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This sandbox is for making notes and citations on material I am reading through, but I have limited time as they are likely borrowed from a library. Text here is likely not reliable unless multiple sources are contained within a section. Do not translate to main articles until verified of its reliability.

John C. Williams

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General[a] John Constantine Williams (January 25, 1817[1][2] – April 25, 1892[3]) was an American landowner, settler, and co-founder of St. Petersburg, Florida.

John C. Williams was born on January 25, 1817, son to Major General John R. Williams of Detroit.[2] John R. Williams was the first mayor of Detroit, re-elected three times and owned a vast amount of real estate.[2] John C. Williams was christened at a St. Anne's Catholic church when he was four months old.[1] Unlike his father, Williams was not a soldier, but was part of the Detroit-based "uniformed company", the Brady Guards, in his youth.[1]

In Detroit, Williams held roles as the city treasurer, deputy register of deeds, justice of the peace, and was a supervisor to a "Greenfield" (see obit. from "South Florida Home").[1] Williams owned an office in front of the Detroit city hall and lived on an eighty acre farm that John R. Williams leased to his son during his first marriage, located on Woodward Avenue.[1]

In 1875, Williams relocated to Florida because of his doctor's recommendation to relocate to "a milder climate", relating to asthma. Before settling, Williams visited, in order: "Jacksonville, Lake Okeechobee, Key West, Punta Rassa, Tampa, and Clearwater". Finding no suitable place to settle, Williams started to travel back to his Detroit home before hearing about Point Pinellas in Cedar Keys. He returned to driving to Point Pinellas, likened the land, and settled. In 1879, Williams bought 1,700 acres of land to develop and farm. After failing, Williams returned northward to Detroit. After a divorce and a second marriage, Williams sold his remaining property in Detroit to relocate to Florida a second time. Williams built a home in the Hyde Park area of Tampa.[1]

Williams signed part of his Point Pinellas land to the Orange Belt Railway on January 29, 1887, to build a road onto his property through the negotiation work of Henry Sweetapple and Sarah Williams. During the fall of 1887, Williams and Sarah relocated to Point Pinellas' "Big Bayou" at the start of Tampa's yellow fever epidemic. The couple made plans for building a town soon after. Surveying was completed in 1888 by the Orange Belt's chief engineer, A. L. Hunt. The couple began building their house at the corner of "fourth street and fifth avenue south" in 1891.[1]

Williams had ten children in his first marriage from 1846 to November 7, 1881. Williams re-married on July 29, 1882, to Sarah Judge, who was from Canada.[1] After Williams death, his home became a show place in Florida, and later part of the Manhattan Hotel.[4]

Article link: John Constantine Williams Sr.

Peter Demens

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Peter Demens, born Pyotr Alexeyevich Dementyev (1860[5] – January 21, 1919[6]), was a Russian-American railroad owner, mostly known for co-founding the city of St. Petersburg, Florida.[7]

Article link: Peter Demens

William L. Straub

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William L. Straub was an American ...

C. Perry Snell

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C. Perry Snell (born Commodore Perry Snell, Jr.; June 5, 1869 – October 23, 1942) was an American businessman and real estate developer most known for his land development of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Early life and education

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Commodore Perry Snell, Jr. was born on June 5, 1869, in Bowling Green, Kentucky,[8][9] to Isabelle "Belle" Gregory Snell (née Shelton)[10] and C. P. Snell, Sr.[11][12] The second child of Isabelle and the tenth of Snell Sr., Snell Jr. was born second among five siblings of the couple.[13] Snell Sr. gave his name to his fifth son, Snell Jr., who himself was named after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, a prominent American figure in the War of 1812.[14] After moving into the family's second home in 1877, Snell Jr.'s younger sister died in 1879 and his father in 1881.[15] After his father's death, Commodore Perry Snell Jr. shortened his name to C. Perry Snell.[16]

By 13, Snell attended Ogden College Preparatory School and by the 1885-86 school year Snell became a college student at Ogden College.[11][17] After becoming a college student, Snell attended and graduated from either Ogden College[12][18] or the business program at the Cherry Brothers Institute.[19][20][21]

Business career

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To help the family financial stress, Snell took up a job in pharmacy when he was 17 and later attended the College of Pharmacy in Louisville where he graduated.[11][12][22] Having saved money throughout his job, Snell aspired to travel. Snell travelled to Los Angeles, settling for four years before moving to Chicago, and finally to Columbia, Tennessee while continuing to work as a pharmacist.[22] Following the death of his mother in 1895, Snell took custody of his younger sister per his mother's will.[23] At 29, Snell married Mary Lillian T. Allen, a 28 year old Tennessee resident, in 1899.[24][25] The couple visited St. Petersburg, Florida, as part of their honeymoon. Snell, having gone to the town a year before, bought five lots of swampland along the water for $1,800 and later purchased a remaining lot while the couple extended their honeymoon from Florida to Cuba.[26][11][25] Snell and Lillian likened the town, with Snell seeing potential for its development.[27][28]

