Arthur O’Neill – Governor of Spanish East Florida (1781 to 1793)

 

ARTHUR O’NEILL

First Governor of Spanish West Florida

(1781 to 1793)

 

In part, from an article by Eric Beerman appearing in the The Florida Historical Quarterly (Volume 60; Issue 1)

 

 

Map of Spanish West Florida

 

In the treaty ending the Seven Years’ War, in 1763, Britain received the Spanish colony of Florida, and the portion of the French colony of Louisiana lying east of the Mississippi River.  The British reorganized this territory into the provinces of East Florida (which consisted of most of the present state of Florida) and West Florida (bounded by the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain in the west, by the 31st parallel on the north and the Apalachicola River on the east). The British capitol of West Florida was Pensacola.  In 1764, the British moved the northern boundary of West Florida to a line extending from the mouth of the Yazoo River east to the Chattahoochee River, consisting of approximately the lower third of the present states of Mississippi and Alabama.  In 1779, the Spanish returned, and by 1781, they were ready to reclaim West Florida.

 

An Irishman serving in the Hibernia Regiment of the Spanish military, Lieutenant Colonel Arturo O’Neill gazed through the late afternoon haze on the ninth day of March in 1781, and took his first look at Sigüenza Point on the western end of Santa Rosa Island at the entrance of Pensacola Bay.  As the Spanish invasion fleet moved closer, O’Neill saw the hill behind Pensacola, with the British Fort George dominating the surrounding terrain.  He no doubt felt trepidation, as the Spanish forces would be making a nighttime assault on Sigüenza.  However, this was hardly the 45-year-old soldier’s first battle; and with his veteran Hibernia troops surrounding him, O’Neill’s concerns diminished.  Little did the Irish officer realize what a tough battle lay ahead, or that Pensacola would become his home for the next twelve years.  At the battle’s successful conclusion, O’Neill would become Governor of West Florida, and serve in that post until 1793, proving to be an effective diplomat and an able administrator.  His long and brilliant military career would continue as Captain General and Governor of the Yucatán in Mexico, as Lieutenant General and Minister of the King of Spain’s Supreme War Council, as the noble Marquis del Norte and Viscount de O’Neill, and finally as the elderly hero of the war against Napoleon.

 

Count Arturo O’Neill – Marquis del Norte and Viscount de O’Neill

 

Arthur O’Neill’s ancestral home was in County Tyrone, Ireland.  He was born in Ireland on January 8, 1736, the third of five children of Henry O’Neill and Ana (O’Kelly) O’Neill.  After losing their land in Ireland, his parents moved the family to Spain.  In 1752, he enlisted as a cadet in the Irlanda (Irish) Regiment.  The regimental commander was his cousin José Camerford.  The following year, O’Neill transferred to the Hibernia Regiment, where he spent the next twenty-eight years of his military career.  He served nine years as a sub lieutenant. Then in 1762, during the Seven Years’ War, as Lieutenant O’Neill, he took part in the invasion of Portugal that occupied the strategic center of Chaves.  O’Neill’s combat abilities came to the attention of his superiors, and he received promotion in 1764 to Adjutant Major of the Hibernia.  Nine years later he became Captain of the regiment while serving in Pamplona.

 

Moorish pirates harassed Spanish shipping in the Mediterranean for years. Exasperated, King Carlos III of Spain decided to punish the pirates in their lair at Algiers. The Hibernia Regiment left the capital of Navarre and went to Barcelona in April 1775, in preparation for the assault on the African coast. The next month, O’Neill’s regiment was at Cartagena, from where 22,000 Spanish infantrymen, commanded by General Alejandro O’Reilly, departed in June for Algiers.  O’Neill and his men went ashore on July 8.  By the end of a bloody day of fighting, some 2,000 Spaniards lay dead or wounded on the rocky Algerian beach.  It was a disaster, and O’Reilly ordered all of his troops to re-board the offshore ships. O’Neill escaped unscathed, and returned with his regiment to Alicante a week after the invasion.

 

In August 1776, O’Neill accompanied his regiment to its new station at Cadiz, then under O’Reilly’s command. Spain and Portugal again declared war, with the principal scene of military action being in South America.  Marquis de Casa-Tilly and General Pedro Ceballos commanded a large naval and army expedition which sailed out of Cadiz in November 1776, destined for the Portuguese island of Santa Catalina off the southern coast of Brazil.  O’Neill was happy to put to sea. After two months at sea, Captain O’Neill led his infantry company ashore at Santa Catalina Island off the coast of Brazil. The Portuguese garrison there soon surrendered on February 20, 1777.

 

Fort Santa Cruz on the mainland several miles away was the next objective.  Concerned about adequate clearance for large vessels, General Ceballos had O’Neill make soundings of the channel between the island and mainland. The draft proved adequate, the ships were able to move troops to the mainland, which then captured Fort Santa Cruz.  The Spanish expedition then sailed south for 800 miles, where O’Neill participated in the seizure of the Portuguese fort at Colonia de Sacramento and of the island of San Gabriel in the River Plate.  General Ceballos appointed O’Neill as Governor of Santa Catalina in June, and directed him to strengthen the island’s fortifications in the event of a Portuguese counterattack. O’Neill returned with the expedition to Cadiz in March 1778.

 

When war broke out between Spain and England in June 1779, King Carlos III was determined to eliminate British power in Florida and the Caribbean.  Bernardo de Gálvez, governor of Louisiana, led Spanish troops later that year in victories at Manchac, Baton Rouge, and Natchez.  However, the forts at Mobile and Pensacola would require additional Spanish troops if they were to be captured.  In April 1780, O’Neill accompanied both battalions of the Hibernia when they sailed out of Cadiz bound for Havana.  The fleet of 141 vessels, commanded by Admiral José de Solano, carried 11,752 infantrymen under Lieutenant General Victoria de Navia. That fleet was perhaps the greatest concentration of Spanish military force ever sent to the Americas.  It proved to be a long and difficult ocean crossing, and the Hibernia suffered 272 losses en route to Havana.

 

After his conquest of Fort Charlotte at Mobile, Gálvez came to Havana to meet with the forces preparing for the coming assault on Pensacola, and met O’Neill again.  Gálvez and O’Neill had not seen each other since that tragic day on the rocky beach at Algiers five years earlier.  On October 16, 1780, the fleet of Gálvez and Solano departed Havana for Pensacola.  Only a few hours out of the bay, a fierce hurricane struck the invasion fleet and scattered the ships.  O’Neill and the Hibernia regiment had remained behind on garrison duty in Cuba, and O’Neill, upon learning of the hurricane, imagined the worst as to the fate of the fleet. However, a month later he was surprised to see Gálvez, aboard his frigate Nuestra Señora de la O, sailing back into Havana Bay with two captured British frigates in tow.  The Pensacola expedition had only been delayed, not abandoned.  At Havana, the army and navy quarreled over the responsibility for the October disaster, and for the next expedition to Pensacola, Captain José Calvo de Irazabal replaced Solano as fleet commander.

