PBSCV1599
Gen. James Patton Anderson Camp 1599
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FL 8th Infantry Company G
David Mizell’s history is somewhat convoluted because one of Mizell’s ten children shared his name. Some sources refer to Mizell’s son as David Mizell Jr. Mizell was said to be a descendent of French Huguenots that arrived in the Colonies before the outbreak of the American Revolution. The family originally had the name Moselle, before changing it to the Anglicanized Mizell. The Mizell family’s legacy in America began with three brothers: Luke, William and David. After settling off the Eastern Coast of North Carolina the three brothers each moved their separate ways south. William’s lineage went to Georgia, Luke’s to Alabama, and David’s to Florida. Although Mizell was not the town founder, he and his family settled the area in 1858. He was said to have been convinced to come down to Central Florida from Alachua County on a suggestion by his son John, who believed that the area held high prospects. Taking a chance, Mizell purchased eight acres of land surrounded by lakes from Isaac W. Rutland. After traveling to his land on horseback his daughter took her sycamore riding whip and stuck it into the ground, marking the area where the Mizell family would build their first log cabin. Mizell named the settlement Lake View as it was surrounded by lakes. These lakes are today known as Mizell, Berry, and Virginia. The name of his settlement was later changed to Osceola in 1870 in honor of a famous Seminole warrior. Whether the settlement was more commonly known as Lake View or Osceola makes little difference as the settlement would later become what is known today as the City of Winter Park.After founding the settlement, Mizell experienced success growing cotton on his land. The mild climate and abundant water allowed for him to make a profit growing cotton. With his success as a planter, Mizell became a prominent citizen of Orange County. His son John became a county judge, and his other Son, David, became the first sheriff of Orange County. Unfortunately, the younger David was ambushed
and killed in the line of duty. The younger Mizell’s death sparked a feud between the Mizell Family and the Barber Family. The elder David Mizell became the first chairman of the Board of Orange County Commissioners and even had a hand in signing Florida’s Constitution of 1868. In his later years, Mizell lived with one of his sons in Conway, an area located in East Orange County, Florida. His son died soon after and he bought the house from his son’s widow and lived in it until 1884. Mizell died on January 6, 1884 and was buried in Conway cemetery
MIZELL FAMILY 1890s
Original cabin built on the shores of Lake Rowena where Leu Gardens now stands. Left to right: Angelina Augusta May Mizell, Jessie Mizell, wife of John Thomas, and John Thomas Mizell.
Mary Jane Mizell
Sister of John R & David Mizell
Mary Jane Mizell was born 02/18/1811 in Camden or Baldwin Co., Georgia, and died 1852 - 1910.She married John Jonathan Pearce 12/01/1831 in Camden Co., Georgia, son of John Pearce and Ann Cain.He was born 02/07/1809 in Washington Co., Georgia, and died 10/07/1878 - 1879 in Pleasant Grove, Hillsborough Co., Florida.
The family moved to Florida to escape the censure of yet another scandal in which a young man was beaten to death by the “Mizelle and Pearce boys”
Here is a story (scandal) mentioned above
Here is an article from the Huxford, GA, Genealogical Society magazine:
In Camden County, Georgia, in the early 1830's, rivalry and bad blood existed between the Mizell boys, (Enoch, Joseph and Charlton) and John Malphurs, Jr. On the night of December 24, 1832, the Mizell boys, sons of David Mizell, with their brother-in-law, John Pearce, attacked John Malphurs. In the ensuing fight, John Malphurs was killed.
Enoch Mizell, Joseph Mizell and John Pearce were arrested and charged with murder. Charlton Mizell, who actually committed the crime, eluded arrest and fled the state.