In 1900, Snell continued to work as a druggist while living with Allen's family in Maury County, Tennessee, and retired from his pharmacy career a year later. According to author Judy Wells, Snell likely learned the process of constructing homes and developing land from his father-in-law during his stay in Maury County.[29] After their marriage, Snell and Lillian continued to visit St. Petersburg.[30][31][27][32] Starting in 1902, Snell began to invest in Maury County property with financial contributions from Lillian, including a peach orchard.[11][32] Snell made additional joint investments in Arkansas land with his brother, Getty Snell.[32] While visiting St. Petersburg in their ensuring years after their marriage, Snell made further land investments.[33] In pursuit of a more relaxed environment, Snell and Lillian sold nearly all their investments in Tennessee and moved to St. Petersburg in February 1904.[27][33][34] The couple built a home on the property previously purchased from their honeymoon that encompassed land between First Avenue North to Second Avenue North[b] and First Street to Beach Drive.[11][36][37] While taking up residence, Snell began to make several land purchases in the south, west, and downtown areas of the town.[38][39][40]

Real estate

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By 1905, Snell helped organize the Bay Shore Land Company with associates Albert E. Hoxie, A. C. Clewis, and F. A. Wood.[41][42][39] The company formed to purchase land in the North Shore area, located north of the town,[43] between Fifth to Thirteenth Avenues North and bordered by First Street and Tampa Bay. The land was divided into two subdivisions along Nine Avenue North, called Bay Shore, the southern-half, and Bay Front, the northern-half.[39][42][44] Lots were placed on sale in January 1906, where it successfully drew in buyers.[42][44] Snell, along with James C. Hamlett, bought around twenty-two acres (8.9 ha) of land to develop into subdivisions near Reservoir Lake (contemporarily named Mirror Lake)[45] in early 1906.[46][39][47] Snell additionally purchased land adjacent to Crescent Lake.[39][47] In the same year, Snell, with Hamlett and Hoxie, bought the remaining holdings of the St. Petersburg Land and Improvement Company.[48][39][45] Formally the Orange Belt Investment Company, the St. Petersburg Land and Improvement Company was purposed with selling land owned by the previous venture, which sold land to finance its railroad.[49]

Snell and Hamlett established a partnership, named Snell & Hamlett, in late 1906.[50][51] The duo began plans to develop subdivisions by filing for a plat on their Reservoir Lake property in 1907, with a second plat filed in 1908.[52] Around the same time, Snell and Hamlett collaborated on the Crescent Lake development. Hamlett bought eighty acres (32 ha) to plat.[53] The firm Snell & Hamlett obtained around six hundred acres (240 ha) of land in the northeast area in February 1910.[54][50] According to historian Raymond Arsenault, Snell owned nearly the whole northeast area of St. Petersburg in 1911.[39] Plats were filed for Bayview and another North Shore subdivision in 1910. Both developments were located north of Snell and Hamlett's existing North Shore subdivisions.[55] The North Shore development began in 1911, at the cost of over $300,000 and saw the construction of seawall along Coffee Pot Bayou and Tampa Bay.[50]

Snell and Hamlett purchased an additional four hundred acres (160 ha) from the Barnard family along with another one hundred acres (40 ha) in 1912.[56][50]

Civic and philanthropy

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[Snell sold seashells by the seashore ... Placeholder]

Later life and death

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Snell died of a heart attack on October 23, 1942, aged ...[57][58]

References

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Notes

  1. ^ Williams was given the honorary title of "General" after settling in St. Petersburg, Florida.[1]
  2. ^ Originally Fourth Avenue North, it would later become Second Avenue North in 1904.[35]