 

On February 28, 1781, O’Neill and 319 men of his regiment sailed out of Havana Bay for Pensacola.  Santa Rosa Island came into view on the afternoon of March 9, and O’Neill led his grenadier company ashore at nine o’clock that evening, quickly securing Sigüenza Point.  The Spanish force was delighted to find that the British battery was not operational.  If it had been functioning, it could have raised havoc with the invasion.  Gálvez had so much faith in O’Neill that he named O’Neill as aide-decamp and commander of the patrol scouts.  Gálvez forced the entrance of Pensacola Bay on March 18 despite a furious barrage from the English battery at Barrancas Coloradas.  The following afternoon at two o’clock, O’Neill sailed through a similar barrage unscathed, as the remainder of the fleet joined Gálvez inside the bay, and the full siege of Fort George began. O’Neill’s patrol scouts blunted an attack by 400 Indians during the afternoon of March 28.  

 

 

Additional Indians, supporting British troops from Fort George, launched a combined attack on April 12.  At first the Spanish fell back, but the patrol scouts rallied and forced the enemy to withdraw. Spanish losses included one killed and six wounded, one of whom was Gálvez, who was replaced temporarily by José de Ezpeleta.  Gálvez recovered rapidly and resumed command.  The siege of Fort George until that time had moved slowly.   Consequently, the Spanish were pleased, when on April 19, Solano’s fleet arrived with 1,600 fresh reinforcements under the command of Field Marshal Juan Manuel de Cagigal.  The siege lines then tightened around Fort George, in spite of sharp counterattacks. One came three days after Solano’s arrival. O’Neill accompanied Gálvez and Cagigal in reconnoitering an artillery battery site some 550 yards from the Queen’s Redoubt when a regiment of soldiers streamed out and fired on the patrol.

 

 

Siege of Pensacola

 

Two days later, on April 24, an Indian attack caught the Spanish by surprise, wounded five, including O’Neill’s kinsman, Hibernia Sublieutenant Felipe O’Neill.   On April 26, English soldiers from Queens Redoubt attacked Spanish positions, but O’Neill’s scouts managed to drive the enemy back.  Spanish batteries then began a heavy barrage against Queen’s Redoubt. A lucky round hit the powder magazine on May 8, killing 105 English defenders.  General John Campbell surrendered Fort George and Prince of Wales Redoubt two days later. O’Neill participated in the surrender ceremonies, which ended British sovereignty in West Florida.

 

Click HERE to read more about the Irish Brigade of Spain at the siege and fall of Pensacola. 

 

The Spanish fleet sailed out of Pensacola for Havana on June 1 to assemble for the invasion of the remaining British bastions in the Caribbean.  O’Neill did not accompany his departing Hibernia.  Three days later, Gálvez named O’Neill  Governor of West Florida.  He was told to improve Pensacola’s defenses quickly, as an English counterattack was possible.  O’Neill realized that poor British marksmanship at Barranacas Coloradas had been due to the battery being too far from, and too high above the entrance of the bay.  He constructed a new battery of five thirty-two pounders on the beach below Barrancas, and another battery across the water at Sigüenza Point.  O’Neill drafted a plan for a new Santa Rosa garrison. Fort George was strengthened to withstand an attack from the northwest.  Indians had been one of the main supports of the English defense at Pensacola; so O’Neill gave top priority to winning their friendship by trade and alliance.  He wrote to Cagigal, describing his military position at Pensacola and detailing what would be needed from Spain and Cuba to withstand an English assault.  In August, O’Neill was promoted to Colonel.

 

As Governor, O’Neill also concerned himself with the need to build up the Spanish population in West Florida.  He wrote to Gálvez in January 1782, urging a settlement of Canary Islanders around Pensacola.  With the end of hostilities in 1783, O’Neill gave additional attention to the Indians in West Florida.  On January 1, 1784, Alexander McGillivray, Indian commissioner of the Upper Creeks, informed him of the danger of American infiltration on the Mississippi River.  O’Neill hosted a conference with the Creeks,  May 31 to June 1, 1784, at which Spain and the Creeks signed a treaty of friendship.  Vicente Manuel de Zéspedes sailed from Havana, with administrators and 460 soldiers from the Hibernia regiment, for St. Augustine, the capitol of East Florida on July 12, 1784.   One of his first official acts there was to give William Panton permission to bring in goods from the Bahamas for the Indians of Florida, so they would not have to trade with Americans. The following year, McGillivray, represented the Creeks, Chickasaws, and Cherokees requested O’Neill’s protection against continuing American encroachment.  American settlers apparently posed a threat not only to the Indians but to Spain as well, and O’Neill sent reinforcements to Mobile when it appeared that there might be an attack on that community.  In 1786, O’Neill sought the assitstance of Esteban Miró, Governor of Louisiana, to supply McGillivray with arms and munitions.   McGillivray wanted additional muskets to be able to attack the Americans the following spring.  McGillivray then informed O’Neill that the Americans seemed to be changing their tactics, and were trying to gain the friendship of the Creeks.  O’Neill realized the danger of an American-Indian alliance to Spanish security in West Florida, and thought it could best be countered by another conference with the Indians at Mobile.  

 

By the end of 1787, O’Neill had served as Governor one year more than the customary five-year term.  He requested promotion to Brigadier and a transfer as Governor of Puerto Rico, or to a similar post.  He did not receive the requested transfer, and was destined to stay on another six hectic years in Florida.  The British hoped to win over McGillivray in 1788 to fight both Americans and Spaniards, and thus allow them to retake Pensacola.  A key element in the British plan was to send William Augustus Bowles’ expedition to the Apalachicola River with arms and goods for McGillivray’s Creeks.  O’Neill’s health was failing and, nothing had materialized regarding the planned Bowles’ expedition, so he requested leave of absence to go to Mobile to recuperate.  This time, Madrid did approve O’Neill’s request, and even promoted him to Brigadier in 1789. He was temporarily replaced as Governor by Francisco Cruzat, former lieutenant governor of Illinois.

 

Back in Pensacola the following year, O’Neill learned that Bowles had returned to Florida from the Bahamas and had landed near St. Marks.  To strengthen his military position in West Florida, O’Neill organized the third battalion of the Louisiana Fixed Infantry Regiment.  The former San Marcos de Apalachee commandant Diego de Vegas was replaced in 1798 by a native of France, Captain Luis Bertucat, who rebuilt the old Spanish fort and made three sallies against Bowles.  Bertucat captured arms and ammunitions in one of these attacks in 1791.  Soon after taking office in 1792, Baron de Carondelet, Miro’s replacement as Governor of Louisiana, told O’Neill to send reinforcements to Mobile because of another possible attack there.  Carondelet informed O’Neill that William Panton had Spanish authorization for the importation of muskets from the Bahamas for Florida Indians.  Lord Durnford, the English Governor of the Bahamas, sent a naval vessel to interrupt this trade between the Bahamas and Florida. To counter this action, the Captain General of Cuba, Luis de las Casas, dispatched the coastguard ship San Luis to protect Spanish shipping in the area.

 

Finally, in 1793, much to his relief, O’Neill was replaced as Governor by fellow Irishman Carlos Howard, and was re-assigned to become the Captain General of Yucatán and Intendant of Tabasco and Laguna de Términos.  The war which broke out that year between Spain and France delayed his departure from Pensacola, but he was finally able to begin his 1,000 mile journey to Campeche, the port for Mérida, the capital of Yucatán.  Soon after arrival at his new post, O’Neill received the welcomed news of his promotion to Field Marshal.  O’Neill’s conduct as Governor of West Florida underwent a customary investigation and review by the Spanish judge, Luis Carlos de Jaen, a lawyer of the Real Audiencia of Louisiana.  The inquiry began in 1796, and was finally concluded in 1807, when the judge announced that O’Neill had performed his duty in Pensacola with great skill and impartiality. 

