sale to John B, Strong, who conveyed his title, such 
 
 ' as it was, to John W. Simonton. John W. Simonton hav- 
 
 ' ing secured the title of John P. Salas, disposed of a portion 
 
 ' of it to John Whitehead and John W. C. Fleeming, 
 
 ' John Warner and John Mountain, and John B. Strong 
 
 ' transferred his claim such as it was to John Geddes, who 
 
 ' having the countenance of the commander of a United 
 
 ' States Vessel in the harbor, effected a landing and took 
 
 ' possession in April, 1822." A suit at law was there- 
 
 ' upon commenced, and John W. Simonton engaged as his 
 
 ' counsel, John Rodman, and John Gadsden." This suit it 
 
 will not be improper to remark here, was finally terminated 
 
 by a compromise. 
 
 The Commissioners appointed under the Treaty of Cession 
 with Spain, having reported favorably upon the validity of 
 the grant to Salas, the same was confirmed by Congress thus 
 
 ^ See Appendix, Note C. 
 
 - One of the legal documents connected with this claim, states, that the con- 
 sideration given for the island by Strong, in the first instance, " was a small 
 sloop of about thirty-one tons burden, "called the Leopard of G-lastenbury," 
 for which he had paid $575. Strong's title proving imperfect, Salas, in order 
 to obtain the restoration of the island, conveyed to him five hundred acres of 
 a track at the "Big Spring, East Florida." 
 
 A Doctor Montgomery and George M. G-eddes were in charge of the party 
 sent by John Geddes to take possession in his name. The party consisted of 
 two carpenters and three negroes, with provisions and lumber to build a shed. 
 The Proprietors on the island were disposed to resist their proceedings, but a 
 Captain Hamersley, of the U. S. Schooner Revenge, having taken them under 
 his protection, they had to be satisfied with simply protesting. How long the 
 party remained on the island is not known. 
 
settling perfectly and forever, all title to lands on the island 
 of Key West derived leojally through John P. Salas, and 
 John W. Simonton. 
 
 It is remarkable that the successors of these numerous 
 Johns, upon seeking the name of a titular saint for ecclesias- 
 tical purposes selected that oi Paul. It may have been owing 
 to the fact that, St. Paul was more identiiied with islands and 
 the sea than was St, John. 
 
 A Territorial government having been established for 
 Florida in March, 1819, several persons from St. Augustine, 
 the Bahama Islands, South Carolina and other States of the 
 Union, repaired to tliis Island shortly after it was taken pos- 
 session of, and were hospitably received by the proprietors. 
 Building lots were given to some of them within that part of 
 the island intended to be laid out for a city. Among the 
 first settlers were Joseph C. Whalton and family ; Michael 
 Mabrity and family, William W. Rigby and family, Antonio 
 Giraldo and family, Mr, Richard Fitzpatrick, and others. 
 
 On the 7th of February, 1822, Lieut. M. C. Perry, Com- 
 mander of the U. S. Schooner Shark, received orders to visit 
 and examine the island and harbor and to take possession as 
 part of the territory ceded ])y Spain; and on the 25th of 
 March following, the interesting ceremony was witnessed by 
 the few residents, of raising a staff and displaying therefrom 
 the flag of the United States, while at the same time their 
 sovereignty over this and the neighboring islands was form- 
 ally proclaimed. Captain Perry named the island " Thomp- 
 son's Island," and the harbor " Port Rod gers ; " the first in 
 honor of the then Secretary of the Navy, and the other after 
 Commodore Rodgers, the President of the Navy Board. 
 Tliese cognomens according to the report of Commander 
 Perry, seem to have originated with him, and were in accord- 
 ance with the wishes of the Proprietors of the island, three 
 of whom were present,' but they have long ceased to be 
 
 ' Wnrner, Fleeming and Whiteliead. 
 
9 
 
 used/ During the summer some officers and men were left 
 on the island, dwelling in tents. 
 
 In February, 1822, Captain L. T. Patterson and Lieut. 
 Tuttle, of the U. S. Navy, arrived with orders from the gov- 
 ernment to survey the coast and harbor, and they were soon 
 followed by various government vessels bringing stores and 
 materials, and by the end of the year the island was a regu- 
 larly constituted Naval Depot and station, under the command 
 of Commodore Porter. '^ 
 
 GOVERNMENT IMPROVEMENTS. 
 
 The government of the United States since the early period 
 thus briefly reviewed, has made, by fits and starts, some pro- 
 gress in the military defences of the island; and, it is to be 
 regretted, ofteuer from the importunities of our congressmen 
 on mere party exigencies, than from any statesmanlike views 
 of the absolute necessity of such works in times of national 
 emergencies. 
 
 In 1824, a company of United States Marines was sta- 
 tioned here, and barracks erected for them, fronting upon the 
 harbor between Duval and Whitehead streets. These build- 
 ings stood in a dilapidated condition until about 1831, when 
 they were sold and removed. 
 
 In February 1831, Major James M. Glassel arrived in com- 
 mand of a detachment of two companies of Infantry, leading 
 to the purchase of about ten acres of land in the north 
 eastern section of the city, and the erection of buildings for 
 the accommodation of the troops. In 1844 these structures 
 were removed, and the present spacious and ornamental 
 buildings erected. They are, however, abandoned at this 
 time to the care of a citizen watchman, on the plea of appre- 
 
 ' Commodore Porter, subsequently, seemed disposed to distinguished the 
 settlement still further by dating his letters at "Allenton," but the title was 
 even shorter lived than the others. 
 
 " See Appendix, Note D. 
 
 2 
 
10 
 
 hended sickness, where no sickness exists to which the oldest 
 inhabitants are not liable. 
 
 '^"In 1845, Fort Taylor was commenced, and so much of the 
 work as had been accomplished up to October, 1846, w^as, by 
 the disastrous liurricane of that year, washed away, tosjether 
 with the light house on Whitehead's point. Another light 
 house was constructed a few years after, and stands on the 
 extended line of Whitehead street, a short distance south of 
 the line of the city. 
 
 The work on Fort Taylor, although interrupted, was not 
 suspended, and was so far completed as to be available for 
 garrison purposes from 1861 to 1865. At present it is unoc- 
 cupied, and is under the care of the Engineer Department, f 
 
 In 1856, a United States Depot or store house was. com- 
 menced, at the corner of Whitehead and Front streets, 
 contiguous to the Custom House. In April, 1857, when the 
 walls were ready to receive the roof, for want of an appropri- 
 ation by Congress, work (jx\ this building was suspended, and 
 so remained for several years, and at the outbreak of the 
 civil war was in this unfinished condition. Whether by design 
 or apathy, this strategic point in the defences of the nation 
 was unprovided with a single ton of coal for the use of the 
 navy, and the steamship "Atlantic," after conveying troops 
 for the relief of Fort Pickens, having touched at this port 
 for a supply, found none, and was compelled to sail to Havana 
 therefor. 
 
 The incalculable advantages afforded by the experience of 
 the war, in having and -holding this harbor as a naval depot 
 and rendezvous for the East Gulf Squadron, seems to have 
 faded from the minds of those charged with the welfare of 
 the nation. They have not heeded the wise suggestion of 
 General Washington, ''In time of peace prepare for war."' 
 
 After the commencement of the civil war, and during its 
 progress, a machine shop and foundry were erected because 
 indispensable to the operations of the East Gulf Blockading 
 Squadron in these waters ; but these valuable works are now 
 
11 
 
 occupied by land-crabs and other of the araphibions genus 
 piscine. 
 
 Between the Custom House, and Fort Taylor, both admir- 
 ably located for their respective uses, a Marine Hospital 
 was constructed in 1845. This building, well adapted for its 
 purposes, is nevertheless of comparatively small value to the 
 seamen for whose benefit it is ostensibly maintained, as they 
 are rigorously excluded by regulations, emanating from the 
 Treasury Department, in the event of being afflicted with 
 contagious or epidemic diseases contracted abroad. When 
 it is borue in mind that Marine Hospitals are erected 
 and maintained from a direct tax of forty cents per month 
 from the earnings of seamen, the exclusion from their benefits, 
 under such circumstances, is .aggravated in its hardship by its 
 manifest injustice. The fact that the Hospital here is in 
 the immediate proximity of a thickly settled portion of 
 your city, should not be suffered to be mentioned as an 
 excuse for these exclusions. If this tact necessitates the 
 exclusion, the present buildin'g need not be vacated or 
 demolished. The government should erect another, more 
 remote from the city, applicable to treatwient of these exclu- 
 ded cases. To say, that it will increase expenditures or 
 diminish the fund, neither removes the stigma from the gov- 
 ernment, nor refunds to the distressed seaman his proj)ortion 
 of this compulsory tax. 
 
 If I speak warmly on this subject, my excuse must be 
 found in the fact that a portion of my early life was spent on 
 the ocean, and though fortunately escaping the necessity of 
 requiring treatment in any of these institutions, I necessarily 
 feel the hardships imposed upon a class with whom I was 
 once professionally associated. 
 
 Two Martello Towers and a sand Battery have been con- 
 structed on the Southern and Eastern beach of the island, 
 and another Sand Battery on the Southeastern side between 
 Fort Taylor and the Marine Hospital, The Towers were 
 
12 
 
 commenced in 1861, and the Sand Batteries in 1873, and are 
 as yet unfinished. 
 
 We look to-dai/ with aching eyes for the National flag on 
 Fortress or Cantonment. It is not to be seen, although the 
 Flag-staffs are visible to the naked eye, and we fail to hear 
 from either place the sound of booming cannon. Paymaster 
 Mellach, United States Navy, has attempted to atone for the 
 omission of the first, by a bounteous display of bunting over 
 and around the Naval Depot, and our patriotic fellow towns- 
 man, Captain Dixon, whose collection of Marine and other 
 curiosities attracts so much attention, regales us with the 
 smell of gunpowder, and distracts our attention by the noise 
 of his four })oundor. 
 
 COURTS AND JUDICIARY. 
 In 1828, a Territorial or Federal Court was establi.shed by 
 act of Congress, under the title of the "Supreme Court for 
 the Southern Judicial District of the Territory of Florida ; " ' 
 with Civil and Criminal Jurisdiction as well for offences 
 against the laws of the Territory of Florida, as of the United 
 States, and embracing admiralty and maritime jurisdiction, 
 thus superceding the jurisdiction of local inferior magistrates, 
 and special commissioners for the adjudication of questions 
 of salvage, arising out of the frequent wrecks occurring in 
 the vicinity. The establishment of this Court, the first term 
 of which commenced on November 3d, 1828, led to the immi- 
 gration hither of a large number of lawyers, but the business 
 of the Court not proving very extensive, the stay of most 
 of them was of limited duration.'' 
 
 'Approved, May 23d, 1828. The district included that part of " the Terri- 
 tory whicli lies north of a line from Indian River on the east, and Charlotte 
 Harbor on the west, including the latter harbor." The northern lino of the 
 present district, runs due east from the northern part of Charlotte Harbor. 
 
 'Considerable amusement was excited at the time, by an announcement in the 
 newly established " Register," of the arrival of a vessel from middle Florida, 
 with " an assorted cargo and seven lawyers," as if they had been imported in 
 bulk. 
 
13 
 
 James Webb, of Georgia, had the honor of being commis- 
 sioned as the first Judge of this Court in 1828 ; the appoint- 
 ment to the office being made by the President of the 
 United States, subject to the confirmation of the Senate. 
 He retired from the office in April, 1838,' and was succeeded 
 by William Marvin in 1839, who occupied the bench of this 
 court until Florida was admitted as a state into the Union 
 in 1845, on the occurrence of which event, Isaac H. Bronson 
 was commissioned as Judge for the whole state. Judge 
 Marvin, however, was restored to the Bench in 18-17, under a 
 new commission as Judge of the District Court of the United 
 States, for the Southern District of Florida, from which 
 office he also retired in 1868. Judge Marvin is at present 
 residing in the State of New York, and occasionally engages 
 in the practice of his profession ; chiefly in matters of Admir- 
 alty Jurisdiction, (»n which branch of the law while on the 
 bench, he wrote and published a work entitled, "A Treatise 
 on the Law of Wreck and Salvage," which has earned him 
 an enviable reputation. 
 
 It is but justice to this gentleman to say, that he occupies 
 to-day a high place in the esteem and regard of those of us, 
 who were his fellow citizens on this island during the many 
 years in which he occupied the bench, with so much honor to 
 himself, and the profession.^ 
 
 On the resignation of Judge Marvin, he was succeded 
 by Thomas J. Boynton, perhaps the youngest man ever 
 appointed to the bench of the United States. He in turn 
 resigned in consequence of impaired health, the result 
 
 ' Judge Webb removed to Texas, and for a time was Secretary of State in 
 that republic, prior to its admission into the Union. 
 
 - Judge Marvin's decided stand for tlie Union on the breaking out of the 
 Civil War, tended in a great measure to sustain the authority of the United 
 States at Key West. His services were fully recognized -by the Government, 
 and for some time he held the important position of Provisional Governor of 
 Florida. 
 
14 
 
 of intense application to other sciences than that of his 
 profession. The resignation of Judge Boynton produced 
 the appointment of John H. McKinney, in 1S71. With 
 melancholy feelings is tlie name of this gentleman in- 
 troduced ; modest, digniiied, urbane, diligent and learned, he 
 gave pi'omise of much usefulness : alas ! how short his judi- 
 cial career, leaving the island with the expressed intention of 
 removing his famil}^ hither for permanent settlement, he 
 failed to reach the city of New York alive ; his death is 
 reported to have occurred just previous to the arrival of the 
 steamer, in which he was a passenger. 
 
 Of the present incumbent, James W. Locke, it would be 
 indelicate at this time to speak, further than to give expres- 
 sion to the hope that, when the judicial ermine'falls from his 
 shoulders, it will be as unspotted as it now is and was, when 
 worn by his predecessors.' 
 
 The civil and criminal business before this Court is ni- 
 considerable. Only three persons have been convicted of capi- 
 tal felonies during its existence, one of which occurred in 
 this city, and the others on the high seas, two were capitally 
 punished,'^ and the sentence of the other commuted to im- 
 prisonment for life. The Court is principally occupied in 
 matters of salvage connected with shipwrecks. 
 
 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. 
 
 For purposes of municipal government, an act of the Leg- 
 islative Council of the Territory of Florida was obtained in 
 January, 1828, to incorporate the Island of Key West. No 
 copy of this Act is at present within reach, nor is it material 
 to the matter in hand, as in November of the same year it 
 
 ' See Appendix, Note E. 
 
 ^ One of these cases was in the latter part of 1830. The culpritj an inort'en- 
 sive fellow ordinarily, who had killed a man in a drunken broil, had taken no 
 advantage of numberless opportunities for escaping, and on being asked why 
 he did not. replied that they ' wanted to hang some one for a pattern, and he 
 thought he would gratify them. ' 
 
16 
 
 was repealed bj an Act to incorporate the Town of Key 
 West. This latter Act incorporates the free white inhabi- 
 tants of that part of the Island of Key "West in the County 
 of Monroe, comprehended within the limits prescribed by 
 the plan of said Town, then on file in the Clerk's office of 
 said county, (which limits are at this day the same as they 
 were then, as delineated on the original map of the town) all 
 free white male persons over the age of twenty-one years, hav- 
 ing had a residence for three whole months within these 
 limits being qualified electors. 
 
 The government of the Town was vested in a person to be 
 called a President, and in a council to consist of six persons. 
 This President and Council were not only empowered to en- 
 force the laws of their own body, but also, all the Laws of 
 the Legislative Council of the Territory ; and yet more 
 singular, their power to levy taxes was confined to taxing 
 and licensing " Hawkers and Peddlers and transient traders," 
 and to the levying of a " poll tax ;" unless the power to levj- 
 and collect other taxes shall be found in the other granted 
 powers, — " to provide for the interior police and good gov- 
 ernment of said town," — a question which lawyers might 
 find pregnant with doubts. ^''Expressio wnius est exclusio 
 ulteriusy 
 
 The members of the Town Council elected under this Act 
 of incorporation were, D. C. Pinkham, President, Pardon C. 
 Greene, B. B. Strobel, W. A. Whitehead, Joseph Cottrell, F. 
 A, Browne and C E. Weaver, who elected for their officers 
 William H. Wall, Clerk, P. B. Prior, Marshal, H. S. Water- 
 house, Treasurer. 
 
 The incorporated Town gave place to an incorporated City 
 in 1832. The Act of incorporation gave more general and 
 specific powers to the City authorities, especially in regard 
 to the subject of taxation, regulating and restraining the 
 retailing of spirituous liquors, etc. 
 
 Under this act of incorporation of the City (proper) the 
 first evidence of a valuation of real estate is to be found 
 
16 
 
 for purposes of taxation. The assessed value of all the real 
 estate in the City at that time amounted to $65,923.75 ; the 
 improved portion was assessed at $61,005.00 ; the unimproved, 
 at the rate of $25. per acre, $3,918.75. 
 
 No power of taxation on personal property was given by 
 this charter, and consequently no tax upon it was assessed or 
 collected. The total amount of taxes collected on this assess- 
 ment of real estate was $329.61. The number of buildings 
 wthin the City at that time (1832) was 81, including sheds for 
 storage of wrecked cotton, and other articles, blacksmiths' 
 shops, etc. The two principal buildings were the warehouses of 
 Pardon C Greene, and Fielding A. Browne ; the assessed 
 value of each, $6,000, including the lands and wharf prop- 
 erty. In 1835 this charter was revoked, and in 1836 renewed 
 and, as amended in 1838, lasted during our Territorial exis- 
 tence. 
 
 The last charter (in 1846, under the State administration) 
 continued to be the protection of the well disposed, and the 
 restraint of those otherwise disposed, during the period of the 
 unhappy civil war until in 1869, when it was superceded by 
 a general law of the legislature enacted under the provisions 
 of the present state constitution, which requires laws of this 
 character to be general ; constructing a procrustean bed upon 
 which the infant or the giant must of necessity lie. 
 
 From 1832 the date of the first charter as a city, until the 
 present, (1876,) the following named individuals have success- 
 ively been elected to the office of Mayor : Oliver O'Hara, 
 Fielding A. Browne, William A. Whitehead, Thomas 
 Socarty,' William C. Green, P. J. Fontanc, Alex. Patterson, 
 Benjamin Sawyer, W. C. Maloney, F. J. Moreno, John P. 
 Baldwin, John W. Porter, William Curry, P. J. Fontane, 
 Alex. Patterson, Benjamin Sawyer, John P. Baldwin, Wm. 
 
 ' So called, but his signature reads Tomaso Sacheti Ti. He was elected by 
 those who wished to nulUfj the then existing Charter bj casting ridicule upon 
 the office, and for a time they were successful — discord and misrule prevailed. 
 
17 
 
 Marvin, A. Patterson, E. O. Gwynn, W. S. Allen, Dr. W. 
 Whitehurst, Henry Mulrenon, J. B. Browne, W. D, Cash, 
 Winer Bethel, E. O. Gwynn and C. M. de Cespedes now in 
 office. 
 
 The returns for the election of the first mayor show a total 
 vote of 39 ballots. The last total vote was 754 for the same 
 office. The total population of the Town in 1831 is recorded 
 at 300.' At the present time it is ascertained to be 12,733. 
 
 With such a population representing almost all nations, 
 peoples, and tongues, we may safely challenge the world for 
 morality and observance of law. At the present time, (and 
 the present reflects the past in this particular at least,) our 
 Jail is comparatively teuantless ; the number of the Jailor's 
 family being almost, if not quite, as large as those occupying 
 the building as prisoners, the latter numbering only six. 
 
 The names of the former mayors who survive are, William 
 A. Whitehead, William Marvin, W. C. Maloney, F. J. Moreno, 
 William Curry, E. O. Gwynn, J. B. Browne, W. S. Allen, 
 W. D. Cash, Winer Bethel. 
 
 The office of Mayor, (allow me to say, my friends, for 
 I speak from experience) has never been a bed of roses 
 to the incumbent. The language of the poet most fltly 
 illustrates its character ; 
 
 " Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." ^ 
 COMMERCIAL. 
 
 Key West derives its importance in the commercial world 
 from — 
 
 First. Its geographical position, it being the extreme 
 southern point of the United States ; 
 
 ' In 1835, Mr. Whitehead estimated the population at 600. If my recollec- 
 tion is correct, an enumeration of the inhabitants was taken in 1835, which 
 gave the total resident population as 582, including black, white and all other 
 colors, lame, lazy and blind. 
 
 ^ See Appendix, Note F. 
 
 3 
 
18 
 
 Second. For its capacious harbor, the great depth of water 
 over its bar and the ease of ingress and egress to and from its 
 outer and inner roadsteads, and 
 
 Third. From its affording, as has been already stated, 
 such ready protection to her shipping, naval and otherwise, 
 in time of war and stress of weather. 
 
 From these considerations, and other facts and statistical 
 information which I shall proceed to introduce, we claim for 
 Key West that it is the Commercial Emporium of the State 
 of Florida. 
 
 By special legislation, the President was authorized to 
 establish a Custom House at Key West in 1S22. A Col- 
 lector and other officers were appointed, and the following 
 year a revenue cutter was attached to the port ; but not until 
 1828 was a collection district regularly established tor South 
 Florida. Key West was constituted the Port of Entry, which 
 it continues to be at the present time.' 
 