The trial of the Mizell boys and John Pearce took place in Court Chambers at Jefferson, Camden County, GA on December 31, 1932. An extract of the Court Minutes, as recorded: "Monday, December the 31st 1832, the Honorable Inferior Court from the County in the State of Georgia, met in Chambers at Jefferson. Present, their Honors, Archibald Clark, Hugh Brown, Gillis McDonald, George W. Thomas, Justices of Said Court. The State vs Enoch Mizell, Joseph Mizell, Charlton Mizell, and John Pearce, charged with the murder of John Malphurs, Junior.
The prisoners, Enoch Mizell, Joseph Mizell, and John Pearce having been arrested and in custody, prayed that writ of Habeas Corpus which was granted agreeably to the motion given to the Court convened and proceeded to an examination of the testimony produced on the part of the State and having maturely considered the same, are of the opinion that the said Enoch Mizell, Joseph Mizell and John Pearce are not guilty of the charge of being accessory to the murder of the deceased John Malphurs, Junior as charged against them, but that the act, as shown by the evidence before the Court, was committed by Charlton Mizell who, as the court has shown, has since been advised, has absconded. It is therefore ordered by the Court that the prisoners be discharged from their confinement, and it being further represented that the friends of the deceased are in indigent circumstances and are unable to meet the expenses attending the arrest of the prisoners, it is ordered that they be defrayed!
by the County and that a Bill of Particulars be made out and taxed by the Clerk of the Court. Ordered that until the vacancy of the Office of the Sheriff be filled, that a gaoler be appointed to take charge of the county gaol, and that Stephen McCall be sworn to that office.
Ordered by John Bailey, Treasurer, pay Pliney Carter, seventy four dollars 37/100 for his bill of expenses in assisting the prisoners, Joseph Mizell, Enoch Mizell and John Pearce, and feeding and attending Court and the Habeas Corpus. Also, that the Treasurer pay to Isaac Bailey, Clerk of the Court, five dollars 31/100 for his services in attending the Court under the writ of Habeas Corpus, in the case of the State vs Enoch Mizell, Joseph Mizell and John Pearce.
Signed: Archibald Clark, J.I.C.C.C., G.W. Thom as, J.I.C.C.C., Gillis McDonald, J.I.C.C.C., Hugh Brown, J.I.C.C.C." from the " Union Recorder," Baldwin County, Georgia, Thursday, February 7, 1833:
"Whereas I have received official information that on the night of the 24th of December last, a murder was committed on the body of John Malphurs, of Camden County, in this state, by Charlton Mizell; and whereas it has been represented to me, that the said Charlton Mizell has fled from justice, I have thought it proper to issue this, my proclamation, hereby offering a reward of $200.00 to any person who may apprehend the said Charlton Mizell and deliver him to the Sheriff of the County, aforesaid. By the Governor, Wilson Lumpkin; Everhand Hamilton, Secretary of State."
Charlton Mizell was apprehended. he was convicted of manslaughter in 1833 and sentenced to four years in the State Penitentiary. He died in prison on April 28, 1834. The cause is not revealed in the above report.
The sister of Sarah Ann was my ancestress, Mary Mizell who married John Pearce. Their graves are at the old Turkey Creek cemetery in Hillsborough County.
John J. Pearce & Mary Jane Mizell
PEARCE FAMILY
Capt. John Mizell Pearce, founder of the Pearce family in the Kissimmee River Valley, was born Nov. 17, 1834, in Columbia County, Florida, the eldest child of Levi and Mary Jane (Hooker) Pearce.
John M. Pearce came with his parents to Hillsborough County during the 1840’s where they settled in the area that later became Polk County, near Peas Creek. On Feb. 11, 1858, John M. Pearce was married to Martha Ann Lanier, daughter of Luke Pridgen and Mary B. (Williams) Lanier. She was born in Georgia, Sept. 11, 1838. John M. and Martha Ann (Lanier) Pearce had the following children:
Mary Pearce, born 1858.
Dock Pearce, born 1860; died 1926; married Mary Roberts
Laura Pearce, born Sept. 1861; died ca. 1910; married 1st— Finley Gillespie; 2nd—Robert Henry Alderman, Aug. 11, 1888.
