Journal of inspector with the Freedmen's Bureau on a tour of central Florida and lower West Coast, 1865-1866.

  1. Resources
  2. View Resource

ArchivalResource

Journal of inspector with the Freedmen's Bureau on a tour of central Florida and lower West Coast, 1865-1866.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/49817539

This journal describes a tour of inspection through central and southern Florida during the winter of 1865-1866. Thompson, as Inspector for the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, discusses his observations of Gainesville, Paynes Prairie, Ocala, Silver Springs, Tampa, the Manatee River, Charlotte Harbor, Fort Myers and Key West during this effort. He also discusses meeting Florida cattle-baron Jacob Summerlin and steamboat operator Captain James McKay. Thompson made note of the potential for development in southern Florida, suggesting that the government drain the area to create more arable lands, and he also commented on the economic potential in the forests, soil, sinks and springs, as well as the quality of fishing at Paynes Prairie and the Gulf Coast, providing insight into Florida's local ecology. His journal mentions very little about the condition of emancipated slaves, but it does highlight post-war tension in the area between Confederate and Unionist Floridians. Of special note is Thompson's traveling companion, William Henry Gleason. William was a large land broker in some areas of Florida, he served as Lt. Governor of Florida from 1868-1870 and was in the state legislature from 1871-1874. His presence in this study allows for a unique insight into Gleason's decision to move his family from Wisconsin to Florida. Thompson ended his notes in the journal on Saturday, January 20th, 1866, at which time the journal places him in Key West, planning a trip to South Florida.

1 volume (216 p.)

University of Florida

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7614280

University of Florida

Related Entities

There are 4 Entities related to this resource.

United States. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6dv5fmh (corporateBody)

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was a U.S. federal government agency that aided distressed freedmen (freed slaves) in 1865–1869, during the Reconstruction era of the United States. The Freedmen's Bureau Bill, which created the Freedmen's Bureau, was initiated by President Abraham Lincoln and was intended to last for one year after the end of the Civil War. It was passed on March 3, 1865, by Congress to aid former slaves ...

Summerlin, Jacob, 1820-1893.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6f51nv1 (person)

Gleason, William Henry, 1829-1902

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6w967m7 (person)

Engineer, businessman, land speculator, lawyer, Lt. Governor, legislator. Lt. Gov. Gleason was removed from office by the governor in 1870 for offering to split a fee on a land deal with the governor. The governor refused and removed the Lt. Governor. Gleason wanted to buy land for pennies on the dollar using government bonds and then reselling the land at a higher but reduced cost but not repaying the bonds. After being removed from office Gleason was appoin...

Thompson, George Franklin.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62g1m1j (person)

Military officer, politician. George Franklin Thompson was born on August 9, 1827, in Medway, Massachusetts. As a young man he worked in a shoe factory, but with the outbreak of the Civil War, he was mustered into the 21st Massachusetts Volunteers as a 1st lieutenant. At the end of the war, breveted lieutenant colonel, he was appointed as Inspector for the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, the federal agency that oversaw Reconstruction in a post-slavery ...