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Grismer 1924, p. 217.
  2. ^ a b c Hartzell 2006a, p. 16.
  3. ^ Grismer 1924, p. 124.
  4. ^ Grismer 1924, p. 217-18.
  5. ^ Grismer 1924, p. 219.
  6. ^ Grismer 1924, p. 220.
  7. ^ Grismer 1924, p. 217-218.
  8. ^ Wells 2006, p. 14, 18.
  9. ^ Grismer 1924, p. 259.
  10. ^ Wells 2006, p. 10.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Hartzell 2002, p. 59.
  12. ^ a b c Grismer 1948, p. 301.
  13. ^ Wells 2006, p. 9, 12.
  14. ^ Wells 2006, p. 14.
  15. ^ Wells 2006, p. 13-14, 16.
  16. ^ Wells 2006, p. 18.
  17. ^ Wells 2006, p. 17.
  18. ^ Fuller 1972, p. 117.
  19. ^ "C. Perry Snell Rites Will Be Held Tuesday". The Park City Daily News. October 25, 1942. pp. 1, 5. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  20. ^ Gaines, Ray (November 14, 1963). "Park Row Paragraphs: Philanthropy Is Recalled". The Park City Daily News. p. 4. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  21. ^ Wells 2006, p. 17-18.
  22. ^ a b Wells 2006, p. 19.
  23. ^ Wells 2006, p. 21.
  24. ^ "Bowling Green". The Courier-Journal. February 11, 1899. p. 8. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  25. ^ a b Wells 2006, p. 23-25.
  26. ^ "Personals". The Columbia Herald. March 3, 1899. p. 5. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  27. ^ a b c Grismer 1948, p. 301-302.
  28. ^ Wells 2006, p. 6.
  29. ^ Wells 2006, p. 26-27.
  30. ^ "Locals and Personals". The Pine Belt News. May 7, 1903. p. 1. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  31. ^ "Personals". The Columbia Herald. May 8, 1903. p. 5. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  32. ^ a b c Wells 2006, p. 27.
  33. ^ a b Wells 2006, p. 27-28.
  34. ^ "Snell will build". St. Petersburg Times. February 20, 1904. p. 1. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  35. ^ Wells 2006, p. 31.
  36. ^ Wells 2006, p. 28-29.
  37. ^ "A Magnificent Residence". St. Petersburg Times. May 14, 1904. p. 5. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  38. ^ Miller, Betty Jean (March 18, 1991). "Snell built his isle on a dream". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  39. ^ a b c d e f g Arsenault 1988, p. 137.
  40. ^ Wells 2006, p. 39-40.
  41. ^ "Bay Shore Land Co". St. Petersburg Times. May 20, 1905. p. 1. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  42. ^ a b c Grismer 1948, p. 109.
  43. ^ Grismer 1924, p. 127.
  44. ^ a b Wells 2006, p. 48-49.
  45. ^ a b Grismer 1924, p. 32.
  46. ^ "Important Transactions". St. Petersburg Times. February 17, 1906. p. 6. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  47. ^ a b Wells 2006, p. 55, 58.
  48. ^ "Crawford Buys Hotel Detroit". St. Petersburg Times. July 26, 1907. p. 1. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  49. ^ Wells 2006, p. 39.
  50. ^ a b c d Grismer 1924, p. 128.
  51. ^ Hartzell 2002, p. 60.
  52. ^ Wells 2006, p. 55-56.
  53. ^ Wells 2006, p. 58.
  54. ^ "Snell & Hamlett Make Big Deal". St. Petersburg Times. February 18, 1910. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  55. ^ Wells 2006, p. 76.
  56. ^ "Big Land Tract Will Be Divided". St. Petersburg Times. December 29, 1912. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  57. ^ Stevens, Edward (October 24, 1942). "Perry Snell, Pioneer Local Developer, Dies". St. Petersburg Times. pp. 1, 4. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  58. ^ "Perry Snell, 73, Dies in Laredo". Fort Meyers News-Press. October 24, 1942. p. 1. Retrieved June 16, 2023.

Bibliography

Arsenault, Raymond (1988). St. Petersburg and the Florida Dream, 1888–1950 (PDF). Gainesville, Florida: University of Florida Press (published 2017). pp. 11–337. ISBN 9781947372474.

Ayers, R. Wayne (2001). St. Petersburg: The Sunshine City. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. pp. 7–128. ISBN 9780738506913. (Picture book with captions)

Fuller, Walter P. (1972). St. Petersburg And Its People. St. Petersburg, Florida: Great Outdoors Publishing Co. (COl w/ Perry, see Wells 2006)

Grismer, Karl H. (1924). History of St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg, Florida: Tourist News Publishing Company. ISBN 9780832870590 – via The University of South Florida. (Secondary)

Grismer, Karl H. (1948). The Story of St. Petersburg: The History of Lower Pinellas Peninsula and The Sunshine City. St. Petersburg, Florida: P. K. Smith & Company – via The University of South Florida. (Secondary)

Hartzell, Scott T. (2002). St. Petersburg: An Oral History. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. pp. 7–119. ISBN 073851425X.

Hartzell, Scott T. (2006a). Remembering St. Petersburg Florida: Sunshine City Stories. Vol. 1. The History Press. pp. 16–23. ISBN 1596291206. (Secondary; good book overview of people)

Hartzell, Scott T. (2006b). Remembering St. Petersburg Florida: Sunshine City Stories. Vol. 2. The History Press. pp. 12–121. ISBN 1596291222. (Secondary; above)

Michaels, Will (2016). Hidden History of St. Petersburg. Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press. pp. 19–155. ISBN 9781467135412. (Secondary; not good unless you like Babe Ruth and Al Capone)

Michaels, Will (2012). The Making of St. Petersburg. Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press. pp. 15–173. ISBN 9781609498337. (Secondary; not really a good read)

Vesperi, Maria D. (1985). City of Green Benches: Growing Old in a New Downtown. Ithica, New York: Cornell University Press. pp. 19–154. ISBN 0801493226.

Wells, Judy L. (2006). C. Perry Snell: His Place in St. Petersburg, Florida History. Orange Blossom Press. pp. 1–192. ISBN 0977371506. (Secondary)

Wilson, Jon (2013). The Golden Era in St. Petersburg. Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press. pp. 11–135. ISBN 9781609498375. (Secondary)

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