Frank Bartow Pearce, born Dec. 7,1863; died June 20, 1928; married Sarah Rebecca Roberts
William Sidney Pearce, born Jan. 3,1866; died Feb. 27, 1944; married Meroba Virginia Hollingsworth, May 13, 1894.
Robert Lee Pearce, born Oct. 20, 1867; died July 26, 1943; married Martha Walker, Nov. 3,1892.
Virginia Pearce, born Dec. 18, 1869; died Jan. 3,1936; married Jacob C. Morgan.
Susan Dollie Pearce, born about 1870; married 1st— John W. Peeples; 2nd — John David Whaley.
Mustow Givens Pearce, born Sept. 5, 1875; married John Wroland Lamb Aug. 20, 1898.
Walter James Pearce, born july 26, 1880; died Jan. 25, 1939; married Helen Josephine Addison, July 21, 1900.
John Mizell Pearce was an active participant in the Third Seminole War, 1855-58, serving in several volunteer companies during that conflict. At one time he served as a scout in the Kissimmee valley area surveying Indian activities.
When the Civil War was underway, Mr. Pearce served the Confederate cause in Capt. F. A. Hendry’s company of special cavalry, a part of Munnerlyn’s Cattle Guard Battalion.
During the years after the Civil War, John Mizell Pearce established a large and prosperous cattle business. He was headquartered at Fort Meade until 1875 when he decided to move his family to the Kissimmee River and settle at Fort Basinger on the western side of the river. There he built a log house and set up a ferry operation to serve travelers going across the river.
Capt. Pearce was the last owner of the steamboat Mary Belle which operated along the Kissimmee River until it was sunk about 1884. John M. Pearce also served as Deputy Sheriff for the eastern part of DeSoto County, and was for a number of years the only law enforcement officer in the lower Kissimmee River Valley. When DeSoto County was established in 1887, Capt. Pearce obtained a license to continue operation of his ferry. It was granted Oct. 3, 1887 and contained the following maximum rates: Footman, $.15 Man and horse, $.25 Horse and Buggy or other single team, $.50 Double team, $.75 One yoke of oxen and cart or wagon, $.40 Two yoke of oxen and cart or wagon, $.60 Each additional yoke, $.15; Each additional animal, $.05.
Capt. Pearce continued his extensive cattle operations until his death on Sept. 28, 1897, at Fort Basinger. His widow then constructed a handsome home overlooking the Kissimmee River which is today occupied by their granddaughter, Mrs. Edna Pearce Lockett. Martha (Mizell) Pearce died Sept. 27, 1911. Both Capt. and Mrs. Pearce are buried in a small cemetery on the Pearce property.
Capt. Pearce’s son, William Sidney Pearce, named for the Southern poet and kinsman Sidney Lanier, continued the family cattle business. He used the P4 brand for his cattle and his daughter Edna continues the use of this brand. W. S. Pearce also was instrumental in the establishment of a school at Fort Basinger. He built the first bridge across the Kissimmee River from Fort Basinger to Basinger in 1916. The bridge which currently spans the river is named for him. William Sidney Pearce died in 1944.
In 1976, in honor of the nation’s bicentennial, Edna Pearce Lockett had an attractive sign placed at the west entrance to Fort Basinger. On the sign are portraits of Zachary Taylor and Billy Bow-legs III. The sign was erected in honor of Captain John Mizell Pearce.
Pearce home, Martha Lanier Pearce on extreme right
THE WAY IT WAS - Gene Barber
The David Mizell family settled land on the bank of Lake Rowena in what is now Winter Park. They had no sooner constructed their log cabin when their fears born of the cries for secession and war came true - and her southern sister states separated from the Union and declared war against the United States.
