The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1911-03-24
TEOFF|CERS
| EARLY ACTION
In Memory of fIorida's Former
Governor, William D. BlOxham
hWICE SERVED STATE
|Aooropr rate Resolutions are Unanimously
Adopted and Spread Upon Records of
State Executive Office.
At a meeting of the Governorand the

Alta meeting of the Governorand the
administrative officers of the executive
6enartment of the State of Florida, held
Fin the executive Office March l6. 1911,
he death of the Honorable William Dun
nington Bluxham, former Governor of
Florlda. in the city Of Tallahassee, on
W ednesday, the 18th day of March, 1911
was announced; whereupon the follow
ling resolution was unanimously adopted
land ordered to be spread upon the rec
ords of the executive office:
"No man of his generation has enjoy
ed the confidence and affection of the
people of Florida in greater measure
than Governor Bloxham. and none more
Faithfully earned or richly deserved,
their implicit trust. racticaIly his en-
tire life was devoted to the public SER
vice of the State, and throughout the
brine of his manhood, for three decades
he was the unrivaled and unchallenged
leader and champion of the sturdy and
ndomtable citizenship which rescued
Florida from the destruction Uf a ruin
ous war, and from the intolerable cor
ruption of alien and ignorant rule, and
placed her destinies again and forever
in the hands of her own intelligent and
liberty loving people. He was the ac-
knowledged leader of those patriotic
forces which redeemed this State, first
from the ravages of war and misgOv
ernment. then from the burdens of pow
erty and of debt, and firmly established
tional material and civic development
He was constructive statesman whose
impress is indebly stamped upon Flor
ida's history. For half a century his
rare eloquence, his splendid intellect,
his high moral courage, and his personal
means, were laid at the service of his
fellow F'lOridans. who, with everin-
creasing confidence in his wisdom and
probity, and his remarkable capacity
for efficiently administering great pub
lie trusts, delighted more and more, as
the years passed, to honor and advance
the States interests by placing him IN
official positions of high responsibility.
The causes of education, of sound pub
lie credit, of economic government, OF
Improved transportation facilities, of
Immigration, Of development Of States
resources, of increased respect for law
and order, and of higher standard OF
citizenship, have had no more loyal or
defective advocate in Florida than they
have found in William ID. BloXham.
"Al his life he was citizen of Leon
county. There he was born July 9th,
1885. At the age of twenty he com
|peted an academic course at the Col
lege of William and Mary in Virginia,
and was married the following year to
Miss Mary G. Davis, Of Leon county,
formerly of Lynchburg, Virginia, with
whom he lived happily until her death
in March, 1904. In 1907 Governor Blox-
ham was married to Mrs. &. Moss Nor
|vell, Of Henderson, Texas, who survives
him. One son and one daughter of his
| first marriage died soon after reaching
maturity. He entered public service in
1860 as Il member of the House of Rep |
|resentatives from Leon county. Early |
| in 1862 he organized and commanded a
company of infantry, which he mustered
into the Confederate service as Com
pany G., Fifth Florida Regiment. In
1865 he was chosen as a Democratic |
Presidential elector for this State in
support of the Seymour and Blair tick
let. Two years later he was elected
Lieutenant. Governor of Florida, and in
1872 was nominated by the Democratic
party for the GOvernorship. At this
troubled and critical period of the State
history, the elOquence and superb cour-
age with which Governor BlOxham wag-
cd the mighty battle for white suprem-
acy and home rule, won for him the de.
votlon of his people. which will last as
a cherished legacy in the State 5 his
tory. When that great struggle was
concluded, and the people OF Florida
We're again in control of their govern
ment, Mr.. BlOxham's splendid services
were recognized by his appointment as
secretary of State in Governor Drew's
cabinet, which post he filled from Jan.
uary, 1877, until 1850, when he resigned
and was elected to the Governorship,
being the choice of his Democratic fel.
l0w-citizens.
Upon assuming the chief magistracy
Governor BlOxham found the vast grant
OF lands which had been made by the
United States to the State to be drained
and developed, apparently hopelessly in
volved in litigation, and in debt, amount
ing to about a million dollars, with the
management of the entire funds taken
from the State officials and under the
control of the United States Courts, all
OF 1t being thereby made unavailable
Ior the purposes of promoting trans
portatlon, immigration and education,
anu the debt steadily increasing through
interest charges. Progress and devel-
opment were throttled and the future
appeared dismal. The master mind of
Governor Bloxham grasped this situs-