The Connie Mack’s of Florida

The name “Connie Mack” has been part of Florida Irish history and heritage for 122 years.

 

1910 Connie Mack Baseball Card

 

The first “Connie Mack” was Cornelius McGillicuddy, born in 1862 at East Brookfield, Massachusetts to Irish immigrant parents, Michael and Mary (McKillop) McGillicuddy.  He became Baseball Hall of Fame legend “Connie Mack” of the Philadelphia Athletics.  Mack played for the Washington Senators in Jacksonville, Florida’s first major league baseball game in 1888.  In 1903, as then manager-owner of the American League champion Philadelphia Athletics, he was the first to bring a major league baseball team to Florida for an entire spring training season.  "Mr. Mack" managed the Philadelphia Athletics for the club’s first 50 seasons of play, before retiring at age 87, following the 1950 season.  He was the longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, and holds the all-time records for wins (3,731) and games managed (7,755), with his wins total being almost 1,000 more than any other manager.  In addition to his Hall of Fame election in 1937, the former Connie Mack Field in West Palm Beach was named in his honor in 1952.  Connie Mack died on February 8, 1956.  In 2008, he was the first person inducted into the New York City based Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame.

 

Three generations of Connie Mack’s:

Connie Mack Sr. and Cornelius McGillicuddy Jr.

w/inset of Connie Mack III

 

His son, the second “Connie Mack”, was born in 1912 at Philadelphia, but he preferred to be known as Cornelius McGillicuddy, Jr.  He lettered in baseball as a pitcher and co-captain at Germantown Academy (where he also played basketball and football), but lettered in basketball while he was at Duke University.  He married Susan Sheppard, daughter of Morris Sheppard, Congressman and US Senator from Texas, and step-daughter of Tom Connally, the junior US Senator to Morris Sheppard for 12 years (Sheppard’s widow married Connally the year after Sheppard died).  After 15 years as an executive with the Philadelphia Athletics baseball team, Cornelius McGillicuddy, Jr. and his family settled in Fort Myers in 1951. He was a prominent real estate developer and philanthropist there until is death on April 17, 1996.

 

Former US Senator Connie Mack III

 

His son, Connie Mack III, was born in 1940 at Philadelphia, moved to Fort Myers with his parents in 1951, and graduated from Fort Myers High School in 1959 and from the University of Florida in 1966.  He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida’s 14th District (representing Fort Myers and Naples) from 1983 to 1989, then as United States Senator from 1989 to 2001.  He was considered by Bob Dole to be his Vice-Presidential nominee on the GOP ticket in 1996, but Jack Kemp was nominated instead.  He served as Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference from 1997 to 2001.  In 2005, he was appointed by President George W. Bush as Chairman of the President’s Advisory Panel for Federal Tax Reform.  He remains active in state and national politics.

 

US Congressman Connie Mack IV

 

His son, Connie Mack IV, was born in 1967 at Cape Coral and graduated from the University of Florida in 1993.  He served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2003, representing the 91st District (Fort Lauderdale).  In 2004, he moved back to Fort Myers, where he’d grown up, and entered the Republican primary for the 14th Congressional District (his father’s old US House seat). He narrowly won a four-way primary, but won easily in November.   He was reelected to Congress in 2006 and 2008.  He serves on the Foreign Affairs Committee, where he is the Ranking Republican on the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, and on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.  He is also a member of the Congressional Cuba Democracy Caucus.  He has two children by his first wife, and since 2007, has been married to Congresswoman Mary Bono of California (the widow of Sonny Bono).

   

Congressman Connie Mack IV and

Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack

 

And YES, there is a Connie Mack V, who is also known as "Cinco de Macko".

 

Irish Theatre of Florida

 

 

South Florida is rich in Irish culture, and the Irish Theatre of Florida (previously known as the Innisfree Irish Theatre Company) has been a vital part of that culture for the past 14 years.  As South Florida’s only Irish community theater group, they have performed in venues in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties.

 

 

Their mission is to promote and produce Irish drama in South Florida, and to provide a forum for Irish and Irish-American artists and educators.  Over the years, the Irish Theatre of Florida has entertained thousands of theatergoers, playing an important role in connecting people of Irish heritage to the theater, and in introducing South Florida theater fans to the thriving Irish dramatic tradition.  Their most recent production in March 2010 was "Close to Home" by Pat Clarke.

 

 

The group is always seeking new members and volunteers who wish to participate in upcoming productions. For more information, call Denis Holmes at: 561-302-7444, or email at: dholmes1@comcast.net

 

Irish Theatre of Florida is on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=95406064860

 

Our Logo

How did we choose the logo for this website?

 

The Irish harp has long been a symbol of Ireland.  In the early 1500’s, the harp was depicted on Irish coins.  In modern times, the harp has become the official symbol of Ireland.  Today, the harp is also used as the State Seal of the Republic of Ireland…

 

 …and from this perspective, it resembles the map of Florida!

 

Early Irish Settlers in Florida

 

Some of the earliest Europeans in Florida were Irish clergymen.  During the first Spanish period (1559-1763), Father Richard Arthur, also known as Padre Ricardo Artur, presided over the parish of St. Augustine from 1598 until his death in 1606.

 

An Early Engraving of St. Augustine

 

The Hibernia Regiment of Spain (composed primarily of Irish expatriates) fought and defeated the English at Pensacola, Florida in 1781.  Pensacola, which had been ceded to the English in 1764, was surrendered back to Spain on May 8 1781.  Hibernia Regiment leader, Count Arthur O’Neil, was then appointed as the Spanish Governor of West Florida.  The King of Spain provided for the future of the Church in his province by selecting Irish priests Thomas Hassett and Michael O Reilly to be the Parish Priest and the Curate for Pensacola.  The Church Register of the time showed the mixed origins of the congregation, listing Spanish, French, Irish and Scots names.  In 1794 another Irish priest, James Coleman, was appointed Parish Priest and Chaplain of the garrison at Pensacola.

 

In 1783, The Treaty of Paris required Britain to relinquish East Florida back to Spain.  Britain had governed East Florida for only twenty years between 1763 and 1783.  During that period, colonists, seeking land and trade, came slowly into East Florida.  These settlers arrived from other colonies as well as from other countries.  During the American Revolution, East Florida had become a refuge for colonists wishing to remain loyal to the British Crown.  These Loyalists fled to East Florida, primarily from Georgia and the Carolinas, but also from other colonies.  Under the terms of the 1783 Treaty, non-Spanish East Florida residents were given the option of remaining and retaining their property, provided that they would become Spanish subjects and swear allegiance to the Spanish Crown – and provided that they were Catholic, or would convert to the Catholic religion.  Their only other option was to leave East Florida and relinquish all rights to their land and property. The Treaty gave them 18 months to decide. 

 

1783 Map of Spanish East Florida

 

The restored Spanish government at St. Augustine then took a census of “alien” residents in East Florida, recording who would remain and who would leave.  Among them were many Irish and Irish-Americans (The following list represents only a portion of the 1783 Spanish East Florida census, and may not include all Irish and Irish-Americans):

 

Henry O’Neil, from Virginia, a farmer, married with 9 children, was undecided on remaining in the country.  He had two horses and two head of cattle, and he inhabited an estate 3 miles from the port of the St. Mary’s River.

 

Daniel and Samuel Patrick, day workers, requested Spanish protection, but did not state whether they would remain or leave.  Both brothers lived in The Bluff.

