Captain James Ormond I (175?-1819), born in Scotland, commanded the brig Somerset . He owned a plantation on Exuma in the Bahamas, but then took advantage of Spanish land grants in Florida. He settled near New Smyrna, Florida, where he was later killed by a neighbor's slave.
James Ormond II (179?-1829), also born in Scotland, came to Florida with his wife, Isabella (neé Christie), and their four children after a failed business venture. They lived on the Damietta plantation, near St. Augustine, Florida.
James Ormond III (1815-1892) was born in Mayfield, Scotland. During the Second Seminole War, he volunteered in the Mosquito Roarers militia as a sergeant. Ormond married Elizabeth Chaires in 1844, with whom he had nine children. His business ventures included the Atlanta Paper Mill, one of the first paper mill operations in the South and other enterprises with his partner William McNaught. During the Civil War, Ormond worked as an adjutant at Andersonville Prison. He moved his family to Canada and England after the war, returning to Atlanta in 1867. He later came back to Florida and settled near the remains of his former plantation, Damietta. The town of Ormond, named for him, was incorporated in 1880.
Source: "James Ormond, Merchant and Soldier," by Alice Strickland, The Florida Historical Quarterly, (41):209-222.
From the guide to the Ormond Family Papers, 1784-1909, 1834-1892, (Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida)
