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Marsh 29. 1939.
Mrs. xoba L. Ball
(Margaret Pearson)
544 Bellwood Avenue,
Jacksonville, Florida.
Rose Shepherd, Writer.
S. JOHN L. (MARGARET PEARSON) HALL
MULBERRY GR NE PLANTATION
Its. Ball was interviewed at her home, 544 Bellwood Avenue, and
seemed eager to talk about the old Mulberry Grove Plantation, site of
the proposed Norval Air -Bass in the Orange Park coition, extending apost
to the Clay County line.
"I was born there in 1883, and lived there until I was about eight
years of age.
"My grandfather, Arthur N. Reed, settled there in the latter part
of the War between the States, at a time when there was danger of bombard.
sent by the Federal gunboats then in the harbor.*
She handed me a oopy of the Jacksonville Tolerant, dated Oetober 11,
1930, on the front page of which is the following:
*Lots of this would be just so much Paper today,
But once here it was Genuine Mossy.
(Illustration of $5.00 note issued by lank of St. Johns October
le 1839),
*Keep Jaeksonville Money in Jacksonville was a slogan in 1858 even
as it is now. This ancient bill of the Bank of St. Tabu demonatratee
it.
*ROTE: This is another of a series of historical novelties prepared by
journal writers with assistance of Florida Bisto2ical Society.
26026
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"Today in 7eeksonxille the phrase Bank of St. aims means just some
of the land along the river, but back in 1858 it meant one of the city's
modern and substantial banking establishments.
"The bank was first organised in 1858 by A. M. Reed. It stood at
Bey and Ocean Streets, and just behind it was his ham, where the Palace
Theatre now sits.
"The bill shown above was issued by Mt. Reed's bank. After the Civil
War the bank was closed. During its lifetime may bills were issued under
its name, just as is done by banks today. But every bill that was offered
to the president for redemption after his bank was closed, was taken in at
face value by him, and paid for out of his personal fortune.
"Only thre such bills as the one produced above are said to exist.
The one above Ions saved by a Axon as a souvenir.
"It is unique, therefore, not only because of its intricate design,
but also because of its scarcity. Not that five -dollar bills are ever
plentiful, but the bills are almost as extinct as the famous dodo.
"The energetic little at engine shorn on this bill is especially
significant, because the bank held a considerable amount of bonds of the
florid*, Atlantic and Cult Central railroad, the first railroad built into
Jacksonville.
"Jacksonville's first bank was called the Bank of Zatksonville. It
opened in 1837 and had a fine reputation in 1039 when soddenly the president
disappeared. He left $132 on hand for the public and stockholders to
fight over. The St. Augustine paper headline writer had quite a lot
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of exeltement in his paper that day. His headline said: 'Bank Mystery*
?resident is FlAunt°
Mrs Nall sontinued: Illy grandfather was a native of Connecticut,
and my grandmother Harriet (Douglas) Reed was a daughter of ZUdlie Thomas
Douglas, also a native of Connecticut, eh° settled in St. Augustine in
1826. Kr great.ignandfather Douglas vies appointed as Judge of the Supreme
Court of Florida in 1826 by John Quinsy Adams, then President of the
Molted States, and served in this office for nineteen years, being reap-
pointed by three successive Presidents.
Mere is ;Udall DougIadAutobiogrepty," she said, presenting a small
volume bound in red leather with gold lettering. flio started exiting it,
and after his death it was completed and published by his family.
"In addition to the lank, grandfather Reed also operated a neroan-
_;
tile establishment, but I do not know just where it was located.
"He felt that his family were in imminent danger, when the Federal
gunboats arrived in the harbor at Jaeksonville in 1862, and retired to
this old plantation with his family, out of the war zone.
heard
"I havo/a Colonel or Captain Hicks mentioned as the immediate pre-
decessor, and before him the land was part of the NOIntosh,grant. It
'comprised considerably more ten fourteen hundred acres. It was a grand
old place as I remember it during my early childhood.
"The large house faced east along the St. Yohns River, which runs
almost due south to north there. Xmas a frame, two.story structure,
painted "Mites with a rod in root. A long wide porch ran the full length
of the front, and around to the south.
