Family history Walter and Emma Kitching and Josephine Kitching Taylor by Josephine Kitching Taylor
Item
Title
Family history Walter and Emma Kitching and Josephine Kitching Taylor by Josephine Kitching Taylor
Subject
Description
Copy of handwritten notes of Josephine Kitching Taylor (1895-1987) on Stuart history and the activities of her father, Walter Kitching; her own experiences; and genealogical information about the Kitching family, the Michael family, the Taylor family, and the Ashley family.
These notes may have been chiefly written in the 1970s, with later additions made in the 1980s.
Index of topics. (SKT refers to Sarah Josephine Kitching Taylor)
PDF page:
002-004 - Joseph and Sarah Kitching genealogy
005 - Walter Kitching
007 - 1883 came to Florida
008 - purchased and homesteaded land
010 - ran a "floating store"
017 - performed marriages
021 - met his wife Emma Michael
023 - SKT born
024 - William and Willis Bessey early settler of Stuart area, but there was an earlier settler in the Palm City area named Mullihan, whose son was named Leroy S. Mullihan
026 - Michael family- mother Emma's older brothers John and Stephen lived in Wabasso and Orchid. Stephen's son Alfred B. ran Walter's boats
029 - Memories of SKT's childhood
041 - Mother Emma Michael
043 - SKT describes attending Guilford College in N.C.
044 - Mother Emma Michael
045 - Broster Kitching background detailed
046 - Mangoes, cocoanuts, pineapples in Stuart area
048 - Kitching home built, first home with running water, bathroom, and a windmill
051 - Walter Kitching's family in England
053 - Kitching home described. Eliza and Tom Gardner [Gorden in 1910 census] staffed.
059 - Describes pioneer life including eating mostly canned goods
061 - Railroad came in 1894, details Walter Kitching selling the boat, Alfred B. Michael captained under new owner
062 - Walter Kitching opened store about 1896, then large store in 1897
063 - "Soap Bubble Club" detailed (this was a Larkin Soap Company promotion, with Avon or Tupperware style sales)
064 - Seminole shoppers
070 - Billy Bowlegs III (1862-1965)
071 - Lumber for house hauled from north of Stuart, called "Wa-Wa" (Wild Goose) at that time, name later changed to Gosling
072 - Hobe Sound settlers, including Snyder the catsup man [this must refer to the Snider house on Jupiter Island. Snider Catsup was a popular product]
073 - SKT took music lessons with Mamie Hancock
075 - SKT schooling. Went to Stuart School, but Professor James R. Pomeroy was so rough with the students it made her nervous so she went to WPB for one year (1908), then returned to attend Stuart High School in 1909. Attended Guilford College for 3 years, starting in 1910
077 - SKT came home from college for xmas, met John Edwin Taylor. Married on shared birthday March 10th, 1914.
080 - SKT describes dress, trousseau, flowers
082 - SKT and husband snuck out from wedding to honeymoon at Gilbert's Bar.
085 - Description of their first house, later second story added.
089 - SKT's children and their spouses outlined
090 - Emma Elizabeth Taylor and her children's histories. Emma married in SKT's wedding dress
091 - Record of Emma's daughters' marriages and children. Notes that they wore SKT's wedding dress
092 - John Edwin Taylor III's family
096 - F.E.C. plan to cross river at Sewall's Point and Walter Kitching's efforts to convince them to come to Stuart instead
101 - Story of name change from Potsdam to Stuart 1895
104 - Picnics
108 - Walter Kitching's second store built, later bought by SKT's husband. Sold in 1922 to Raulerson General Merchandise
111 - The first small railroad station, across from now Stuart Feed Store, was moved to Salerno. [Notes that new railroad station built in 1916 or 1918, but it was 1913]
112 - Walter Kitching owned an orange grove in PSL
115 - Details husband John E. Taylor's involvement with the establishment of new county. He was elected first state rep in 13 Oct 1925 and built El Bit-Lor in 1925.
116 - SKT's family moved to Little Rock during depression 1931-1937 where husband became a bank examiner. Returned to Stuart and opened real estate and insurance business 4 Nov 1937.
118 - Historical information on Celestial Railroad
121 - Danforth Hotel, Grover Cleveland
132 - Seminole Bank, Bank of Stuart
135 - Sylvanus Kitching family
136 - Our Pets
143 - List of great-grandchildren
147 - Methodist Church involvement
154 - Emma and Dick Ashley histories
159 - P.E.O. sisterhood history and involvement
165 - Garden Club
168 - Other organizations, including Lively Arts Society, HSMC, Animal Rescue League, Woman's Aglow Fellowship, Stuart Woman's Club
170 - Hobbies and collections of SKT
171 - Clippings, programs, mailings
189 - Vacations
193 - Note from SKT written in 1982
195 - Notes on her children and grandchildren
197 - First United Methodist Church programs and copies of clippings
206 - Photo of Women's Club
These notes may have been chiefly written in the 1970s, with later additions made in the 1980s.