 There are no detailed statistics at hand prior to 1831, but 
 from that year to 1835, we are indebted to a report from 
 Mr. William A. Whitehead, of the number of Vessels entered 
 and cleared and the amount of Imports and Exports during 
 that period, as follows : 
 
 1831 1832 1833 1834 1836 
 
 American Vessels Entered, 268 283 201 297 321 
 
 Foreign Vessels Entered, 22 20 10 16 10 
 
 of these there were 
 
 1831 1832 1833 1834 1833 
 
 From American Ports, 
 
 118 
 
 141 
 
 106 
 
 135 
 
 158 
 
 From Foreign Ports, 
 
 172 
 
 162 
 
 105 
 
 178 
 
 173 
 
 
 1831 
 
 1832 
 
 1833 
 
 18.34 
 
 1835 
 
 American Vessels, Cleared 
 
 261 
 
 256 
 
 205 
 
 249 
 
 248 
 
 Foreign Vessels, Cleared 
 
 21 
 
 15 
 
 11 
 
 15 
 
 12 
 
 See Appendix, Note G. 
 
19 
 
 of these there were 
 
 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 
 
 For American Ports, 124 94 110 81 89 
 
 For Foreign Ports, 158 177 106 183 171 
 
 VALUE OF IMPORTS FROM FOREIGN PORTS. 
 
 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 
 
 $67,863. $108,778. $39,024. $107,856. $27,657. 
 
 EXPORTS. 
 
 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 
 
 $35,152. $63,943, $35,138. $86,947. $27,657. 
 
 "To the amount of Exports should be added annually," 
 says Mr. Whitehead, " from fifteen to twenty thousand dol- 
 lars, the proceeds of live fish caught within the district, for 
 foreign markets, principally that of Havana, which amounts, 
 it should be borne in mind, do not enter into the Custom 
 House returns. 
 
 "The revenues of the Custom House at this port show an 
 average of about $45,000 annually from 1828 to 1832; 1835 
 alone $20,000." 
 
 Want of time as well as lack of sufficient statistical com- 
 piled data, compels me to pass over the intervening years 
 down to 1874. And notwithstanding the City of Charles- 
 ton, S. C, and the City of Savannah, Ga. are to-day cel- 
 ebrating their Centennial as GitieH^ and we barely more than 
 a xS'ewiz-Centennial, the figures given from the Report of the 
 " Bureau of Statistics of Commerce and Navigation " for the 
 year 1874, will tend to show the gratifying progress of our 
 City in Commerce and JSTavigation. 
 
 The comparative number of entrances into these several 
 collection districts from foreign countries was as follows : 
 
 American Amer. Ocean For. Ocean 
 
 Vessels. Steamers. Steamers. 
 
 Charleston, S. C, 52 1 9 
 
 Savannah, G-a., 71 10 
 
 Mobile, Ala., 44 2 
 
 St. John's, Fla., 46 
 
 Key West, Fla., 301 63 10 
 
20 
 
 For the year ending June 30th, 1876, the total numbers of 
 arrivals and clearances at Key West, as shown by the Cus- 
 tom House Records, are as follows : 
 
 COASTWISE. ARRIVALS. CLEARANCES. 
 
 Steamers 153 155 
 
 Schooners 66 52 
 
 Barks 2 7 
 
 Brigs 5 6 
 
 Ships 1 1 
 
 Total, 227 221 
 
 FOREIGK. ARRIVALS. CLEARANCES. 
 
 Steamers 52 60 
 
 Schooners 266 258 
 
 Sloops 26 26 
 
 Barks 12 2 
 
 Brigs 7 2 
 
 Ships 2 2 
 
 Total, 365 360 
 
 The Amount of Dutiable goods imported into this 
 
 District in 1874 .$641,335.00 
 
 Free of Duty 19.077.00 
 
 Making the Total importation, $660,432.00 
 
 Pensacola imported (same time), 23,964.00 
 
 Fernandina 1,339.00 
 
 St. John's (Jacksonville) 0.00 
 
 Amount of Duties paid into the Custom House for the 
 
 past three years, ending June, on Imports. 
 
 1874, $222,371.35 
 
 Tonnage Dues 2,520.83 
 
 Hospital Dues.. 2,728.51 
 
 Total 1874, $227,620.72 
 
 For 1875, $297,238.96 
 
 For 1876, 245,514.73 
 
 Other Commercial Statistics are given in the Appendix.' 
 
 See Appendix, Note R. 
 
21 
 
 MARINE RAILWAY. 
 
 Prior to 1853, all vessels needing repairs, or cleaning, were 
 hove-down by means of tackles at one of the wharves in the 
 city, or banked on some sand bar to allow the scrubbing off 
 of the moss which generally gathers on the bottom of a 
 vessel. Although no serious accident has resulted to any 
 vessel from the use of the first method, it is notwithstanding 
 regarded as hazardous, and creates no little uneasiness to the 
 master, inasmuch as tardiness or mischance in righting up, 
 in the event of a sudden squall of wind might endanger the 
 masts of the vessel. It is also attended with expense by 
 obliging the crew to live on shore and in keeping the vessel 
 free of water by use of the pumps, and can never be resorted 
 to in the case of steam boats, which within a few years have 
 almost monopolized the doinestic carrying trade of the gulf. 
 
 In March 1853, Messrs. Browne and Curry, merchants of 
 this city, caused to be constructed a Marine Railway for the 
 better convenience of commerce. This railway has been in 
 constant operation to the present time. The number of ves- 
 sels taken up on these ways has been 2,277 ; the largest vessel 
 was of 519 tons. 
 
 The power and strength of the ways are considered as 
 sufficient for taking up vessels of much larger size ; the ob- 
 stacle lies in the insufficiency of water to admit the entrance 
 of a vessel drawing over eight feet forward. 
 
 The valuable unoccupied water front which affords a depth 
 of water of twenty feet, will, it is to be hoped, at some time 
 not far distant, supply a much needed desideratum to the 
 operations of commerce in a " screw," or " dry dock." 
 
 Facilities in aid of commerce of such character as these, 
 are of public as well as private benefit, in reducing freights 
 and insurance, and as a consequence reducing the price of 
 necessary articles for consumption. 
 
22 
 
 SALT MANUFACTURE. 
 
 The original proprietors and first settlers of Key West 
 considered the manufacture of salt as the most probable 
 means of making it known in the commercial world. Small 
 quantities had been gathered from the natural salt pond in 
 the interior, without any special facilities, and that portion 
 of the island was regarded as destined to be the source of 
 future wealth to any enterprising individuals who might un- 
 dertake to turn its advantages to account. Tlie resident pro- 
 prietors, however, were not themselves possessed of sufficient 
 ca])ital, beyond the requirements of their commercial under- 
 takings, to engage in the business. Consequently the first 
 regular attempt at the manufacture, was not made until 1830. 
 Mr. Richard Fitzpatrick, of South Carolina, then a resident 
 on the island, leased that year the Whitehead interest in the 
 pond. An intelligent, educated colored man named Hart, 
 was brought from the Bahamas and placed in charge of the 
 works, but notwithstanding that several seasons promised 
 favorable results,' they were never realized, partly, as was 
 thought at the time, from the demand for labor aroi\nd the 
 wharves in the town, at high rates, drawing off tlie hands. 
 Prompt returns therefrom, very naturally inducing tlie mas- 
 ter to disregard future prospects for present realization from 
 the labor of his slaves. Mr. Fitzpatrick abandoned his works 
 in 1834. The reduction of the duty on salt soon after he 
 commenced operations, had some effect ])robai)ly in produc- 
 ing this result, but at one time he had over thirty hands em- 
 ployed. 
 
 The next attempt was made under the auspices of the "La 
 Fayette Salt Company," organized through the exertions of 
 Mr. Simonton; the principal stockholders being residents of 
 Mobile and New Orleaiis. Oj^erations were commenced early 
 in 1835, but success was not achieved, and their works passed 
 
 ' In the summer of 1832, the prospect was thought good for 60,000 bushels, 
 but they were all lost. 
 
23 
 
 in a few years into the hands of another company, Messrs. 
 Adam Gordon, F. A. Browne and Wm. H. Wall being among 
 the stockholders ; and subsequently, about 1843, Charles Howe 
 obtained the controlling interest, and after the hurricane of 
 1846, became the sole proprietor. In 1850 the crop amounted 
 to thirty-five thousand bushels, and Mr. Howe was encouraged 
 to enlarge his works by the purchase of the Whitehead portion 
 of the pond, which had been abandoned by Mr. Fitzpatrick ; 
 and in 1851 sold half of his interest to W. C. Dennis, to whom 
 the management of the works was entrusted. The amount of 
 salt produced annually, varied materially, ranging from 
 fifteen to twenty thousand bushels to seventy-five thousand, 
 the largest crop raked in any one year. Mr. Dennis contin- 
 ued the manufacture until his death, which occurred in 1854. 
 
 During the Civil War, the manufacture of salt on the island 
 was suspended, in consequence of one of the principal sources 
 of demand — the Charlotte Harbor fisheries — having been cut 
 off; the militar}' authorities being apprehensive that the salt 
 furnished to them would find its way into the Confederacy. 
 The fisheries at Charlotte Harbor were established many years 
 before the settlement of the island, and at the present time 
 consume from ten to fifteen thousand bushels of salt an- 
 nually. 
 
 In 1865, Mr. W. R. Livermore, a lieutenant in the U. S. 
 Engineer Corps, purchased the works and commenced the 
 manufacture, but after spending a large amount of money in 
 the prosecution of the business, was unsuccessful ; and in 1871, 
 the works passed into the hands of Messrs. C. and B. Howe, 
 who are now the owners. 
 
 I know that I shall astonish some of my hearers, when I 
 state that the Custom House records exhibit the fact, that in 
 that year (1871), there was imported into this city for the con- 
 sumption of our fisheries, 1,028,279 lbs., nearly 14,000 bushels, 
 of foreign salt. Those directly engaged in the fisheries in 
 our county, know the fact as well as the merchants who im- 
 ported it. The salt ponds of this island, capable of producing 
 
24 
 
 seventy-five thousand bushels, or 5,700.000 lbs. per annum were 
 idle during that year, while the fish were in great abundance. 
 
 Mr. Liverniore's want of success was in a great measure due 
 to the enforced substitution of free labor. No place in the 
 South, at the time of emancipation, had a better class of ne- 
 groes than Kev West, and as a general thing their behavior 
 under the circumstances, was such as entitled them to words 
 of gratifying commendation. It was not to be expected that 
 those who had, previously, generally labored from no other 
 motive than fear of punishment, having the boon of freedom 
 thrust upon them, — accompanied by teachings of bold, bad 
 men, of further privileges to be acquired, by some means, with- 
 out labor — should ever l)ecome useful to themselves or 
 others. There has been a large immigration of colored per- 
 sons from the Bahamas, within the last four years, and while 
 the statistician may rejoice over the number thus added to 
 the population, the philanthropist and moralist must be moved 
 with compassion on witnessing the approaches to degradation 
 and vice which are apparent. 
 
 As the season for raking salt is limited, generall}' to a few 
 weeks, the present operators employ temporary laborers, each 
 man raking up and wheeling out from sixty to seventy bushels 
 per day. For much of the time since the manufacture com- 
 menced, foreign salt has been free of duty, effecting preju- 
 dicially the result of the home producers. That impediment 
 to success, however, has not existed for some years, but still 
 the manufacture of salt falls far short of the anticipation of 
 the early settlers on the island.' 
 
 SEGAR MANUFACTURE. 
 The remark was made a few days ago in my presence that 
 no single industrial pursuit in this city had acquired such 
 rapid ijrowth and dimensions as the manufacture ol segars. 
 This is only partially true, for this particular manufacture of 
 Key West, has a history dating back many years. 
 
 ' See AppeDdix, Note I. 
 
25 
 
 We find as early as 1831, an advertisement in the "Key- 
 West Gazette," by W. H. Wall, of the establishment of a 
 segar factory by himself. This factory employed about fifty 
 operatives, and exported segars. It was located in the rear of 
 vrhat is now known as the St. James Hotel, between Duval 
 and Fitzpatrick streets, and was eventually destroyed by 
 fire. 
 
 Estava and Williams, in 1837 and 1838, also operated a 
 factory in which sixteen men were employed, and made ship- 
 ments to New York. Communication between New York 
 and this island, it will be borne in mind, was exceedingly irreg- 
 ular and uncertain at that date, being dependent, chiefly, 
 upon vessels going north with cotton from St. Marks or other 
 gulf ports, and often the long time elapsing between oppor- 
 tunities worked serious injury to the business. 
 
 Odet Phillippe and Shubael Brown, also engaged in this 
 business with a force of six men, about the same time. 
 
 The Arnan Brothers, Francisco and James, as far back as 
 1834, down to the time of the death of both, were constantly 
 employed in the manufacture, and in 1838 were joined by 
 Albert, another brother. They did not aspire however beyond 
 domestic trade. 
 
 Messrs. Francisco Sintas, Manuel Farino and E. O. Gwynn, 
 also at different times, and for short periods, were engaged in 
 the business, so that you will observe that the growth of this 
 industrial pursuit has been otherwise than rapid. The dimen- 
 sions which it has acquired, however, are truly gratifying. At 
 present the number of factories is twenty-nine, giving em- 
 ployment to about 2,100 persons in our city. The average 
 daily product of these factories is estimated at 171,000, or 
 62,415,000 annually. 
 
 The amount disbursed by these factories for labor alone in 
 our city, may be stated within bounds to be one million of 
 dollars annually. Three of these factories, employ over 
 1,500 hands. The factory " La Rosa Espanola " employ over 
 600, and is owned by Messrs. Seidenburg and Company. The 
 4 
 
26 
 
 " Principe de Gales," Mr. Martinez Ybor, proprietor, employs 
 over 400." The "Club de Yate," (intended for The Yacht 
 Club,) Messrs. McFall and Lawson, employ 100. These are the 
 leading; houses, importing the best quality of Cuba wrappers 
 and fillers, and employing skilled Havana workmen ; many 
 of these workmen earn from forty to fifty dollars per week, 
 and the segar packers as high as sixty dollars per week. 
 
 The growth of the business of late years may be considered 
 as due, in a great measure, to the immigration from Cuba, 
 which commenced about 1872, growing out of the political 
 commotions in that island. 
 
 REVENUES. 
 
 The revenues of the city paid into its own Treasury, the 
 Customs revenue and Internal taxes paid into the Treasury of 
 the United States, as well as the revenues paid into the 
 Treasury of the State and County, from the property and 
 business of this city, confirm its claim to be considered the 
 Commercial Emporium of the State of Florida. 
 
 To be as brief as possible, I will give only the revenues of 
 the City for certain years. 
 
 In 1831, $1,300. 1870, $ 5,300. 
 
 1860, $2,900. 1875, $11,728. 
 
 Up to 1829, the island had been held in common by the 
 four proprietors, Messrs. Simon ton, Greene, Fleeming and 
 John Whitehead. In that year it was surveyed and divided 
 among these gentlemen according to their several interests ; 
 the drawing for the separate lots and tracts of land taking 
 place under the supervision of William A. Whitehead. 
 
 In 1831, we find the population of the city to have been 
 about 300, and by the United States census returns, that in 
 1850 it was 2,367; in 1860, 2,832; and in 1870, 5,016. At 
 the present time it is over 12,000 as has been before stated. 
 
 The estimated value of property in the city in 1831, was 
 $65,923, as assessed for taxable purposes. In 1875, it was 
 
$1,505,720 ; showing: an increase of values amounting to 
 over one million four hundred thousand dollars. 
 
 In 1831, we paid city taxes to the amount of $1,300. In 
 1875, we paid .$11,728 ; showing an increase of ten thousand 
 four hundred and twenty-eight dollars.' 
 
 The amount of County and State taxes raised from this 
 city in its earlier years cannot be ascertained ; but in 1873, 
 the amount levied in this city for county purposes was 
 $10,807, exclusive of auction taxes. In 1874, the amount 
 of taxes levied on this city for state purposes was $18,500 ; 
 for county purposes, $16,300. 
 
 These amounts do not embrace the State and County 
 auction tax, which in 1874, as appears by the Comptroller's 
 report, was $1,796 from the entire state ; of which amount 
 Key West paid $1,654. 
 
 In 1875, the amount of taxes levied on this city for state 
 purposes was $19,346 ; for county purposes, $16,253.00. 
 
 For Internal Revenue to the United States, this city paid. 
 
 For the year ending June 30th, 1872. .$ 75,800.00 
 " " " 1873.. 100,543.59 
 
 « " " 1874.. 110,165,32 
 
 " " ". 1875.. 164,870.48 
 
 "• " " 1876.. 192,035.80 
 
 Total, $643,415.19 
 
 It is estimated that the receipts from this source for the 
 year 1877, will be $225,000; an amount not only larger 
 than is paid hy any other city in the State, hut more thorn, is 
 paid hy all the other cities in the State pttt together. 
 
 The yearly average amount of money for money orders 
 
 ' It is worthy of remark that a portion of the amount thus raised, was 
 from a license-tax on from twenty to twenty-five small carts, drawn by single 
 goats, and driven by boys from eight to twelve years of age— used for the 
 transportation of light articles from point to point in the city. It is doubtful if 
 such a source of revenue exists in any other place in the United States. 
 
28 
 
 issued at this Post Office, is $133,343 ; amount received 
 for stamps and postage for year ending March 31st, 1876, 
 $6,128.31. 
 
 POSTAL FACILITIES. 
 
 Let me pra)' you to possess your, souls in peace my fellow 
 citizens, or those of you who rise in the morning and retire 
 in the evening with the ever enduring cry, '' the mail steamer 
 is not yet in sight." How enviable seems your case to-day 
 to those of us who remember the postal facilities of forty 
 years ago ! 
 
 The first Post Office was established in February, 1829, and 
 the first contract for mail service was awarded to the owners 
 of a small sailing vessel called " The Post Boy," of about ten 
 tons, to be performed monthly between Ciiarleston and this 
 city. My old friend. Captain David Cole (now deceased), with 
 all the advantages of good seamanship, knowledge of the 
 coast, and superior education, was in command of this vessel, 
 but for some ever good reason, the monthly trips generally 
 consumed nearer fifty days than thirty. Cape Canaveral 
 was to be doubled in the route, and never did the mariner 
 scan the clouds in the effort to double Cape Horn with more 
 solicitude than did this worthy skipper to effect the same 
 result at Cape Canaveral, but from far different motives ; the 
 one being proverbial for its storms, the other for its calms. 
 Fretting did not bring the vessel any sooner than the winds 
 and the current would permit. 
 
 The mails were brought then with regular irregularity, as 
 they are to-day, only a little more so, still some of us sur- 
 vive the calamity, even at this distance of time. When thej' 
 did arrive every body knew it. He who was not certain 
 that his expected letter would be " prepaid " by his corres- 
 pondent, put " a quarter " (twenty -five cents) in his pocket to 
 satisfy good old " Uncle Sam," for the cost of transportation ■ 
 — for that was the rate per letter at the time I speak of — and 
 were you of the finer mould of clay, and patronised a news- 
 paper, five cents more would put you all right with the Post 
 
29 
 
 Master, for this then enviable means of information that other 
 nations existed beside Key West. 
 
 For part of the time in 1833, there was only one regular 
 mail per month, and that via, St, Marks ; but this inconven- 
 ient arrangement did nyt last long, a semi-monthly mail 
 being established from Charleston ; and about 1835, Messrs. 
 Lord and Stocker of Charleston, obtained the contract, and a 
 better class of vessels served on the route. 
 
 About 1848, Messrs. Mordecai and Company of Charleston, 
 were contractors for this line, on which they placed a remark- 
 ably fast and comfortable steamer called " Isabel," of about 
 eleven hundred tons. The service was continued by this 
 steamer until the commencement of the civil war. At the 
 same time we were supplied with mails from ISTew Orleans 
 via. St. Marks and gulf ports, by a line of steamers owned in 
 New York by Messrs. Morgan and Company, up to the same 
 period. 
 
 During the time of service of the steamers before men- 
 tioned, one could calculate with some certainty on the day, 
 if not the hour, of their arrival. 
 
 We have now a line of very fine steamers, owned by 
 Messrs. Mallory and Company, large, safe and comfortable, 
 which provide us with mails weekly, and as a general thing, 
 their arrival from New York may be looked for each Thurs- 
 day P. M. These vessels on their departure, which is a few 
 hours after arrival, convey our western mail matter to Gal- 
 veston, Texas. 
 
 A line between Cedar Keys nnd this place has been in ex- 
 istence for twelve years past, supplied by steam vessels. It 
 has been in the hands of several contractors, who, it is believed, 
 have made no money under the contract ; but who if objur- 
 gations could fatten, might rival the obesity of a Daniel Lam- 
 bert. They contract, it is said, for the performance of a 
 weekly service. It might be to our advantage to cause the 
 contract to be examined, for the purpose of ascertaining 
 whether the stipulation is for a weekly or weakly service. True, 
 
30 
 
 we get our letters for only three cents now, and our papers for 
 two cents, and it is quite probable we shall soon get them for 
 less. The cash down principle works well. You not only 
 pay as you go, but pay "before you go by way of correspondence. 
 
