Florida’s need for a system of higher education was recognized as early as 1828, when Governor William Pope DuVal called for the creation of a seminary or college within the territory. However, the Legislature did not act upon the idea until 1851, when the General Assembly passed a bill authorizing the creation of two seminaries in the state. One seminary was to be located in a county to the east of the Suwannee River (East Florida) and the other in a county to the west of the river (West Florida). Given the prestige and potential resources such an institution could bring to an area, several counties lobbied the Legislature to become the site of one of the seminaries. The Legislature made Ocala in Marion County the site of the seminary for East Florida in 1853. In 1857, the Legislature awarded the seminary for West Florida to Tallahassee in Leon County. The East Florida Seminary at Ocala and the West Florida Seminary at Tallahassee are recognized as the original predecessor institutions for the University of Florida and Florida State University, respectively.
Of course, the current home of the University of Florida is Gainesville in Alachua County. The Legislature moved the East Florida Seminary from Ocala to Gainesville in 1866. Gainesville had railroad access and a growing secondary school, the Gainesville Academy, whereas the seminary in Ocala had to close during the Civil War for lack of funds. Alachua County had originally contended with Marion County to be the site of the East Florida Seminary during the General Assembly’s deliberations on the matter in 1852-1853.
The following document is a petition calling upon the General Assembly to establish the seminary for East Florida at Newnansville, which was then the county seat for Alachua County. Written in 1852 and signed by 150 white male residents of Alachua County, the petition provides the names of a substantial number of the total population of Alachua County (2,524) in 1850. The petitioners envisioned the seminary as a military school, an institution of secondary or college education common in the antebellum South. The military aspects of the schools were primarily intended to provide discipline for the students, not to prepare them for a military career.
The transcription maintains all original spelling, punctuation, and grammar. In most cases, the names correspond to residents of Alachua County found in the 1850 and 1860 federal censuses; however, several names do not appear on either census. A couple of names are crossed out on the original document and are signified by a strikethrough. Uncertain guesses for names are followed by a [?]. Illegible names are signified by [illegible].
For a detailed history of the East Florida Seminary see Samuel Proctor, “The University of Florida: Its Early Years, 1853-1906” (Gainesville: University of Florida, Ph.D. dissertation, 1958). A copy of this dissertation is available at the State Library of Florida.
Petition to Establish the East Florida Seminary in Alachua County, 1852.
To the Honerable the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Florida in General Assembly met. The undersigned Citizens of the County of Alachua feeling a deep interest in the course of Education, and believing as they do, that you will do all in your power for its advancement in the commonwealth would repectfully Petition your Honorable Body for the establishment of a Military School or College in Said County. They have already raised the sum of Five Thousand Dollars ($5000) and a fine building is now nearly completed . But unless an Institution of this Nature is well endowed it cannot always sustain itself, a firm basis being necessary, all Literary Institutions are subject at one time or another to fluctuations in the number of students and consequently if they are well endowed, they will be able to withstand these changes by employing a competent faculty. The Universities of Cambridge, Virginia, North Carolina, and others that we could mention, are evidences of this. We have no College in the State and yet if we mistake not, provision is made for two. We believe that the Town of Newnansville in the County aforesaid from its central position as regards East Florida is a sutable location for one. In this respect we are much behind our Sister States. Alabama has her university. So has Mississippi, and Georgia too extends her fostering care to several. And shall Florida be behind these? As far as we are able we answer “no.” With regard to a Military Institute we humbly conceive that it if one were established it would be well attended. An Institution of this character is of vast importance in several respects. The discipline is superior and a student is benefited mentally and physically. And as to the benefit derived by the Country in case of war, our late war with Mexico proved this utility in this respect. Several of the States seeing this, have liberally patronized these Institutions. We would again respectfully suggest to your Honorable Body the aforesaid Town as a Suitable location for such an Institution and your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray and--etc
1 Bennett M. Dell Sr 2 Wm Dell 3 Saml W. Burnett (1850) 4 Elias Knight 5 Daniel Lynn 6 William Malphurs 7 Thos C. Love 8 John B. Cason 9 W. W. Scott 10 Benjamin M. Lane 11 Saml R. Pyles 12 James Russell 13 Stephen Fagan 14 James G. Dell 15 Bennett M. Dell 16 Elishia Carter 17 John B. Standley 18 John Z. Fetner 19 John W. Burnett 20 Sm Ellis 21 Robt Youngblood 22 J. B. Thomas 23 Thomas K Wells 24 M O’Brien 25 L. M. Scarborough 26 Chas L. Wilson 27 David J. Ridaught 28 E. Barrow 29 M. W. South Jr. 30 E. S. Gurwell 31 Presley [?] Thomas 32 James E. Johnson 33 A Hague 34 J. H. Thomston [?] 35 J. J. Kennard 36 Guilford Sikes 37 S. P. Crews 38 David D. V. Strobel 39 Samuel Baxley |
40 Jasper T. Bernard 41 A. M. Caston 42 S. F. Halliday 43 S. P. Sanchez 44 H. L. Williams 45 James E. Johnson 46 Jas Burnett 47 W. D. Clark 48 J. F. Prevatt 49 L. Randle 50 Henry Bradford 51 T A Bradford 52 J. B. Cason 53 H. C. Wilson 54 Saml Wilson 55 Maxey D. Colson 56 Jas Bevel 57 Charles Johnson 58 Paul B. Colson 59 W. Fison 60 A. Hague 61 J. Marx 62 Thos J Prevatt 63 L Whitehead 64 James S. Jenkins 65 Robt Campbell 66 George S. Brown 67 Chas F. Fitchert 68 George W. Bostory [?] 69 B. S. Stokes 70 T. S. Chesser 71 William H. Brooks 72 David Hurst 73 William Malphour 74 Saml Baxley Jr
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75 Martin Wimberly 76 Jos M. Bell 77 Asa Clark 78 John [illegible] 79 W. H. Bryant 80 Jno. Rogers 81 A. Gillit 82 L. Shulz 83 W. Smith 84 William Cannon 85 R. Burns 86 N. P. Suggs 87 R. Polk 88 H Polk 89 D. Polk 90 A. Shepard 91 Jno. Townsend 92 A. Thigpen 93 A. Gillett 94 J. Gillett 95 J. C. Hope 96 Jno. Osteen 97 F. S. Wheaton
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116 Philip Dell 117 Jas. M. Rimes 118 Enoch T. Geiger 119 Henry H. Colding 120 G. S [?] Sanchez 121 James S. Gibbons 122 J. J. Carter 123 JW Rawls [?] 124 Levy [?] Wilson 125 Jacob Halbrook 126 John L. Prevatt 127 John H. Ellis 128 John K. Stephens 129 John W. Burnnett 130 Jerome N. Jones 131 H. A. Shearhouse 132 R. R. Davis 133 John B. Standley 134 George W. Sanchez 135 Paul C. Colson 136 Simon Dell 137 Walter Button 138 H. B. Turner 139 L. Williams 140 R. Burton 141 R. Hunt 142 Jas H Cooper 143 Shepherd P. Brill 144 Samuel J. Kennedy 145 Leonard Vandemere 146 John Bryant 147 Jno. Baxter 148 James C. Standly 149 A Hozle [?] 150 A. Thomas |