Index of topics. (SKT refers to Sarah Josephine Kitching Taylor)
PDF page:
002-004 - Joseph and Sarah Kitching genealogy
005 - Walter Kitching
007 - 1883 came to Florida
008 - purchased and homesteaded land
010 - ran a "floating store"
017 - performed marriages
021 - met his wife Emma Michael
023 - SKT born
024 - William and Willis Bessey early settler of Stuart area, but there was an earlier settler in the Palm City area named Mullihan, whose son was named Leroy S. Mullihan
026 - Michael family- mother Emma's older brothers John and Stephen lived in Wabasso and Orchid. Stephen's son Alfred B. ran Walter's boats
029 - Memories of SKT's childhood
041 - Mother Emma Michael
043 - SKT describes attending Guilford College in N.C.
044 - Mother Emma Michael
045 - Broster Kitching background detailed
046 - Mangoes, cocoanuts, pineapples in Stuart area
048 - Kitching home built, first home with running water, bathroom, and a windmill
051 - Walter Kitching's family in England
053 - Kitching home described. Eliza and Tom Gardner [Gorden in 1910 census] staffed.
059 - Describes pioneer life including eating mostly canned goods
061 - Railroad came in 1894, details Walter Kitching selling the boat, Alfred B. Michael captained under new owner
062 - Walter Kitching opened store about 1896, then large store in 1897
063 - "Soap Bubble Club" detailed (this was a Larkin Soap Company promotion, with Avon or Tupperware style sales)
064 - Seminole shoppers
070 - Billy Bowlegs III (1862-1965)
071 - Lumber for house hauled from north of Stuart, called "Wa-Wa" (Wild Goose) at that time, name later changed to Gosling
072 - Hobe Sound settlers, including Snyder the catsup man [this must refer to the Snider house on Jupiter Island. Snider Catsup was a popular product]
073 - SKT took music lessons with Mamie Hancock
075 - SKT schooling. Went to Stuart School, but Professor James R. Pomeroy was so rough with the students it made her nervous so she went to WPB for one year (1908), then returned to attend Stuart High School in 1909. Attended Guilford College for 3 years, starting in 1910
077 - SKT came home from college for xmas, met John Edwin Taylor. Married on shared birthday March 10th, 1914.
080 - SKT describes dress, trousseau, flowers
082 - SKT and husband snuck out from wedding to honeymoon at Gilbert's Bar.
085 - Description of their first house, later second story added.
089 - SKT's children and their spouses outlined
090 - Emma Elizabeth Taylor and her children's histories. Emma married in SKT's wedding dress
091 - Record of Emma's daughters' marriages and children. Notes that they wore SKT's wedding dress
092 - John Edwin Taylor III's family
096 - F.E.C. plan to cross river at Sewall's Point and Walter Kitching's efforts to convince them to come to Stuart instead
101 - Story of name change from Potsdam to Stuart 1895
104 - Picnics
108 - Walter Kitching's second store built, later bought by SKT's husband. Sold in 1922 to Raulerson General Merchandise
111 - The first small railroad station, across from now Stuart Feed Store, was moved to Salerno. [Notes that new railroad station built in 1916 or 1918, but it was 1913]
112 - Walter Kitching owned an orange grove in PSL
115 - Details husband John E. Taylor's involvement with the establishment of new county. He was elected first state rep in 13 Oct 1925 and built El Bit-Lor in 1925.
116 - SKT's family moved to Little Rock during depression 1931-1937 where husband became a bank examiner. Returned to Stuart and opened real estate and insurance business 4 Nov 1937.
118 - Historical information on Celestial Railroad
121 - Danforth Hotel, Grover Cleveland
132 - Seminole Bank, Bank of Stuart
135 - Sylvanus Kitching family
136 - Our Pets
143 - List of great-grandchildren
147 - Methodist Church involvement
154 - Emma and Dick Ashley histories
159 - P.E.O. sisterhood history and involvement
165 - Garden Club
168 - Other organizations, including Lively Arts Society, HSMC, Animal Rescue League, Woman's Aglow Fellowship, Stuart Woman's Club
170 - Hobbies and collections of SKT
171 - Clippings, programs, mailings
189 - Vacations
193 - Note from SKT written in 1982
195 - Notes on her children and grandchildren
197 - First United Methodist Church programs and copies of clippings
206 - Photo of Women's Club
Source
Scan gift of Josephine Paradise and the Taylor-Ashley Agency.
Date
Contributor
Rights
Copyright Undetermined The copyright and related rights status of this Item has been reviewed by the Martin County Library System, but we have been unable to make a conclusive determination as to the copyright status of the Item. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For more information, visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/
Format
206 pages
Language
English
Type
Text
Identifier
2025.022
JP-2025-022-kitching_history
Collection
Citation
Josephine Kitching Taylor (1895-1987), “Family history Walter and Emma Kitching and Josephine Kitching Taylor by Josephine Kitching Taylor,” Martin Digital History, accessed October 5, 2026, https://www.martindigitalhistory.org/items/show/14072.