Browse Items (36 total)
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Ethel Thomas Porter on Catherine Backus oral history interview transcription, 1960
Ethel Thomas Porter (1880-1966) was interviewed on 25 June 1960 by Rush Hughes.
Porter discussed the Catherine Fallis Backus (1863-1955), an artist who started the first flower farm in Martin County.Tags Oral histories -
Ethel Thomas Porter oral history interview transcription, 1960
Ethel Thomas Porter (1880-1966) was interviewed in 1960 by Rush Hughes.
Details life in early Stuart including ordering from catalogs, lack of refrigeration, no doctors, alligators, and learning 17 ways to cook white potatoes and hearts of cabbage palmetto. Also emphasized the importance of musician Mamie Hancock's influence on culture in Stuart and fund raising during WWII. Tells the story of Uncle Broster Kitching's establishment of Fernhill Cemetery and the first funeral held there.
Charles and Ethel Thomas Porter (1880-1966) purchased the Owl House on Colorado Avenue in about 1908. Ethel was president of the Stuart Woman's Club.Tags Oral histories -
Mizell George Platt Sr. and Edna Winifred Roebuck Platt oral history interview transcription, 1960
Mizell George Platt Sr. (1894-1973) and Edna Winifred Roebuck Platt (1900-1984) were interviewed on 25 November 1960 by Rush Hughes.
Mr. Platt recounts his family's move from Pine Level in DeSoto County to Indiantown in 1898 in search of open range for cattle ranching. His father, an early settler and rancher, drove approximately 3,000 cattle across the state and became the first white settler in the area, previously inhabited only by Native Americans. Mr. Platt describes their interactions with local Indigenous communities, the establishment of a post office named "Annie," and the development of infrastructure such as the Stuart-Annie Road, later known as Gaines Highway.
Mrs. Platt offers insight into life in Tropical Farms near Stuart, where her family operated a general store and steamboat on the Kissimmee River. She reflects on the self-sufficient lifestyle of the time, including homegrown food, bulk goods ordered from Jacksonville, home remedies, and traditional courtship customs. Transportation was primarily by horse, oxen, and boat.
Tags Oral histories -
Alfred B. Michael oral history interview transcription, 1960
Alfred B. Michael (1877-1964) was interviewed on 5 July 1960 by Rush Hughes.
Michael arrived in Florida in 1887 at just ten years old. His family settled on Orchid Island near Wabasso. As a young man, Michael became a trade boat captain, delivering supplies to isolated communities along the Indian River. Later, he shifted to citrus farming, planting his first grove in 1902 and founding Deerfield Groves a decade later, helping to establish the Indian River citrus industry.
Discussion chiefly focuses on operating a trade boat and citrus groves. Also interactions with the Seminoles, descriptions of frontier life, and fishing.Tags Oral histories -
Robert Lawson McPherson oral history interview transcription, 1960
Robert Lawson McPherson (1899-1980) was interviewed on 9 May 1960 by Rush Hughes.
McPherson was born in 1899 near Stuart, Florida.
He shares memories of early life in the region. He remembers the first automobile (an E-M-F) arriving in the area and recalls the first post office being located in the Stuart Hotel. He details pineapple growing and shipping, settler named "Russian Ed" who had been shipwrecked, the House of Refuge and Mr. and Mrs. Rea, and fishing.Tags Oral histories -
Harald Anderson Lincoln oral history interview transcription, c.1960
Harald Anderson Lincoln (1880-1969) was interviewed by Rush Hughes on two occasions, one unknown and the other 2 Dec 1960.
Captain Harold A. Lincoln recounts his voyage from Baltimore to Florida in 1909 aboard the Joseph B. Thomas, which ran aground near Fowey Rocks. Afterward, he settled in Miami, working various jobs including fishing, stevedoring, and running a local theater. He also describes his time with the Seminole Indians, recalling being treated for a rattlesnake bite with traditional medicine, attending cultural events like the Sundance, and forming lasting relationships with members of the tribe.
Tags Oral histories -
William Harrison King oral history interview transcription, 1960
William Harrison King (1889–1968) was interviewed by Rush Hughes on June 6, 1960.
King first arrived in Hobe Sound in 1925 and shared brief recollections of his early experiences in the area. He spoke about working as a farmer and on the railroad, his interactions with local Native Americans, encounters with the infamous Ashley Gang family, and the region’s early hurricane warning system. He also described how the railroad would turn around in Manatee Pocket.Tags Oral histories -
Pennie Fort King oral history interview transcription, 1960
Pennie Fort King (1893–1986) was interviewed by Rush Hughes on June 6, 1960.
Discussion primarily focused on her experiences with household management, cleaning, and cooking. She also spoke about the limited social life in early Stuart and shared memories of her childhood neighbor, Ma Ashley of the Ashley Gang.Tags Oral histories -
Emma Hicks Kindred oral history interview transcription, 1960
Emma Hicks Kindred (1889-1973) interviewed on 16 May1960 by Rush Hughes.
Kindred was a teacher in Alabama and Martin County, and a principal of Salerno Elementary School (1931-1948).
Discusses the schools in Martin County in the early twentieth century. Notes that teachers used to love teaching more, and weren't paid after the Boom failed for a couple of years.Tags Oral histories -
Henry A. Kindred oral history interview transcription, 1960
Henry A. Kindred Sr. (1886-1969) interviewed on 16 May1960 by Rush Hughes.
Owner of Kindred Grocery, which was a fixture in Stuart for many years.
Kindred details the stores in Stuart in 1921, when he arrived in town, He also discusses the pineapple industry in the 1920s and competition from Cuba.Tags Oral histories