Discovery – Francis William ‘Frank’ Sams, Jr. (1846-1921)
“Discovery” inspired this week’s entry for 52 Sams in 52 Weeks. Imagine you’re driving to Florida for a reunion of sorts on Merritt Island. You stop to stay with friends in New Smyrna Beach. It turns out there is a small museum nearby on Sams Avenue, and, being the ever-curious historian that you are, you decide to drop in. Amongst all the memorabilia, artifacts, information placards, photos, etc. your eye is drawn to this photo for obvious reasons; Frank SAMS. Could this be a descendant of ‘our’ Sams, with a street named after him here in Florida? Of course, the ultimate answer is yes. Why else would I be writing about them!
The Family Tree
On the ground:
Francis William “Frank” Sams (1846 -1921), Zelia Sheldon Sams (1847 – 1914) (Franks wife), Anna Zelia Sams Bouchelle (1873 – 1963) (Daughter), Cornelia Jane “Cora” Sams Wilson (1870 – 1951) (Daughter)
In the tree:
Frank Sheldon Sams (1875 – 1963) (Son), Two younger children; unknown.
Edward Hext Sams (1790~1845)
Francis William ‘Frank’ Sams, Jr. (1846-1921), on the left in the picture, is the great-grandson of William and Elizabeth Sams. This line of the Sams is little-talked about in Beaufort or by the Dataw Historic Foundation. The reason is simple; out of sight, out of mind. They are descended from Edward Hext Sams (1790-1845), the youngest son of William and Elizabeth Sams.
But let’s return to Beaufort for a minute.
When William Sams died in 1798, he left his Dataw plantation to his wife and their three youngest sons: Lewis Reeve, Berners Barnwell, and Edward Hext. As the boys came of age, they each received a portion of the plantation. For reasons we can postulate but probably never know for certain, Edward decided to sell his share to Lewis Reeve and BB. Maybe Dataw was getting too crowded for Edward’s taste. His wife was a Fripp, as was Lewis Reeve’s wife and BB’s wife. She might have agreed or even encourage the change. In any case Edward Hext Sams (1790-1845) and his wife Sarah Emily Fripp (1794-1837) left the Beaufort area and South Carolina soon after they married in 1814. Our records tend to be Beaufort-centric; even the oral histories. Given the communications and transportation infrastructure of the early 1800s, it was hard to keep in touch. It appears once Edward and Sarah struck out on their own in 1814, they had little contact with the Charleston (Johns Island, Wadmalaw Island) or Beaufort (Dataw Island, Lady’s Island, Polowana Island, Port Royal Island) Sams.
Dr. Francis William Sams (1815-1855)
Edward and Sarah’s first son was born in McIntosh County, Georgia, in Sep of 1815. We don’t have complete birth records for all of their six children, but based on U.S. Federal Census records, we know the family was in Duval/Nassau County, Florida Territory by 1830, with 38 slaves. In the 1840 census records, they are still in that area with slaves. So I assume they were planters, but cattle ranching was also common in those days in Florida. More research is needed on this family.
The family must have done well because their oldest son Francis William Sams (1815-1855) became a doctor. He was successful enough to be listed in “A Biographical Register of the Medical Profession in the 19th Century Florida”. Dr. Francis William Sams had medical practices in Apalachicola, Florida, and then Palatka, Florida. His wife Cornelia Hopkins (1826-1897) came from a strong Southern family herself. Her father was General Benjamin Hopkins (1802-1862), serving the Confederate States of America. He died during the Civil War from disease. As an interesting side note, Gen Hopkins was born on Daufuskie Island, S.C. So Cornelia’s father and father-in-law (Edward H. Sams) were born about 25 miles from each other back in South Carolina, one on Daufuskie Island, the other on Dataw Island (though maybe in Beaufort, you never know about ‘our’ Sams). In any case, this brings us to the son of Dr. And Mrs. Francis W. Sams.
Frank Sams Jr. (1846-1921) – Confederate soldier at 15, State senator in Florida at 53
Francis William Sams, Jr. (1846-1921), the man on the left in the picture, was one of four children born to Dr. Frank Sams and his wife, but the only one to live to adulthood. He was born in Palatka, Florida and died in New Smyrna Beach, Florida – where he was “discovered” last year by Joe and Diane Roney on their road trip. From the research Joe Roney and I have done, it’s clear he was a very successful man. Imagine the hard times he lived through. According to the History of Volusia County, Florida, dated 1927
Frank W. Sams was educated in the public schools of Jacksonville up to the time he was fifteen years old, when he left school to join the Confederate Army in 1861. He enlisted in Hardee’s Company, Third Florida Volunteers and served in this company and another to which he was transferred throughout the war, his regiment being engaged practically all the time in Florida.
After hostilities ceased he went to Titusville, Florida, with his Uncle. Col. Hopkins. In 1868 he moved to New Smyrna and went into the cattle business, buying considerable land in that section, and became one of the largest cattle men in Florida. He also had a general store at New Smyrna and owned the entire town of Wilaca, near Palatka.
I believe this town is now Welaka. According to census records, Frank Sams occupations evolved from farmer to rancher, to hotel keeper. In addition he served both in the Florida House of Representatives and the state Senate over a period of twelve years. And was first, a member of the first Town Council of New Smyrna, then the town’s Mayor.
He married Zelia Sheldon (1847-1914) in 1869; they had six children, including the man in the tree, Frank Sheldon Sams (1875-1963). See the fan chart below.
Florida Sams – Brevard County Pioneers and Volusia County Pioneers
You may have attended the presentation Joe Roney gave last year on the Florida Sams. That migration from Beaufort to Brevard County, Florida, occurred back in the 1870s. You also heard a bit about this in my week 6 article on Sarah Stanyarne Sams Sams. But long before this, in about 1830, another migration took place down ending in Volusia County, FL. And while these migrations are about 40 years apart, the 1830s versus the 1870s were worlds apart. Consider these facts.
The Florida Territory was created in 1822, finally wresting control of the area away from Spain. War with the Seminole Indians in that area began in 1817 and did not end until 1858. Florida did not become the 27th U.S. State until 1845. Through all this, Edward & Sarah Sams families are helping to settle Florida. It could not have been easy. Soon after the Civil War, the other Brevard County Sams arrive and become pioneers in the citrus industry. And I haven’t even told you yet about one of the most colorful characters in the Sams Florida lineage. I’ll leave that to another day, but here’s a clue.
A Sams descendant owned a controversial painting claimed to be the only portrait Eva Perón posed for in her life! Yes, that Evita!
Sources
New Smyrna Museum of History, 120 Sams Avenue, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168 | Tel: (386) 478-0052 | Hours: Tues – Sat 10am – 4pm
Gold, Pleasant Daniel, “History of Volusia County, Florida” (1927), pages 480-481.
Hammond, E. Hashby,“The Medical Profession in 19th Century Florida: a biographical register” (1996) page 545
Find-A-Grave, accessed Feb 14, 2020
Family Tree for Sams of Dataw, maintained by Bill Riski and Joel Holden, accessed Feb 14, 2020.
Roney, Joe, “The Sams of Florida” (2019), Dataw Historic Foundation
https://www.datawhistory.org/presentation-on-sams-of-florida-june-2019/
#52Sams – Week 7 – Discovery