 How great cause for happiness, ^indeed, have our young 
 people to-day with these advantages, superadded to which is 
 the correspondence by means of electricity. Is the subject 
 Love, Marriage or other husiness, post you to the telegraph 
 oflSce on Greene street, near Fitzpatrick street, and the gen- 
 tlemanly operator will transmit your every tliought and ex- 
 pression over the apparently silent wire, lying on the bottom 
 of the ocean, a hundred fathoms or more below its surface. 
 
 The Inter-Ocean Telegraph Company, in 1867, com- 
 menced to lay their sub-marine line ot telegraph cable from 
 this island to the island of Cuba, and another to Punta Rassa, 
 the former a distance of ninety-seven miles, and the latter of 
 one hundred and twenty-three miles, connecting it by a line 
 of wires three hundred and fifty miles on the main land, with 
 the Western Union Telegraph Compan3^ This places us in 
 connection with the West Indies via Jamaica, and the nations 
 of the old world via New York, and the Atlantic Cable via 
 Queenstown. 
 
 Thus, you see, living as we do on an island in the sea, we 
 possess advantages which those great men whose names to-day 
 inspire thoughts leading to devotion, did not dreani of, much 
 less enjoy. Nevertheless, it is their work. Of the tree of 
 Liberty, planted by them one hundred years ago, we gather 
 the fruit to-day. The silken cord attached to the kite flown 
 in the air by Benjamin Franklin, in the fields near the city 
 of Paris, in France, aided by the ingenuity and skill of a 
 Morse, has furnished the happy opportunity of sending greet- 
 ings to our fellow citizens assembled in Independence Hall in 
 Philadelphia, as rapidly as the words can escape the lips, 
 and before the echo has passed away. ' 
 
 ' See Appendix, Note J. 
 
31 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL RELATIONS. 
 
 For several years the inhabitants of Key West, held public 
 religious services, in what is now known as the County Court 
 House. The occasions were few, as only when some clergy- 
 man might be transiently on the island, on his way to or from 
 some other place, did an opportunity offer to engage in them. 
 
 In March, 1831, by a resolution of the Town Council proposed 
 by Mr. William A. Whitehead, a public meeting of the citi- 
 zens was called for the purpose of adopting measures for 
 obtaining the services of a clergyman, and the establishment 
 of a school. The accession of several ladies of education 
 and refinement to the society of the island, by the arrival of 
 the families of several judicial and military officers, had 
 worked a considerable change in the manners and customs of 
 the place, so that the movement was made under more favor- 
 able auspices than had previously existed.' 
 
 It is unnecessary to go through the particulars which, after 
 a delay of many months, led to the formation of the first 
 Protestant Episcopal congregation in this city — that being 
 the denomination that pioneered the way to our present 
 ecclesiastical status. Suffice it to say that the entire church 
 desiring portion of the population, however differently 
 trained in matters of ritual, peculiarities of religious dog- 
 mas, and sectarian prejudices, united for purposes of public 
 devotion, under the name of the Protestant Episcopal Church. 
 A large number of the residents were attached to that com- 
 munion, and all others accorded to it their second choice, as 
 their own preference could not then be gratified. 
 
 PROTESTANT EPISCOPALIANS. 
 
 It may be interesting to many of my hearers, to learn the 
 names of the gentlemen who first enrolled themselves for the 
 
 ' See Appendix, Note K. 
 
32 
 
 very commendable purpbse of forming a congregation, in the 
 year 1832. The act of association being signed on Christmas 
 day, after morning service by the Rev. S. K. Brunot, who 
 had arrived not long before and been placed in charge of the 
 infant church. 
 
 JaiMes Webb, 
 Wm. a. Whitehead, 
 David C. Pinkham, 
 Fielding A. Browne, 
 Thomas Eastin,, 
 Alexander Patterson, 
 A. H. Day, 
 John W. Simonton, 
 Adam Gordon. 
 William H. Shaw, 
 J. R. Western, 
 William H. Wall, 
 Theodore Owens, 
 Eugene Trenor. 
 L. A. Edmonston, 
 
 Henry K. Newcomb, 
 Francis D. Newcomb, 
 Henry S. Waterhouse, 
 Amos C. Tift, 
 E. Van Evour. 
 John Whitehead, 
 Pardon C. Greene, 
 Oliver O'Hara; 
 George E. Weaver. 
 Philip J. Fontan6, 
 John J. Sands, 
 Stephen R. Mallory, 
 Francis Watlington, 
 Charles M. Wells, 
 John P. Baldwin. 
 
 That winter, an Act of Legislature was obtained, incorpor- 
 ating this congregation under the name of " St. Paul's 
 Protestant Episcopal Churcli." The Rev. Mr. Brunot was 
 from Pittsburg, Pa. He was only twenty -four years of age, 
 and had not been long in the ministry. Being apprehensive, 
 that he might become, like many of his family, a victim to 
 consumption, if he continued a resident of the colder climate 
 of the northern states, he determined to commence his servi- 
 ces at Key West. He was warmly welcomed, and became 
 the guest of Mr. William A. Whitehead ; but his health soon 
 began to fail. After officiating only a few times, frequent 
 hemorrhages put a stop effectually to further public services. 
 In November, 1832, a Sunday-school was commenced, which 
 in January, 1833, had between fifty and sixty children in 
 attendance. Mr. Brunot left the island for Pittsburgh in 
 May, 1833. and died soon after his arrival there in June. 
 
33 
 
 There were frequent vacancies in the Rectorship thereafter, 
 between the departure of one and the arrival of another 
 clergyman, during some of which, attempts were made to 
 keep up the interest of the congregation, by having Lay- 
 readers and a Sunday-school. 
 
 The following clergymen were in charge of the church 
 during the periods named, Rev. Alvah Bennett of New York, 
 from the Autumn of 1834, to April, 1835 ; Rev. Robert Dyce 
 of Scotland, from August, 1836 to 1840 ; Rev. Gabriel Ford of 
 New Jersey, 1840 to 1841 ; Rev. Mr. Hanson, succeeded him, 
 and the Rev. C. C. Adams had charge from 1846 to March, 
 1855. When he left, there were one hundred and two com- 
 municants, and between thirty and forty condidates for 
 confirmation. Subsequently, among others, were the Rev. 
 O. E, Herrick, for some time, prior to 1871, and the Rev. 
 John Reuther, in 1873. The gentleman who now holds the 
 relation of Rector to that Church, the Rev. J. L. Steele, D.D., 
 is before you officiating on this occasion. 
 
 " Happy the man whose mind ordains, 
 
 Good works his hands to do ; 
 He on this earth reward obtains 
 
 And marches heavenward too." 
 
 The site for the erection of the Cliurch was the free gift 
 of the widow of Mr. Fleeming, before spoken of, one of the 
 original proprietors of the island. 
 
 A lime stone church was erected on the corner of Eaton 
 and Duval streets in 1840 ' — which was totally destroyed by 
 the memorable hurricane of 1846 ; and in 1847, the present 
 wooden edifice was erected. 
 
 The membership at the present time is six hundred and 
 forty. Number of Sunday-school children, three hundred and 
 seventy. Teachers, forty. 
 
 ' It cost $6,500, and its dimensions were thirty-six feet by forty-six feet, and 
 twenty-two feet high. It was finished m March, 1841, and contained thirty-six 
 pews and a gallery at one end. 
 
 5 
 
34 
 
 During the latter part of the last year, another Protestant 
 Episcopal Congregation has been organized under the name 
 of St. Peter's Protestant Episcopal Church. This society 
 numbers about one hundred, with a Sunday-school attend- 
 ance of forty pupils. It is composed of the colored members 
 of the Protestant Episcopal Church, At present they wor- 
 ship in the Douglass school house on Jackson Square, and 
 the services are conducted by the Rev. Dr. Steele, 
 
 There is also connected with the Protestant Episcopal 
 Church of this city, a Cuban Mission, organized among the 
 Cuban inhabitants through the zealous labors of the same 
 clergyman. The individual membership has not been fully 
 ascertained, as they are enrolled chiefly as families, — eighty 
 in number. A Sunday-school for the children has not yet 
 been organized, but it is in a fair way to be established. 
 Mr, J. B. Baez, a Cuban gentleman, is the Lay-reader to this 
 congregation, 
 
 THE METHODISTS. 
 
 Among the many very worthy persons who came among 
 us in the year 1837, may be specially named one, who though 
 dead, still lives in the sacred regards of his contemporaries. 
 I allude to Mr. Samuel Kemp. This gentleman, good and 
 pious, worshipped with those of us who resorted to the Court 
 House for that purpose, for some time ; but soon after erected 
 at his own expense (assisted in the labor by some of his 
 neighbors who were mechanics) a small building for public 
 worship, on land owned by himself, immediately opposite the 
 present residence of Dr. Harris, on Caroline street near 
 Grinnell, This was the first place of public worship in which 
 the denomination known as " Wesleyan Methodists," congre- 
 gated in this city ; and which gave rise to all the others, 
 
 " Father Kemp," as he was usually called from reason of 
 his advanced age, and his somewhat clerical demeanor, ofiici- 
 ated as the pastor of this small congregation, and was often 
 assisted in the devotional exercises of his church, or chapel, 
 
35 
 
 by Captain Ogden, of the United States army, stationed here 
 at the time. 
 
 The congregation becoming too numerous to be accom- 
 modated in this small building, a large one was erected 
 on the lot on Caroline street, on which stands at present, the 
 house occupied by Mr. William Weatherford, between Simon- 
 ton and Elizabeth streets ; this, in its turn, becoming too 
 uncomfortably filled, produced the necessity for another loca- 
 tion, which was happily supplied by Mr. William C. Greene, 
 who presented the congregation with the lot on which now 
 stands the present house of worship, known as the First Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church, at the corner of Eaton and Simonton 
 streets. 
 
 It was the intention of the members of this congregation 
 to have a stone building for its use, and this intention was so 
 far carried into effect as to erect the four walls ; but the 
 hurricane of 1846 levelled them to the ground. Simon Peter 
 Eichardson, the minister then in charge, was not the man to 
 sit down and weep long over this great calamity. He took 
 ship, and making his and our distresses known, secured funds 
 to erect the present church. The building has, however, been 
 lengthened, and is now forty by sixty feet, and will seat com- 
 fortably eight hundred persons. 
 
 Its membership in 1872, was sixty-eight. Its present mem- 
 bership is two hundred and fifty-three, — forty-six of whom 
 are Cubans. The number of its Sabbath-school scholars is 
 three hundred and twenty. Teachers, twenty-seven. The 
 present Pastor is the Rev. C. A. Fulwood. 
 
 The first African Methodist Episcopal Church on the 
 Island is situated on Whitehead street extended, just outside 
 the present city limits. Its erection is principally due to the 
 energy of Sandy Cornish and Cataline Simmons, both col- 
 ored men ; the former since dead, the latter now in charge of 
 a church in the city of Jacksonville, where he is highly 
 respected by all the principal citizens of that place. This 
 church was erected in 1865, and there being no ordained col- 
 
36 
 
 ored minister here at that time, services were chiefly conduc- 
 ted by Sandy and Cataline. Its membership is about three 
 hundred. Sunday -school scholars, one hundred and forty-live. 
 Present minister Eev. Thomas Darley. This Church now 
 bears the name, " Ziou African Methodist Episcopal Church." 
 
 In 1860, a portion of the congregation of the " First 
 Methodist Episcopal Church South," discontinuing their con- 
 nection with that church, organized themselves into a society 
 under the name of ''Sparks' Chapel," and Kev. J. O. A. 
 Sparks became the lirst regular pastor. 
 
 At the time of its organization it numbered eighty-seven 
 members, with a Sabbath-school attendance of forty children. 
 It now numbers one hundred and ninety-eight members, with 
 a Sabbath-school of one hundred and fifty pupils. The 
 church is situated at the corner of Fleeming and William 
 streets. Present pastor, Rev W. R. Johnson. . 
 
 There is also a congregation of colored Methodists known 
 as "African Methodist Episcopal, of the Bethel Connection," 
 under the care of the Rev. B. W. Roberts. The Church is 
 situated on Duval street, and was built principally through 
 the exertions of the Rev. Allen Dean, (colored) in 1870. 
 
 Its present membership is one hundred and seventy-three. 
 Sabbath-school scholars, forty. 
 
 THE BAPTISTS. 
 
 The Missionary Baptist Church on Eaton street, between 
 Simonton and Duval streets, under the charge of the Rev. 
 Mr. Tripp, was erected in 1848. Present membership, 
 seventy. Sabbath-school scholars, thirty. Rev. C. S. Rey- 
 nolds, is the pastor. 
 
 A portion of the colored population of the city of this 
 denomination, preferring to worship in a church under their 
 exclusive control, caused to be erected in 1870, the present 
 edifice on Thomas street extended, beyond the city limits, 
 which is now under the pastoral charge of Rev. Albert Lewis. 
 Its membership is about one hundred. Number of children 
 attending the Sabbath-school, ninety-three. 
 
si 
 
 THE ROMAN CATHOLICS. 
 
 Previous to 1845, the visits of a Roman Catholic Priest 
 seldom occurred. About that time, however, Rev. Father 
 Corcoran came to the city, and occasionally celebrated mass 
 in the then City Hall at the foot of Duval street. The Roman 
 Catholic families at that time were not more than fifteen ; 
 numbering, probably, not more than one hundred persons. 
 Between 1850 and 1852, a church was erected, and still stands 
 on Duval Street, between Eaton and Fleeming Streets. In 
 1852, this church was consecrated by the Right Rev. Father 
 Gartland, Bishop of Savannah ; the dedication sermon being 
 preached by the Rev. Dr. Cumming. The Church is known 
 by the name of " St. Mary's Star of the Sea." 
 
 The Roman Catholic population had but little increased at 
 that time in numbers, but considerably in wealth. In 1870, 
 the church was repaired and enlarged to its present size, for 
 the better accommodation of the very large addition to the 
 population of the city from Cuban immigration, the majority of 
 whom are of the Roman Catholic Faith. The number of 
 American origin may be estimated at one thousand, and of 
 Cuban and of other foreign countries, four thousand. The 
 number of Sunday-school children two hundred and fifty. 
 
 The church is at present supplied with two clergymen ; 
 Rev. Father La Rocque, Pastor, assisted by Rev. Father Ber- 
 nier. 
 
 Thus, my friends, from the pious forethought of the thirty 
 gentlemen whose names to-day survive the mortal frames of 
 almost all of them, the gratifying picture of the ecclesiastical 
 portion of the history of your city is presented ; and well may 
 the two survivors of that highly privileged number, ( Messrs. 
 Whitehead and Watlington) view with pride the fruits spring- 
 ing from that grain of mustard seed sown by their hands. 
 
 BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES. 
 
 The numerous Benevolent Societies which exist in our city, 
 constitute one of its marked features. 
 
38 
 
 The " Free and Accepted Masons," first in point of time, 
 organized in this city January 31st, 1844, with eight members. 
 It consists to-day of one hundred and fifty members. An 
 organization known as the " Sons of Temperance," existed in 
 1845, and continued in existence until 1862. Francis Wat- 
 lington and Joseph C. Whalton, Senior, were prominent in 
 bringing this society into existence. It effected much good, 
 and many live to-day to acknowledge its advantages to indi- 
 viduals, and to society at large. 
 
 In 1868, another society known as " Island Koyal Arch 
 Chapter, No. 21," was organized, and now numbers fifty; in 
 1870, the " Munroe Council, No. 4," now numbering thirty- 
 two ; and in 1872 the the " Baron Commandery," which now 
 number thirty-one. 
 
 The same year another society was organized under the 
 name of " Dr. Felix Yarela Lodge, No. 64," composed of 
 Cuban residents, which now numbers fifty-five. 
 
 Of the "Independent Order of Odd Fellows," the "Key 
 West Lodge, No. 13," with a present membership of sixty, 
 was organized 1872. The " Key West Encampment, No. 5," 
 organized July 4, 1875, now has thirty members. The "Cuba 
 Lodge, No. 15," organized 1875, has thirty members. 
 
 Of Grand United Order Odd Fellows, "St. Michael's, No. 
 1530, " organized 1873, has eighty members. " St. Agnes', 
 No. 1696,(" organized in 1875, has thirty-five members. " St_ 
 Rafael, No. 1706," (Cuban), organized in 1876, has thirty 
 members. 
 
 The " Mount Moriah Lodge, No. 12," (colored), organized 
 in 1875, has forty members. 
 
 Of the Independent Order of Grand Templars, "Island 
 City Lodge, No. 9," organized in 1874, numbers eight hun- 
 dred ; " Sons of the Future, No. 10," organized in 1874, has 
 one hundred and eighty members. " Unity, No. 11," or- 
 ganized in 1874, has three hundred and eighty members. 
 " Rising Star, No. 13," organized in 1875, has eighty mem- 
 bers. 
 
39 
 
 The United Order True Reformers " Crystal Fountain, 
 No. 1," organized in 1875, numbers two hundred. 
 
 The Knights of Jericho, '" Austral Lodge, No. 18," organ- 
 ized in 1875, has thirty-five members. 
 
 The Templars of Honor and Temperance, " Coral Tem- 
 ple," organized in 1875, numbers seventy-two. " Southern 
 Star Council," organized in 1876, has thirty members. "Clin- 
 ton Benevolent Society," organized in 1865, has a member- 
 ship of two hundred. 
 
 EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 We find from the last census that fifteen hundred children 
 in this city were attending school in 1875. In going back for 
 data on a subject which must interest all of us, we find very 
 little information on the subject, The earliest school of 
 which we have any information, was kept by the Rev. 
 Alvah Bennett in 1834-5, he being then in charge of St. Paul's 
 Congregation. It was only kept a few months, as Mr. Ben- 
 nett returned to the, north in April, 1835. During its contin- 
 uance, Mr. Bennett realized from it about thirty dollars per 
 week. The next, as appears from an advertisement, in April, 
 1835, by Mr. Alden A. Jackson, a son-in-law of Judge Webb, 
 was taught by him in the County Court House at from two to 
 four dollars per month, according to the branches studied. 
 What success attended his efibrt I know not. Subsequently 
 ( about 1839), Rev. Mr. Dyce, of St. Paul's Church, taught in 
 the same place. At this period, no public funds for schools 
 existed. 
 
 In 1843, provision was made for paying from the county 
 taxes for the education of the children of those persons who 
 were unable to pay ; about thirty scholars were at that time 
 taught at the public expense. For each scholar, one dollar 
 per month was paid, the teacher providing his own school- 
 room. The school-house, in that year and the next, was sit- 
 uated on Front street. There are some present who doubtless 
 remember it, and the hand that wielded the ferule within, 
 without my being more particular. 
 
40 
 
 Attention to the subject of education began thus to impress 
 the minds of our citizens, and we will pass over the inter- 
 vening period to refer more particularly to the institutions of 
 learning now existing among us. 
 
 In September, 1870, a public school, now bearing the name 
 of " Sears' School," was opened in Masonic Hall, on Simon - 
 ton street, between Caroline and Eaton streets, with about 
 two hundred scholars and a corps of four teachers 
 
 In 1874, this school was removed into the new building 
 erected for its accommodation on Simonton street, between 
 Fleeming and Southard streets ; having at that time three 
 hundred pupils and five teachers. At present the number of 
 scholars is five hundred and fifty, with eight teachers. Mr. 
 Justin M. Copeland is the present principal. 
 
 Another public school called " The Douglass' School," was 
 organized in 1870, for the education of the colored children of 
 our city. It now numbers about three hundred pupils. Mr. 
 William M. Artrell being the principal. 
 
 There are also quite a number of private schools, the prin- 
 cipal one of which is taught by Miss Euphemia Lightbourn. 
 assisted by Miss Mellie Bethel. They have eighty pupils. 
 The next, as regards numbers, is that of Mrs. Henr}^ Baldwin, 
 which has about forty. 
 
 Previous to 1868 there was no school kept se]mrately for the 
 education of children of persons professing the Eoman Catholic 
 faith. In that year a number of ladies, known as the " Sisters 
 of the Holy Name of Jesus and Mary," of the faith inculcated 
 by that Church, came from Canada to this island, and imme- 
 diately located themselves in a frame building inmied lately 
 opposite the present light-house, — on or near the dividing line 
 between tracts three and four, on the original map of the 
 island, or at the junction of "Whitehead and Division streets, 
 as shown by Tift's map, — and commenced teaching a school 
 for white girls. In 1875, they laid the foundation of a new 
 building, or convent, in tract twelve (original survey) where 
 they now teach a large number of young ladies, both of our 
 
41 
 
 city and from abroad. This building is of limestone, quar- 
 ried on this island. It is not yet tinished, but when com- 
 pleted it will rank among the finest educational institutions 
 of the State, both in its structure as a building, and as to the 
 finished instruction given to the youthful attendants. 
 
 The same community of Sisters in 1869 established a 
 school for white boys, which is now a select Parochial school, 
 under the supervision of the pastor of St, Mary's Church, 
 and is conducted by a lay teacher, Mr. I. Cappick. The 
 number of pupils attending this school is about fift3^ The 
 course of studies consists chiefly of the English and Com- 
 mercial branches, with the Latin elements. 
 
 Under the direction of the same Sisters, a school for Cuban 
 girls (Spanish speaking) was established in 1873, and in 1875 
 a school for colored girls. The number of girls educated in 
 these three schools exceed three hundred. 
 
