DeMilly, John L.

On February 7, 1857, the first meeting of the Board of Education of the State Seminary West of the Suwannee River (one of Florida State University's precedessor institutions) was held. That year, the institution began offering postsecondary instruction to male students. The school became co-educational the following year (1858) when it absorbed the Tallahassee Female Academy, established in 1843. According to William G. Dodd's West Florida Seminary, the 1873 appointments of James D. Wade and Susan S. Williams, Principals of the Seminary's Male and Female Departments, respectively, brought a measure of stability by retaining for seven years the same staff of teachers. At the same time, the Seminary was a financially troubled institution. To help manage its financial problems during this difficult period, John L. DeMilly, the Treasurer of Leon County, was appointed Treasurer, Ex-Officio of the West Florida Seminary Funds.