Fun With Old Photographs

As genealogists we take great delight in finding new names to add to the family tree, but perhaps nothing is more exciting than being able to add a face to go with that name. The Central Brevard Library has a great collection of books that can assist you in finding out more about any old photographs you might have in your family, from tips on dating them by studying the clothing of the subjects, to the type of photo itself. The first type of photograph that was used widely in America was the Daguerrotype which was patented in 1839. After the daguerreotype came the ambrotype, tintype and then the paper prints we are more familiar with today. In addition to our great book collection the Brevard Genealogical Society will be offering a workshop on how to identify and date old photographs on Monday Sept. 12 at 9:30 at the Central Brevard Library in Cocoa. So come and bring some of your photos to share with the group.

College Park House Today

I have always been fascinated by old photographs and have collected many of family members both recent and pretty ancient. It is amazing what old photos can tell you about the subjects and perhaps yourself as well. Those of you who know me know that I have a thing for the Spanish style architecture of the 1920's and that I have restored several houses from that period. When I bought my first house from that period I showed a picture of it to my now 100 year old grandmother, who promptly said, "it reminds me of our house in Lake Worth Florida." Well, I almost fell off my chair as I had never heard that my family had been in Florida before my parents, and I certainly didn't know anything about them having a house there. I did know that my great grandfather, Abel Post, was a noted builder and contractor in Michigan and turns out that during the height of the Florida land boom in 1925 he followed the masses of people that moved to Florida to make their fortune in real estate. My grandmother attended school in Lake Worth and told me about some of her adventures including how she skipped school one day and ended up flying in a bi-plane over the coast, which got her lots of trouble with her mother later! My grandmother did not remember the address of the house her father built there, but did remember the general location and the style of the house. I high tailed it to the Palm Beach County courthouse where I located the deed with my great grandparents names on it and the clerk helped me determine its current location in the College Park Subdivision. A drive by found a beautifully maintained Spanish style bungalow that was exactly "my style."

A year or so ago when my grandmother moved to an assisted living facility the family cleaned out her house and found the snapshot above, which said "Florida 1926" on the back of it and also gave the identities of the people pictured. My mother handed it to me and said, "Isn't this the house in Lake Worth?" I recognized it immediately and was thrilled to finally have a photo of my great grandfather and his children, including my grandmother in the middle, standing in front of their newly constructed house. You can see that the front yard is still sand and the now lush landscaping is brand new. Anyway to me finding this picture and the stories behind it helps explain why I am so drawn to that period of history and to that type of architecture, as I know my great grandfather must have been as well. Just one photograph opened up a whole part of my family history that I had never known about, and I am sure some of the photos in your collection might be clues to finding out some of your family's past as well. I encourage you to get started by using the library's resources and by attending the upcoming workshop!

Self Publishing Workshop

On Monday, August 8 at 9:30 am at the Central Brevard Library Vera Zimmerman of the Brevard Genealogical Society will present a workshop on Self-Publishing. Vera will help guide attendees through the vast sea of self-publishing to turn your facts, documentation, and photographs into an attractive and informative book.

This workshop is free and open to the public.

Just A Question of Girls

The other day when I was searching the old archives of the New York Times for something, I ran across a totally unexpected article that I thought I might share with my readers, especially those interested in local history. Most locals will probably recognize the photo below of the house on Rockledge Dr., it being one of the largest and showiest homes on the River Road.

For most of its early history this was referred to as the Metzner home, it being the winter home of Martin A. Metzner and family. The Metzners were permanent residents of New York and they spent their summers in a grand mansion on the shores of Lake Ronkonkoma, Long Island. The Metzners were probably the wealthiest family that wintered in Rockledge and as such were well known in the area. The Metzners had a son and three daughters and all were very active in sports and outdoor activities. 

The September 2, 1908 issue of the New York Times carried an article entitled, "Just A Question of Girls" which states that Sheriff Wells of Suffolk County, Long Island had arrested one of Martin Metzner's daughters for speeding some time ago, and that she had paid a fine of $10 and had been released, having stated her name on the paperwork as simply, "Miss Metzner." On Sept. 1, the Sheriff stopped her for "tearing along the Suffolk County roads" again and charged her with a second offense, which was a much more serious charge. However, the writer took delight in reporting that, "Mr. Metzner has three charming daughters, who look so much alike that even their friends have difficulty in distinguishing one from the other." When brought before the court the judge asked the accused if it was her second offense at which point her two sisters got up and stood beside her and each asked the Sheriff in turn, "Are you sure it wasn't I?" The Sheriff was at a loss to identify the culprit and responded in court, "Blest if I know." As a result the paper reports that Miss Metzner pleaded guilty to the speeding charge, but not to the second offense, and the Justice fined her $10, which she paid, and "the three Miss Metzners departed in triumph."

This happy family was to suffer a great tragedy in 1917 when the girl's brother and the Metzner's only son Nicholas W. was killed in a car accident on his way to Miami where he was going to receive his degree in aviation prior to his enlistment in the Armed Forces during World War I. The family was very involved in the war effort and Mr. Metzner even donated his private yacht to the Navy to be used in combat.

Genealogy "Brick Walls" Seminar

On June 13th at 9:30 am, the Brevard Genealogical Society will present their popular "Brick Walls Workshop." Participants will help each other break through their genealogical brick walls by sharing information, ideas and resources. Dorrie Dykstra will serve as moderator. The meeting will be held at the Central Brevard Library, 308 Forrest Avenue in Cocoa.

Please submit your brick walls in advance to board@flbgs.org Include what you want to learn and enough information to adequately identify the people: who, when, where and brothers, sisters and spouse, if known. Please tell us what sources you have already researched and your results.