 Many young ladies have graduated in the convent school, 
 and upon several occasions, I have by invitation, served on 
 Committees of Examination, thus enabling me to speak ad- 
 visedly of the institution. Many of the graduates have been 
 of the Protestant faith, and reflect great credit on the capa- 
 bilities of the devout Sisters. 
 
 STORMS AND FIRES. 
 
 The hurricane of 1846, before referred to, was perhaps the 
 most destructive of any that had visited these latitudes 
 within the memory of man. The light house on Whitehead's 
 point on our island was totally destroyed, with all the mem- 
 bers of the keeper's family, seven in number ; most of the 
 dwellings in the city were seriously injured or totally de- 
 stroyed, and a large number of horses and horned cattle blown 
 into the sea, or killed by missiles of timber and slate from 
 surrounding buildings. The yearly apprehended equinoctial 
 6 
 
42 
 
 storms wliicli liave since ])revailed, liave left no record of 
 violence of sufficient importance to notice.' 
 
 The first fire of ;ny consequence was in 1843, when the 
 large wooden warehouse of F. A. Browne, standing on the 
 soutii side of Simonton street, near the water, was destroyed. 
 
 A fire company existed at that time which was organized 
 about 1836, with Mr. Joseph A. Thouron, foreman, and about 
 twenty-five members. The engine belonging to this company 
 was purchased by means of subscription, was never of much 
 use, and after the removal of Mr. Thouron to Charleston, 
 was entirely neglected. At the time of the destruction of 
 Mr. Browne's warehouse it was brought upon the scene, but 
 proving unfit for use, was contemptuously and indignantly 
 hurled into the sea from the wharf. 
 
 ' On the 19th and 20th of October, 1876, as these pages were passing through 
 the press, an unusually violent gale was experienced. Some indications 
 of its approach were manifest on the 18th, and from 1 A. M. of the 19th, the 
 barometer gave sure evidence of its presence. At that hour the mercurial 
 column stood at 29.55 inches, and eacli hour thereafter it was lower, until at 
 8 P. M. it stood at 28.73 inches. It then commenced rising, and at 4 A. M. of 
 the 2Cth had returned to 29.50 inches, but the storm did not abate its fury un- 
 til J about 2 P. M. of that day. During part of the time the wind travelled at 
 the rate of sixty-six miles per hour. Tlie heavy rain and the breaches from 
 the sea caused an overflow of the streets iu the business part of the city. Con- 
 siderable damage was done to roofs, fences, and trees, and missiles hurled 
 through the air, rendered it, at times, dangerous to be in the streets, some of 
 which were greatly obstructed by the accumulation of boats, lumber, etc., 
 floated into them. The vessels in the harbor were all more or less injured, 
 while along the reef were some cases of shipwreck. The salt works suffered 
 greatly, as did also all kinds of tropical fruits. When the tempest was at its 
 height, especially during the night, great anxiety prevailed. It was very dark, 
 excepting when the vivid flashes of lightning revealed the devastating pro- 
 cesses at work, but the amount of damage was less than there was rea.son to 
 anticipate. The wind was from Northeast to East, but toward the close veered 
 to the Northwest and Southwest with equal fury. The report of the Signal 
 Bureau at Washinjrton states that the first notice of tliis gale was on the 
 17lh, on the South side of Cuba, whence its central path was directly over 
 Havana and slightly to the eastward of Key West. It left the Peninsula on 
 its undefined course North Eastwardly, south of Indian River. 
 
43 
 
 Thereafter, happily, and ahnost miraculously, were the 
 ravaa^es of that destructive element " Fire," escaped for a 
 period longer perhaps than follow the fortunes of cities con- 
 structed almost entirely of wood. But the time at last 
 arrived when we were made to feel its blighting breath. 
 While locked in the arms of sleep and fancied security, the 
 " Fire King," took possession, and for eight long hours of the 
 19th of May, 1859, revelled in his wanton fury. From the 
 corner of Simonton street to Whitehead street, including 
 every building save two, in the four blocks between Front 
 and Greene streets, all that remained was ashes. No organ- 
 ized body of firemen existed in the city at that time, and no 
 hooks-and-ladders, fire buckets or other apparatus necessary 
 for the occasion were on hand. The extensive warehouses, 
 and other stores of Messrs. O'Hara and W^ells, occupying the 
 place where Curry's warehouse and Cash's store now stands, 
 between Simonton and Duval streets ; the store-houses of 
 Fontane and Weaver, Wall and Company, Packer and Boye, 
 P. A. Gandolfo, C. and E. Howe, and, in fact, all the busi- 
 ness portion of the town, before the sun had passed its zenith 
 on that day became smouldering ruins. 
 
 ManA^ of our citizens attribute the preservation of the 
 remaining portion of the city to the thoughtful and daring 
 action of Mr. Henry Mulreuon, who, having procured a keg 
 of gunpowder from Fort Taylor, entered his own house on 
 the corner of Fitzpatrick and Greene streets, then in immi 
 nent peril, but as yet unharmed, and placing the keg in 
 position laid the train and blew the house up, to prevent the 
 fire crossing the street and communicating with the large 
 building occupied by Captain Geiger. 
 
 These two events, the hurricane and the fire, measurably 
 interrupted our progress at the times of their occurrence, but 
 the effects were speedily overcome by the activity and energy 
 of the sufferers. Fortunately no lives were lost on this occa- 
 sion, nor did we stop to shed unavailing tears over our 
 misfortunes. The sun rose on the morning after the fire, to 
 
44 ^^ 
 
 behold active limbs and stout hearts clearing the ground of 
 the debris, and the waning moon of the succeeding night 
 shone upon the bright hammer of the mechanic, as he drove 
 firmly home the yielding nail, in the construction of tempo- 
 rary buildings, soon to become, once more, the busy bustling 
 mart of trade. 
 
 On the morning of 17th February of the present year, a 
 fire was discovered in a building owned bv Mr. John White 
 on Front street, (lot 2, square 16) occupied by a Cuban family. 
 .The days of miracles, it is said, have passed: but our present 
 gallant fire company, organized in November, 1875, claim 
 the merit of having saved from desv,ruction the residence of 
 Judge Locke, in such close proximity to the scene, as to make 
 its preservation marvelous if not miraculous. The visible 
 agency and commendable exertions of the fire company on 
 the occasion, being admitted, and warmly acknowledged on 
 all sides, their claim must be allowed to stand, until over- 
 borne by other and superior evidence. The loss of two lives 
 by suffocation in the burning building, before the alarm was 
 given, detracts nothing from the claim preferred by the tire 
 company, and can only be regarded as a distressing incident 
 of the occurrence. 
 
 This is the only opportunity the company, (having Mr. A. 
 H. Dorsett for foreman, and one hundred and three members) 
 has had to exhibit its etiiciency, and long may it be ere other 
 or greater use will have to be made of its apparatus, than has 
 been afforded by the pleasant joyous parade of to-day.' 
 
 NEWSPAPERS. 
 
 My fellow citizens, could another have occupied the place, 
 where the authorities of your city have graciously permitted 
 me to stand, many events connected with our early history, 
 might have been recounted which would have added to the 
 
 ' A fire took place at Captain Alderslade's residence on the 4lh, while read- 
 ing this sketch, which was extinguished without any material loss. 
 
45 
 
 interest of the occasion. To Mr. William A. Whitehead, 
 now of New Jersey, should be awarded the credit of having 
 been the first to enorage in the preparation and preservation 
 of the earliest incidents connected with the settlement of 
 your island, even before you had the right to claim the proud 
 title of " citizens of the United States." Mr. Whitehead 
 ceased to be one of your citizens in 1838, and returned to 
 the North.' 
 
 To his consideration we are this day indebted for bound 
 volumes of the newspapers published in this city in the 
 years 1831, 1832, and those from 1834 to 1836. These vol- 
 umes so illustrative of your early existence as a city, were 
 presented by him in 1869, for "preservation in the office of 
 the clerk of Monroe county," as the inscription testifies. 
 
 Probably not more than a dozen of my hearers in this over- 
 crowded hall, know this fact. Although the thanks of the 
 County Commissioners were formerly voted to Mr. White- 
 head in August 3d, 1871, no one (including myself,) has ever 
 learned, that jpubliG acknowledgment has ever been tendered 
 to that gentleman. 
 
 It must be mentioned regretfully, that at the present time 
 it is not possible to obtain a full edition of any of the other 
 newspapers previous by or subsequently published in the city. 
 The first newspaper " The Register," was commenced in 
 January, 1829, under the management of Thomas Eastin, sub- 
 sequently United States Marshal, but was short lived. The 
 " Gazette ■' and " The Inquirer," were the next in order, 
 and are those above referred to as received from Mr. White- 
 head. 
 
 A few copies only of the " Light of the Reef," published 
 by Ware and Scarborough in 1844-45, are known to be in 
 existence, and the same may be said of all the following. 
 
 In 1845, " The Key of the Gulf," made its first appearance 
 under the editorial auspices of E. L. Ware, our present 
 
 ' See Appendix, Note L. 
 
46 
 
 n 
 
 efficient Post Master, and after years of death-like slumber 
 awoke to life in 1857, guided by the genial, but erratic pen of 
 William H. Ward, who in obedience to what he doubtless 
 considered obligatory as a patriotic citizen of his state, aban- 
 doned the field of argument in 1861 ; laying aside the weapon 
 of the sage for that of the soldier, to try issues of law and 
 ethics on the field of battle, whence he never returned. 
 
 In 1862-63, a paper called the " JSTew Era," was published 
 by R. B. Locke, an ofiicer of the Ninetieth Regiment, New 
 York Volunteers. 
 
 In 1867, the " Key West Dispatch," published by W. C. 
 Maloney, Jr., appeared, and continued to be published by the 
 same gentleman, until 1872, when it passed into the hands of 
 H. A. Crane, as editor and publisher. It is at the present 
 time under the editorial guidance of E. L. Ware, and pub- 
 lished by C. T. F. Clarke. 
 
 In 1870, the " Key West Guardian," arose with porcupine 
 armor to correct the evils of the day, and after a brief exis- 
 tence, our brother of the quill, Mr. R. C. Neeld philosophically 
 bethought himself, that 
 
 " He that fights and runs away. 
 May live to fight another day." 
 
 Having discovered a sta/r in the north, he seized his dagger^ 
 and putting a period to the life of our " Guardian,"" hastily 
 made a dash tor Tampa, making there a rest, and spreading 
 his sheet in that ancient village. It was, however, soon folded 
 up ; the want of space being a serious ha/r to the develop- 
 ment of the genius of its perambulating author. 
 
 The "Key of the Gulf" in 1874, once more made its ap- 
 pearance under the editorial charge of Mr. Crane, and is 
 conducted at the present time by the same gentleman, who 
 has recently associated with him, C. S. Reynolds. 
 
 This last named paper and the " Dispatch," are believed 
 to be well supported, considering the very few English-speak- 
 ing people of the city, who take an interest in affairs of 
 which newspapers treat. 
 
47 
 
 A paper printed in the Spanish languajo^e called " El Eepub- 
 licano," has been printed in the city for the past four years. 
 The struggle for Liberty in Cuba, seems to animate all classes 
 and sexes of the people of tliat misgoverned island who have 
 sought our shores, and the patronage of the paper may be 
 said to be all sufficient to sustain it. 
 
 HEALTH OP THE CITY. 
 
 There can be no subject embraced in the history of your 
 city, gentlemen of the City Council, of more importance to 
 its welfare than the measure of health to be enjoyed by its 
 citizens. I regret that statistics bearing upon the topic have 
 been so grossly neglected. 
 
 From a table compiled by Mr. Whitehead, I am enabled 
 to give a statement of the mortality of your city, at a com- 
 paratively early period ; and from your present Health 
 Ofl&cer that of the past and present year. Mr. Whitehead's 
 record gives the total of deaths in eight years as two hundred 
 and thirteen, including both residents and non-residents, 
 many of the latter having been brought to the island sick ; 
 but not including a few soldiers who died during the two 
 last years of the period. 
 
 
 MALE. 
 
 
 FEMALE. 
 
 TOTAL. 
 
 1829 
 
 33 
 
 
 16 
 
 49' 
 
 1830 
 
 10 
 
 
 4 
 
 14 
 
 1831 
 
 18 
 
 
 4 
 
 22 
 
 1832 
 
 18 
 
 
 3. 
 
 21 
 
 1833 
 
 20 
 
 
 1 
 
 27" 
 
 1834 
 
 23 
 
 
 1 
 
 30 
 
 1835 
 
 (Sexes 
 
 not 
 
 stated.) 
 
 13 
 
 1836 
 
 16 
 
 
 11 
 
 16 
 
 1837 
 
 (Sexes 
 
 not stated.) 
 
 21, 
 
 Total in nine years, 213 
 
 The diseases producing these deaths are also given, but the 
 details would be tiresome for you to listen to. Let it suffi.ce 
 
 ' Some fevers prevailed. ''Some few cases of Cholera. 
 
48 
 
 to say that, intemperance and consumption — notwithstanding 
 cholera to some small extent prevailed, gave the greatest num- 
 ber to the grave. It should be borne in mind also that this 
 was upon the ver}'- threshold of the settlement of the Island, 
 when it was necessary to clear the land of its native growth, 
 in order to make room for the habitations of men ; and when 
 the residents were necessarily subjected to many privations, 
 and without proper means for the preservation or recovering 
 of their health. 
 
 From the present Health Officers' report, it appears that 
 the number of deaths in the year 1875, was two hundred and 
 sixty-eight. Remember that this was one of our yellow 
 fever years, and w^hat do we find from this report to have 
 been the number of cases of that disease, so much dreaded as 
 to have caused the army to retreat in haste, if not in disor- 
 der, and the navy to abandon our waters? The insignificant 
 number of thirty-five ; whereas, we find by th-e same report 
 that deaths to the number of thirty-nine, (four more than that 
 from yellow fever) were caused by Phthisis Pulmonalis ; 
 otherwise called Consumption. And to the last day of the 
 past month, the first six months of the present year, the 
 number of deaths was one hundred and forty-six, a fraction 
 over fourteen to the thousand. Of this number seventy-eight 
 were infants under seven years, (sixty-eight of w^hom were 
 under two years,) and twenty-two between fifty and ninety.' 
 
 So far as health is dependent upon equability of tempera- 
 ture and salubrious winds, we certainly have no cause for 
 apprehension. The prevalence of our Trades for nearly two 
 thirds of the year, affords little scope for the injurious effects 
 of malarious influences, and the extreme range of the mercury 
 in the shade, from the meteorological observations made at 
 different periods, appears to have been only 54 degrees ; 95° 
 being the maximum, recorded in several years, and the 
 minimum 41°, recorded in 1868. The lowest temperature 
 
 ' See Appendix, Note M. 
 
49 
 
 previous recorded was 44° in the winter of 1836-7, when 
 great damage was done to the orange and other fruit trees on 
 the main land. 
 
 The mean temperature of the last year from July 1st, 1875, 
 to June 30th, 1876, according to the observations of Mr. 
 Melbourne, was 77.7° ; differing but little from the result of 
 observations made at the Custom House from 1829 to 1838 
 inclusive. The mean during that period being 77.3°. The 
 rain-fall the last year was 39.23 inches, nearly eight inches 
 above the average of Mr. Whitehead's observations.' 
 
 THE POND. 
 
 As a precautionary measure against malarial influences, 
 the city authorities, by the charter of 1838, were prohibited 
 from filling up the streets running through a portion of the 
 city at that time known as " The Pond." By looking at 
 Whitehead's original map of the island, it will be perceived 
 that it covered the land on which the City Hall is erected, 
 and was in reality an inlet from the waters of the harbor, 
 the entrance to which was from the north, about midway be- 
 tween Greene and Front streets, passing the site where stood 
 for several years the blacksmith shop of the city. Crossing 
 Simonton street it spread out so as to include at Ann street 
 nearly the whole space between Grreene and Front streets, and 
 extended southerly fully three hundred and fifty feet in width, 
 to the south side of Duval street, and then southwesterly, grad- 
 ually diminishing in width, until it reached Whitehead street 
 near the corner of Caroline street, where its dimensions were 
 merely those of a narrow stream, and terminated in the oppo- 
 site lot, where now stands the stone building used as the United 
 States Court House. At some stages of the tides the whole 
 of this area was an unbroken sheet of water. With the ex- 
 ception of a portion bordering on Ann street, between Front 
 
 > See Appendix, Notes N, 0, P aud Q. 
 
 7 
 
50 
 
 and Greene streets, all this valuable business portion of your 
 city is now occupied by mau}^ large factories, stores and pri- 
 vate residences. Not only were the authorities of the city 
 restricted from filling up the streets, but the owners of lots 
 covered by said pond were also restrained from so filling them 
 up as to impede the flux and reflux of the tide. 
 
 For many years a foot-bridge existed on Duval street, com- 
 mencing near the present St. James Hotel, and running to 
 within a few feet of the corner of Caroline street. This 
 bridge was of the rudest construction, built soon after the 
 settlement, and was often out of repair, but nevertheless was 
 travelled by the young bloods and damsels of our cit}' at tliat 
 day, for the frequent and pleasurable opportunities afforded 
 of more closely drawing the arm of the timid young lad}^ to 
 the side of her escort, or, perhaps, of officiously taking the 
 unnerved hand in assurance of protection. The young gen- 
 tlemen of to-day enjoy no such happiness. 
 
 A shorter bridge, ten or fifteen feet in length, afforded a 
 passage across the entrance to the pond, about on the line 
 of Simonton street, was a more durable structure and kept 
 in better repair for the passage of drays and other vehicles, 
 it being the only crossing place to get to the northern pai'f 
 of the island, unless the circuitous route via. Whitehead 
 street was taken, but it fails to awaken the pleasurable recol- 
 lections of the fornier. There was also a small bridge over 
 the stream on Whitehead street. They are of the past ; 
 known to but few ; with a sigh, if not a tear, let their exis- 
 tence be committed to history. 
 
 The great gale of October 11th, 1846, so altered the config- 
 uration of the island by the washing up of the sand, that the 
 pond ceased to receive the tides, and the consequences ap- 
 prehended as the result that might follow (which caused 
 the restriction in the the charter of 1836, against filling up 
 the streets or lots in the pond, which restriction was omitted 
 in subsequent charters,) not having occurred, it was taken up 
 by the city authorities themselves in 1853, and an ordinance 
 
51 
 
 passed in November of that year, required the respective 
 ovi^ners of the submerged lots to fill them in. 
 
 These lots being now in the hands of various owners, some 
 of them complied with the terms of the ordinance, others 
 suffered the work to be done by the city, and paid the costs 
 of the filling ; others again refused either to fill in or pay the 
 expense incurred therefor. 
 
 The particular lot in this pond, on which the City Hall is 
 erected, was yet owned by Mr. John W. Simon ton, the* orig- 
 inal proprietor of the island. This lot was also tilled in by 
 the city, the proprietor being absent. The city went through 
 the farce of selling the same at auction, and became the pur- 
 chaser. Mr. Simonton, during his lifetime, took no notice of 
 these proceedings, but to some of his particular friends inti- 
 mated his willingness that the city should possess the land. 
 
 In 1871, and after the death of Mr, Simonton, the city 
 authorities engaged my services to clear up the muddle which 
 attached to the proceedings touching this lot, in consequence 
 of the negligence of tiieir predecessors, and although a law- 
 yer, / sedulously avoided the courts of law, having had 
 many lessons in the "law's delay," 'and went at once to 
 " Equity " before two ladies. " Strange Judges," I think 
 I hear from my young student friends. Kot strange at all, 
 young gentlemen. When you have been in the profession 
 as long as I have, you will have learned that it is more safe 
 to court two ladies on a point of honor and patriotism than 
 all tlie judges of our own sex that ever wore long gowns and 
 wigs, or any twelve men in a jury box. 
 
 Regard for truth, however, compels me to admit that I 
 was not the only suitor before this honorable Court. I had 
 the generous aid of Mr. Mallory and Mr, Moreno, the first 
 the legal adviser, and the other the local agent of Mr. Simon- 
 ton, during his lifetime. 
 
 On June 30th, 1871, Miss Mary B. Jones, Execu- 
 trix of her father, Dr. Jones, of Washington Cit}-^, the Trus- 
 tee of Miss Florida Simonton (the only surviving heir of Mr. 
 
52 
 
 S.) and Miss Simonton, the cestui que trusty (beinsj of lawful 
 age), gave judgment in my favor, and the city on that day 
 obtained from Miss Jones, as Trustee ex-officio^ a conveyance 
 for this lot. 
 
 You will heartily join me, I am assured, in making this 
 proper and public acknowledgment to these generous ladies. 
 
 BURIAL GROUNDS. 
 
 The first graves were made on the western beach, between 
 the town and Whitehead's Point, and in 1830, a visitor on the 
 island described them as being marked by a " few plain 
 stones to tell that the possessors of the little tenements below, 
 once lived and died, but the majority have merely the stones 
 marking the length of each, but — 
 
 " Who sleeps below? Who sleeps below ? " 
 Is an idle question now. 
 
 In 1831, a committee was appointed by the Town Council 
 to select a proper site for the permanent location of a general 
 burial place. Part of tract fifteen, lying between the ter- 
 mination of Whitehead street on the south beach and the 
 point, was selected and used until IB-iT, when the present 
 cemetery grounds were purchased. The destructive hurri- 
 cane of 11th October, 1846, not only added largely to the 
 number of our dead, but disinterred many who had been 
 buried in the old tract. This circumstance give rise to the 
 necessity of seeking another place for sepulture. 
 
