A documentary history of Jewell, Florida, a lost community of everglades pioneers founded in 1885 by Samuel and Fannie James, an African American couple, believed to be former slaves. Jewell eventually grew into the City of Lake Worth, its earliest history largely forgotten. Pioneers of Jewell rediscovers the world of Fannie and Samuel James in the context of their neighbors and the wider context of Race and Segregation in the aftermath of the American Civil War. For the first time, groundbreaking research reveals the flight of Fannie's family from North Carolina to Ohio during the Civil War along the track of the Underground Railroad, and traces the Jameses' trek back south through Tallahassee and Cocoa, Florida, before taking up a homestead on the western shore of Lake Worth. Once in South Florida, the Jameses overcame many of the hindrances of race in those troubled times, and became the nucleus of a vibrant, mostly white, farming community. Meet Dr. Harry Stites, a well-known physician who gave up a successful medical practice in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to 'rough it' on the South Florida frontier. Meet Squire John C. Hoagland, the area's first Justice of the Peace, who loved boating and spent much of his time sailing between Palm Beach and Jewell. Meet Michael Merkle, a hermit who lived an austere life in a lean-to west of Jewell, eating unseasoned fish and berries. Merkle was rumored to be a defrocked Catholic priest and was known to walk the pinewoods chanting in Latin when he thought no one was listening. Relying upon primary historical sources, Pioneers of Jewell reveals: -Bios of a dozen previously unknown Jewell pioneers. -The dispute that challenged the Jameses' land holdings. -An in-depth look at the Jameses' stunning financial success. -Investigation of the Jameses' slave background. -The establishment of the Osborne Colored District. -Klu Klux Klan activity in Lake Worth during the 1920s. -The fate of Jewell and its pioneers.
About the Author: Ted Brownstein is a highly regarded researcher and popular writer with a broad background in diverse fields. He holds a master's degree from the University of Wisconsin in Biblical Studies and had a successful career as an economic analyst, having been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and dozens of other nationally recognized business news outlets. Ted has dug deeply into subjects as varied as interfaith religious studies, the life insurance industry, the stock market, ancient Near Eastern history, Mayan archaeology and Florida history. Previous publications include The Interfaith Prayer Book, a compilation of prayers from six world faiths (2001) and Sunshine Republic, a futuristic novel set in Lake Worth (2010). Brownstein is active in his community, serving on the Lake Worth Martin Luther King Committee and the Lake Worth Centennial Committee, is co-founder of the Lake Worth Interfaith Network, organizer of the Peace Jam for Earth Day, and past president of the Kiwanis Club. Born in New York City in 1951, Brownstein has been married since 1970, and has two married daughters and three grandchildren. He has been a resident of Lake Worth, Florida, since 1987.