Members of the Board will review your brick wall and suggest more avenues for research.

Titusville's Pritchard House

Last weekend featured the grand opening of the historic Pritchard House and gardens in downtown Titusville. This outstanding example of Queen Anne architecture was built in 1891 by Capt. James Pritchard and his wife Mary "Mamie" Haley (Boye) Pritchard and was continually lived in by Pritchard descendants until it was purchased for historic preservation in 2005 by Brevard County. The home which is a landmark in downtown Titusville remained virtually unchanged since its construction and was a prime candidate for restoration. Brevard County partnered with the North Brevard Heritage Foundation http://www.nbbd.com/npr/preservation/PritchardHouse/index.html and the resulting product will receive the highest award possible when the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation meets in Orlando on May 20th.

While it is commonly know that Capt. James Pritchard was a Confederate veteran and an early settler fewer people know that the reason he left Missouri to settle in the wilds of Florida in 1876 was that his wife Mary Haley Boye was an heir to a Spanish Land Grant of 43,000 acres known as the Delespine Grant. Mary's mother was Frances Jane ( Delespine) Boye, pictured below in the 1840's, was born in St. Augustine, Florida around 1811 to Joseph Delespine and his wife Francisca de Paula Petronita Fontanet.

Joseph Delespine was a prominent merchant in St. Augustine and received the grant in what is now Brevard County in 1817 for services rendered to the Spanish government during the American invasion of Spanish Florida in 1812. Joseph was a wily businessman and acquired other huge tracts of land by purchase from other Spanish grantees and owned somewhere around 200,000 acres in the state of Florida at the time of his death in 1834. When Florida became a state the grants had to be confirmed by the new American government and the Delespine heirs took their claim to the Supreme Court and won. Joseph's daughter Frances Jane married the German merchant Christian Boye and they moved from St. Augustine to Key West in the 1840's. After losing most of the family fortune and her husband during the Civil War period Frances Jane (Delespine) Boye and her two children Frank and Mary moved to Galveston, Texas where Mary met and married Capt. James Pritchard, who was passing through that city on an expedition to Brazil. Frances Jane moved in with the Pritchards and after some time spent in Missouri they decided to return to Florida and settle the Grant that Frances Jane had inherited from her father.  The Pritchards settled on the Grant in 1876 and lived until the freeze of 1886 destroyed much of their citrus crops and caused them to decide to move to Titusville. After living in a cottage for a while the Pritchards built the current house in 1891 and Frances Jane (Delespine) Boye moved into it with her daughter and husband.

Frances Jane lived until 1901 and he obituary in the Florida Star called her "one of the pioneers of Florida." It also referred to her "possessing of a deeply sympathetic nature and a fine motherly character which caused her to be deeply loved and highly respected by all." This picture of her taken in the 1890's certainly reflects that and still shows the dignity of the portrait painted of her in her prime above.

When you consider that the Delespine Grant was awarded in 1817 the ancestry of Capt. Pritchard's mother in law likely gives them the oldest connection to Brevard County of any of the pioneer families. That their ancestral home has been restored and open to the public is a gift to us all!

1934 Murder of Cocoa's Ethel Allen

Since violent crime is still somewhat unsual in Brevard County we can only imagine just how shocking a brutal murder would have been to the community in 1934. Unfortunately this is precisely what happened when the badly mutilated and burned body of nineteen year old Cocoa resident Ethel Allen was found on the shore of the Indian River between Rockledge and Eau Gallie on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 1934. The story of Ethel Allen contiunes to fascinate locals and has been keept alive in part due to the claim that her ghost haunts Ashley's Restaurant in Rockledge.

The facts are that on the 21st a man driving north along the river noticed buzzards circling overhead and landing on the ground, and when he went to investigate the source he discovered a badly decomposed and mutilated body. The identity was established later that day by Mrs. Gerald Finney of Cocoa, with whom the girl had boarded. Identification was made by a tattoo on her right thigh and by a ring that the girl wore. When found the body of Miss Allen bore marks of extreme violence. Her throat had been cut, wounds were found in the forehead and base of the skull, the right side of the face had been crushed and the upper teeth and part of the jaw bone were missing. One leg was almost gone and the murderer had attempted to dispose of the body by burning and throwing it into the river.

The investigation the ensued determined that Ethel had last been seen on Sunday when she stopped by a local packing house to say goodbye to a friend, saying that she was going to Wacuchula, FL to visit her mother and that her friend Bill was going to take her. Before that she had been at the City Point Inn with a man named William "Billy" Wilson who she had introduced to several of her friends. On the day that Ethel's body was found Mr. Wilson backed his car up to his rented house on Barton Ave. in Rockledge, loaded his things into it and left the area. Although locals remembered that his car had Pennsylvania tags, Brevard Sheriff Roy Roberts was notified that 300 people with the same name has taken licenses for automobiles in Pennsylvania and the number on the tag was not noticed by any person in the vicinity. Radio broadcasts were made and a reward was offered for his apprehension but he was never seen again. Ethel was laid to rest in the Georgiana Cemetery in Merritt Island and since Mr. Wilson was the only suspect the case went cold and was never solved. To view Ethel's final resting place check out her Find A Grave entry by Mrs. Jean Dutrizac-Reep http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=31023274

Ethel's murder continues to fascinate local residents and theories abound as to what people think "really" happened and who did it. Since there was no arrest or trial the only first hand accounts that exist were published in the Cocoa Tribune and the Melbourne Times newspapers. If you want to know more about this fascinating story these papers and are available for viewing at the Central Brevard Library and Reference Center in Cocoa.