 Up to this time the friends of the Northman and the 
 Southron, the negro slave and his Caucasian master, the 
 wealthy and the poor of all religious denominations, content 
 with the Rites of christian burial, laid the bodies of their 
 dead side by side to wait the final call at the general resur- 
 rection. 
 
 In 1868, the Rt. Rev. the Bishop of St. Augustine, secured 
 from the City Council, the grant of three hundred feet square 
 of an unoccupied portion of these grounds, for the considera- 
 
63 
 
 tion of " One Dollar ; " and as the conve3'ance reads, " to be 
 devoted to the excluswe use of a Catholic burying ground, by 
 and under the control of the said Bishop and his successors 
 in office." 
 
 MONROE COUNTY. 
 
 When in jSTovember, 1828, the iirst division of the Terri- 
 tory of Florida into counties was made for representative 
 and other purposes, (the Territory, before that time, having 
 been governed by an organic law of Congress and a council 
 authorized by that act) ; Monroe County, so named after the 
 then President, comprised no insignificant portion of the 
 Territory, as reference to the map of the (now) State will 
 show. It commenced at Boca Gasparilla, on the Gulf of 
 Mexico, extending up to the mouth of Charlotte river ; thence 
 up to the northern margin of that river to Lake Macaco ; 
 thence along the margin of that lake to its most eastern 
 limit ; thence in a direct line to the head waters of Poto- 
 mac river ; thence down said river to its entrance into the 
 ocean : together with all the Keys and Islands off the Cape 
 of Florida. 
 
 In 1836, out of these magnificent boundaries was carved 
 another county called " Dade" — so named to perpetuate the 
 name of one of the officers sacrificed in the Indian war. 
 Major Dade, who went with his command from Key West 
 to fall victims on their way inland from Tampa Bay. The 
 boundaries of our county have several times since been re- 
 duced, sti]] it is large. The greater part is covered with 
 water, but it is nevertheless of great value. Not taking into 
 account the amount consumed by the, population of this city, 
 we export as the products of these waters annually — 
 
 Of Live Fish $100,000 
 
 Of Salted Fish 30,000 
 
 Of Live Turtle '. 10,000 
 
 Of Sponges 100.000 
 
 Making a total of $240,000, not included in the amount of 
 exports as shown by Custom House records. 
 
54 
 
 The following ligures show the number of inhabitants 
 within the county at the different decades, according to the 
 United States' enumerations : 
 
 WHITES. COLORED. SLATES. TOTAL. 
 
 1830 368 83 66 517 
 
 1840' 516 76 96 688 
 
 1850 2,088 126 431 2,645 
 
 1860 2,302 160 451 2,913 
 
 1870 4,631 1,026 .. 5,657 
 
 True, our county cannot show the broad and extensive 
 acreage of the others in cotton fields, (perhaps a providential 
 blessing), but sufficient under our semi-tropical climate to be 
 of great value. Ten years ago the man who talked even of 
 producing the pineapple as an article of commerce was looked 
 upon as a fit subject for the pleasant embraces of a straight- 
 jacket. Behold to-day the pineapples and other tropical 
 fruits, the result of the enterprise and industry of Benjamin 
 and Henry Baker at Key Largo,* and of others on our hith- 
 erto neglected islands, and bear in mind that almost all the 
 lands in your county are public lands, obtainable under the 
 Homestead Act of Congress, for such trifling sums as the 
 perfection of the necessary papers required. 
 
 Look around upon our own little island, this " Gem of the 
 Sea," and view the majestic Date-Palm with its many clus- 
 tered branches of fruit, the tall and statel}' Cocoanut, the 
 Lime, Lemon, Grape, Pomegranate, Guava, Sapadillo, Ban- 
 ana, Orange, xMango, Citron, Fig, Plum, Sugar-cane, and 
 various other fruits and plants. ^ 
 
 All these things we know can be produced on every acre 
 of land in our county, because we see them daily growing 
 
 ' Key West only. It appears that no enumeration was made that 3'ear at 
 the other settlements. The population of Dade county since it was set off from 
 Monroe in 1836, has been as follows : 1840, 446; 1850, 159; 1860, 83; 1870, 85. 
 
 ^The hurricane of October 19th and 20th, 1876, before alluded to, destroyed 
 th e pineapple grove of the Messrs. Baker. 
 
55 
 
 around us in our own enclosures, on this comparativel}'^ un- 
 productive island. 
 
 Look at our meteorological records.' The almost uniform 
 temperature, equalling that of Italy or the South of France, 
 and not obtainable elsewhere on this broad continent of 
 North America, gives to the portion of the State which we 
 inhabit, an almost exclusive monopoly of agricultural pur- 
 suits, in all the tropical fruits and vegetables raised outside 
 of the line of frost. 
 
 It is asked why South Florida to-day speaks only through 
 me of capabilities, which she has failed hitherto to make 
 visibly patent to the world ? The answer is at hand and will 
 convince the most skeptical. War, cruel war, not such war 
 as is said to be " the game of Kings^ whose pawns are men^ 
 and stakes are empires ;" but war ! war with savages ! the 
 midnight torch, the tomahawk and scalping knife. For 
 many long years was the settlement of the" county outside 
 of our island the scene of savage warfare with the Seminole 
 Indians in our Territory, aided by bands of other tribes from 
 abroad. Tlie smouldering and blackened ruins of farm- 
 houses, the mutilated bodies of women and children, testify- 
 to the causes which have impeded settlement and agricul- 
 tural advancement. 
 
 Since 1857, we have been happily rid of these treacher- 
 ous foes, but our land yet feels the scourge of another, 
 and a fratricidal war a^t that. Let us hope that the day is 
 not far distant when the spear shall in reality be turned into 
 the pruning hook, when the extensive factories which sur- 
 round us and meet our gaze on our several streets in this city, 
 shall be furnished with the Tobacco necessary for the manu- 
 facture of the countless millions of segars which they will 
 put out, grown upon the soil of our own county.'^ Within 
 
 ' See Appendix, Notes N, 0, P and Q. 
 
 * Since writing the foregoing I have learned from Mr. E. 0. Gwynn, an 
 acknowledged judge of the quality of tobacco, that a few years since he pur- 
 chased and caused to be made into segars, about 500 pounds of leaf tobacco 
 raised at the Miami, in the adjacent county of Dade, of very superior quality. 
 
56 
 
 a very recent period forty or more families have settled in 
 the upper portion of the county, where Indigo, Coffee and 
 Sisal Hemp may doubtless be cultivated to advantage, with 
 all the other fruits and products named, and add largely to 
 our exports. 
 
 The manufacture of salt upon the island has been already 
 adverted to, but Key West is not the only place in the county 
 where, by solar evaporation, the manufacture of salt can be 
 made both productive and remunerative. 
 
 Within a distance of ten miles from the place where I 
 now stand, on the island of " Boca Chica," nature has 
 spread out inviting fields for the profitable investment of 
 capital, and the labor of enterprising and industrious men 
 who may engage in the manufacture of this indispensable 
 article of commerce. " Boca Chica," has also a great advan- 
 tage over many other places where salt can be made, in hav- 
 ing a secure harbor, safe anchorage, and sutiicient depth of 
 water to allow the lading of a vessel with a draft of ten feet, 
 from a wharf or pier of less than twenty feet from its shore. 
 
 " Duck Key" and " Knights Key" also possess natural ad- 
 vantages for the pursuit of the same business. 
 
 With a climate where the least clothing is most comfort- 
 able, and only just so much needed as modesty demands, with 
 nothing of winter but the name, with waters abounding in 
 fish and turtle, whose enjoyment is not burdened with tax or 
 monopoly, with timber sufficient for building purposes, and 
 an inexhaustible quantity for fuel, and with game in abun- 
 dance, your county may well be called the " poor man's par- 
 adise." Temperance, frugality and industry are all tliat is 
 needed to secure competence, if not wealth, and with flour- 
 ishing institutions of learning already established on this 
 island, we can well afford to establish others wherever and 
 whenever needed. 
 
 It is gratifying to know that your county is out of debt, 
 and with a surplus on hand over and above the incoming 
 taxes of the present year ; so that, there being no immediate 
 
57 
 
 demand for funds, your County Commissioners have gener- 
 ously loaned $1,500 to the Board of Public Instruction. All 
 must admit the motive to be good, whatever views some may 
 entertain of the sufficiency of the security. 
 
 In this connection, a matter of moment to all of you, seems 
 to demand a passing notice, inasmuch as it is believed to be 
 but little known and less understood by the community gen- 
 erally, and some of the ofiicers of government especially, than 
 it should be, and which affects the interests of the people in- 
 habiting that portion of the island particularly subject to the 
 jurisdiction of the " City of Key West," under and by reason 
 of its corporate powers. I allude to the proprietary and 
 possessory title in and to " Jackson square." There are those 
 of you who are under the impression that, because of the fact 
 that there is no instrument of writing, in the shape of a con- 
 veyance from the original proprietors of the island to the 
 city authorities, granting the "fee," as the lawyers term it, 
 coupled with the fact that the County Court House and Jail 
 have been erected upon it, that the title to the Square is 
 not wholly in "the City." Let me assure you that your 
 condition as owners of this Square, is much better than 
 it would have been if the original proprietors had given an 
 absolute deed of it in " fee " to the city, for in that case 
 it might have been sold from under your feet, and the 
 money expended for a banquet to entertain the King of 
 the Cannibal Islands, or some other illustrious dignitary from 
 abroad. 
 
 The proprietors of the island, foreseeing that Key West 
 must become the county seat of Monroe county, and the most 
 fitting place for the exercise of the judicial powers of the 
 United States in admiralty and maritime affairs, wisely made 
 room in your city for the accommodation necessary to these 
 purposes, and in the plan of the city, "Jackson Square" is 
 delineated, and in the division of the island between the orig- 
 inal agrarian proprietors, it was treated as "common" or "pub- 
 lic," and the plan of the city with this delineation, being 
 
58 
 
 made the incorporated area ot your city by charter, gave to 
 you in your corporate capacity all the proprietary rights 
 vested in the original proprietors, save that of alienation, 
 and vested in you, and you only, the right of possession. 
 
 You hold this Square and also *' Clinton-place" by the same 
 terms by which you hold the streets running through 3'our 
 city, not by express grant, but by an " implied use," or " usu- 
 fruct." You can only lose your right when you suffer them 
 to be used for other than public purposes, consistent with the 
 nature of the usufruct. 
 
 By examining the original map of the city you will notice 
 a figure or block marked " Jail," standing at a short distance 
 from the line of Thomas street, and about midway between 
 Fleeming and Soutliard streets. A jail constructed of the 
 limestone of the island once stood on the spot indicated on the 
 map. This jail was authorized to be built by means of the 
 auction taxes levied on sales in this city, and Com- 
 missioners (Messrs. W. A. Whitehead and L. M. Stone) were 
 appointed by the Legislative Council of the Territory to 
 superintend its construction. These Coraissioners pur- 
 chased a lot or piece of land on which to erect the jail in 
 another part of the city in 1831. Whether restrained by a 
 conscientious regard for the rights and comfort of those set- 
 tled, or to settle in the neighborhood of their purchase, or 
 from what other motive does not appear, the fact remains 
 that they erected this jail on Jackson Square ; this thdy 
 could not have done lawfully without permission of the 
 " Town Council." ' This old jail was completed and placed 
 in charge of the Sheriff in May, 1835, and was torn down a 
 
 ' On submitting this portion of the address to Mr. Whitehead, the following 
 has been received from him: " I do not now recall tlie reasons why, after 
 actually purchasing a lot elsewhere for the jail, the project should have 
 been abandoned and the building erected in Jackson Square. I do not think that 
 any considerations of " the rights and comforts of those who might settle in 
 the neighborhood" — which you very kindly suggest may have influenced the 
 Commissioners — were entertained, but am disposed to attribute their action 
 to a wish to consult the convenience of the officers of the Court by having the 
 
59 
 
 few years ago. This fact, together with the length of time it 
 was allowed to stand without question, removes the necessity 
 of ascertaining by what authority it was erected, whether 
 tacit or expressed. The lot referred to, as having been puj'- 
 chased by the Commissioners, is lot No. 2, in square 64, and 
 and was sold by other Commissioners (Messrs. O'Hara, Wall 
 and Sawyer) under authority of an act of the Legislature, 
 approved 29tli December, 1845, was purchased by Mr. F. 
 J. Moreno, and is now occupied by Mr. Wm. Martinelly and 
 others. 
 
 The old Court House, or Count}' Court House (so called to 
 distinguish it from the United States Court-rooms) — the local- 
 two hiiildings — the Court House and the Jail — near each other, and to save 
 some money for the then Territory. 
 
 •'On laying out the town it was first tliought desirable that the Public Square 
 should be located nearer the water, and the block between Fitzpatrick street 
 and Clinton place was thought of. Another project was to locate it at the 
 " middle Spring," as it was then called in square 61, but the fact that there 
 was already a building on what is now Jackson Square, erected, if I 
 mistake not, for the use of the county authorities before the survey was made 
 or the town cliartered, led to the selection of that square for the purpose. As 
 you say in your address, there is no document emanatmg from the proprietors 
 conveying the fee of the streets and squares, nor do I recollect that anything 
 was said or thought of, at the time, relating to the control of Jackson Square. 
 That, as well as the streets, was' informally dedicated to public uses, and that 
 there should ever arise any difference of opinion, in regard to its control, be- 
 tween the authorities of the county and the authorities of the town was never 
 thought of. The former were virtually in possession, and I do not believe that 
 any application was made to the town authorities for permission to erect the 
 jail. I am not quahfied to discuss the legal points that may be involved, but 
 knowing as I do the views and wishes of all the original proprietors, I do not 
 hesitate to affirm that it was their intention the square should be used for any 
 legitimate purpose, either of town or county; and representing as I do, one- 
 fourth of the original proprietary interest, I would be pleased to join those 
 representing the other interests, in signing any document that might legally and 
 ofifectually determine the rightful control. As such a course is probably impracti- 
 cable, I would take the liberty to suggest the appointment of a Commission, com- 
 posed of«^n equal number of representatives of tlie city and county authorities, 
 (with the Judge of the United States District Court as umpire, in case of any 
 disagreement) charged with all needful control of the premises. I think the 
 circumstances fully warrant some such concession on both sides." 
 
60 
 
 ity of which is also shown on the map, as being on Jackson 
 square, fronting on Whitehead street, was erected prior to 
 1828, and was altered and improved at the expense of the 
 United States, in 1830, while we were in our infancy as a 
 Town, and part of the Territory of Florida. The Jud2:es of 
 the United States Court, used it during the Territorial exis- 
 tence, and is now used to hold the State Court in. The 
 County Records are kept in the second stor}' of this building, 
 in the office of the Clerk of the Circuit (State) Court, who is 
 the recording officer of the County ex officio. 
 
 Near the corner of Fleeraing street on the same square, is 
 tlie present county jail. This jail was authorized to be built 
 by an act of the legislature of the State, in December, 1845, 
 also from the revenues derived from auction sales. It is per- 
 haps one of tlie best in the state, built of the lime rock of 
 the island, and it is gratifying to add that few prisoners at 
 any time are occupants. 
 
 While as citizens of the United States, we take befitting 
 pride in celebrating this glorious day, and as citizens of Key 
 West, in our own New City Hall, an ornament to our city, 
 and a proud triumph over nature — erected on a spot within 
 the memory of some of us present, which presented to the 
 eye, a- disgusting pond of stagnant water only a few years 
 ago — let us not be content with the achievements of the past, 
 but as co-workers as well as spectators of the future, use all 
 the means we can to invite the settlement of' an industrious 
 population, into our county ; cordially receiving those who 
 may come among us with honest purposes, giving our influ- 
 ence to deserving enterprises, build up about and around us 
 institutions of learning, foster commerce, agriculture and the 
 mechanical arts, and make of South Florida in the near future, 
 what we could wish she were to-day. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 To the Ladies particularly I would now address myself. 
 
61 
 
 Hitherto I have forborne to notice any of your sex, to whom the 
 present residents are indebted for having, by their example 
 in the past, sown the seeds of those virtues from which they 
 are now reaping the fruits. 
 
 Let me therefore be permitted (with feelings akin to filial 
 regard and devotion) to place upon the canvas which is 
 intended to represent your city, one portrait, one name, 
 without which the picture would be more incomplete than it 
 is — that of Mrs. Ellen Mallory, one of the earliest female 
 settlers upon our island, one whose residence antedates the 
 existence of our chartered rights as citizens of Key West. 
 
 Methinks I hear her musical voice to-day, as she was wont 
 to speak, standing at the bedside of the sick and dying in 
 days gone by. Catholic b}^ rites of baptism, oh ! how truly 
 Catholic, in the better and non-sectarian use of that term, 
 was her life, devoted as it was to acts of kindness. Her hus- 
 band having died shortly after their arrival, she kept for many 
 years the only comfortable boarding house on the island, 
 located first on the north side of Fitzpatrick street, and subse- 
 quently, after the Proprietors had expressed their apprecia- 
 tion of her character and usefulness, by a donation of a lot of 
 ground, on her own premises, on the south side of Duval 
 street near Front. 
 
 With many opportunities of becoming rich, she died com- 
 paratively poor. Next to her God, her devotion centered in 
 her son Stephen R. Mallory, whom she brought to this 
 island a child of tender age, and lived to see, occupying a 
 seat in the Senate of the United States as one of the Senators 
 from Florida. 
 
 Twice as I remember, I had the pleasure of receiving the 
 proffered hand of this lady. First, with words of "welcome" 
 to your city, when as a poor young man I became one of 
 your number. Second, on the occasion of a sore affliction, 
 when the balm of consolation gratefully reached my ears, 
 and pointed my mind to contemplations of future usefulness. 
 
62 
 
 She died in 1855. Her mortal remains lie in 3'onder cem- 
 etery respected of all men. She left no enemy on earth. 
 
 Requiescat in pace. 
 
 It is with great repugnance, and only after repeated solic- 
 itations, that I have consented to add to the foregoing address 
 some references to a few of the incidents which transpired in 
 your city, during the period embraced within the years 1861 
 and 1865. My unwilling consent has only been obtained upon 
 i\\ii j^l^O' of justice to the memory of those now dead, whose 
 confidence I enjoyed and whose sympathies I shared. 
 
 The disruption of social, conjugal, fraternal, political, and 
 even of religious ties, wrought by real or fancied grievances, 
 growing out of the mad passions of the hour during that per- 
 iod, serves as a beacon to warn against the danger of re-open- 
 ing wounds not yet fully healed. Beside, my close coimexion 
 with many of the stirring and most prominent public events 
 of that time, would seem to make me unfitted to become the 
 historian of events so lately enacted. But while yielding to 
 the desires of my friends, I must persist in confining myself 
 to such subjects as have already been incorporated into his- 
 tory by others, and made matters of record elsewhere. 
 
 It will be remembered that the year 1860 opened upon our 
 country at large under circumstances corresponding to those 
 which had marked each preceding fourth year, in which a 
 President of the United States had been chosen. From Maine 
 to Florida, from the Pacific to the Rio Grande, men arranged 
 themselves into parties, while many sought new alliances and 
 adopted the shibboleth of their respective organizations. We 
 of this city straining our sense of hearing for the cry of 
 "' Wreck ashore," still found time, with our lilliputian voices, 
 to imitate our more corpulent neighbors in shouting our cries 
 of anticipated victory for a Breckenridge or a Bell. 
 
 Shocked to a great degree, by wliatsome considered at least 
 bad faith, in many of the leading men of tiie nation, who 
 openly sympathized with the John Brown incursion into Vir- 
 ginia, at Harper's Ferry, and almost driven to despair of the 
 
63 
 
 Eepublic, by the unsatisfactory condition in which the nation 
 was left at the adjournment, of a boisterous Congress, and 
 the weakness of the then Federal administration ; our citi- 
 zens, though deeply moved, awaited events with ill-concealed 
 anxiety. The success of the Free Soil or Republican party 
 at the election in the Fall of that year, coupled with the ac- 
 tion of the State of South Carolina, — to which was soon after 
 added a Proclamation by the Governor of Florida for a Con- 
 vention of the people, to take into consideration the then 
 present and future relations of Florida toward the Federal 
 Government, — brought boldly and abruptly to view the ques- 
 tion of Union or Disunion, by some at that time derisively 
 and tauntingly expressed as Secession or Submission. 
 
 In pursuance of a previous notice for that purpose, the cit- 
 izens of the island in larger number than had ever before 
 met to discuss any question, theological or political, assem- 
 bled at the County Court House on the evening of the 12th 
 of December, 1860. 
 
 What transpired at that meeting was published in the city 
 newspaper of that time, the Key of the ^'?^^, edited and pub- 
 lished by Wm. H. Ward, and reads as follows : 
 
 " Pursuant to previous notice, a mass meeting of our citi- 
 zens was convened at the Court House on the evening yf the 
 12th inst., for the purpose of nominating Delegates to the 
 State Convention, to assemble in Tallahassee on the 3d day 
 of January, 1861, for the purpose of taking into considera- 
 tion the dangers incident to the position of this State in the 
 Federal Union, etc. It was the largest meeting ever held in 
 this cit}'. 
 