 

Hannah Mohr (or More), from Maryland, a farmer, widow with 2 children, requested Spanish protection and wished to remain if permitted. She had 3 slaves and 2 horses, and lived on, and cultivated a vacant estate 3 miles from that of Mr. Fatio on the St. Johns River.

 

Jacob Mohr (or Moore), from Georgia, a blacksmith, married with 5 children wished to leave the country.  He had 6 slaves and 2 horses and lived in a house on property he purchased on The Bluff.

 

Jacob Tomson, from Ireland, a carpenter, bachelor, wished to leave the country.  He lived in Picolata.

 

James Clements, from Ireland, a mason, bachelor, wished to become a Spanish subject; had a brother living in Spain; C.A.R.  He had one horse and lived in St. Augustine in the house of the armorer, John Flanagan.  He was "of Young’s Company".

 

Jacob Doharty, from Virginia, a farmer, bachelor, wished to leave the country. He lived at Tompkins Inlet on the St. Johns River.

 

Stephan White, from Ireland, a trader, married with 2 children wished to leave the country.  He had 2 slaves and 3 horses, and owned property and a house at The Bluff.

 

Charles Smith, from Ireland, laborer, bachelor, wished to leave the country.  He lived at The Bluff.  He was empowered to bring out other property owned by the Marshall of Camp Tonyn, who owned a plantation with 58 slaves, 100 head of cattle and 12 horses of all classes; and on another plantation this
same Marshall had 23 slaves; and said Marshall had besides 11 slaves belonging to the British King; all were in the charge of an overseer named Thompson McCollough, who had a wife and one son; and all are available to retire.

 

Joseph  MacCormic , from Pennsylvania, a  farmer,  married with 2 children, was undecided as to remain or leave.  He held title papers in his favor to Mr. Mohr’s house on the St. Johns River at the Julia Anton (Julinton) Inlet.

 

Phillip Proctor, from Ireland, a farmer, married, was undecided as to remain or leave. He had 1 horse and lived with Joseph MacCormic at the mouth of Julia Anton (Julinton) Inlet.

 

John Murphey, from Ireland, a medical doctor, widower with one son and a nephew living with him, was undecided as to remain.  He owned an estate on the St. Johns River at Trout Inlet, with a house on it, where he farmed and lived.

 

John MacDermott, from Ireland, a merchant, bachelor, wished to leave the country. He lived at Public Point on the St. Johns River.

 

Jesse Leary, from Pennsylvania, a farmer, married with one child and a sister living with him, wished to leave the country.  He owned 4 horses and lived on a vacant estate on the Diego Plains.

 

John Egger, from Ireland, a farmer, married, wished to leave the country. He lived on Amelia Island.

 

Jacob Harrel, from South Carolina, a farmer, married, wished to remain in the country, if permitted.  He lived on Amelia Island.

 

Richard Murray, married, stated that he was a native of Ireland, C.A.R. and wanted “an opportunity in this Florida so he can make a living among those who profess this religion, praying humbly to his Excellency that he have permission to come and establish himself with his family, which is comprised of his wife and 3 slaves, transporting all of his goods and sustaining himself the best he may in the Dominions of His Majesty.”

 

Derby O’Leary, from Ireland, a storekeeper and rum dealer, requested Spanish protection and wished to remain and conform to the Catholic religion.  He stated that he had a boy working in his rum shop along with 6 slaves and he lived in a small house attached to the Guard House.

 

Robert English, from Ireland, a widower with 5 children requested Spanish leaves for the British Dominions. He was a farmer without an estate, owned 30 slaves and lived in a rented house on Charlotte Street.

David Marin, from Ireland, a tavern-keeper, married with a son, intended to remain and become a Spanish subject, if allowed, within 18 months. He owned 7 slaves and a house and grounds close to the Castle.  He went to England, leaving his wife and son there with the intent to return for them if they are not permitted to remain; but later the wife and son left with all her family for Georgia and never returned.

 

Joseph Kelly, from Ireland, a shoemaker, married with 2 children, requested permission to remain and become a Spanish subject at the end of 18 months.  His trade was shoemaker, but he had a rum shop, rented a house in the neighborhood of the Castle and owned 4 horses.

 

Matthew Stewart, from Ireland, a saddler, married with one son, wished to leave for British Dominions.  He owned 16 slaves and lived in a rented house, 3 houses from Colonel Brown’s house.

 

John Reynolds, from Ireland, a merchant, bachelor wished to leave for British Dominions.  He owned a store on Charlotte Street. He left.

 

Charles Doemis, from Ireland, a boat captain and pilot, married with 12 sons, was undecided as to leave or remain.  He owned 300 acres of land with a house upon it, about 12 miles from Point Codura on the St Johns River; he also owned about 1,000 acres on the River about 70 miles from this settlement. He held title documents for all the property.  He also owned 10 slaves, 2 horses and 2 cows. He lived in the City in a rented house near the Quarters.

 

George Barnes, from Ireland, a merchant, married with one son, was undecided as to remain or leave. He had title to 500 acres of land with a house on it in the Picaloto neighborhood. He owned 3 slaves and 2 horses.  He lived in a rented house and store on Charlotte Street.

 

George Kerr, from Ireland, a merchant, bachelor, associate of George Barnes, was then in Georgia on business.  Mr. Barnes answered for him, and said he was of the same mind as Mr. Barnes.

 

Jacob Sonson, from Ireland, a grocer, married with 2 children, wished to remain in the province if allowed.   He owned about 1,400 acres of land in 4 divisions: the first was on the North River close to the seashore; the second was on the "Two Seeds" Swamp about 12 miles away; the third was in the same place 2 miles further on; and the fourth was on the other side of the St. Johns River, 10 miles above Picoloto.  He held title documents to all of the property.  On the last division he had a wood house.  He owned 6 slaves, 8 horses and 6 head of cattle. He lived in a rented house above the parsonage close to that of Madame Mason.

 

Fleetwood Armstrong, from Ireland, a wine merchant, married with one son, was undecided as to remain or leave. He owned a house and grounds on Charlotte Street.  He was an associate in a company with John Hudson, an Irishman, and was also associated with the Minorcans.  He owned a slave, a horse and a schooner.

 

Michael Flanagan, from Ireland, a Practitioner of Medicine, widower, wished to remain in the country if he could find a way to make a living, otherwise he would leave for the British Dominions.  He was an Apostolic Roman Catholic, practiced medicine, and owned 500 acres of land about 90 miles from the City beyond the Big Lagoon on the Small Lagoon.  He lost his title documents in a shipwreck.

 

Daniel Sullivan, from Ireland, a tailor, bachelor requested permission to remain and become a Spanish subject.  He lived on The Bluff.

 

Plan of St. Augustine around 1783

 

During the second Spanish period (1783-1821), many Irish clergy held prominent positions in Florida.  Spanish King Charles III requested that Fathers Thomas Hassett and Michael O’Reilly (priests from Longford, Ireland, educated in Spain, to whom he paid expenses and salaries) proceed to St. Augustine, and report to the Bishop of Santiago do Cuba.  In the official register of August 1, 1784, Father Hassett is titled “Beneficed Curate Vicar and Ecclesiastical Judge” and Father O’Reilly as “Assistant and Military Chaplain.”   Over the next few years, they were followed by Irish priests Michael Crosby, Michael Wallis and Constantine McCaffrey.  Also during that period, six Irish priests served at St. Michael’s parish in Pensacola and in West Florida missionary posts: Francis Lennan, James Coleman, Gregory White, Constantine McKenna, Michael Lamport and William Savage.

