scof21_

My family moved to Florida from South Carolina
in the early 1850s, and settled on a piece of property
near the Suwannee river between a small town called Chiefland,
and the coastal island town of Cedar Key. Like most of the early
settlers of that time, my family were poor farmers, who were in
search of new land on which they could start fresh. During that
time Florida was considered a wild untamed land, full of swamps,
mosquitoes, snakes and alligators. It was not considered a desirable
place to live, but instead it was considered the South’s
wild west. The only people to inhabit this new state were ones
with nothing left to lose. It was the last resort for most, in hopes
of starting a new life. The early settlers of this time soon learned
that Florida’s wild cattle could provide a comfortable living for
most. Due to the thick brush and woods, ropes were not used in
herding the cattle, but instead the Florida cowboy preferred long
whips which would provide a cracking sound to herd them. Thus
the term “Florida cracker” became the words used when referring
to a Florida cowboy. It was a hard, slow, rewarding life for these
early settlers.