 " Hon. J. P. Baldwin was called to the Chair, and Charles 
 Tift and Peter Crusoe, Esqrs., were appointed Secretaries. 
 The Chairman having explained the object of the meeting, 
 speeches were made by the following gentlemen : 
 
 " Hon. Wm. Marvin, U. S. Judge for this District, was for 
 the Union ; wait for the border States and secede with them. 
 He announced himself as a candidate for the Convention. 
 
 " Wm. H. Ward; Esq., in favor of Secession and a Southern 
 Confederacy. 
 
 " S. J. Donglas, Esq., for a Southern Convention, and fail- 
 ing to get what it should demand, to go out with them. 
 
64 
 
 " W. C. Maloney, Esq., said he was for " the Union -first, 
 the Union last, and the Union always.'''' 
 
 " W. C. Dennis, Esq., favored waiting for the action of the 
 border States, and announced himself as a candidate for the 
 Convention. 
 
 " "Wm. Pinkney, Esq., wished to wait for the border States. 
 
 " Asa F. Tift, Esq., would go with the Southern States. 
 
 " J. L. Tatum, Esq., for secession. 
 
 "At midnight the meeting adjourned to the evening of the 
 13th, when it again met. After a few speeches were made, 
 the Hon. Wm. Marvin, Winer Bethel, and Wm. Pinkney, 
 Esqs., were placed in nomination and the vote taken by hold- 
 ing up of hands, with the following result : 
 
 Marvin, 33 yeas, 26 nays. 
 Bethel, m '' V " 
 
 Pinkney, 62 " 2 " 
 
 "Very many citizens refused to vote at all, or to be bound 
 to the nominations. '* The meeting then adjourned." 
 
 Mr. Marvin's official position as Judge of the U. S. Dis 
 trict Court, being urged as incompatible with his duties as a 
 Delegate, Asa F. Tift was subsequently nominated in his 
 place. The opinions of the Delegates were better known to 
 themselves than to their constituents, and the result of the la- 
 bors of the Convention thus attended, you are as well in- 
 formed as myself. 
 
 While the Convention was deliberating, Capt. John M. 
 Brannan, in command of a company of LT. S. Artillery, of 
 less than 30 men, stationed at this post, following the exam- 
 ple of Major Anderson, of Fort Sumter celebrity, evacuated 
 the barracks in the northeastern section of the city, and 
 moved his men and garrison equipage into Fort Taylor. This 
 was done by the advice of Judge Marvin and Charles Howe, 
 Collector of the Customs. It was commenced on a Saturday 
 night and consummated on the following morning, without 
 noise or parade. No suspicions were excited, as Capt. 
 Brannan, as well as the other gentlemen named, and the 
 rest of the leading citizens, attended the religious services 
 of Sunday as usual ; and although this action was con- 
 sidered by many truly loyal citizens as uncalled for 
 under the circumstances, it undoubtedly tended to strengthen 
 
85 
 
 the authority of the United States on the island. It was, 
 however, seized upon by those who looked forward to self 
 preferment under a new government, more anxiously than to 
 peace, honor and prosperity of the whole under the old one, 
 to inflame the minds of the masses, and not without effect. 
 No excesses, however, were displayed, the U. S. District 
 Court kept along the even tenor of its way, the Collector of 
 Customs entered and cleared vessels as usual, without molest- 
 ation, and the Post Office was peaceably resorted to for the 
 receipt and despatch of letters as before. 
 
 Things continued in this unsettled condition even after the 
 announcement of the secession of South Carolina and Florida. 
 Those whose attachment to the Union was at no time very 
 strong, were daily giving in adhesion to the views of those 
 with stronger or perverted minds, who looked forward with 
 complacency to the disunion of the States, peaceably if pos- 
 sibly, forcibly if necessary. 
 
 The necessity which seemed to compel the Chief Magistrate 
 elect, of the Republic, to reach the capitol in disguise, added 
 force to the arguments of those, who now openly advocated 
 secession as a necessary consequence, growing out of the bold- 
 ness* of the rebellious and the timidity of those who were 
 almost despondent. 
 
 It was in vain that the horrors of a civil war were recounted, 
 as the history of England has revealed them. The pre- 
 tended disbelief of some that an actual conflict of arms 
 would occur, — doubtless suggested by the humane expression 
 of that sterling patriot and soldier, Winfield Scott, " Let our 
 erring brothers go in peace," — with the taunting and insult- 
 ing remarks on the floor of Congress, reflecting upon the 
 character and determination of the Southern people, served 
 only to made capital for the vaporing few, who, too often, 
 are permitted to lead the many unwisely and to their injury. 
 About the latter part of the month of March, 1861, several 
 of the vessels of our citizens had openly displayed flags said 
 to represent that of the Southern Confederacy, while sailing 
 
under papers issued by authority ol' the Government of the 
 United States. 
 
 Happily for the permanent peace of the island, at about 
 this time, April 6th, Major Wm. H. French, of 5th U. S. 
 Artillery, reached here with his command. He had 
 been stationed at Fort Duncan, Texas, and, in order to avoid 
 surrender under the terms submitted by Gen. Twiggs, march- 
 ed his four companies down tlie Rio Grande to Point Isabel 
 and there embarked. 
 
 This opportune arrival of Major French gave reinvigorated 
 hopes to those who had so often, with moistened eye and 
 slowly beating hearts, looked for many anxious days upon 
 the flag of the Union, not knowing but that it would disap- 
 pear from their view forever. 
 
 Those citizens holding oflicial stations under the govern- 
 ment, as was to be expected of them, sought the acquaint- 
 ance of Major French, and having discovered that he came 
 as a friend, true to the flag he served and the honor of his 
 sword, lost no time in bringing the joyful news to the ears of 
 those who had long waited for the assurance, that they might 
 indulge in the expectation of a reunited family of States. 
 
 More by the way of giving moral aid and comfort, than from 
 any expectations of adding to the efficiency of the troops 
 under Major French, then only two incomplete companies, ad- 
 ded to the force of Capt. Branaan— two companies having been 
 stationed at Fort Jeiferson, Tortugas, — a movement was set 
 on foot by Thos. J. Boynton, then United States Attorney ,and 
 others, for the purpose disclosed by the following document : 
 
 '' We, the undersigned Citizens of Key West, believing that 
 the distracted condition of the Country demands that our 
 services should be offered to her in this her hour of need, 
 that we may assist in preserving the honor of our Flag, up- 
 holding the laws, and quelling rebellion, do hereby agree to 
 form a Volunteer Company, and hold oui'selves suhject to the 
 Commander ot the United States Forces at Key West." 
 
 May 16th, 1861. 
 
67 
 
 A. Patterson, 
 Eldridge L. Ware, 
 George D. Alleu, 
 James P. Liglitbourne, 
 Henry Albury, 
 George Demerett, 
 Christian Boye, 
 R. W. Welch, 
 E. 0. Gvvynn, 
 S. M. Davis, 
 W. C. Maloney, 
 Wilham Solomon, 
 Nathan Niles, 
 Josepli Almeda, 
 E. D. Braman, 
 Frederick lilugei't, 
 Hiram B. Dailey, 
 Jos'eph B. Kemp, 
 Wilham Re3^nolds, 
 Daniel Davis, 
 John Gordon. 
 Calvin Park, 
 John Gardner, 
 Joseph Kemp, 
 Charles Howe, Jr., 
 Edward C. Howe, 
 James Wetlierford, Jr., 
 Edward F. Papy, 
 James Egan, 
 G. W. Ferguson. 
 Wm. Demeritt, 
 Henry Williams, 
 Cliarles Cox, 
 Arthur McAllister, 
 George Wood, 
 Robert Sawyer, 
 Joseph Andrews, 
 
 Richardson Albury, 
 Josephus F. Packer, 
 William Saunders, Sen., 
 Wilham Ricliardson, 
 Jeremiah Pent, 
 Alexander Saunders, 
 Benj. Bethel, 
 John Braman, Sen., 
 Benjamin Albury, 
 John White, 
 Martin Raymond, 
 Henry Williams, Jr., 
 Albert A. Johnson, 
 Henrj' Williams, Sen., 
 Edward Bickford, 
 Joseph Williams, 
 G. Wm. Gibbons, 
 Patrick Casey, 
 Thos. Lumley, 
 John Albury, 
 John 0. Braman, Jr., 
 Thomas W. Kemp, 
 Lewis E. Pierce, Jr., 
 Lewis E. Pierce, Sen., 
 George R. Pearce, 
 James Pent, 
 William Sands, 
 William McDonald. 
 Wm. H. von Pfister. 
 John Pent, Sen., 
 James Roberts, 
 Richard Albury, Sen., 
 D. Moffat, 
 James Simpson, 
 Joseph Stickney, 
 Joseph Garcia, 
 
 Shubael Brown, 
 0. A. Hickey, 
 Elijah Carej^ 
 Beuj. G. Albury, 
 David W. Marshall, 
 William Saunders, Jr., 
 Charles Howe, Sen., 
 Latham Brightman, 
 T. J. Boynton, 
 G. F. Ferguson, 
 Cornelius Curtis, 
 Wm. Marvin, 
 Robert B. Bmgham, 
 Thomas Albury, 
 Christopher Dunn, 
 James Pent, Jr., 
 Clemente MeChow, 
 Alonzo A. Austin, 
 Hezekiah Thrift, 
 Alex. Marshall, 
 Dennis W. Kelly, 
 Manual Gonzales, 
 Augustus P. Marillac, 
 Wilham H. Albury, 
 Peter T. Williams, 
 John Butler, 
 Daniel O'Hara, 
 Henry Demeritt, 
 William H. Pearce, 
 John Beck, 
 Peter L. Jaycocks, 
 Wm. Marshall, 
 Francis B. Dailey, 
 Wm. A. Pitcher, 
 Benjamin Albury. 
 
 M. Farina, 
 
 The individuals thus organized, on the da}' named, liaving 
 assembled in the large room in the buildino; adjacent to the 
 St. James Hotel, proceeded to Fort Taylor, and to myself 
 was assigned the pleasing and honorable post of orator for 
 the occasion. The contents of the paper having been read 
 in presence of Major French, and mutual assurances of fidel- 
 ity interchanged, after a kind and hospitable entertainment, 
 the company returned to the city and to their several 
 
 company 
 avocations. 
 
 According to promise the company spoken of were furnished 
 arms by Major French, and having chosen their officers, 
 the late Daniel Davis becomi^ their captain, familiarized 
 themselves with their use, until Col. Joseph Morgan, of the 
 90th Regiment, N. Y.V^olunteers, military commander of the 
 island, disarmed them in 1863, and thereupon they disbanded. 
 
68 
 
 Early in February, 1863, great excitement was created by 
 an order from the commander of the post banishing all per- 
 sons, both male and female, who had near relatives in any of 
 the rebellious States. By this order it was estimated that 
 about six hundred of the citizens, including a number who 
 were recognized as staunch Union men, were directed to hold 
 themselves in readiness to embark for Hilton-head, thence to 
 be transferred to some Confederate post. " The town, wrote 
 a loyal citizen at the time, " has been in the utmost state of 
 excitement. Men sacrificing their propert}', selling off their 
 all, getting ready to be shipped off ; women and children cr^'- 
 ing at the thought of being sent among the rebels. It was 
 impossible for an}' good citizen to remain quiet and uncon- 
 cerned at such a time." Expostulations from the United 
 States officers, and from the Naval officers on the station, 
 were fruitless. Col. Morgan, misconstruing his instructions, 
 was inflexible, one, if not more, of the gentlemen remon- 
 strating being threatened with arrest for interfering. 
 
 On the 27th February a transport was to leave with some 
 of those who were to be forever banished from their homes. 
 Their baggage was already on the wharf when deliverance 
 came. Information having been communicated to General 
 Hunter at Hilton-head of the state of affairs at Ke}- West, 
 he immediately despatched Col. J. H. Good with the 47th 
 Pennsylvania Regiment, to relieve Col. Morgan and his com- 
 mand ; and Col. Good, arriving at the critical moment refer- 
 red to above, at once directed the return of the banished to 
 their houses with their goods, and revoked the order of his 
 predecessor. It need scarcely be said that rejoicing every 
 where took the place of the grief that had been so manifest. 
 
 As to the thousand and one other incidents connected with 
 this period, some recalling scenes of pleasurable emotion, 
 others of disgust and alarm, they are written in a Book of 
 Chronicles to be opened for pernsal when the hand which has 
 recorded them shall have fallen lifeless by the side of an in- 
 animate body. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 The necessary limitation as to the time to be devoted to the delivery of the 
 foregoing address, precluded the introduction of much incidental matter that 
 would have further illustrated tlie liistory of the island. Some of this it has 
 been thought advisable to introduce here, under the behef that it will prove 
 interesting to many who may wish to be made better acquainted with the 
 men and measures that laid the foundations of our city's welfare ; and other 
 matter, since obtained, has been added also. 
 
 NOTE A. PAGE 6. 
 JOHN WATSON SIMONTON. 
 15[r. Simonton was a native of New Jersey, but his business connections 
 were with several Southern cities and with Cuba. After the settlement of 
 Key West, his winters for several years were generall}' spent here, his north- 
 ern residence being Washington, D. 0. He had an extensive acquaintance 
 among the members of Congress, and was on intimate terms with several prom- 
 inent men of the then administration, his influence always being exerted for 
 the best interests of the island. After the location here of the United States 
 troops in 1831, he was for some time sutler of the post, and was subsequently 
 interested in the manufacture of Salt as the representative of a company 
 whose stock was principally held in Mobile and New Orleans. He afterward 
 engaged in business in the latter city and died in Washington in May, 1854. His 
 social qualities, amiability of temper, energetic business habits, and various 
 places of residence, caused him to have an extensive circle of friends and ac- 
 quaintances. 
 
 NOTE B, PAGE 6. 
 JOHN WHITEHEAD. 
 
 Mr. John Whitehead was the son of William Whitehead, Cashier of the 
 Newark Banking and Insurance Company, the first bank chartered in New 
 Jersey, and his early years were spent as a clerk in that institution. He sub- 
 sequently entered a mercantile establishment in New York, and was among the 
 first to organize a partnership and emigrate to Mobile. His first acquaintance 
 with the island was in 1818. Having been shipwrecked on the Bahama banks, 
 on his way to Mobile from New York, the vessel in which his voyage was con- 
 
70 
 
 tinued put into Key West harbor, giving him an opportunity to observe its pe- 
 cuHar adaptation for the purposes to which it was soon after applied. He was 
 consequently prepared to enter with alacrity into the arrangements of his 
 friend, Mr. Simonton, for its settlement, so soon as they were made known to 
 him. His business relations at the island were, at first, on his own individual 
 account, but from September, 1824, to April, 1827, he was one of the firm of 
 P. C. Greene & Co. Although that partnership was dissolved, he continued, 
 with some intermissions, to regard the island as his residence until about the 
 year 1832, when he established himself at New Orleans in the insurance busi- 
 ness ; and thence, a few years thereafter, removed to New York, where he 
 died August 29th. 1864. while holding the Vice Presidency of one of the lead- 
 ing insurance companies of that city. He visited the island for a short time 
 during the winter of 1863, when on a voyage for his health, accompanied by a 
 nephew, (a son of his brother, William A.) whose early childhood had been 
 spent on the island. This visit enabled him to renew his acquaintance with 
 several with whom he had been associated when a resident. Mr. Whitehead 
 was a very accomplished merchant. He left no children . 
 
 JOHN WILLIAM CHARLES FLEEMIKG. 
 
 Mr. Fleemixo. like Mr. Whitehead, was a personal friend of Mr. Simonfon, 
 and engaged in mercantile business at Mobile when the purchase and settle- 
 ment of Key West were first thought of. He accompanied the first party to 
 the island in 1822, but left before the end of the year for New Bedford, Mass.. 
 where he married. Taking a warm interest in the projected salt works, he 
 came to Key West in the autumn of 1832, expecting, ultimately, to make ar- 
 rangements for commencing the manufacture on his own portions of the Salt 
 Pond, but died on the 19th of December of that year, and his remains were 
 deposited where St. Paul's Church now stands. Mr. Fleeming was a gentle- 
 men of culture and of refined tastes, and Mr. W. A. Whitehead, then Collector 
 of the Customs, with whom he resided, in a letter written at the time, thus 
 expressed his own and the public's estimation of their loss: 
 
 " On depositing in their last resting place the remains of him who for a short 
 month had added so much to my pleasure and comfort, I bade adieu to many 
 fond anticipations of enjoyment which I had expected to realize, not only dur- 
 ing the present winter, but for many years to come. There was luirdly a- sub- 
 ject in literature, the arts or the' sciences, on which he could not converse and 
 give information, and yet unpretending in his manners, mild and amiable to an 
 extent seldom met with in men of his age and standing. 
 
 '• Everything I do reminds me of him, for his habits and pursuits were so 
 similar to my own, notwithstanding the diflerence in our ages, that he seemed 
 to be connected with me in all my desultory pursuits. Many delightful plans 
 for amusement and instruction during tlie winter in which we were to be 
 partners — our drawing — our music — in fact every employment that could tend 
 to wile away agreeably the hours not required for our daily duties — has by 
 
71 
 
 this blow been so entirely demolished that it will be long ere my feelings will 
 resume their wonted elasticity. My private loss is great, but never has Key 
 West experienced before a calamity to be compared with his death. Many 
 years will pass away, before our island will have on it a man so able to bring to 
 light the capabihties of the natural salt ponds, to which we look for the ulti- 
 mate prosperity of the place, as he had for many years made tlie manufacture 
 of salt his study ; and probably there is not a man in the United States who 
 understood it as thoroughly as he did." 
 
 Mr. Meeming left one daughter. His widow became the wife of Mr. George 
 B. Emerson^ of Massachusetts. 
 
 NOTE C, PAGE 7. 
 PAKDON C. GREENE. 
 
 Mr. Grkene had been for several years master of a vessel in the merchant 
 service, tradmg between Northern and Southern ports and Cuba. As stated 
 in the text, he personall)'^ took up his permanent abode on the island soon after 
 its first settlement, but the residence of his family continued to be in Rhode 
 Island. He died in the autumn of 1838, having for several years been in ill 
 health from inflammatory rheumatism. "Greene's Wharf" and "Ware- 
 houses " were for many years the only ones of any prominence. His only 
 child, William C. Greene, died at Fort Jefferson, Tortugas, in October, 1860. 
 
 NOTE D, PAGE 9. 
 
 The public documents printed by Congress, and the records of the Navy 
 Department, contain a large amount of interesting information respecting the 
 views of the Government and the events of this period. Some few extracts 
 are here given : 
 
 REPORT OF SECRETARY OF THE NAVY TO THE PRESIDENT. 
 
 Navy Department, December 29, 1822. 
 " Sir — The Secretary of the Navy, to whom has been referred the resolution 
 of the House of Representatives of the 20th inst., requesting the President of 
 the United States to inform the House " what appropriation will be required to 
 enable him to fortify Thompson's Island, usually called Key West, and whether 
 a naval depot, established at that Island, protected by fortifications, will not 
 afford facilities in defending the commerce of the United States, and in clearing 
 the Gulf of Mexico and the adjacent seas from pirates," has the honor to re- 
 port : That the geographical situation of the island referred to in the resolu- 
 tion, has for some time past attracted attention, and been considered peculiarly 
 important, both as a military position and in reference to the commerce of the 
 United States. 
 
72 
 
 " The commander of one of our public vessels, cruising in that quarter, was 
 accordingl}'^ directed last winter to touch at this island and take possession ot 
 it as a part of the territory ceded by Spain to the United States, and to make 
 such general examination as might be useful in forming an opinion of the ad- 
 vantages of the place, and the propriety of a further and more particular sur- 
 vey. From the report of Lieutenant Commandant Perry, who was charged 
 witii this duty, it has been satisfactorily ascertained that this position aflFords 
 a safe, convenient and extensive harbor for vessels of war and merchant ves- 
 sels. His instructions, however, did not reqiure him to make so minute a sur- 
 vey as was necessary, in order to judge of the extent to which this place might 
 be safely and advantageously occupied and improved as a naval dep6t. 
 
 " Captain Patterson has since been instructed to make a further examination 
 and survey, and is now engaged in that business ; his report may be expected 
 before the adjournment of Congress. There can be no doubt, however, of the 
 importance of this island and its contiguous waters, in various points of view. 
 The harbor affords a safe and convenient rendezvous for our public vessels 
 cruising in the West Indies and the Gulf of Mexico, and the island a very 
 suitable depot for provisions and supplies. From the peculiar dangers of the 
 navigation along the coast and among the Florida Keys, our merchant vessels 
 are frequently driven by distress to seek a harbor ; and, for want of one in our 
 own waters, are under the necessity of making a port in the island of Cuba, 
 which subjects them to considerable additional expense. This island also 
 aflFords a very eligible dep6t for wrecked property, and which is highly neces- 
 sary and advantageous when the navigation is attended with so many dangers 
 and difficulties. "We are at this time in a great measure dependent on the 
 wreckers of New Providence, for the protection of our property in case 
 of shipwreck. This not only gives employment to a great number of foreign 
 vessels and seamen, but it subjects our merchants to heavy expenses. These 
 are some of the obvious benefits of this position in time of peace ; but its ad- 
 vantages in time of war with any European power having West India posses- 
 sions are still more important, both as it respects the protection of our own 
 commerce and the annoyance of our enemy. An enemy with a superior naval 
 force occupying this position, could completely intercept the whole trade be- 
 tween those parts of our country lying north and east of it and those to the 
 west, and seal up all our ports witliin the Gulf of Mexico. It may therefore 
 be safely answered, to one branch of the inquiry made by the resolution, that 
 if tliis island is susceptible of defence, a naval depot established there would 
 afford a great facility in protecting our commerce, and aid in the suppression 
 of piracy. But this Department has not the means at present of forming any 
 estimate of the appropriation necessary for protecting and defending this po- 
 sition by permanent fortifications, or of determining whether it is even prac- 
 ticable. It is belieived, however, that it is susceptible of such defence, at an 
 expense that would be justified by the importance of the place; but to form 
 any tolerably satisfactory estimate of the amount, an accurate survey and cal- 
 c lation, by competent engineers, is indispensably necessary. 
 