 

In St. Augustine, Father Hassett used, as a temporary parish church, the upper floor of a building occupying the site of the former bishop’s house.  He appealed to the King of Spain for means to finish the abandoned parish church, and requested that the church plate and vestments formerly removed to Havana be ordered returned to St. Augustine.   It was not until February, 1786 that orders were sent from Spain to the Bishop of Santiago de Cuba to supply the church of St Augustine.  In April 1793, Pope Pius VI established the diocese of Louisiana and the Florida’s.  The first bishop, Right Rev. Louis Penalver y Cardenas, nominated Father Hassett as head of his cathedral chapter, and Father O’Reilly as parish priest of St. Augustine.  Father O’Reilly conducted an energetic pastorate at St Augustine.  The new church, which had been under construction since 1792, was completed in 1797. O’Reilly also erected a substantial dwelling, which still exists.

 

Cathedral of St. Augustine

 

After the Bishop’s promotion to the Archbishopric of Guatemala in 1801, Father Hassett became administrator of the diocese of Louisiana and Florida. Father O’Reilly died in 1812, and his tomb is in the Tolomato cemetery.  O’Reilly was succeeded by Father Michael Crosby.  In 1811, a great deal of political unrest was caused in Florida by the extraordinary order of  US President James Monroe, appointing a commission to prepare for the occupation of the Florida’s by force, should there be any suspicion that any other power might try to occupy the provinces.  The Spanish Governor refused a proposition that he surrender the provinces to the United States.  A disturbed condition of affairs prevailed during following years; and in 1814 and 1818, General Andrew Jackson conducted some military operations in Florida.  Finally, in 1819, a treaty was concluded.  For the consideration of five million dollars, Spain ceded East and West Florida to the United States.  The formal exchange of flags took place at St. Augustine on July 10 1821.  Father Michael Crosby had died in May, 1821.

 

1823 Map of Florida

 

The population of St. Augustine at that time was of mixed character.  The Spanish regiment stationed there was largely composed of troops who had served originally in the famous Irish Brigade under the flag of France.   Refugees from the failed New Smyrna settlement and Spanish settlers formed the bulk of the civilian population, but a few English and Irish settlers had remained, including a number of the Loyalists who had left the American colonies after the Revolutionary War.

 

Florida’s “IRISH WAYS PROGRAMME” Radio Broadcast

 

William Ramoutar has a weekly one-hour radio show called "IRISH WAYS PROGRAMME" on Flagler College Radio WFCF 88.5 FM from St. Augustine every Sunday morning at 11:00 AM E.S.T.  You can also listen to a live streaming broadcast of the radio show on-line at: http://www.flagler.edu/wfcf

 

 

William Ramoutar is a native of Ennis, County Clare, Ireland, who settled in Jacksonville, Florida in the 1980’s.  He has been doing live radio for sixteen years. According to William’s MySpace page: "Ceol, Caint agus Craic….. Music, Talk and Fun!  There is nothing like sitting down and just talking to friends, family, acquaintances or even strangers.  I know however, that I can be too much, so I have learned to listen more and be careful not to yak too much.  Although for some people, I probably am still too much!  I think talking is our greatest gift from yer Mon upstairs.  My favourite thing of all though is passing "The Music" on to people who have yet to discover it!  Music, Irish Music, Scottish Music, in fact all Celtic Music. But then I have been a music lover my whole life, so I have music from every musical genre."  Here is William’s latest recommendation of a great singer and music video:

 

Mary Dillon and Déanta – Clothes Of Sand

  

 

William’s radio broadcast showcases some wonderful Irish music.  Here is the playlist from his May 23, 2010 broadcast:

 

HURON "BELTANE" FIRE DANCE by LOREENA MCKENNITT
IRELAND, I MISS YOU by MARY KATHLEEN BURKE
STAR OF THE COUNTY DOWN by ROSHEEN
AN TÚLL by CLANNAD
LARK IN THE MORNING by TURLOUGHMORE CÉILÍ BAND
THE FLOWER OF MAGHERALLY O by ÓIGE
THE LEITRIM LETTER SET by GAVIN WHELAN
THE CASTLE OF DROMORE by FIL CAMPBELL
LAD AND LASSES by DÀIMH
TÍR NA NÓG by ANNA MHOIREACH (ANNA MURRAY)
THE GEESE IN THE BOG SET (LIVE) by THE TANNAHILL WEAVERS
THE BANKS OF THE LEE by ARCADY
SPARKY by SHARON SHANNON

William’s MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/irishwaysprogramme

 

Frank & Ivy Stranahan – Founders of Fort Lauderdale

 

 

In 1893, 28-year-old Frank Stranahan moved to a frontier post on South Florida’s New River to assume management of the overland mail route from Lantana to Coconut Grove.  He established a trading post and ran the ferry service crossing the New River.  By 1895, Stranahan’s Trading Post was a South Florida landmark.  In 1899, 18-year-old Ivy Cromartie moved from Lemon City to the New River settlement to become its first school teacher.  Frank and Ivy married in 1900, and went on to become the pioneer business and social leaders of the fledgling town of Fort Lauderdale.  Due to their extraordinary efforts and generosity, the Stranahan’s are considered the founders of Fort Lauderdale.

 

Frank Stranahan was born at Vienna, Ohio on August 21, 1864, the son of Rev. Robert Stranahan, a Presbyterian minister, and Sarah (McFadden) Stranahan.  Frank’s grandfather, Alexander Stranahan, emigrated from County Down, Ireland to Philadelphia in the 1820’s, before settling in Keoukuk Co., Iowa.  An early job at a Youngstown, Ohio steel mill impaired Frank Stranahan’s lungs, so in 1890, he left his native state and moved to Florida in search of a healthy outdoor environment.  He settled first in Melbourne, until a cousin offered him a job at the New River Camp at Fort Lauderdale.  On January 26, 1893, Frank arrived at the New River to run the overnight camp and ferry crossing for the Lantana to Lemon City stage line.  It was at first a lonely existence.  With only a hand full of white men then living in the area, it took someone like Frank, a loner in many respects, to bear the isolation of the New River in 1893.  A shy, reserved man, he soon came to have a very busy life on the river, running the camp and ferry and also the U.S. Post office.  In 1894, Mary Brickell, an early Florida landowner, requested that Frank move his original campsite 300 yards farther upriver.  He complied, and in return she deeded 10.7 acres of land to him.  It was there that he operated his barge ferry across the New River as part of the new road from Lantana to what is now North Miami (now US #1), and where his Stranahan & Company Trading Post was built.  Frank traded with the Seminole Indians and earned their friendship and respect.

 

Frank Stranahan and the Seminoles

 

When families with children began settling there, the tiny settlement needed a school.  In 1899, 18-year-old Ivy Julia Cromartie, a newly certified teacher from Lemon City, was hired as the first teacher. A native of north Florida, Ivy Cromartie was born in 1881 on the Suwanee River in Hamilton County, betweeen Jasper and White Springs, the daughter of Augustus Whitfield "AW" Cromartie and Sarah Elizabeth (Driver) Cromartie.  Augustus Cromartie had been a farmer in North Carolina, but moved to North Florida around 1873, where he taught music. He married Sarah Elizabeth Driver on Dec. 25, 1879 in Jasper, Hamilton Co., Florida, and they had seven children. They eventually moved to Seffner, near Tampa, then to Juno, and finally to Lemon City. After moving to Fort Lauderdale, Ivy began teaching in a small one-room school house.  At first, there were only about five families and nine pupils.

