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Happy
Holidays
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Los
Floridanos October Picnic
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EVENT:
Christmas Party
WHEN: December 8, 2001 11:00 am
WHERE: Page Edwards Gallery Garden
Behind Oldest House on
St. Francis Street
Bring a dish! If weather permitting, we will sit and eat
in the garden. You might want to bring a chair.
Last
year we had a good turnout, wonderful eats and great fellowship.
We look forward to welcoming the holiday season with our
extended family!
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will
be January 12, 2002. We will meet the second Saturday due to
the holidays. Location to be announced later. We hope to arrange
to meet at the Page Edwards Gallery behind the Oldest House.
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Picnic
was a whopping success. Thirty-five members and children
enjoyed the day. Dick Scanlon acted as our tour guide.
He conducted an informative tour of the Fort and provided
historical information on the surroundings. Thanks Dick!
We welcomed several new prospective members of the Rogero
family and California member Deanne Cook who was visiting
with her mother, Madelaine Hugas.
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Annual
Membership Dues
It's time to renew our annual memberships. The annual dues are
$15. Lifetime memberships are available for $150. Please send
to our P.O. Box 4043, St. Augustine, Fl. or bring to our next
gathering. Thanks!
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LOS
FLORIDANOS ANCESTORS
LOLA SANCHEZ'S RIDE |
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Long before the Civil War, Mauritia Sanchez left Cuba and
returned to Florida. He settled on the banks of the St.
John's River opposite Palatka. He was in ill health . His
family consisted of an invalid wife , a son in the Confederate
Army, and three attractive daughters.
Information on Yankee movements were constantly being passed
to the Confederates, and after extensive investigations
the Yankees decided that the spy was Mauritia Sanchez. The
feeble old man was arrested and imprisoned in Fort San Marco.
The three daughters, Panchita, Lola, and Eugenia were left
to care for their invalid mother. Often their place was
surrounded at night by Yankee troops and the house searched
periodically for spies but information still reached Confederate
ears. The Yankee troops never suspected the daughters were
the informers.
The Yankee officers were very fond of spending their evenings
at the Sanchez hacienda listening to three beautiful Cuban
girls, their merry chatter and singing to the soft accompaniment
of the guitar. Though the conversation was light and airy,
the girls managed to glean information and feed it to the
Confederates.
On one momentous Saturday evening, three Yankee officers
were present for light bantering conversation . The sisters
withdrew to prepare a Spanish supper for them and their
guests.
As Lola Sanchez flitted from pantry to dining room she overheard
earnest conversation between the officers about two activities
to be carried out the next day.
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One was a gunboat raid up the river in the early dawn
while confederate troops were sleeping; the other, a foraging
party to go southward from St. Augustine, pillaging and
capturing all they could find.
Recognizing the importance of the information she decided
that Captain Dickerson at Camp Davis near Palatka must
be warned.
She bade her sister, Panchita, to entertain the Yankee
officers with song and laughter while her sister, Eugenia,
prepared the supper.
A mile and half lay between her and Camp Davis, which
consisted of dense tropical Florida woods and the strong
currents of the St. John's River. She sped first by horse,
thru the woods, and then by skiff, over the water. She
spotted the Confederate picket and informed him of the
message but he couldn't leave the lookout on the riverbanks
so she proceeded to the camp and relayed the information
to Captain Dickerson.
To Lola the time of her absence seemed an eternity but
she pushed on back across the water and through the woods
to the hacienda. She noted on the clock upon returning,
she had only been gone for an hour and a half. Panchita
was still entertaining the unsuspecting guests and the
aromas of Eugenia's chicken olla catalina, olla podrida,
and Cuban coffee filled the air.
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The
next morning, in the gray mist of dawn, the Confederate
battery lay in wait for the Yankee transport and gunboat.
The transport was captured , the gunboat disabled and
the troops captured.
South of St. Augustine, preparation was made for the foraging
party. The Confederate ambushed the enemy and the Yankee
General Chatfield was killed, Colonel Nobles was wounded
and the larger part of the company captured, including
wagons and mules.
The Sanchez sisters truly were valuable assets to the
Confederate Army
Panchita Sanchez, determined to effect the release of
her father from prison, made her way to St. Augustine
and suffered untold hardships but accomplished the goal.
In 1909, the State Convention of the United Daughters
of the Confederacy was held in St. Augustine and the two
daughters of Panchita and Lola were pages, in honor of
their mothers' service to the Confederacy.
Confederate
Veterans, Volume XVII, No.8, August 1909.
The Sanchez sisters truly were valuable assets to the
Confederate Army.
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FAMILY
NOTES and Points of Interest
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BOOKS OF INTEREST
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Latrell
Papy Mickler has written, INDIGO. It is a wonderful read!
This book of historical fiction outlines the story of the Menorcans
and provides a wonderful picture of St. Augustine and the state
during this time period. You can purchase it at Barnes and Noble
in St. Augustine, the Historical Society Book Store, and several
other stores around town.
FLORIDA FIRSTS, is due to be released in October. If you
remember, this is the book mentioning the Solana family heritage.
It was supposed to be out last year but the release date was pushed
back.
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FAMILY
NOTES
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New
Secretary
Judith Bailey has agreed to accept an appointment as our
Secretary. Thanks Judy!
Get
Well
Mario Hugas is recovering from ear surgery and doing fine.
Our
Condolences
Our charter member, Majorie Prevatt from Deland, lost her
husband in October. All our prayers are with her at this difficult
time..
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THE
YOUNGER
GENERATION
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Jeremy
Cain, son of Janet and Herbert Cain, has been recognized as
a n "Art Virtuosos" by the St. Augustine Record. His
newest accomplishment is his creation of the mural of the Murray
brothers at the Caddyshack restaurant.