73 
 
 " This island is considered so advantageous and convenient a place of ren- 
 dezvous for our public vessels on the West India station, that it is intended to 
 make it a depot for provisions and supplies for the expedition against 
 the pirates, lately authorized by Congress, to be secured iu temporary build- 
 ings, under the protection of a guard of marines. 
 
 •' All which is respectfully subraiLted."- 
 
 " Smith Thompson." 
 
 " The President of the United States." 
 
 Commodore Porter's communications to the Department abound in expres- 
 sions which show his high appreciation of the advantages likely to result 
 from the occupation of the island by the United States as a naval station. Un- 
 der date of May 11th, 1823, when asking for an increased number of vessels and 
 men, he said: 
 
 " From the importance of the trade of Cuba and the Gulf of Mexico, the 
 whole of which is protected from this place, with a force not equal to one 
 frigate, I presume my requests will not be considered extravagant. The arri- 
 vals and departures of American vessels from the port of Havana alone, aver- 
 age about thirty per week, and those from Matauzas about twenty. Xot a day 
 elapses but that great numbers of American vessels are to be met passing 
 through the Gulf, and since an establishment here, they daily in numbers pass 
 in sight of us. I mention these facts to give you an idea of the importance of 
 this station and to show the propriety of augmenting jfhe force by the addi- 
 tions which I have asked." 
 
 Under date of November 19th, 1823, he said : " The fixing an establishment 
 at Thompson's Island for rendezvous and supplies has had a most happy effect 
 in attaining the object had in view. Its vicinity to Havana, placed, as it were, 
 in the thoroughfare of vessels sailing through the Gulf, making it, in many 
 points of view, an object of great importance to the United States." 
 
 Commodore Rodgers thus mentions the island under date of November 24th : 
 "Nature has made it the advance post from which to watch and guard our 
 commerce passing to and from the Mississippi, while, at the same time, its pe- 
 culiar situation, and the excellence of its harbor, point it out as the most cer- 
 tain key to the commerce of the Havana, to that of the whole Gulf of Mex- 
 ico, and to the returning trade of Jamaica ; and I venture to predict, that the 
 first important naval contest in which this country shall be engaged, will be iu 
 the neighborhood of this very island." 
 
 On the 16lh of April, 1823, as if anticipating the trials that were soon 
 thereafter experienced. Commodore Porter wrote: " In the present state of 
 the establishment, it will be in vain to look for the comforts, which the fatigue 
 of the kind of life we now lead make more necessary to us than they would be 
 at other times, without the convenience which a ship affords, ' Sickness pre- 
 vailed this summer to a great extent, and we find the reports of the officers to 
 the Department and from the Department to the President replete with explan- 
 
 10 
 
74 
 
 ations as to the causes, and apprclieasions as to the effects upon tlie pcrraa- 
 nenej- of the edtablishment. " Had the nocessaiy number of medical men been 
 furnished tliis }'ear," wrote Commodore Porter, " the squadron would have been 
 no Goubt in a great measure saved from the deplorable consequences which 
 liave resulted, as the disease, in its commencement, was completely under the 
 control of medicine ; but I regret to say that several perished without receiv- 
 ing any medical aid whatever, and without ever seeing a physician." 
 
 From the depressing influence which this sickness had upon the growth of 
 the settlement for some years, the followiug extracts are given from the report to 
 Commodore Rodgers made by Surgeons Harris, Washington, Hoffman and 
 ■Williamson, dated " U. S. Schooner Shark, Thompson's Island, October 29lh, 
 1823 "— 
 
 "To these miasmatic causos of disease were added others of equal if not 
 greater magnitude. They have ari.sen, 1st. From the sudden exposure of 
 Northern constitutions to a tropic;il climate at a period when the ordinary re- 
 laxing effects of a change from a cold to a warm season were aggravated by a 
 difference of 14 or 15 degrees of Southern latitude. From this cause, they 
 were, in the space of two or three weeks, operated upon by an increase of 
 temperature of at least 50 degrees. 
 
 " 2d. From the gi-eat fatigue and exposure by day and night of the officers 
 and crews engaged in the boat service, and from the want of comfortable quar- 
 ters for those wlio had encamped on the island. 
 
 " 3d. From irregular and frequeiillj' intemperate habits. 
 " 4th. From being too often deprived of fresh and wholesome provisions. 
 " 5th. From the continued annoyance of mosquitoes and flies, which deprived 
 the men of their accustomed rest. So insupportable, indeed, became these 
 troublesome insects, that the men were frequently obliged to retire to the beacli, 
 where they walked the greater part of the night. Others, wo liavo been in- 
 formed by the officers of the station, would row off in boats some distance from 
 the shore, and thus expose themselves either to the heavy dews or drenching 
 rains peculiar to the climate. 
 
 " Gill. From being operated upon by the depressing passions arising from ap- 
 prehension awakened by the the prevailing epidemic, and by the obvious want 
 of comforts by those who were affected with disease. 
 
 " These fruitful sources of fevers will abuudantlj' account for their extent and 
 fatality. Taking into consideration the great liability of persons from the higher 
 latitudes to disease, when even slightly exposed to hardships in the tropics, it 
 ought not to be a subject of surprise that the severely arduous service, in 
 which our officers and crews have been engaged, has occasioned so many sacri- 
 fices of valuable lives." — 
 
 They state that with the exception of one case of yellow fever, bilious fever 
 prevailed until 20th June, and the cases yielded readily to the agency of 
 medicine, at which time it assumed in many instances a highly malignant 
 form. — 
 
75 
 
 " This disease now commenced on board the store ship Decoy, which was 
 rendered uiihealthful by the impurity of her hold, a quantity of ballast was put 
 on board from this island, containing shell-fish and sea-weed, which, by the 
 heat of a tropical climate, was thrown into a state of putrefactive fermentation. 
 Two of the cases, however, which occurred on board this vessel, were con- 
 tracted by imprudent exposure to a noonday heat in the streets of Havana." 
 
 The Secretary of the Navy, under date of September 21st, drew the attention 
 of the President to the impropriety of abandonino; the island. " It ought not," 
 said he, "readily be deserted. It is very desirable to save it," and Commodore 
 Rodgers wrote a letter to the Secretary on the 16th November, containing these 
 sensible passages : 
 
 " U. S. Schooner Shark, Hampton Roads, Nov. 16, 1823. — From the little ex- 
 perience I have had, my opinion is that the climate of Thompson's Island is 
 similar to that of the "West India Islands generally ; that its air is perhaps less 
 salubrious than some, but more so than others; and that notwithstanding the 
 objections which may be urged against it, on account of particular defects aris- 
 ing from its small elevation above the level of the sea, the unevenness of its 
 surfixce, and the many salt and fresh water ponds which it is said to contain, 
 still, that it is, from the excellence of its harbor and its peculiar station onlthe 
 mop of this Western Hemisphere, too important an object, in a political and 
 commercial point of view, to be suffered to remain unoccupied and unregarded, 
 for, admitting its climate, in its present unimproved state, to be as unfriendly 
 to healtli as even that of the Colony of Surinam, it is, notwithstanding, sus- 
 ceptible of being so improved, or at least, the dangers attending it so much di- 
 minished, by artificial means (such as I will hereafter describe), as to render 
 the objections to it, if not harmless, at least comparatively small." 
 
 These remonstrances had the desired effect in preventing the abandonment 
 of the island, but apprehensions of disease continued to exert an influence, as 
 in more recent periods, to repress the progress of Governmental improvements, 
 notwithstanding tlie endorsement of Commodore Porter. "The raaladj^ with 
 which the naval forces were afflicted," wrote the Commodore, "had its origin 
 in the excessive severity of the duty performed, and the total absence of every 
 description of comfort. The disease was contracted among the haunts of the 
 pirates on the coast of Cuba, and not, as is generally supposed, at Key West." 
 
 Altliough the early recognition by the Government, of the importance of the 
 island for all commercial and maritime purposes, undoubtedly tended to advance 
 eventually the interests o" tlie proprietors, they were, for a time, subjected to 
 much inconvenience and loss. They were not allowed to do what they would 
 with their own, even occupancy of their own buildings being under restraint. 
 Quantities of wood were cut from their land, sheep and swiiie that tlicy had 
 purcliased and turned loos9 upon tlie island were appropriated to tlie use of 
 the land and naval forces, and various otlier impositions had to be submitted 
 to, for which tliey never received any remuneration, mainly on the ground that 
 their damages wore not sufficiently detailed to admit of a specific valuation in 
 dollars and cents. 
 
76 
 
 NOTE E, PAGE 14. 
 
 LIST OF JUDICIAL OFFICERS OP THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA. 
 
 Obtained from the State Department tlironp:li iho conrlesy of the Hon. John 
 L. Cadwalader, Acting- Secretary of State. 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 APPOINTED. APPOIXTED. 
 
 James Webb May 26, 1823 "W. W. Lawrence'. September 9,1863 
 
 " " March 17, ]8:$2 Thos. J. Boynton October 19, 186.3 
 
 " " March U, 1836 Jolin M. McKinney. November 8, 1870 
 
 William Marvin March 3, 1847 James W. Locke Febrnary 1, 1872 
 
 ATTORNEYS. 
 
 APPOINTED. ■ APPOIXTED. 
 
 William A. McRae April 20, 1828 L. Wind.sor Smith. .November 3, 1S47 
 
 John T. Stower May 26, 1829 William R. Hackley.Au!?nst 27. 1850 
 
 Joiin K. Campbell April 5, 1830 John L. Tatnm March 1. 1858 
 
 Edward Chandler May 8, 1834 Tlios. JetT. Bovnlon. ..April 5,1861 
 
 William Marvin Jnnc 20, 1835 Homer G. Plautz May 28, 1868 
 
 Charles Walker March 26. 1839 C. R. Mobley Jnne 2, 1869 
 
 L. AVindsor Smith July 21, 1840 G. B. Patterson February 6, 1875 
 
 George W. Macrae. .August 24, 1842 
 
 MARSHALS. 
 
 COMMISSIONED. COMMISSrOXED. 
 
 Henrv Wilson May 26, 1828 Walter C. Maloney Sept. 24, 1850 
 
 Lackland M. Stone Mar. 4, 1830 Fernando J. Moreno M.-iy 15, 1858 
 
 Thomas Eastin Dec. 20, 1832 Jnracs C. Clapp July 22, 1S61 
 
 Charles M Wells June 8, 1836 George D. Allen July 15, 1870 
 
 Joseph B. Browne Hay 25, 1840 James G. Jones Feb. 24, 1875 
 
 The first name mentioned in Force's " Register and Blue Book,'' in connection 
 witii the Marshalship, is John Dean, but there is no record of any commission 
 issued to him. ' 
 
 NOTE F, PAGE 17. 
 
 The following named gentlemen constitute the City government at present ; 
 
 0. M. DE Cespedes, Mayor. 
 
 W. H. McCt^iN'TOCK, President of Board o/ Aldermen. 
 
 1 
 
 Aldervien. 
 
 Geo. B. Phillips, 
 Joseph Terraxo, 
 
 W M. AltTRELL, 
 
 John Jay Philbrick, 
 
 Benjamin Roberts, 
 
 William S. Curry, 
 
 James A. Roberts, 
 
 Jose J. Fiqueroa. J 
 
 John V. Cornell, Clerk. 
 
 Joseph Fagan, Marshal. 
 
 William Curry, Treasurer. 
 
 W. C. Maloney, Jr., City Attorney. 
 
 ' Did not accept. 
 
17 
 
 NOTE G, PAGE 18. 
 
 COLLECTORS OF THE CUSTOMS. 
 
 Key West was made a District May 7th, 1822. The first Collector, Joel 
 Tancj, was from Glascovv, Kentucky. Mr. Yancy did not remain on the island, 
 but left a Mr. D;ivvlcy as his Deputy and Mr. Samuel Ayres as Inspector. Mr. 
 Dawley died in June, 1823, and Mr. Ayres having resigned, the islanders were 
 subjected to great inconvenience. Mr. Thornton, the purser of the port, took 
 charge of the office, but at the request of the officer in command, Mr. Ayres 
 assumed tlie duties as acting Collector on January 1st, 1824, but only served 
 until the 15th of January, when, it is thought, some Revenue officer had 
 arrived to fill the office temporarilj', as no name is found to fill the position from 
 January T5th, 1824, to October 5th, 1824. 
 
 COLLECTORS. COMmSSWN. 
 
 Joel Yancy 
 
 Samuel Ayres (Actiug) 
 
 John Whitehead February 9, 1824. 
 
 WilUam Pinkney July 22, 1824. 
 
 Alsrcrnou S. Thurston.. April 24,1829. 
 
 William A. Whitehead. November IS, 1830. 
 
 Adam Gordon June 30. 1&38. 
 
 Stephen R. Mai lory July 17, 1845. 
 
 Samuel J.Douglass August 9,1849. 
 
 John T. Baldvviu March 18, 1853. 
 
 Charles Howe March 22,1861. 
 
 W.G.Vance April 12,1869. 
 
 Charles M. Hamilton .. . February 10,1873. 
 
 Frank N. Wicker October 14, 1S73. 
 
 ENTRANOB 
 UPON DUTIES. 
 
 December 
 
 January 
 
 Declined. 
 
 October 
 
 May 
 
 January 
 
 July 
 
 September 18, 
 
 October 
 
 May 
 
 May 
 
 July 
 
 April 
 
 October 
 
 1, 
 9, 
 25, 
 27, 
 1, 
 14, 
 
 1822. 
 1824. 
 
 1824. 
 1829. 
 1831. 
 1838. 
 1845. 
 1849. 
 1853. 
 1861. 
 1869. 
 1S73. 
 1873. 
 
 December 31, 1823. 
 January 15, 1824. 
 
 May 
 
 January 
 
 June 
 
 September 
 
 September 
 
 May 
 
 March 
 
 July 
 
 March 
 
 October 
 
 27, 1829. 
 22, 1831. 
 30, 183S. 
 
 17, 1845. 
 
 30, 1849. 
 8, 1853. 
 
 25, 1861. 
 
 26, 1869. 
 
 31, 1873. 
 31, 1873. 
 
 NOTE H, PAGE 20. 
 
 Comparative statement, showing the total value of Imports from, and of Do- 
 mestic and Foreign Exports to, the principal Foreign Countries, at the Districts 
 named, during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1875. 
 
 
 IMPORTS. 
 
 EXPORTS. 
 
 DISTRICTS. 
 
 inameric'n 
 
 VESSELS. 
 
 IN FOR'N 
 VESSELS. 
 
 TOTAL. 
 
 DOMESTIC. 
 
 FOREIGN. 
 
 TOTAL. 
 
 St. Johns, Fla.. 
 Charleston. S. C. 
 Savannah. Ga... 
 
 Mobile. Ala 
 
 Key West, Fla.. 
 
 $473 
 200..521 
 353.596 
 440,569 
 741,985 
 
 $1,662 
 479.882 
 402.305 
 647,176 
 9,427 
 
 $2,134 
 680.343 
 755.901 
 1,087,745 
 751,412 
 
 $79,470 
 19,655,966 
 26.666,666 
 10,131.260 
 
 591,836 
 
 $72 
 
 928 
 32,795 
 
 $79,542 
 19 655.966 
 29,666,666 
 10,132.188 
 
 624.651 
 
 Values and Duties on Foreign Merchandise entered into Consumption, etc. 
 
78 
 
 DISTRICTS. 
 
 VALUES. 
 
 DUTIES. 
 
 TOTAL 
 
 VALUE. 
 
 TOTAL 
 DUTIES. 
 
 Charleston, S. C 
 
 Savannah, Ga 
 
 Mobile, Ala 
 
 j * $21,310 00 
 I + 637.247 00 
 ( * 13.727 00 
 1 + 744.707 00 
 J * 33.98() 00 
 1 + 1,0(10,229 00 
 j * 575 708 25 
 1 t 180,995 44 
 
 ] + 2,133 51 
 
 $10,735 43 ( 
 
 69.921 29 f 
 
 6.07*. 77 1 
 
 54.548 32 f 
 
 15.320 1«( 
 
 4.075 03 ( 
 
 215.418 24 1 
 
 75,446 79 ( 
 
 417 92 j 
 
 1658,557 00 
 758,434 00 
 
 1.094.215 00 
 
 756,703 69 
 
 2,133 51 
 
 $80,656 72 
 60,625 09 
 19,395 79 
 
 Key West, Fla 
 
 St. Johns, Fla 
 
 290,865 03 
 417 94 
 
 ♦Warehoused. 
 
 tlmmediate Consumption. 
 
 Arrivals of Passexgers, other than citizens of the United States, and the 
 Number of Vessels Built during tlie fiscal year ending June 30th, 1875, and 
 the Xdmber of Vessels Owned at eacli of the Districts. 
 
 
 PASSENGERS ARRIV'D. 
 
 VESSELS 
 BUILT. 
 
 VESSELS OAVNED. 
 
 DISTRICTS. 
 
 MALES. 
 
 FE- 
 MALES. 
 
 tot'l. 
 
 NO. 
 
 TONS. 
 
 SAIL- 
 ING. 
 
 5 
 152 
 
 29 
 
 61 
 
 104 
 
 STEA- 
 MERS. 
 
 TOTAL NO. 
 
 TONS. 
 
 St. Johns Fla 
 
 43 
 32 
 
 929 
 
 19 
 886 
 
 62 
 32 
 
 1,815 
 
 8 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 113 
 
 33 
 139 
 
 22 
 21 
 19 
 
 29 
 2 
 
 27 
 
 173 
 4s 
 90 
 
 106 
 
 2.569 
 
 Charleston. S. C 
 
 Savannah. G:i 
 
 Mobile. Ala 
 
 6,938 
 !'.463 
 7.555 
 
 Key West 
 
 2,915 
 
 VESSELS BUILT AND OWNED IN KET WEST. 
 
 
 TEAR. 
 
 1 
 
 1835 
 
 2 
 
 1846 
 
 8 
 
 1843 
 
 4 
 
 1849 
 
 5 
 
 ia53 
 
 6 
 
 1855 
 
 7 
 
 1S56 
 
 8 
 
 1856 
 
 9 
 
 1857 
 
 10 
 
 1857 
 
 11 
 
 18.57 
 
 12 
 
 1S.58 
 
 13 
 
 1859 
 
 14 
 
 1853 
 
 15 
 
 lS(i5 
 
 16 
 
 1868 
 
 TONS. TEAR. 
 
 Sloop Mary Mcintosh*... 10 17 18f>8 
 
 Schr.Youlce 10 18 1S6S 
 
 Schr. G. L. Bowne 120 19 1SH9 
 
 Schr. Enphemia ... 134 20 1870 
 
 Schr. Florida 171 21 1S70 
 
 ShipS.R. Malloryt 9S0 22 1871 
 
 Schr. Libbie Shepard 120 2:j 1871 
 
 Schr. Amelia Ann 139 24 1372 
 
 Schr. Gipsy 149 25 1&73 
 
 Schr. Fiiirv 16 26 1873 
 
 Schr. Dndley 36 27 1875 
 
 Schr. Velocity 107 2S 1875 
 
 Schr. Matchless 159 29 1875 
 
 Schr. Independent 9 30 1875 
 
 Schr Sea Gull 40 31 1876 
 
 Schr. Hero 20 
 
 TONS. 
 
 Schr. Mary Elizabeth 9 
 
 Schr. Gem of the Sea 18 
 
 Schr. .\nnie 18 
 
 Schr. Louisa 18 
 
 Schr. W. G.Vance 18 
 
 Schr. Ada and Norman. ..... 9 
 
 Sclir. Wild Eagle 18 
 
 Schr. Fairy 5 
 
 Schr. Champion 83 
 
 Schr. Carrier 10 
 
 Schr. KoseBud 12 
 
 Schr. Lilly 44 
 
 Schr. Emma L Low 49 
 
 Sloop Nellie Finder 6 
 
 Schr. Centennial 18 
 
 ♦ Built by Mr, John Bartlnm, on the north side of Whitehead street, near Caroline 
 street. She was 32 feet In the keel. 
 
 + The largest vessel ever built in Florida; also by Mr. Bartlnm. 
 
79 
 
 VESSELS BUILT IN MOKROE COUNTY FOH KEY WEST OWNERS. 
 
 TEAR. TONS. 
 