 

Ivy Comartie and her students

 

Smitten by the young beauty, sixteen years his junior, Frank Stranahan began courting Ivy Cromartie.  On August 16, 1900, Frank and Ivy married.  It was barely sunrise, certainly an unsuitable time for a wedding, but the train from Lemon City travelling north left at 6:00 a.m., and Frank and Ivy were anxious to begin their honeymoon.  They journeyed by train to Asheville, Niagara Falls, and other points north.  Later Ivy would comment that her honeymoon was everything that Frank had promised.  After returning to Fort Lauderdale, they lived in a small cottage near the riverfront and trading post.  In 1901/2, near the site of his original trading post, Stranahan constructed a much larger two-story, wood-frame structure made of sturdy Dade County Pine.  He gave it broad porches around its two floors, so that the Seminoles would have a place to sleep when they came to trade.  The "new" Stranahan Trading Post quickly evolved into a post office, community center and town hall.  Frank became Fort Lauderdale’s first banker and leading businessman.  It was not long before dances and community gatherings were held on the upper floor of the house.  In 1906, it also became the Stranahan’s personal residence.   The house and the Stranahan’s enjoyed busy and productive lives, with their home as the center of activity for the growing community.

 

Stranahan House on the New River in Fort Lauderdale

  

From the beginning, Ivy welcomed the Seminoles to the trading post, recalling later “life might have been a little lonely had it not been for the Indians.” As a teacher, she reached out to them and began instructing them in small groups. Later, Ivy would write a history of the Seminole Indians and form “Friends of the Seminoles”, serving as its spokesperson for 50 years.  Ivy’s influence on her beloved husband became obvious when her social conscience crossed his business concerns.  As a member of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, she had no truck with alcohol.  Not only did she prevent Frank from selling liquor, but all other products containing alcohol.  Patent medicines, vanilla extract, nothing was too benign to be banned.  The role that the Stranahan’s played in the founding of Fort Lauderdale was profound but unassuming. They were reliable, visionary and compassionate, and never flamboyant or class conscious.  Their pragmatism was reflected in their home, as no-nonsense as its designer, Frank.  In the early years after their marriage, Frank established the town’s first bank, acquired substantial land holdings, and held political office.  Education, baseball, housing, a beach front pavilion….anything “Fort Lauderdale” fell under his purview.  He was involved in virtually every promotion to expand the city and the New River area.  In March 1917, Frank and Ivy testified before the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Investigation of The Indian Service about the desperate conditions of the Seminole Indians in South Florida.  A full transcript of their testimony can be read at the following link:

 

Stranahans’ 1917 Testimony before the US Congress

 

The Stranahan’s enjoyed a rich life and were devoted to one another, but their life together ended in tragedy.  In 1926, the Florida land boom collapsed, caused in part by a horrific hurricane. Another massive hurricane in 1928 drove Fort Lauderdale’s economy into depression.  Frank’s bank collapsed; his considerable land holdings were heavily mortgaged; and he was awash in mounting debt. Financially and physically exhausted, Frank reached a low point in 1929.  In April, he wrote in his diary, “My wife gave me much encouragement, but I can’t seem to grasp it."  In May, Frank had a nervous breakdown and spent 10 days in the hospital. After he was released, Ivy was advised not to leave him alone. But on May 22, 1929, after they returned from an excursion, Ivy stepped into the house, for only 10 minutes, but that was time enough.  Frank tied a sewer grate to his waist and jumped into the New River, where he drowned.

 

Frank’s death was an incredible blow to Ivy.  She wore black, not for a year, as was the custom, but for more than 10 years.  But Ivy had an iron will, and once she was able, she re-entered the fray, determined to make Fort Lauderdale a better community.  She let rooms to tourists and rented the ground floor of her home to a restaurateur.  She invested in the community, and over time her prudence paid off.  Her goal was not survival, but a continuation of the work she and Frank had begun.  She collected her meager rents and then gave them to just causes, personal and civic.  During the Great Depression, Ivy watched as non-payment of taxes resulted in foreclosures.  Her neighbors’ homes were literally being lost on the courthouse steps.  She and her supporters started a movement that resulted in Florida’s Homestead Exemption law.  In the mid-1930s, Ivy turned her energies toward establishing a hospital for the black community.  She championed such diverse concerns as family planning and the Campfire Girls, housing for the elderly and the Garden Club.  Ivy’s interests, her causes and concerns, seemed limitless.  If it needed to be done, she would see that it was.  Ivy began advocating on behalf of the Seminole tribe from her first days on the New River, and she never stopped. She fought for land, education, health care and dignity, to all of which she felt the tribe was entitled.

 

 

Toward the end of her life, she may have slowed her pace, but she never stopped her good works.  Ivy Comartie Stranahan died in her home on August 30, 1971. She and her husband are buried at historic Evergreen Cemetery in Fort Lauderdale.  Upon her death, her historic and beloved home was left to the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.  In 1973, the house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.  In 1979, the house was sold to the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society.  After a thorough restoration, Stranahan House, Inc. was incorporated in 1981 to preserve and manage the property.  Stranahan House still stands on its original location on the New River in downtown Fort Lauderdale. It is the site most closely associated with the founding of the city and its economic and social development. 

 

Click HERE to watch the WPTV video "STRANAHAN HOUSE"

Click HERE to take a virtual tour of Stranahan House

 

 

Two Men of Faith – Coleman Francis Carroll & D. James Kennedy

 

Florida Irish come from many different places and religious faiths.  Two controversial and influential Irish-American men-of-faith, who made lasting impacts upon Florida and the Nation, were Miami Archbishop Coleman Francis Carroll and Reverend Dr. D. James Kennedy.

 

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Miami Archbishop Coleman Francis Carroll was a powerful, hard-line Roman Catholic traditionalist, civil rights warrior and champion of Florida’s Cuban refugee community.  He came from Pittsburgh, a tough-as-nails prelate in the pre-Vatican II mold.  Archbishop Carroll’s wishes were everyone else’s commands.  His years in Miami were turbulent ones: Black Americans struggled for civil rights; the Vietnam War shook and almost tore the country apart; Vatican II "opened the windows" and a storm of change engulfed the Catholic Church; and South Florida struggled to cope as hundreds of thousands of Cuban refugees began washing up on its shores, fleeing Castro’s Communist dictatorship 90 miles south. The Church, the Country and South Florida would never be the same.  As Florida’s highest-ranking Catholic prelate, Carroll combined strong support for racial justice and the welfare of Cuban refugees with vociferous opposition to liberalization of the Church.  He lobbied vigorously against the repeal of the no-meat-on-Fridays rule and was in the forefront of the successful battle to defeat Dade County’s gay rights ordinance in 1977.  For all of his conservatism and external toughness, Carroll had a compassionate heart. He was friend to the homeless, and stopped frequently at downtown Miami’s Camillus House to chat and serve meals.  Through the Catholic Service Bureau (now Catholic Charities), a social service network which still rivals the State’s in scope, he built homes for the elderly and unwed mothers, opened rehabilitation centers for drug addicts and alcoholics, cared for orphans, ministered to widows and refugees, educated the mentally handicapped, and provided emergency help to those who were down and out.