The Mizells of central Florida, like so many other Crackers, were not in favor of the Confederacy's actions; but when the battles were imminent, the young men went to serve the new nation. One of the older brothers, John, was commissioned a lieutenant in the Seventh Florida Infantry and was captured by Union forces during the battle of Missionary Ridge. David never saw battle but was stricken with cholera en route to Savannah. Their brother whom was killed during the battle for the city of Richmond. David's wife drove her wagon up into Georgia to bring her husband home. Some of the family later said that a doctor had recommended a warmer climate near the sea and a diet of fish and vegetable broth for the remainder of Dave's life. Angeline loaded Dave and their one child back intothe wagon and headed for the coast. It isn't known how long she stayed there with her sickly husband and her child, but Key West seemed to fit the bill much better. She purchased a sailboat and removed them to the Keys.
Key West was in Union hands and probably was relatively free from battles. There in an abandoned Spanish fort Dave recuperated and another child was born (ever notice that no matter how sickly a man is the babies keep arriving?). Some of Dave's enemies later said that it was while he was in Key West that he made the deal whereby he would be appointed sheriff of his home county when the war was over.
For reasons never mentioned in family circles, Angeline set sail for Florida's lower east coast and landed her family near Cutler Ridge in the present Miami area. The soil was poor to non-existent and there was little market for fish in those troubled times and in an area where anyone could catch his own, but east coast pines grew abundantly and Angeline set up a pitch plant to supply naval tar to passing ships.
The business proved lucrative. Many a ship and small boat sailed into Biscayne Bay for her product. However, a Union gunboat, said to have been angered by Angeline's high prices, set fire to her plant.The south Florida experience had proved to be no more a picnic than north and central Florida so the Mizells sailed up the coast for home. The war, incidentally, was over and so were David's chances of being re-conscripted into the Confederate Army. The United States quickly removed Florida's government and instituted a reconstruction form of politics. Many Florida counties had Blacks and imported Northerners appointed as sheriff, but the Reconstruction Government chose David Mizell for Orange County. Florida had many pro-Union men before the war, but for some reason or another they were mostly ignored except for a distinguished few. Stories of Dave's derring-do have circulated and grown throughout central Florida over the past century. Whatever he might have or not have been, Dave Mizell was a loyal Reconstruction man. In spite of his descendants' tales that he took the job of sheriff to protect his fellow former Confederates, he was never known to have sided with them even when history andall contemporary circumstances proved them morally and legally right. The man was no fool and was well aware from whence came the butter for his bread.
John Mizell was appointed judge of Orange County; and, as put by many citizens of the area,
"they had the people right where they wanted them."
After the Civil War, cattle were scarce and in great demand. All over the South, and especially in the central Florida area, cow stealing became big business. The Mizells and their allies, the Basses, accused the Barber family and their allies of illegally rounding up otherpeople's stock. The Barbers in turn claimed the Mizells were sweeping the woods clean of cattle under the guise and protection of the law.
Exorbitant taxes were imposed on unreconstructed Floridians such as the Barbers (originally, as members of the old Whig party they had been opposed to secession but, when it happened, cast their lots with the Confederacy and held out against the United States government after the war). Most were unable to pay the taxes and believed them unjust. Judge John Mizell directed his brother Sheriff Dave to collect in cattle. When Dave collected" out of Mose Barber's herd he was told, "If you ever enter my herd again, Dave Mizell, you'll leave feet-first." Mose Barber, a part-time resident of Baker and Columbia Counties, was up to his neck in debt and court cases as he tried to hold together his little central Florida empire in the face of insurmountable odds.He lost still another of the court and Judge Mizell demanded the Sheriff to collect court costs from Mose. Sheriff Dave knew Barber's finances almost as well as did Barber and realized that instead of getting money he would have to once more visit Mose's cattle herds. In the meantime the Orange County courthouse, like hundreds of others in the South, burned to the ground with all its records. As in other parts of the South, the unreconstructed Bourbon-Democrats accused the Scal awags, Carpetbaggers, and Blacks of the deed. The Reconstructionists naturally returned the accusation. The destructio n of land and court records proved beneficial to both sides in many cases. The county, much larger then than now, divided into bitter sides, and many were ready to join in the feud when it began.
