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Mills O. Burnham

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Mills Olcott Burnham
Member of the Florida House of Representatives from St. Lucia County
In office
1847–1851
Personal details
Born(1817-09-08)September 8, 1817[1]
Thetford, Vermont[1]
DiedApril 17, 1886(1886-04-17) (aged 68)
Canaveral, Florida
Resting placeBurnham family cemetery on Cape Canaveral
SpouseMary McCuen (m. 1835)[1]
Children2 boys, Mills Jr., Thadeus; five girls Frances, Anne, Mary, Lucy
Residence(s)Canaveral, Florida
Alma materWatervliet Government Arsenal[1]

Mills Olcott Burnham (September 8, 1817 – April 17, 1886) was a Florida settler and member of the Florida House of Representatives from St. Lucia County.

Early life

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Mills Olcott Burnham was born September 8, 1817, in Thetford, Vermont, the son of Timothy Burnham, and Catherine Young.[2] He was raised in Troy, New York,[1] and served an apprenticeship in the Watervliet Government Arsenal, learning gunsmithing.

Florida settler at Susanna

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He moved to Florida for health reasons in 1837, and brought his wife and two children in August 1839. They originally settled in Garey's Ferry,[1] near Jacksonville.

With the Armed Occupation Act, he filed a claim to settle in the area now known as Ankona, just south of present-day Fort Pierce, which was then called Susanna. He introduced pineapple cultivation, which would later prove to be a significant crop for the area.

He was the first sheriff of what was then St. Lucia County in 1847.

In order to supplement his income, he purchased a schooner, which he named "The Josephine" which he used to become a commercial fisherman. He harvested green sea turtles, and sold them in Charleston. He took good care of his cargo during shipping, and developed a reputation for quality goods. Burnham also raised sheep.

Political career

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Burnham was a member of the Florida House of Representatives[3] from 1847 to 1851.[citation needed]

Florida settler at Canaveral

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After hostilities with natives, in August 1849, the Burnham's and most of the other settlers left the colony and fled to safety in St. Augustine.[1] He and his family which now included three more daughters, moved to Canaveral, in 1853. He was the keeper of the Cape Canaveral Light for 30 years beginning in 1853.[4]

Mills died on April 17, 1886, at age 68.[5][6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g McGoun, William E., Southeast Florida Pioneers: The Palm and Treasure Coasts
  2. ^ "International Genealogical Index (IGI)," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.2.1/9VMN-86S : accessed 2014-02-17), entry for Mills Olcott Burnham.
  3. ^ A Journal of the Proceedings of the House of Representatives. Florida Legislature. 1847. pp. 60.
  4. ^ Report of the Superintendent of the Coast Survey Showing the Progress of the Survey During the Year 1859. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1860. p. 320.
  5. ^ St. Lucie Historical Society Archived February 23, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Shofner, Jerrell H., History of Brevard County Volume 1