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This photo is of my great-grandfather,
Daniel Feninel "D.F." McElveen, that was taken about 1900. He was born
in Sumter Co., SC on 2 Sep 1850 and died in Rixford (near Live Oak),
Suwannee Co., FL on 19 Sep 1927. He moved to Live Oak, Suwannee Co., FL
in 1871 and married Araminta Birchfield "Mint" Allison on 26 Feb 1873 at
the Antioch Baptist Church, Rixford, Suwannee Co., FL.
D.F. McElveen was a section master for the
railroad in Florida from 1871 through his retirement in 1927. He and
his family were living in Cedar Key in 1898. Between 1898 and 1927,
he maintained the railroad tracks and they lived close to where the work
was needed. They lived in Ellzey (1900), Montbrook (1909), Otter Creek
(1922), and Sumner (1926) in Levy Co., with short stays in Lacrosse in
Alachua Co. (1902) and in Live Oak (1922). They moved back to Suwannee
Co. in September of 1927 to live with a son because of his poor
health and he died there. D.F. and Mint are both buried at Antioch
Baptist Church Cemetery.
Other facts about D.F. McElveen and his
relation to Levy Co.:
He was a Charter Member and a Worshipful
Master of the Otter Creek F&AM Lodge #132 in 1905.
He was appointed as a Justice of the Peace
for Levy Co. on 11 Jun 1924 by Gov. Cary A. Hardee.
He applied for a Pension for his Confederate
service in a unit in SC on 4 Dec 1925, but it was denied due to lack of
evidence because he was the sole survivor of his unit and all of his
records had been lost.
D.F. and Mint were the parents of 6
children, 4 of whom reached adulthood:
Andrew "Laspyre" McElveen (6 Feb 1876-aft
1927)
Caroline "Estelle" McElveen (1 Jul 1879-16
Apr 1892)
John Windfield McElveen I (8 May 1882-1913)
Daniel "Willard" McElveen (13 Jun 1885-5 Jul
1962) [my grandfather]
Infant Daughter McElveen (Apr 1892-Apr 1892)
Jason Thomas "Jace" McElveen (13 Oct
1894-Jul 1983)
Several of his descendents lived in Levy and
the neighboring Counties. John Windfield McElveen I worked for the
railroad and lived in Chiefland. He and his wife, Jesse "Alpine" Hardee
McElveen, are buried in the Hardee Cemetery west of Chiefland. I'll
send tombstone photos in another mailing.
One of Andrew "Laspyre" McElveen's sons,
Harry Andrew McElveen, lived in Otter Creek and owned a gas station. He
and his wife, Rubye E., are buried in Ellzey Cemetery. I'll send
tombstones photos in another mailing.
Jason Thomas "Jace" McElveen lived in Cedar
Key for some time and worked for the railroad. He retired in 1957 and
moved to Dade City in Pasco Co. as his main residence but kept a fishing
cabin on Cedar Key for pleasure. Jace and his wife, Effie Kathleen
McCumber of Cedar Key, were the parents of 10 children who reached
adulthood. He authored a story in "Search for Yesterday." Jace and
Effie are buried in Dade City.
My mother, Frances Willard McElveen Parish,
was born in Sumner in 1913 and is now 90-years- old and lives in NC.
Her father, Daniel "Willard" McElveen ran the Commissary for Cummer
Cypress Co. in Sumner from about 1911-1915. I will send photos of the
Commissary and some of the company's buildings in another mailing.
Willard moved his family to Hastings in St. Johns Co. on 3 Oct 1915 and
eventually owned his own business in Hastings, McElveen Hardware, until
his retirement in 1954. Willard and his wife, Margaret Frances "Fannie"
Mobley McElveen, are buried in St. Augustine.
Andrew "Laspyre" McElveen lived in Otter
Creek in 1920 and was living in Suwannee Co. in 1927 when D.F. and Mint
went to live with him. I don't know much about his side of the family
or where he was buried.
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