Things I Wonder About

 I sometimes wonder what my recent ancestors would say if they could come back for just a day or so and examine what is happening. These two wonderful people are my great grandparents. I never met them but they were instrumental in settling Lakeland, Florida after growing up in Florida. Daniel Henry's father was Orvil Sloan and grandfather was Daniel Sloan, who first came to Florida about 1840. Ruby's family descended from all the Carltons, Wilders, Hendrys etc. These are all old family lines I have been researching for over 25 years but that is not my wonder. 

My great grandfather, Orvil, was not very educated. Given the times, he married young and had a farm close to his parents. My great grandfather, Daniel Henry, according to everything I can find, only had a 9th grade education but he did not become a farmer. 

Orvil Sloan, according to the pension papers filed with the state of Florida, could not work any longer and only did a "piddling" amount of work for enough money to care for his family. His son, Daniel Henry, went to work at a general store and learned business. The store was somewhere around Plant City and when the owner began selling liquor, Daniel quit because it went against his upbringing, even though the owner offered him more money because of the success his business was experiencing with Daniel as the manager. 

So Daniel moved a few miles down the road to what would become Lakeland and with his brother, Aaron, opened the Sloan Mercantile Store on Main Street.  The photo above was taken in their front yard on Lake Mirror. I have the original with lots of detail, but there are copies all over the internet. I wonder what he would have thought of the internet? Or even that anyone would be interested in his life.

Daniel went on to own several businesses including the first car lot and several orange groves. He had indoor plumbing in his house and the first phone in the city. He served in the city government and also the state government, all with a 9th grade education. He and Ruby had 8 children, my grandfather, Edward, being the youngest. The above photo is on Florida Memory. It is his government portrait. 

What would he think of people today? He was, by every written account I can find, an honest politician in Tallahassee, which is why he left after two terms. He insisted his children attend school and was instrumental in creating the original Lakeland High School. He worked to better the city of Lakeland and my great grandmother did the same. Service seemed high on his list of accomplishments but he never wanted accolades. 

Did he wear a mask during the Spanish Flu in 1919? Was he against women or people of color having rights? Was he a fair employer? Did he take care of his workers and their families? The old First Baptist Church in Lakeland had a chapel attached to the main building named after him. It is filled with stained glass windows for each of his 8 children. He attended every Sunday. 

I wish I could find his papers. I wish I could track him through his writing like I have my other ancestors. There is a feed store where his home sat. There are even more crooked politicians than even he could possibly imagine in Tallahassee. I wonder what he would think about the state today?