 

 

Coleman Francis Carroll was born on February 9, 1905 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the second of three children of William Carroll and Margaret (Hogan) Carroll.  His parents were both born in Ireland.  His father, who worked as a railroad brakeman and clerk for Carnegie Steel Company, died in 1922 when Coleman was only 17.  He attended Holy Rosary elementary and high schools at Homewood, and later graduated from Duquesne University in 1926.  His theological studies were undertaken at St. Vincent Seminary at Latrobe.  Coleman was ordained as a priest for the Diocese of Pittsburg in 1930, and spent 23 years as a parish priest before being named auxiliary bishop of his home diocese.  His two brothers also joined the priesthood: his older brother, Howard Joseph Carroll, served as Bishop of Altoona-Johnstown; and his younger brother, Walter Sharp Carroll, worked in the Vatican Secretariat of State.  On August 25, 1953, Carroll was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh and Titular Bishop of Pitanae by Pope Pius XII.  His consecration was attended by over 2,000 people, including Pennsylvania’s first Catholic governor, David L. Lawrence.

 

On August 13, 1958, Carroll was named the first Bishop of the newly-created Diocese of Miami in Florida.  When Bishop Carroll took charge of the Miami Diocese, his flock numbered fewer than 200,000 Catholics spread over 16 counties, covering exactly half of the state.  When he died in office 19 years later, the sleepy southern diocese had turned into a booming, bustling, metropolitan See with more than 700,000 Catholics in eight counties, covering approximately one quarter of the state. 

 

To his credit, Bishop Carroll did not merely preside over this metamorphosis. He was the temperamental architect, the exacting engineer and the restless builder who erected the physical structure of today’s Archdiocese of Miami.  To chronicle it all, to make his voice heard and to bind the far-flung people of his diocese, Carroll founded a weekly newspaper, "The Voice."  It published its first edition, including a section in Spanish, known as "La Voz," on March 20, 1958.  Staffers recall that it was indeed the bishop’s paper. He frequently visited the office unannounced, to criticize as well as suggest stories, and often demanded, just hours before the printing deadline, that the whole front page be changed.  St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami was dedicated just thirteen months after Carroll’s installation. The major seminary of St. Vincent de Paul in Boynton Beach, which now serves every diocese in Florida, opened its doors just four years later, in 1963.

 

 

 But perhaps most important for the diocese, and South Florida as well, was the swift and wholehearted way in which Carroll welcomed Cuban exiles in the early 1960’s.  Typical was his reaction to the plight of unaccompanied children who were being smuggled out of Cuba in the early years of Fidel Castro’s regime. Msgr. Bryan O. Wash, who then headed the Catholic Charities programs of the diocese, had agreed to help resettle about 200 of the estimated 7,000 refugee children, without first asking Carroll’s permission. When Carroll found out, he was furious: "Who do you think you are?" he scolded, "I am the bishop here! We’ll take all 7,000 of them."  Eventually, the number of children smuggled out by Operation Pedro Pan (Peter Pan) as the secret program became known, reached 14,000. The Catholic Church in South Florida waited for them at the airport, and used its own resources to house and feed them for more than a year, until the federal government acknowledged its responsibilities. Afterward, the Church continued to care for the children in group or foster homes until their parents could join them.

 

In September of 1961, the first large gathering of Cuban exiles took place at a mass in honor of their homeland’s patroness, Our Lady of Charity of Cobre.  The wounds of exile were painfully raw when about 15,000 came together that evening in what was then Bobby Maduro Baseball Stadium.  At the end of the Mass, which was celebrated in Spanish, Bishop Carroll stood up to greet his new flock.  He had practiced a few words for the occasion. "Buenas noches", he said haltingly.  At first the crowd reacted with a stunned silence, recalled the late Father Donald Connolly, the bishop’s personal secretary at the time, "Then the whole crowd, as one, realized that this foreign bishop in a foreign land was reaching out to them. They began to scream, then they raised white handkerchiefs, and then they applauded louder than a 747 jet. They just could not stop, and he [Carroll] began to cry." The Mass in honor of Our Lady of Charity became an annual tradition, eventually moving to Miami Marine Stadium and now to the American Airlines Arena.

 

In 1968, due to the tremendous influx of new residents from the northern United States as well as the Caribbean, and also in recognition of Carroll’s dynamic leadership, the 10-year-old Diocese of Miami was made an Archdiocese and named Metropolitan See for all of Florida.  Bishop Carroll then became the Archbishop and Metropolitan.

 

As the Archdiocese of Miami had grown, Archbishop Carroll had grown old rearing it. He died on July 26, 1977, at the age of 72 and was buried three days later in the priests’ section of Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery in Miami. In 1998, Archbishop Coleman F. Carroll High School was founded and named in his honor.

 

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 During his 47-year ministry, mega-church pastor and televangelist Reverand Dr. D. James Kennedy built a major presence in Florida around his 10,000-member Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, including the Knox Theological Seminary, Westminster Academy (a K-12 school), Coral Ridge Ministries (a radio and television outlet), and the politically conservative Center for Reclaiming America for Christ.  He was also a founding board member of the Moral Majority national political movement and opened the Center for Christian Statesmanship in Washington, DC to equip evangelicals on Capitol Hill to be more effective in influencing government policy.  He was also instrumental in establishing the Alliance Defense Fund, an active Christian response to secular civil liberties groups.  He was the author of more than 50 books. Other evangelical leaders say that his most lasting impact was Evangelism Explosion, a curriculum that shows laymen how to evangelize in everyday settings and is used in 12,000 churches.

 

Dennis James Kennedy was born in Augusta, Ga., on Nov. 3, 1930. Six years later, his family moved to Chicago.  His father was a glass salesman who later moved his family to Tampa, Florida.  Kennedy graduated from Henry B. Plant High School in 1948, and then began studying English at the University of Tampa.  After two years, he dropped out of college and began working as a dance instructor at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Tampa, winning first prize in a nation-wide dance contest.  On August 25, 1956, he married Anne Lewis, whom he met while giving dance lessons at Arthur Murray. They had one daughter, Jennifer, born in 1962.

 

In Kennedy’s often-repeated account, while he was listening to a radio program, the radio preacher asked the question: “Suppose you were to die today and stand before God, and he were to ask you, ‘What right do you have to enter into my heaven?’…What would you say?”, and that question inspired Kennedy to become a minister.  He resumed his studies at the University of Tampa, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1958, and began preaching at the small Bethel Presbyterian Church in nearby Clearwater, Florida. The following year, Kennedy entered Columbia Theological Seminary, receiving a Master of Divinity degree.  After his ordination in 1959, Kennedy became the founding pastor of tiny Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale. 

 

Beginning in 1959, with only 45 persons attending a typical Sunday service, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church under Kennedy’s direction became the fastest-growing Presbyterian church in the U.S., had 1,366 members by 1968, and by the 1980s had grown to almost 10,000 members. The present church building, seating 2,800 persons and surmounted by a 300-foot tower that dominates the northeast Fort Lauderdale skyline, was dedicated in February, 1974 by famed evangelist Billy Graham.

 

 

In 1978, Rev. Kennedy began the weekly Coral Ridge Hour on national television, which at its peak had a weekly audience of 3.5 million viewers in 200 countries, and was aired on more than 600 stations and four cable networks.  Also in 1978, Coral Ridge joined the Presbyterian Church in America, the conservative branch of Presbyterianism in the United States.  Around that time, conservative Christian leaders were growing increasingly unhappy with the tenure of President Jimmy Carter, in part because he had failed to champion social causes important to them.  Kennedy worked with other evangelicals to articulate the core beliefs of what would become the "Religious Right."  In 1979, he earned a doctorate in religious education from New York University.  Kennedy said that he earned a Ph D. "to dispel the idea there is an inconsistency between evangelism and education…evangelical ministers need to be thoroughly educated and equipped to meet on equal terms anyone with whom they come in contact".