"A, wide hall ran through the middle of the house. On one side was
a large living roam, a dining roam, also a smaller roaa used as a sitting
roam. On the other side, were two large bedrooms and a bathroom. There
was an artesian well on the place, lithioh furnished running water in LW.
bathroom.
"The wide stairs ran up in the center of the hall, and there yore
two lovely bedrooms on this second floor, the back part being a storage
room and attic.
"There was a door out of the dining rooms leading into a side hall,
off which was a looker or pantry, where supplies and linens more kept.
The hall con-inued to the beak of the house where was my grandfather's
large library, off which wai a back porch with steps leading down to a
brink walk that ran to the little brick kitchen ehere the family cooking
was done. There was never wow* done in the house, nor meals cooked.
"Late one evening when my grandfather had first located on the
place, two middle-aged Negroes with two little pickaninnies oame drifting
down the river in a rowboat and tied up at the landing. They were free
Negroes, as the result of the 1Mancipation Act, and had no place to live.
Grandfather Reed promptly hired them, and they became an integral pert
of the plantation life-AJnele George and Aunt Nancy Races --as we knew
them. The little bays were named Abram and :Lick. Afterwards four more
were born on the plaoe.grank, 76e, Ike and Sam. They were all grown
when I Gould first remember them.
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"Tank came into Jacksonville and learned the carpenter's trade, and
he did all the building and kept up the repairs on the place.
"Abram attended to the cattle, attending to the ailviag and looking
after the herd of beef cattle, which was rather large.
"Fro* and Toe worked in the fields, in SOSACM4 and Ike and Sommer*
house boys. They brought up the food from the kitchen on big trays and
waited on table at all meals.
"Afterwards Aunt Ilemay4s sister, Clifford Brawn and her husband,
Cornelius Brom, can, to live on the plass. Clifford was the laundress.
Cornelius had charge of the stables, about a block:west of the big house,
in match were kept about ten horses and the males used to do the farming.
Re also acted as ooacaman, driving the family carriage. I remember the
first team was bays, than there was a perfectly matched p4.111' o2 blacks,
of which Cornelius took great care, bruahing and currying then until their
coats shone like bleak satin.
"Than there was Maria Lyles, a housesarvant for asny years, and ay
grandmother's personal maid. When grandmotheas became old and feeble,
Maria slept on a cot at the foot of her bed, and was with her day and
nijat. Abrea performed the same personal service for morgramatather
Reed.
"The darkiee were punished 'if we sailed them vniagere) were
all paid for their 'park. I do not know how amok, but I know they mere
well taken eare of. Some of the neighbors said they were spoiled and
made pets of, but they all worked hard and eertainly deserved lama they
were paid.
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"There was a two -room frame laundry away from the kitchen, and here,
Eliza, who was Abrem's wife and had only one eye, did the family laundry,
assisted by CliYford. They had only old fashioned tubs and washboards,
but they did wonderful work. In one of the rooms was a stove where they
heated the water and boiled the clothes in the old time meaner. The
nen's shirts were snowy white, the bosoms, some of which were tucked, and
the attached °oilers and cuffs starched stiff and highly polished with
their hot irons, heated on top of the stove.
"The voments and children's clothes were adorned with many ruffles,
and thee they fluted. It was fun to watch as they heated the rods red.
hot, run than in the fluting -iron which was turned with a crank and the
ruffle passed through.
"To the south of the house was a la:ge flower garden, where there
were many roses, geraniums, and the usual perennials of that tine. fly
mother tot* care of the flowrs. Another brick walk led down to the
greenhouse, with its glass top, its bins for bulbs, and shelves for the
geraniums and more tender plants.
Trron the front porch a long avenue flanked by large oaks, inter-
twining overhead, and carpeted with St. Augustine grass led to the river
about three hundred feet awiy. There were a few old mulberry trees
scattered around, the remains of the silk.worm industry started many
years before at St. Augustine. I presume this gave the name of the Old
910.10erry Grove PlantatiGn' to the place, as it bore that name "rheumy
grandfather settled there.