In early 1870 an Orlando farmer named Bullock approached Sheriff Mizell with a bill of sale for cattle from the Barber s but which he could not collect. Mizell and his brother Morgan and twelve year old son Billy headed for south Orange County (the present Osceola County) to force one of the Barbers (either General or Champion by name) to deliver up the cows to Bullock. When they reached Bull Creek near the present Kenansville, they were ambushed. Sheriff Mizell's killer was never found but a local Barber sympathizer named Needham Yates later claimed credit for the deed and impilcated Mose Barber as his hirer. Morgan returned to the Mizell homestead 75 miles north for help and left young Billy to guard his father's body against the wolves. Billy held to a floating tussock in the middle of the stream all night long clutching Dave's body. Billy said that his father's last words were that no one seek revenge for his death, but Dave's brothers and relatives scoured the countryside for Barbers, killing every one they found. Any captured were shot rather than saved for trial since they were certain the majority of the populace, wanting to be free from the Mizell power, would have been sympathetic to the victims. Mose Barber returned for a short while to the north end of the State to dispose of the remainder of his Florida holdings, and, saying good-bye to his Baker County relatives, departed forever from the state. The Mizells, meanwhile, regrouped their power and soon had the central part of the state in their hands. And, by-the-way, they proved to be a most enlightened political family, today commanding the respect and admiration of their fellow citizens.
The body of Sheriff Dave Mizell was brought back to the shore of Lake Rowena to rest under a sycamore planted by his mother when they first arrived in the present Winter Park area. Later on, a lot of folks in that section said, "Orange County lost the first and last sheriff it ever had when Dave Mizell died."
Long genealogical lists are often confusing and, to anyone whose name is not included, usually boring. But in our obtuse and obstinate way we are going to give you a list anyhow. Sheriff Dave Mizell, the subject of our past three offerings was a son of David and Mary Pearce Mizell. The latter David was born in 1809 in Bulloch or Camden County, Georgia. His wife Mary was a daughter of John and Ann Cain Pearce and was born in Washington County, same state. Mrs. Mizell's Cain family was an old English and Spanish Colonial Florida family, having lived in the present Nassau County area before Florida's transfer to the United States.
The elder David moved to Baker-Columbia Counties section in the late 1820's and established a fortified settlement which became a haven for neighboring settlers during Indian attacks. From this fort near Alligator Village (Lake City) he moved around 1836 to the district of Wanton's Agency in the present Alachua County. He was elected Justice of the Peace there in 1848 and to the County Commissioners Board in 1849.
He returned to Columbia (that part now Union) in time for the 1850 census, and, after his father (also named David) died in that same census year, he headed a Mizell exodus to central Florida .
This David's parents were David, born about 1775 in Saint Matthews Parish (Effingham County), Georgia, and Sarah Albritton. Sarah was a daughter of John (Revolutionary Soldier) and Abbey Albritton. The elder David was previously married, but this column has not learned her name. The elder David was a citizen of Camden County by 1800 and was elected a lieutenant in that county's militia in 1801. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Mizell moved to Bulloch County where he remarried (to the above-mentioned Miss Albritton) and was elected captain of the forty-ninth (Bulloch) Military District.
During the First Seminole Indian War he returned to Camden, living near Traders Hill, and served with his older sons under Major Bailey in the Camden Militia. The dean of Georgia genealogists Folks Huxford states this David died in 1850 in Camden. Some descendants number several notable politicians and financial people among them. The Pearce family was among the largest clans in neighboring Union County. The Moodys of Clay and Alachua are well known. The Sparkmans of the Tampa area contributed much to the state's economy. And the deaths of David's daughter Nancy and her family prompted the beginning of Baker County's South Prong Cemetery in 1838.