Forrest
Masters, son of Jeremy and Ann Masters, just completed a ten
week study program in Japan. He was awarded a grant by the National
Science Foundation.
Stephen
Petty, grandson of Gabye and Charles Usina, has graduated
from St Joseph's Academy and will be attending St. Johns Community
College, majoring in Finance. For those of you who haven't heard,
Stephen is quite the "Finance Guru". He must have his
grandfather's genes.
Ashley
McPherson, granddaughter of Jack and Frances Barber, has graduated
from high school with honors and will start her first year at
the University of Florida. She's the recipient of a Bright Scholars'
Scholarship.
Mario
and Susan Hugas celebrated their marriage at a ceremony, San
Sebastian Church., August 18. Congratulations!!!!!!
Send
us all your family news!!!
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ROYAL
VISIT
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We
have started planning our participation in the Menendez Birthday
Festival which is celebrated in February every year.
This
year will be extra special!! The St. Augustine Board of Preservation
and the City have invited the Crowned Prince of Spain and he has
tentatively accepted. We would like to have a contingent of members
(young and old) in the parade representing our families. Anyone
wanting to dress in period dress should contact us.
We
are planning on reserving at least one table at the evening Gala,
which is usually a masquerade ball. The cost of tickets will be
announced later. All appearing in period dress can attend the
lower level banquet free.
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FAMILY
NEWS/BUSINESS
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Naming
of the new,
SR16 bridge
INSIDE STORY ON SAN SEBASTIAN BRIDGE
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I
was very disappointed in the manner in which the Florida Department
of Transportation approached the naming of the new, SR16 bridge,
which crosses the San Sebastian River.
The
Florida Department of Transportation's placement of a notice in
"The Record" asking for feedback from the public on
the naming of the bridge in honor of the September 11, 2001 tragedy,
seemed an afterthought, since only 4 days were given before a
decision was to be made with the dedication following in 7 days.
Below is a copy of the letter I sent to the FDOT, Doug Wiles,
Jim King, the County Administrator, and The Record.
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To Whom It May Concern:
While
I feel outraged by the acts of Sept 11, I can't support the suggested
naming of the bridge. The City of St. Augustine represents the
rich heritage of our state and nation. I feel environmental structures
should reflect that heritage.
Waiting
until the last minute to ask the community about naming the bridge,
was not in the community's best interest nor did it give anyone
time to consider any appropriate alternative names.
I,
as a fourteenth generation Floridian, feel that the state should
recognize the original Spanish Families that arrived here in the
1500's. These families were the State's first fisherman, cattlemen,
citrus growers, and farmers. The inter-marriages between the Solana/Sanchez
families and the Menorcans, created a vast pool of descendants
who still continue to call St. Augustine, St. Johns County, and
the State of Florida, home.
We
call ourselves "LOS FLORIDANOS", the Spanish
term used in early censuses for citizens born of Spanish parents
in Florida.
Did
you know?…….
During
the Second Spanish Period (1807), a defense line surrounded the
town of St. Augustine. One of the corners bordering the San Sebastian
River was called the "Solana Redoubt". The corner of
the fortification consisted of a two cannon platform made of pine
planks over palm logs with an earthen mound base. It was finished
with pitch and ochre paint. A twenty-two foot wide moat, with
vertical planks that served as a stockade, surrounded the defense
line.
South
of the SR16 bridge Manuel Solana operated a ferry across the San
Sebastian River. He later deeded it to his son. It finally ended
with his great-granddaughter Louisa Solana and her husband Willie
Lopez.
We
recommend ….
We
would like to recommend naming the bridge one of the following
"Bridge of The Los Floridanos", "The Solana/Sanchez
Bridge", or "The Solana Ferry Bridge".
Sincerely,
Linda
B. Brown
President, Los Floridanos Society
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WHAT
YOU
CAN DO…
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INSIDE
STORY ON SAN SEBASTIAN BRIDGE ?
Doug Wiles advised us to launch an email and fax campaign to push
for our name choices.
Here
is your opportunity to push for a permanent structure named in
honor of our descendants. If you would like to support us in this
endeavor please send emails or faxes to the following people:
Doug
Wiles wiles.doug@leg.state.fl.us
904-823-4662 fax
Jim King king.james.s08@leg.state.fl.us
904-727-3603 fax
FDOT
gina.busscher@dot.state.fl.us
FDOT Public Information Ofc
PO Box 1089
Lake City, Fl 32056-1089
NOTE: If you do not use netscape
email or Outlook for your email program and you use web based
email (like- hotmail, yahoo, altavista, juno...) you will need
to go to your email program to email the above address's.
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Dec
8th - Christmas Party
Jan 12 - January
Meeting
Feb
22-23 - Menendez Birthday Celebration
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WebSite |
Check
out access to the Solana genealogy on the website. This is not
a certified version but is only a link to a genealogy already
on the Web.
Coleman
Bryant graciously donated his extensive genealogy on the Solana
family for our use. We hope to bring it online when we bring online
the Sanchez genealogy. We will ?
use it as a base for our own research and want to again, thank
him.
The St. Augustine Historical Society has an early genealogy of
the Sanchez family that we will be adding.
We
could also use any old pictures. We'll scan and return them. Contact
us !!!!!
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EMAIL ADDRESS?
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If
you are connected to the Web please let us know your Email address
by emailing me at
Linda@losfloridanos.org |
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Memberships
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Run from
January thru December of each year.
[ More Info ]
Annual membership
fees are due ($15).
Los Floridanos Flags ($30)
Solana/Sanchez Banners ($18)
Los Floridians Medallions ($12)
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Los Floridanos Society