 

During the 1980s and 1990s, Kennedy was a prominent and often divisive voice in the religious and political discourse of Florida and the Nation.  During his tenure, Coral Ridge Ministries grew to a $37-million-a-year non-profit corporation.  In 2006, the National Religious Broadcasters association inducted Kennedy into its Hall of Fame.

 

On the evening of December 28, 2006, Kennedy experienced a heart attack at his Ft. Lauderdale home. Despite several months of rehabilitation and convalescence, he was unable to resume preaching, and his retirement was announced on Sunday, August 26, 2007.  Kennedy died in his sleep at home in the early morning hours of September 5, 2007.  The White House issued a statement the following day, saying that President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush were "deeply saddened" by Kennedy’s death, calling the Florida-based televangelist and author "a man of great vision, faith, and integrity … Dr. Kennedy’s message of love and hope inspired millions through the institutions he founded…".  He was buried at Lauderdale Memorial Park Cemetery in Ft. Lauderdale. Kennedy is survived by his wife, Anne, and his daughter, Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy.  In April 2009, Kennedy was succeeded as pastor of the church and its ministries by W. Tullian Tchividjian, a grandson of Billy Graham.

 

Florida’s Chris Coghlan – 2009 National League Rookie of the Year

 

Chris "Cogs" Coghlan, star out-fielder of the Florida Marlins baseball team, was named the National League Rookie of the Year on November 16, 2009, and yes, Coghlan is "as Irish as a four-leaf clover."  He relaxed after his historic rookie season by taking a golfing trip to the Emerald Isle in the off-season.  According to witnesses, "Cogs" did some proud chest-pounding when he saw many a street in Ireland named “Coghlan.”

 

 

Christopher B. Coghlan was born to Tim and Heather Coghlan on June 18, 1985 at Palm Harbor, Florida, but grew up in Gaithersburg, Maryland and Tarpon Springs, Florida.  Chris’ father, Tim Coghlan, was a police officer in Maryland for nearly 20 years before he was injured in a SWAT team raid and moved his family to Pinellas County, Florida.  He was killed in a head-on traffic accident during a business trip in Maryland on June 5, 2001.  Chris, who has a younger brother and two younger sisters, was the last family member to get the terrible news.  Chris found solace and support from his friends and coaches at the Winning Inning Baseball Academy.  Chris was one of the academy’s first students when it opened in 1998 up the road in Dunedin.  Randy Holland and Roy Silver, who run the academy, were among a handful of local men who helped rescue Coghlan when he was a vulnerable15-year-old, grieving over the sudden death of his father.  Holland was a trainer for the Toronto Blue Jays for 18 years and Silver spent 16 years as a minor-league player and coach.  Chris’ support group also included Randy Fierbaugh, a retired minor-league pitcher, Lee Byers, Coghlan’s baseball coach at East Lake High School in Tarpon Springs, and Chip Snare, who was Coghlan’s principal at East Lake.  All had families of their own, but each pitched in to guide Coghlan over the last 10 years as if he were a son.  "When my husband died, it was just an awful time," said Coghlan’s mother, Heather, "Boys tend to look up to their dads and he didn’t have a dad to give him any guidance.  Now, God has blessed him with a number of father figures.  They really helped Chris become who he is today."

 

Coghlan graduated from East Lake High School in Tarpon Springs, Florida.  He was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 18th Round (546th overall) of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign, choosing instead to attend the University of Mississippi.  After three years at Ole Miss, Coghlan was selected by the Florida Marlins in the 1st Round (36th overall) of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft, and signed. 

 

Since joining the Marlins organization, Coghlan has played for the Gulf Coast Marlins (Rookie level), the Jamestown Jammers (Low-A), the Greensboro Grasshoppers (A), the Jupiter Hammerheads (High-A), the Carolina Mudcats (Double-A) and the New Orleans Zephyrs (Triple-A).  Much of his time in the minors was spent switching positions from his college position of third baseman to second baseman, and eventually left fielder upon being called up to the Florida Marlins.

 

 

Coghlan made his major league debut on May 8, 2009.  On August 9, 2009, he set the Marlins team record for consecutive multi-hit games at 8.  Coghlan had 47 hits in August 2009, the most for a rookie since Todd Helton hit 45 in August 1998, earning him Rookie of the Month honors.  He then followed with 50 hits in September/October 2009, the first rookie with back to back 47+ hit months, and the first player to do so since Ichiro Suzuki in 2004.  His .321 batting average was 6th in NL among all players and 1st among all rookies.  After the MLB All-Star break, Coghlan led all major league players in batting average (.372) and hits (113).  His overall performance earned him the National League Rookie of the Year Award on November 16, 2009.

 

  

 

Those who know Coghlan best believe he’ll blossom into an All-Star if he continues to honor his father through his performance on the field.  "He channeled his frustration, that trauma and heartache, into his efforts. Initially that helped him get through the grief.  As a result he ended up playing for his dad.  He probably still does," his high school coach Byers said.  Coghlan agrees that he has found a special meaning in his father’s death, and has grown because of it.  "It changed my outlook on life and I really believe I would have never made it to the big leagues," Coghlan said, "That being said, I’d rather have my dad than be playing in the major leagues, any day of the week."

 

Chris Coghlan’s page on the Marlins website:

http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=458085

 

"Cogs" on Twitter:

 http://twitter.com/cogz4Christ

 

St. Baldrick

Everyone has heard of St. Patrick, but have you heard of St. Baldrick?  

 

Florida’s Irish and their friends support the St. Baldrick’s Foundation each year by having their heads shaved, by watching their friends have their heads shaved and by donating their time and money to raise funds for children’s cancer research. 

 

On March 17, 2000, New York reinsurance executives Tim Kenny, John Bender and Enda McDonnell turned their industry’s St. Patrick’s Day party into a benefit for kids with cancer.  The three planned to raise "$17,000 on the 17th" by recruiting 17 colleagues to have their heads shaved to raise $1,000 each to be shorn.  Instead, the first St. Baldrick’s event raised over $104,000!  The annual event took on a life of its own and quickly grew into the world’s largest volunteer-driven fundraising program for childhood cancer research!  The St. Baldrick’s Foundation name is a play on the words Bald and Patrick – going bald on St. Patrick’s Day.

 

St. Baldrick’s Foundation website: http://www.stbaldricks.org

 

The Foundation now funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the U.S. government.  Since 2000, events have taken place in 28 countries and 50 US states, raising over $87 million.  More than 144,000 volunteers, including over 12,000 women, have shaved their heads in solidarity with children with cancer, while requesting donations of support from friends and family!  At a St. Baldrick’s event, something amazing happens:  people who normally shy away from even the very thought of childhood cancer find themselves compelled to support this cause after looking into the faces of these brave children who are beaming as their friends and family members proudly display their newly shorn heads.  Volunteers and donors have fun while supporting a serious and worthy cause. 

     

Video of the 2009 St. Baldrick’s event at Slainte Irish Pub in Boynton Beach, Florida 

 

 

In 2010, Florida’s 22 separate St. Baldrick’s events

shaved 944 heads and raised $541,297.44

for children’s cancer research.