Midway is a city in Gadsden County,Florida,United States. It is part of the Tallahassee,Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2020 census,the population was 3,537,up from 3,004 at the 2010 census.
Francis Wayles Eppes was a planter and slave owner from Virginia who became a cotton planter in Florida Territory and later civic leader in Tallahassee and surrounding Leon County,Florida. After reaching legal age and marrying,Eppes operated the Poplar Forest plantation which his grandfather President Thomas Jefferson had established in Bedford County,Virginia,which he inherited. However,in 1829 he moved with his family to near Tallahassee,Florida. Long interested in education,in 1856 Eppes donated land and money to designate a school in Tallahassee as one of the first two state-supported seminaries,now known as Florida State University. He served as president of its board of trustees for eight years.
The history of Leon County,Florida,much like the History of Tallahassee,dates back to the settlement of the Americas. Beginning in the 16th century,the region was colonized by Europeans,becoming part of Spanish Florida. In 1819,the Adams–Onís Treaty ceded Spanish Florida,including modern-day Leon County,to the United States. Named for Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León,Leon County became an official U.S. county in 1824;the American takeover led to the county's rapid expansion as growing numbers of cotton plantations began to spring up nearby,increasing Leon County's population significantly.
George Taliaferro Ward was a major cotton planter and politician from Leon County,Florida. He served in the Confederate Army as a colonel during the American Civil War,dying near Williamsburg,Virginia.
James Turner Butler was an American politician in the state of Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives and Florida Senate,including as President of the Florida Senate as a Democrat.
Henry Wilkins Chandler was an American lawyer,newspaperman,politician,and federal official. Born a freeman,he was the first African American graduate from Bates College in Lewiston,Maine. He served two terms in the Florida State Senate.
Ellaville,Florida is a ghost town in Florida located in the Suwannee River State Park in Suwannee County,Florida,United States. Ellaville was located at the merging place of the Suwannee River and Withlacoochee River.
John Evans Dailey is an American politician from the state of Florida. He is the mayor of Tallahassee,Florida,serving since November 19,2018. Dailey previously served for twelve years on the Leon County Board of County Commissioners,representing northwestern Leon County,FL from 2006 to 2018.
John Alexander Henderson was a corporate lawyer and politician in Florida. He was an early resident of Tampa,the brother of William Benton Henderson. He studied law under James Gettis,who raised him after the death of his father. During the Civil War,Henderson was in Gettis's company. He was elected mayor of Tampa in 1870.
Peter Oliphant Knight was a lawyer in Tampa,Florida. He is the namesake of Peter O. Knight Airport on Davis Islands,and of the Holland &Knight law firm.
Samuel B. McLin served as Florida Secretary of State from 1873 until 1877,and as a justice of the New Mexico Territorial Supreme Court from 1877 to 1878. He was involved in Florida's delegate counting feud during the disputed 1876 United States presidential election between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel Tilden.
James Dean was the first black American judge elected in Florida after Reconstruction. Dean was born in Ocala,Florida. He graduated from Cookman Institute and Howard University and actively participated in the political world and in his religious faith. He was a county judge in Monroe County,Florida,until Florida governor Francis P. Fleming removed him from office. He was removed from office without a hearing after he married a Cuban couple,allegedly in violation of miscegenation laws. He was restored in good standing posthumously in 2002 by Florida governor Jeb Bush.
Abraham Crosby was an American state legislator in Florida. He served in the Florida Senate representing Bradford County,Florida. His post office was in Zif. Martha Crosby served as a postmaster there.
Andrew Zenas Adkins was a judge and state legislator in Florida. Adkins was born in Bradford County and studied law at Cumberland University,Tennessee. He served several terms in the Florida Senate,gaining election for the Sixteenth district in May 1908,defeating A. D,Andrews. He represented Bradford County,Florida. He also served as mayor of Starke,Florida for two terms,spanning 1907-8.
Harry Eubank King (1902–1981) was a lawyer and state legislator in Florida. He served in the Florida Senate from 1941 to 1956. He was a Democrat. The Florida Archives have photographs of him. He represented Polk County,the 7th District.
William Edward Kilcrease was a state legislator in Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives in 1850 and the Florida Senate in 1852,1854,and 1855. He had a cotton plantations in Gadsden County. He owned slaves.
Robert J. Floyd was a lawyer who served as a state legislator in Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate representing Franklin County,Florida. He also served as President of the Florida Senate.
McQueen Chaires was a state legislator in Florida. He represented Lafayette County,Florida in the Florida House of Representatives 1909 and 1917 legislative sessions. He was a Democrat. His photograph is part of a montage of 1917 Florida House legislators.
George Willis Proctor was an American farmer and state legislator in Florida. An African American,he represented Jefferson County,Florida for one term in the 1883 legislature,while his brother John E. Proctor served as a state senator.
Newton Amos Blitch was a state legislator and public official in Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives and Florida Senate. He represented Levy County,Florida. His post office was in Williston,Florida. He was a Confederate.
