Special Orange County Library Edition
Local Authors Book Festival
October 16, 2016
Downtown Orlando Library, 2-4 PM
Special Edition Blog: Florida’s Forgotten Frontierswomen
Orlando, and ghost town sister city Fort Reid of Seminole County, competed
in the 1850s for the coveted title, Orange
County Seat of Government. A tiny Four (4) acre village of Orlando
of course was the victor, and the then much larger Fort Reid, a town planned in excess of 120 acres, lost more than merely its desire to be a 19th
century central Florida hub. Located at Mile 1.5 on an old forts trail, a/k/a First
Road to Orlando, the want-to-be city of Fort Reid lost much of its rich heritage as well.
A
mystery to this day, historians disagree as to the true scope of this place
called Fort Reid. Originally a 1840s
fortress, among its earliest settlers had been a soldier who built a residence
beside the fortress. By 1851, the
first traces of a settlement named Fort
Reid began to appear at this site. Five years later, evidence suggests a
major Florida town, an Orange County Seat of Government, was being planned for
this settlement.
Florida
history is often a mystery until genealogy is added to the mix. Pioneer family
lines are typically easier to research for the male, but genealogy of frontierswomen
quite often holds the keys to unlocking the true story of a region’s earliest
days. One case in point: Two Laura’s and
their Fort Reid Secret!
History
blurred after county surveyors made a huge blunder in 1890. The mistake did not pertain to layout or property corners, rather
a town’s spelling. Reid was printed
as Reed. As a result, historians of
the 20th century often believed archives suggested there were two different places. But Fort Reid and Reed were one in the same!
On
the 3rd of December, 1874,
in far off Albemarle County, VA, a husband and wife signed over rights to
Orange County property. An intriguing deed, John W and Laura T Thompkins transferred 73.84
acres, described as being: “on the
road to Orlando” (Blue Line at left). One-quarter of a
mile of the road crossed the 73.84 acre site. The land went to family members: Speer, Brantley, & Doyle. The
historical significance of this transaction has long been overlooked.
 |
| 1850 Survey of Fort Reid / Mellonville Region Blue line indicated path of FIRST ROAD TO ORLANDO |
Born
1837, John W. Thompkins had been a
native of Virginia. His wife, Laura T
Tompkins, stated in 1880 that she
was born 1846 at New Hampshire. This
1880 census also asked birth places
of each parent. John’s folks were born in Virginia. Laura’s father according to
the census was born in New Hampshire. Her mother however stated she had been born in “Florida.”
William
H Farrah was the father of Laura. Her mother, Laura C. Hart, was born 1823 at Jacksonville, Florida. Fort
Reid’s plot begins to thicken.
Laura C. Hart was a daughter of Jacksonville,
Florida founder, Isaiah D. Hart. In
December, 1874, she was also Isaiah’s
only
surviving child. Laura C. Hart’s sister, Julia
A. Hart, had died at Jacksonville, Florida in 1871. What, one might ask, does any of this family history have to
do with a little 19th century ghost town nearly 150 miles south of Jacksonville? The answer is relatively simple
when genealogy is added.
For
one brief moment in time, from late 1853
until her husband’s death in 1857, Julia A. Hart was the second wife of Algernon S. Speer, one of Orange County
Florida’s earliest settlers. Four children
by Algernon S. Speer’s first
marriage: Arthur, Algernon Jr, Ella Brantley and Mary Doyle, each received
clear title in 1874 on land located
at old Fort Reid from Laura Tompkins, only surviving descendant by the father’s
second marriage.
Jacksonville
town founder, Isaiah D. Hart, became Algernon’s father-in-law in 1853. One year later, all land east of
St. Johns River became part of a newly formed Volusia County. Algernon’s first
father-in-law, Arthur Ginn, Orange
County’s Clerk of Court then, lived on part of the 73.84 acres sold in 1855
to Isaiah D. Hart.
Clerk
of Court & Fort Reid resident
Arthur Ginn was, in 1855, taking
care of Orange County official business.
Algernon S. Speer, joining forces with two father in laws, hatched the idea of establishing their
community as a county seat. Isaiah D. Hart,
an experienced town founder who had clout in Tallahassee, then purchased the 74 acres adjacent to and north of 160 acres belonging to the 1840s
soldier and Fortress Reid settler, Augustus
J. Vaughn. Planning their city was next.
Fort Reid planners were soon outsmarted though by a
family promising 4 acres for the
site of a courthouse. In 1857, the
year Algernon S. Speer drowned on
his way upriver to Jacksonville, Orlando
became County Seat. Isaiah and his daughter, Widow Julia A. Hart, moved back to Jacksonville. Four years later,
in 1861, the year the Civil War
began, Isaiah D. Hart died. His daughter, Julia, died in 1871.
Hart’s
land was situated on the west side of Mellonville Road, shown at right in the
photo. The Tompkins 1874 deed
transferred ownership to local Speer descendants.
 |
| Mellonville Road (First Road to Orlando) In vicinity of old Fort Reid |
The
first-ever train departed out of Sanford,
bound for Orlando, November 11, 1880, traveling on track laid a mile
west of the original First Road to
Orlando. Fort Reid eventually merged into Sanford, and overtime the true role the fortress area played in the
developing story of central Florida became muddled.
Laura T. Tompkins, after relinquishing property rights in 1874 to a Florida landmass known as Fort Reid, died April 28, 1926 in West Virginia. Although there
is no record of her ever stepping foot in Fort
Reid, Laura most certainly played an important role in documenting one
portion of central Florida’s fascinating history.
About my series,
Florida’s Forgotten Frontierswomen:
The
role of women in history is not easily learned, yet discovery is a task gladly
undertaken by this CitrusLAND author.
America’s true-life story can only be told through the lineal descendants of
early pioneers, both men and women. Each of chapter in my CitrusLAND: Curse of Florida’s Paradise starts off with a
dedication to one of the many Florida Frontierswomen. Additional frontierswomen
are also featured twice monthly in Rick’s 2016 Fall Blog series. Telling
Florida’s story through its remarkable people, each CitrusLAND book is described in detail at my website: www.croninbooks.com
First Road to
Orlando is one of five books detailing the amazing
founders, and their family heritage. My books are also available at BOOKMARKIT
ORLANDO bookstores; Winter Garden Heritage Foundation and Central
Florida Railroad Museum in Winter Garden, Florida. Also available at Amazon.com
Hope to see you at the library Sunday!
Rick’s Blog Part 3: October 19, 2016, Irene of
Sanibel Island
For details on how to follow Rick’s Blog Series,
visit
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