The last discussed David was son of Charlton Mizell who was born sometime between 1740 and 1750 in North Carolina. Charlton married Elizabeth Everett, born in 1764 in Tyrrell County, North Carolina. She was the daughter Joshua and Sarah Everitt (Everett). It is unproved but possible that the Joshua Everett of Tyrrel County who mentions his father Nathaniel in a March, 1754, will is the same as Elizabeth's father. The Nathaniel Everett mentioned was born at Kendrick's Creek in either Maryland or North Carolina in 1707. He and his wife Mary (or Elizabeth) lived on a plantation in Tyrrell County. Charlton and Elizabeth's off-spring were Charlton, born 1773, N.C. (remember this one and we'll get back to him later); David (already discussed); Joshua, died about 1842; John; and Sarah, born about 1780 and married a Brown.
Charlton, Senior, and Elizabeth moved to Effingham County, Georgia, immediately after the Revolution and to Camden soo n after that. Historian Herbert N. Mizell, Junior, of Panama City, Florida, reported that Charlton was a son of Luke, born 1680, and Susannah Smithwick Mizell (sometimes spelled "Meazle"). Susannah was either a daughter or granddaughter of Hugh Smithwick who arrived in Albamarle District, North Carolina, in 1664. Luke Mizell witnessed in 1714 a transfer of 200 acres of land on North Carolina's Morattuck River fr om Edward Smithwick to William Meazle (Mizell). Another testator William Charlton, a magistrate of much popularity, was probably the one for whom Luke's son Charlton was named.
Luke and Susannah Mizell's children were William, Charlton N. (already discussed), Edward B. (1730-1819), John, and Mar y (1723-1738, married Edwin Collins). All were born in or near the present Edonton, Tyrrell County, North Carolina, whe re Luke had moved prior to 1703, Susannah's brother, by-the-way, donated 70 yards square of land in Chowan County, Nort h Carolina, in 1702 for the reputed first church in the Carolinas (book W, Registration of Deeds, Chowan County). Luke was a son of Luke (1653-1694) and Elizabeth. The elder Luke was a son of Luke (1614-1673) and Deborah. Luke I came to the colonies in 1635 with Thomas Grey and settled in Virginia (one reason the Barbers never cared for the Mizells is that the Mizell family arrived in America thirteen years earlier than they.)
From there back we only have bits and pieces. Whether it is this family or not, we learned that an early English family named Moselle (and its many variations) descended from an immigrant to Great Britain from the beautiful Moselle River valley of the present France and West Germany (that area also blessed us with one of the world's treasures - light, sprightly, white Moselle Wine). The old Cracker pronunciation of the name "Muh-zel" is much closer to the European river name than that now used by some of the later more affluent generations - "My'-zel". It should be mentioned here that some of the Mizell historians claim the family is descended from French protestant settlers in the Carolinas. We shall just report all findings and proposals and let our dear readers remain confused or take their choices of histories."
Now we ask our kind readers' indulgence as we return to the Charlton Mizell, Junior, born in 1773 and brother to the randfather of Orange County Sheriff Dave Mizell. Charlton, Junior, was married in 1798 in Camden County to Mary Blount, a daughter of Redding and Lucy Harvey Blount. Redding Blount was a son of Jacob and Barbara Gray Blount of North Carolina. Jacob was reputed to have been the father-in-law of the legendary pioneer of Spanish Florida Sam Worthington (ancestor of Baker Countians and for whom Worthington Springs was named). There is a record of gifts of a slave and some personally (personal property?) from Redding to his minor daughter Mary in 1798, and Charlton Mizell was named as trustee. Before long, Charlton married the young Mary and received a fair start in life with her gifts and dowry. Redding's wife Lucy was a daughter of Miles Harvey an d his unknown second wife.