"On the river at the end of the oak avenue was a long doel. River
traffic was heavy then, and the beets used to land if we put up the flag
for the purpose of Shipping freight into jackeonville, and they would
deliver orders o ftod,
"Among these river boats were ti t 'Creteent City,' thetflary Draper,'
the 'Manatee," and net mes the 'Three Friends,' would tie up at the dock.
I remember one day, mr brother, Reed Pearson, told me I might blow the
whistle of the 'Three Friends., I was hardly eight, but I climbed aboard
importantly, and seized the rope, giving it a stout yank. The whistle
shrieked, and the rope came olemoring down behind me with a Ilbiam40 that
nearly soared the life out of me.
"In the boathouse under the docks my grandfather kept two boats
the vjebn Perry' end the 'Fanny Perryt--four-oared rowboats in which he
used to come to jaeksonville. In later years, when telephones same into
use, there was a telephone in the house and also in the boathouse, and
we used to telephone around over the place and the neighborhood, where
'phones had been installed!
"The brick walk ran sound the house from the front door to the
back yard, divided --one walk going to the greenhouse and the other to the
kitchen, where o12, Aunt ViSnay held vow. She did the cooking for every-
body, the white folks at the big house, as well as for the darkier and
field bands.
"There was another frame kitchen beyond the little brick kitchen,
which was the quarters of the Reeee'e.
"There was a stone smokehouse in the back yard, where a kind of
commissary wls kept. You see it was away out in the country and it was
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oeiled room upstairs was kept the dried peas for the family use.
"I remember having great fun and running up and down the stairs of the
old cotton house --it wa3 atiTe with rata --and sometimes we would stags bat-
tles with them.
"There were chickens raised in great numbers, as well as other tow].....
turkeys, ducks, geese, guineas--tPotraokingt around --and later my brother
had a few peafowls. Aunt Nancy used to Aol: the down from the breasts of
geese and make down clilLs. This process did not hurt the geese, as they
shed the dawn anyway.
"Orange trees surrounded the place, and these took a lot of attention.
Finally in the late 1330's a freeze killed the trees right down to the
ground, and they were not replanted, In the early days quantities of
orange. were gathered, packed and shipped from the old place. There were
other fruit trees, too; pears, peaches, plums, also strawberries, and black,.
be:ries. Under the old kitchen 'share Melo George and Aunt Nancy and their
family lived was a big ceAar, and here was stored the surplus fruits which
had been canned, or mnde into perserves aud jellies. This was is2t locked
at all times.
"Enormous trees were all around -live oaks, water oaks, tell pines
and palms, and the few mulberry trees, too, were immense. They were filled
with birds —mockingbirds, redbird s, jays, sparrows —their ohaWm,Ims
consent, and nobody tholght of harming them or shooting then.
"Beyond the mulberry trees and 19 in the oats field was a large In-
dian eamp and burying ground, quite large and high and overlooking the river.
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Arepresentntive of the Smitheoniaa Institution did some excavating there
and found twenty-four bodiee down deep in the ground. There was the re
:mains of the old sort of fireplace deep underground, and the skeletons
were all around that, arraujed in a circle with their heeds towards the
hearth. Thc skeletons. as I remember, were of enormous size.
"Vie had c'eat fun eith the Negrooe, the pickapirmies of Clifford
and Cornelius, Eliza and Abram, and I never remember hiving been punished
for associating with them. They all loved us and we loved than just as
if they were a .art of the family. After supper we used to tear down to
the old kitchen, where Aunt Nancy and Uncle George would play with us.
I never remenber of them telling us any stories of any kind. They
seldam sang any sonGs, but they did hum a great deal, suiting the rhythm
to their work.
"Old Uncle Ceorrr.a died in that old kitchen, an nfter Aunt Nancy
got too feeble to work, she went to live with one of her sons who had
married and lived in a cabin in the woods nearby.
"Iraudfather and grandmother were great eoule, and were wonderfully
good to us. ',/e led n happy life at old Mulberry Grove Plantation.
MA after grandfather passed omen the plantation descended to nqf
oldeet brother, Reed Pearson, who Wee named for him, and then we moved
to Tackeonville."