 1 1810 Schr Lavina, (Key Vaccas) . 13 
 
 2 1S41 Schr. Jaue Ann, •• " . 9 
 
 3 1872 Schr. Emma, Indian Key... 12 
 
 YEAR. TONS. 
 
 4 1873 Sloop Euphemia, Ind'n Key 12 
 
 5 1874 Schr. Clyde, " " 14 
 
 6 1875 Schr. Race, " '' 28 
 
 NOTE I, PAGE 24. 
 
 SALT MANUFACTUKE. 
 
 Mr. E. C. Howe has kindly furnished the following statement of the product 
 of the Salt Pond since 1845 : 
 
 1845. 
 
 1840— Hurricane destroyed it. 
 
 SHELS. BUSHELS. 
 
 2 ,000 1854 43,000 
 
 1855 75,000 
 
 1847 40,000 1856 7il,000 
 
 1848 35,000 1857. 
 
 70.000 
 
 1849 40,000 1858 65 0.50 
 
 1850 35,000 1859 60.000 
 
 1851 38.000 1S60 65,000 
 
 1852 4S.000 1861 30,000 
 
 1853 42.000 
 
 From 1862 to 1868, on account of the war, nothing was done, and from 1868 to 1871, 
 while settling up the estate of W. C. Dennis, only a few bushels were made by the men. 
 
 1871 15,000 1874 20,000 
 
 1872 25,0(10 1875 25,000 
 
 1873 30,000 1876 : 28,000 
 
 By the recent hurricane of October 19th and 20th, 1876, about 15,000 bushels o* salt 
 were washed away and considerable injury done to the works. 
 
 NOTE J, PAGE 30. 
 
 List of Postmasters at Key West, Monroe County, Florida, with the dates 
 of their appointments; 
 
 Office established Feb. 18,1829 
 
 Henry S. VVaterhouse Feb. 18, 1829 
 
 Alexander Patterson Apr. 11, 1S33 
 
 Aldeii A. M.Jackson Apr. 12 1836 
 
 L. Windsor Smith Mar. 29, 1839 
 
 Walter C Maloney Aug. 1, 1S44 
 
 Joseph C. Whalton Aug. 2, 1845 
 
 Royal L. Hicks June 2, 1849 
 
 Joseph C. Whallon Mar. 11, 1S53 
 
 Henry Albnry .May 7, 1S61 
 
 Gc-orge Phillips, by the Prcs't. Oct. 14, 1865 
 The office became Presidential Oct. 14, 1865 
 
 Eldridgc L. Ware Apr. 16. 1866 
 
 who is the present incumbent. 
 
 NOTE K. PAGE 31. 
 
 [From the Key West Gazette, March 21, 1831.] 
 
 At a. Meeting of the Town Council of Key West, on Monday evening, March 
 7th, 1831, 
 On motion of Mr. W. A. Whitehead, ic was Resolved, That the President of 
 
80 
 
 the Town Council be requested to call a public meeting of the citizens of Key 
 West, for tlie purpose of adopting measures for obtaining the settlement of a 
 clergyman on the island and the establishment of a school. 
 
 In pursuance of this resolution a pi.blic meeting of the citizens was held at 
 the Council Room on the evening of Tuesday, March 9 th. 
 
 The Hon. James Webb was called to the chair and W. A. Whitehead ap- 
 pointed Secretary. 
 
 David C. Pinkham, Esq., offered the following resolutions for the considera-. 
 tion of the meeting : 
 
 Resolved, That a Committee of six persons be appointed to ascertain, as far 
 as practicable, the amount whicli can be raised by subscription for the support 
 of a minister of the Gospel, and also what number of children would become 
 scholars upon the establishment of a school 
 
 Resolved Further, Tliat the said Committee be requested to draft a suitable 
 communication to the Bishop of the Episcopal Church of the State of New 
 York, setting fortli tlie object of this meeting, and requesting him to procure 
 and send a person for the purpose here proposed, and that the said Committee 
 make u report on Saturday evening, 12tii inst. 
 
 Messrs. Chandler, Pinkham and Stoddard severally addressed the meeting, 
 when upon putting the question as to the passing of the resolutions, it was 
 carried in the affirmative. 
 
 On motion it was 
 
 Resolved, That Hon. James Webb, Judge of the Superior Court for the 
 Southern Judicial District of Florida, Hon. David Coffin Pinkham, Judge of 
 the County Court for Monroe County, Wm. A. Wiiitehcad, Esq., Collector of 
 the Customs of the Port of Key West, Col. L. M. Stone, U. S. Marshal for the 
 Southern District of Floridiji, B. B. Strobel, M. D., Surgeon of the Mihtary 
 Post, and Henry S. Waterhouse, M. D., Postmaster of Key West, be the Com- 
 mittee for carryiug into effect the objects contemplated. 
 
 Tlie meeting was adjourned to Saturday evening, March 12th. 
 
 A public meeting of the citizens was held at the Council Rooms, on the 
 evening of Saturday, Marcli 12th. agreeable to adjournment. 
 
 Mr. PiuKJiam, from the Committee appointed at the previous meeting, re- 
 ported that ihej' had obtained tlie necessary information called for by the res- 
 olution then adopted, and laid before the meeting the draft of a letter to the 
 Right Rev. Benjamin T. Onderdonk, Bishop of the State of New Fork, wliicii 
 was approved and accepted of. 
 
 On motion of Mr. J. Whitehead, it was 
 
 Resolved, That the Committee as it now is, bo constituted a Standing Com- 
 
81 
 
 mittea to receive subscriptions towards raising a sufBcient fund for building a 
 church upon the island. 
 
 The meeting then adjourned sine die. 
 
 NOTE L. PAGE 45. 
 WILLIAM ADEE WHITEHEAD. • 
 
 Mr. "Whitehead came to the island in October, 1828, while yet in his minor- 
 ity, with the intention of acting as an assistant to his brother, one of the orig- 
 inal proprietors, in his commercial pursuits. A survey of the island had been 
 previously made, but on the proprietors proceeding to appropriate their several 
 portions, in accordance with the division adverted to on page 26, it was found 
 that the surveyor had been so negligent as to leave the island without fur- 
 nishing them with any courses, distances or other data, whereby their 
 respective properties could be found. Mr. Whitehead was therefore em- 
 ployed, notwithstanding his youth, to re-survey the island and lay out the town. 
 This was done during the winter of 1828-9. It may here be stated, as de- 
 serving of record, that the streets, other than those bearing their own names, 
 were designated by the proprietors in a way to perpetuate the names of rela- 
 tives and personal friends. " Anderson," was so called after the name of the 
 then Comptroller of the Treasury; "Eaton," after the Secretary of War; 
 "White," after the Territorial Delegate in Congress; "Duval," after the Gov- 
 ernor ; "Grinnell," after the merchants of that name in New York ; " Southard," 
 afterthe Senator and Secretary of the Navy; "Carohne," " Margaret," " William," 
 " Thomas" and " Emma," after brothers and sisters of John Whitehead ; Fran- 
 ces," after a daughter of Mr. Fleeming ; "Ann," after Mr. Simonton's wife; 
 " Elizabeth," after some relative of Mr. Greene; "Fitzpatrick," after Richard 
 Fitzpatrick, a then resident ; "Clinton place," after DeWitt Clinton of New 
 York, and "Jackson Square," after the President. The little mangrove island, 
 north of the harbor, was also named " Fleeming's Key." 
 
 In 1830, Mr. Whitehead was appointed Collector of the Customs, and entered 
 upon his duties before he was of age, and during his residence here filled several 
 other local oflSces. He resigned his ofiSce on July 1st, 1838, to engage in busi- 
 ness in New York , was for several years in Wall street, and subsequently 
 connected with the New York and Harlem and New Jersey Railroads. He is 
 now treasurer of a financial institution at Newark, N. J., the place of his birth ; 
 his leisure hours being principally employed in illustrating the history of his 
 native State, with whose Historical Society he has been associated since its. 
 organization, and in observing and recording meteorological phenomena for 
 monthly reports to the Newark Daily Advertiser and Smithsonian Institution at 
 Washington. His observations, which cover a period 'of over thirty years, em- 
 body much valuable information. Having always taken a warm interest in the 
 cause of education, he has filled several important trusts in connection there- 
 with, and is now President of the Board of Trustees of the State Normal 
 11 
 
82 
 
 School, and Vice President of the State Board of Education. His his- 
 torical memoranda, to which references are frequently made in the 
 address, are principally embodied in a communication to a gentleman of 
 St. Augustine, made early in 1836, a copy of which is in the office of 
 the clerk of Monroe County, bound in one of the volumes of newspapers men- 
 tioned on page 45. Mr. Whitehead, when transmitting these papers to be de- 
 posited in the Clerk's office, gave some advice which is worthy of being fol- 
 lowed : " I hope my former suggestions have been carried out in relation to 
 "the preservation of files of your newspapers in some one of the public offices. 
 " We are too apt to underrate the importance of the events of to-day, forgetful 
 " that their results constitute the history of to-morrow. Without the preserva- 
 " tion of papers, your changing population will soon be at a loss for the con- 
 " necting links between Key West of the present and the Key West of the 
 "future." 
 
 NOTE M, PAGE 48. 
 
 RECORD OF DEATHS, 1875. 
 
 Aethma 1 
 
 Arachnitis 10 
 
 Brain DiseaBe 6 
 
 Bums 1 
 
 Cancer 2 
 
 Cholera Infantum 19 
 
 Convulsions 3 
 
 Drowned 1 
 
 Diarrhoea 4 
 
 Dysentery 6 
 
 Dropsy 12 
 
 Enteritis 8 
 
 Epilepsy 3 
 
 C Congestive 1 
 
 jD Bilious 4 
 
 fe J Pernicious 9 
 
 Q I Remittent 7 
 
 fe I Typhoid 10 
 
 [Yellow, (Typhus uterodes) 35 
 
 Gastritis 2 
 
 Heart Disease 5 
 
 Hemorrhage of Langs 2 
 
 Hydrophobia 1 
 
 Hepatic Abscess i 
 
 Inward Mortiflcation i 
 
 Jaundice i 
 
 Lcucoemia i 
 
 Metritis 2 
 
 Marasmus lo 
 
 Old Age 4 
 
 Peritonitis 1 
 
 Pleuritis i 
 
 Pneumonia 16 
 
 Phthisis Pulmonalis .39 
 
 Stomatitis i 
 
 Tabes Mesenterica 4 
 
 Tetanus Neonatorum 12 
 
 " Traumaticus ; 5 
 
 Volvulus 1 
 
 Variola 3 
 
 Worms 2 
 
 Wounds . . 3 
 
 Asphyxia Homatorum . 4 
 
 Still Bom 4 
 
 S68 
 
83 
 
 RECORD GF DEATHS, 1876, FIRST HALF YEAR. 
 
 Arachnitis 11 
 
 Asphyxia Neonatorum 2 
 
 Burns 3 
 
 Cancer 1 
 
 Caries Vertebralis 1 
 
 Cholera Infantum 9 
 
 Debility 6 
 
 Dentition 4 
 
 Diphtheria 3 
 
 Dysentery 1 
 
 Dropsy 4 
 
 Encephalitis 1 
 
 Enteritis 12 
 
 Epilepsy 1 
 
 Enthernatic Stomatitis 2 
 
 w ( Bilious 1 
 
 S3 J Pernicious 2 
 
 % I Remittent 2 
 
 f^ [Typhoid 5 
 
 Gastro Enteritis 3 
 
 Heart Disease 4 
 
 Hepatic Abscess 1 
 
 Hepatic Cirrhosis 2 
 
 Hydrophobia 1 
 
 Laryngitis 3 
 
 Marasmus 4 
 
 Old Age 2 
 
 Peritonitis 3 
 
 Pistol shot wound 1 
 
 Paralysis 1 
 
 Phthisis Pulmonalis 24 
 
 Pneumonia 6 
 
 Scrofula 3 
 
 Scarlatina 1 
 
 Tabes Mesenterica 3 
 
 Tetanus Neonatorum 11 
 
 Tetanus Traumaticus 1 
 
 Worms 1 
 
 146 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 From birth to 2 years, (Ist infancy) , 68 
 
 •' 2 to 7 " (2d infancy) 10 
 
 " 7to 15 " (Childhood) 8 
 
 " 15to 25 " (Youth) 14 
 
 " " 25to 50 " (Manhood) 24 
 
 " 50to 70 " (Old age) 12 
 
 More than 70 years, (Senility) 10 
 
 146 
 (One arrived at 93 years). 
 
 NOTE N, PAGE 49. 
 
 Table showing the prevalence of different winds at Key West, from obser- 
 vations made during four years. The observations were made in the morning 
 and afternoon of each day as to the prevailing wind. The figures in the table 
 represent the mean number of days that each wind prevailed in each month, 
 and are the result of the addition of half days. Winds from points of the com- 
 pass not represented in the table, are inserted in the columns to which they 
 approximate the nearest. 
 
 Year ...27 7 72 58 67 24 5 16 4 17 
 
 TRADES 
 NE. TO SE, 
 
 5^" 
 
 4 
 3 
 3 
 2 
 3 
 3 
 1 
 2 
 1 
 2 
 2 
 3 
 
 5 29 
 
 6 365 
 
84 
 
 NOTE 0, PAGES 49. 55. 
 
 Meteokological Tables, from observations of W. A. Whitehead, communi- 
 cated to the '■ American Almanac," 1834-1839. 
 
 Condensed Statement of the Temperature of Key West for the years 
 
 named. 
 
 1829 -j 
 1830 -j 
 1831 ] 
 1832 1 
 1834] 
 1835] 
 1836 -j 
 1837 -j 
 18.38-1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 MEAN OP 
 
 
 
 8UNBISB. 
 
 2 P. M. 
 
 10 P. M. 
 
 I'EAK. 
 
 Greatest heat. 
 
 AugiiBt 28. 
 
 820 
 
 89» 
 
 84 
 
 
 Least heat. 
 
 January 11, 
 
 51 
 
 56 
 
 59 
 
 
 Greatest heat, 
 
 July 11, 
 
 82 
 
 90 
 
 83 
 
 j- 79.55 
 
 Least heat. 
 
 December 22, 
 
 CI 
 
 58 
 
 58 
 
 Greatest heal, 
 
 July — 
 
 85 
 
 ^IM 
 
 80 
 
 I 76.14 
 
 Least heat. 
 
 January 18. 
 
 50 
 
 55 
 
 54 
 
 Greatest heat. 
 
 September 1, 
 
 8 A. M. 83 
 
 90 
 
 83 
 
 !■ +77.64 
 
 Least heat, 
 
 January 27, 
 
 8 A. M. 5.51^ 
 
 59 
 
 57 
 
 Greatest heat, 
 
 August 24, 
 
 Max. 89 
 
 
 Min. 84 
 
 [ 77.39 
 
 Least heat. 
 
 Noveraher 27, 
 
 Max. 66 
 
 
 Min. 541^ 
 
 Greatest heat, 
 
 July 1, 
 
 Max. S9>^ 
 
 
 Min. 79 j^' 
 
 \ 75.92 
 
 Least heat. 
 
 February 8, 
 
 Mas. 52 
 
 
 Min. 45 
 
 Greatest heat, 
 
 August 15, 
 
 Mas. Sni^ 
 
 
 Min. 80 
 
 t * 
 
 Least heat. 
 
 January 29, 
 
 Max. 63>i 
 
 
 Min. 44 
 
 Greatest heat, 
 
 July 30, 
 
 Max. 88 
 
 
 Min. 83 
 
 [ 76.49 
 
 Least heat. 
 
 January 4, 
 
 Max. 67 
 
 
 Min. 50 
 
 Greatest heat, 
 
 July, Aug., Sept., 
 
 Max. 88 
 
 
 Min. 73 
 
 [■ 76.07 
 
 Least heat, 
 
 December, 
 
 Max. 82 
 
 
 Min. 54 
 
 Mean of seven years, 
 
 r7.03 
 
 NOTE P, PAGES 49, 55. 
 
 Condensed Statement op the Fall of Rain in each month during several 
 years. 
 
 MONTHS. 1832 1333 1834 1835 1836 
 
 January — 2.20 0.32 2.40 2.35 
 
 February — 1.50 None None 1.18 
 
 March — 0.50 1.97 0.05 1.45 
 
 April — 0.85 1.75 1.15 0.60 
 
 May — 335 11.46. 3.61 6.95 
 
 June — 1.90 0.10 3.15 4.40 
 
 July — 4.30 2 70 3 26 1.10 
 
 August — 3.10 3.46 5.93 0.70 
 
 September — 4.45 3.80 5.90 3.25 
 
 October 4.70 1.02 8.85 0.42 1.65 
 
 November 1.75 2.08 1.67 1.43 0.52 
 
 December 0.30 2.30 0.01 2.78 0.25 
 
 Total 6.75 27.55 .36.09 80.08 24.40 
 
 1837 
 
 1838 
 
 MEAN. 
 
 1.83 
 
 0.05 
 
 1.52 
 
 93 
 
 0.05 
 
 0.61 
 
 0.75 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.79 
 
 2.42 
 
 0.02 
 
 1.13 
 
 5.35 
 
 0.82 
 
 5.26 
 
 1.68 
 
 4.86 
 
 2.68 
 
 1.65 
 
 1.15 
 
 2.36 
 
 7.i50 
 
 3.05 
 
 3.96 
 
 5.80 
 
 8.47 
 
 4.44 
 
 6.05 
 
 0.40 
 
 3 30 
 
 3.05 
 
 5.75 
 
 2.32 
 
 1.65 
 
 0.87 
 
 I.IS 
 
 38.66 20.49 29.55 
 
 • Observations not full, 
 t Partly estimated. 
 
^1 
 
■3g 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 o a 
 
 
 o 
 
 (U 
 
 -^ S-3 
 
 a 
 
 
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 KEY WEST IN 1838. 
 
 The subjoined views of the town, as it was in 1838, are reduced from two 
 large peneil sl^etclies by Mr. William A. Whitehead, which that gentlemen sent 
 to the island in 1872, to be deposited in one of the public ofiBces. It is under- 
 stood that every building then standing is portrayed, excepting the warehouse 
 from which the sketches were taken, and their pecuharties of structure 
 preserved. 
 
 *;j.* The following is a corrected list of the clergymen who have had charge 
 of St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church : See page 33. 
 
 Rev. S. K. Brdnot, - - - 1832 to 1833 
 
 Rev. Alvah Bennett, - - - 1834 to 1835 
 
 Rev. Robert Dyce. - - - 1836 to 1839 
 
 Rev. a. B. Ford, - - - - 1839 to 1842 
 
 Rev. J. H. Hanson, - - - 1843 to 1845 
 
 Rev. C. C. Adams, - - - 1846 to 1855 
 
 Rev. a E. Herrick, . - 1856 to 1870 
 
 Rev. W. T. Saunders, - - - 1870 to 1871 
 
 Rev. J. Reuther, - - - 1872 to 1874 
 
 Rev. J. L. Steele, D.D., - - 1874 to 
 

 
 ERRATA. 
 
 
 
 ** The 
 
 listauce bet 
 
 ween Author and Printer, very ii 
 
 aturally occasioned soino 
 
 ographical errors \\ 
 
 hich tlie reader will please correct 
 
 
 
 Page 3, 
 
 Line IS, for ' work " read mark. 
 
 
 
 
 ' 8, 
 
 " 16, '■ 
 
 " Joseph C." read John. 
 
 
 
 
 ' 9, 
 
 note, " 
 
 "dibtinguished" read di.HiiigiiisJi 
 
 
 
 
 ' 21, 
 
 line 15, " 
 
 "Browne " read Bowne. 
 
 
 
 
 ' 23, 
 
 " 14. " 
 
 " 1854 " read 1864. 
 
 
 
 
 ' 25. 
 
 " 18. '^ 
 
 " Arnan " read Arnait. 
 
 
 
 
 ' 33, 
 
 " 9, " 
 
 •' Gabriel " read A . E. (and see pa 
 
 ge 
 
 Sfi). 
 
 
 ' 33. 
 
 " 19 and 22, dele quotation marks. 
 
 
 
 
 ' 34, 
 
 " 8, add Mr Charles Tift has given a lot 
 
 of 
 
 land as a site for the 
 
 
 
 
 Church. 
 
 
 
 
 ' 35, 
 
 " 4, for ' 
 
 large " read larger. 
 
 
 
 
 ' 37, 
 
 " 29, " ' 
 
 two" read three. 
 
 
 
 
 ' 37, 
 
 " 30, aftei 
 
 " Washington " insert Tift. 
 
 
 
 
 ' 38, 
 
 " 30, for ' 
 
 ' Grand" read Good. 
 
 
 
 
 ' 39, 
 
 " 2.5, " ' 
 
 1S39" read 1837. 
 
 
 
 
 ' 45, 
 
 " 23, " ' 
 
 previous by " read previoi(,sly. 
 
 
 
 
 ' 52, 
 
 " 94, " ' 
 
 give '' read gave. 
 
 
 
 
 ' 55, 
 
 " 10, " ' 
 
 It ia asked " read Is it asked. 
 
 
 
 
 ' ss. 
 
 " 6, " ' 
 
 teni-.s" read tenure. 
 
 
 
 
 ' 78, 
 
 " 19. " ' 
 
 ' Mary " read Maria.