From the Honorable Folks Huxford and Charlton's descendants we learned the names of Charlton and Mary's children, all born in Camden County. They were Elizabeth, born in 1800 and did not marry; Joshua Everett, born in 1801 and married Letitla Ray Paxton; William "Billy," born in 1803 and married Liza Ann Nelson; Mary Ann, born in 1806 and married (1) James M. Paxton and (2) unknown; Jackson, born in 1813 and married Elizabeth Lang; Rebecca, born in 1816 and married
a Jackson; and Jehu, born in 1819 and married (1) Martha and (2) unknown.
Charlton, Junior, died about 1840 at his home in Camden County near the Satilla River. Many of Charlton, Junior's descendants became valuable members of the political and economic communities of Camden, Cha rlton, and Nassau Counties, but none were as colorful and memorable as was son Billy. Uncle Billy was born on the Satilla, and, on New Year's Day, 1835, he married Liza Ann Nelson of Nassau County, Florida. Liza's father is believed to have been William "Billy" Nelson, a settler on the Florida side of the Saint Mary's River during the Second Spanish Period. His Spanish grant of 640 acres was near Mill's Ferry, and he held it from 1817 until the territory's acquisition by the United States. When making his claim for his Spanish grant under U.S. laws, he and his testators claimed that the land contained several buildings erected by Mr. Nelson and that the land was kept under continuous cultivation. Mr. Nelson had also remained loyal to the Spanish Government during the so-called Patriots' Rebellion a few years earlier. The Nelsons are buried at Mill Creek between Brandy Branch and Hililard. Billy and Liza Mizell's children were Joshua, Josiah, Robert, Isaac, Louvilla, and Amanda. Robert "Rob" was also called "Blind" Mizell and was reputed to have been the best fiddler in Charlton and Baker Counties. Muc h of his life was spent in the Moniac-Baxter section. Louvilla married a neighbor, George Washington Garrett. She die d in rural north McClenny after bearing Mr. Garrett four children including the late Mrs. Elizabeth "Lizzie" "Sweet" Ga rrett Thomas of McClenny (her home was torn down to build the Citizens Bank driveway).
Uncle Billy settled more places in Camden and Charlton Counties than any other single pioneer. On record are more tha n 30 sites in an area from Buffalo Creek on the north to the bottom of the Big Bend on the south. He once moved to Florida by mistake and learning of the truth of his residence promptly packed an d crossed back over the river to Georgia. He seemed to enjoy breaking new ground, making it his life's vocation. When he found a buyer for his homestead, he loaded up family and belongings and searched out unsettled land. His wife and children accepted the f requent moves by horse cart. His biographer Alex McQueen said Uncle Billy never made much money from his sales or trades but was thrifty (a trait among his descendants).
Uncle Billy Mizell's often expressed desire to be buried under an oak tree (after his death of course) was carried out by his family. His last homeplace (later called the James L. Johns place) was on Sparkman Branch just a bove the Saint Mary's River and a few miles from the present McClenny. Nearby was an oak ridge and under a spreading oak within sight of Florida the body of Uncle Billy rests.
http://www.cfhf.net/orlando/1513.htm
1858: Third Seminole Indian War ends
David Mizell Jr. & family moved to Orlando (The first to settle the Winter Park area)
1860: David W. Mizell buys 40 acres on Lake Rowena (now Leu Gardens)
1861: Florida secedes from the Union and joins the Confederacy
1863: Orange County Courthouse (1863) is completed
1865: U. S. Civil War ends
1868: David William Mizell (son of David Mizell Jr.) becomes Orange County Sheriff under the Reconstruction Government
Orange County Courthouse (1863) is a victim of arson on the eve of a cattle-rustling trial
1869: Orange County Courthouse (1869) completed
David Mizell Jr. elected chairman of the Orange County Commission
1870: Sheriff David William Mizell murdered in the line of duty
See:
http://www.leugardens.org/tour/Biographies/DavidMizell/index.html