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Okeechobee County, |
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Florida |
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A Pictorial History--Page 2 |
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(Click Pictures to Enlarge) |
In
1909 Henry Hancock had Sam Gray build a fifty-two foot boat called the Serena
Victoria, named for his mother. It was used for the shipment of oranges to Fort
Myers. Judge Hancock devoted a large portion of his life to public service and
until his death in 1951 he was recognized as one of Okeechobee’s leading
citizens.
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| Henry Hudson Hancock | Martha Jane Sturgis |
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Henry Hudson Hancock, son of James Thomas and Serena (Willingham) Hancock, was born in 1868 in Polk County, Florida. He married Martha Jane Sturgis in 1889 and taught school for a time at Fort Meade. |
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James Thomas Hancock Family |
Main Street Ft. Meade, Fl |
After the turn of the century, Henry and his brother, James T. Hancock, Jr., were sent by the Federal government to the Lake Okeechobee region to re-survey an area that had previously been incorrectly surveyed. When he saw the land near Taylor Creek, Henry decided it would be a good place to move his family. He chose a homestead on the east side of Taylor Creek and went back to Polk County to bring over his herd of cattle.
Henry then constructed a log house and returned once again to
Polk County to bring his family to their new home. It was in 1902 when the family left Fort Meade and after traveling five days they arrived at Taylor Creek. Henry Hancock was instrumental in securing the area’s first voting precinct in 1903. In order to establish the
district it was necessary to use two voters who lived on the line in Osceola County. The seven voters in the new precinct were: Peter Raulerson, L. M. Raulerson, H. H. Hancock, James Clements, Hamp Walker, Eli Yates, and Needham Yates.
