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"A class of people neither freemen nor slaves": from Spanish to American race relations in Florida, 1821-1861

Journal of Social History, Spring, 1993 by Daniel L. Schafer

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Floridians, however, wanted rigid lines with racial differences emphasized rather than blurred, as a wealthy sawmill owner from Nassau County learned when his neighbors condemned him for an "outrage of disrespect to the South." What had judge Edwin E. Alberti done to earn the sobriquet "abolitionist and total nuisance to the feelings of the South"? (61) He had freed Jessie Acker, a sixteen year old mulatto slave, travelled with her to New York where she married a white man, and then sent a Jacksonville newspaper an announcement of the wedding which referred to the bride as "Miss" Jessie Acker and omitted reference to her race.

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Defending himself against attacks printed in the Florida Republican, Alberti explained that after a six year trial period he and his wife had freed Jessie in 1849, testifying to her "moral worth, purity of conduct, strict integrity, and unwavering veracity." She stayed with them to work for wages, and they made "very sufficient provisions" for her in their wills. (62)

Intent on missionary work in Liberia, Jessie had become ill and sailed to New York for treatment. Upon arrival, however, Alberti's former overseer, a white man from Maine, claimed Jessie as his secret lover during his years in Florida. Alberti said his inability to stop them from marrying caused him "a deep and abiding mortification and sorrow of heart." For referring to Jessie as "Miss" in a previous newspaper article Alberti apologized "exceedingly" for having introduced "a word which caused so much sensation." (63)

Apologies would not suffice. On August 5, 1855, residents of the area met and denounced Alberti as "an enemy to the South," and advised him "to rest beside his protegee." (64) Wealth and status were insufficient insurance against enraged white men intent on enforcing the general will of their society. (65)

Race Tensions in the Turbulent Fifties

Between Kingsley's era and 1861, Northeast Florida experienced dramatic economic and demographic changes, accentuated in the final decade by sectional crisis and heightened attachment to white supremacy. Slave numbers increased substantially, but the white population nearly tripled, growing to 60 percent of the total in 1860. During the 1850s, Clay County became a yeoman farming area with a population that was 73 percent white, 93 percent born in slave states. Only 19 percent of the heads of Clay County households owned slaves, and more than half of all bondsmen were held at only 6 estates. In the 1820s, Kingsley had lamented the absence of whites in the back country to help control the slave majority; in 1860, white yeoman allies were there in abundance.

White population also increased in Jacksonville during the 1850s, from 1,045 to 2,128. Whites comprised 53 percent of the residents in 1860, with one in three adults born outside the South. Approximately 40 percent of all Duval County residents lived in Jacksonville, reflecting the rapid expansion of the region's economy. Fernandina, with 1,360 residents in 1860, showed similar patterns.

"A class of people neither freemen nor slaves": from Spanish to American race relations in Florida, 1821-1861

Journal of Social History, Spring, 1993 by Daniel L. Schafer

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