Lake County Biographies
D
VERA W. DANDRIDGE
Vera Watkins was born in Lexington County, Alabama. She moved to
Eustis in 1952 from Leland, Mississippi to begin teaching at Eustis
High School. While teaching there she met and married another teacher,
Harry W. "Buck" Dandridge. She taught at Lake Sumer Community College
in Leesburg for 20 yrs. She is remembered fondly by her students.
She and her husband had 2 children. Her son, Scott, predeceased her in 2003.
She
was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Eustis, the Lake County
Education Association and formerly the Eustis Service League.
She died in Gainesville
on Sunday, January 7, 2007 and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Eustis.
G. SPINNEY DANIELL
G. Spinney Daniell, of the accountancy
firm of
Daniell & Leach of Leesburg, is a New Englander by birth,
having
been born at Worcester, Massachusetts, April 12, 1873, son of William
Henry and Mary Eldred Daniell. He received his education in
Boston and after occupying various positions as bookkeeper from 1893 to
1918, he began his career as an accountant in the office of S. D.
Leidesdorf and Company of New York, in which connection he continued
until
1921, when he moved to Leesburg and began the practice of his
profession for himself. After practicing alone for a time, he
formed a partnership with G. Bland Leach under the firm name Daniell
& Leach, which association still continues.
This firm is one of the best known in
central
Florida and many important individuals and corporations are numbered
among their clients.
Mr. Daniell has taken an active interest
in various
directions outside of his practice, being Secretary of the Leesburg
Kiwanis Club, Treasurer of the Episcopal Church, Treasurer of the
Leesburg Welfare Association and an active member of the
Chamber of Commerce.
from: History of Lake County
Florida, Wm. T.
Kennedy, Editor-in-chief, History of Lake County Florida Part
II,
Biographical. Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of
Lake
County, Florida p153
W. E. DIBBLE
W. E. Dibble was born in Michigan on
March 31st,
1866. When a small child he was taken to Ohio by his parents,
where he attended school and where he entered the well-drilling
business at the age of seventeen.
In 1903 Mr. Dibble came to Eustis where
he continued
his business of well-drilling, in association with Mr. E. D. Ernest,
under the firm name of Dibble & Ernest, and a very great
majority
of all the wells which have been sunk in Lake County during the past
twenty-five years have been handled by this firm.
In addition to digging wells the firm of
Dibble and
Ernest handle pumps, windmill equipment, etc., and
a large trade in these lines was developed throughout the county.
Mr. Dibble was known as one of the
patriotic and
upstanding citizens of Eustis, and his death on April 9, 1926, was a
distinct loss to the community at large.
He took considerable interest in
fraternal affairs
and was an active member of the Elks and of the Knights of
Pythias. His wife was Miss Pearl E. Hill, whom he married in
Ohio
in 1888, and who continues to reside in Eustis and look after his
interest in the firm of Dibble & Ernest. One son,
Vaughan R.,
born January 11, 1892, also survives him.
from: History of Lake County Florida, Wm. T. Kennedy,
Editor-in-chief, History of Lake County Florida Part II,
Biographical. Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of
Lake
County, Florida p191
BARNEY DILLARD, JR.
Among the young men of Lake County who
have made a
name for themselves in the citrus industry is Barney Dillard, Jr., who
was born in Volusia County on September 6th, 1891, son of Barney and
Alice Dillard. His father was one of the pioneer settlers of
Florida, having come to this State in 1868, settling first at Salt
Springs in Marion County, and later moving to Volusia County at Volusia
Landing on the St. Johns River, where he has since lived, and engaged
in growing oranges. His is the father of fifteen children,
nine
boys and six girls, all still living.
Barney, Junior, was brought up on his
father’s farm
and attended school at Astor, which is across the river from Volusia
Landing, in Lake County. He left his home place at the age of
eighteen to accept a traveling position for a fruit commission firm,
and in this connection he traveled practically every State in
the Union, as well as Cuba and the West Indies.
Mr. Dillard entered the fruit business
for himself
about twelve years ago, buying and selling orange groves, also buying
and shipping citrus fruits. He bought a 32-acre
citrus grove at Eustis in 1917 and moved there from Volusia
County.
Mr. Dillard has made Eustis his residence since that time.
The
public records will show that Barney, Jr., has bought and sold more
citrus
groves than any individual in Lake County since 1917.
It is believed that the firms of which
Barney, Jr.,
has been at the head have shipped more citrus fruit
out of Lake County since 1920 than any other company or firm in the
county. Mr. Dillard owned a half interest in the Richardson
&
Dillard Fruit Company for two years, then purchased the entire
interest.
He later sold R. D. Keene a half interest and incorporated the fruit
business
in the name of Dillard & Keene Company and was its President
for
two
years. He then purchased an interest in The Umatilla Fruit
Company,
of Umatilla, Florida, and was elected its President and has continued
to serve as such for the past five years. After becoming
interested
in The Umatilla Fruit Company, Mr. Dillard sold his interest in the
Dillard
& Keene Company of Eustis to Mr. R. D. Keene.
The Umatilla Fruit Company is one of
the most important concerns of its kind in Lake County.
Besides
owning several hundred acres of bearing groves, it cares for about
seven hundred additional acres for others. The company also
finances
growers, acts as packers, shippers, and brokers. As an
indication
of its size, about one thousand cars of fruit are shipped each season
from its three packing plants located at Umatilla, Sorrento, and Paola.
Mr. Dillard’s career shows
what can be done by a
person in Florida with limited capital but with a determination to
succeed, and with a thorough knowledge of the business in which he is
engaged, as he left home with a eighteen dollars in his pocket and in
less than twenty years is rated as one of the largest citrus growers
and shippers of the State of Florida.
He is a member of the Masons and
Shriners and of the
Christian Church.
He was married at Altoona to Talula
Agnes Wainwright
and has six children: Emory W., Murrell J., Arlie A., Barney E., Vera
J., and Garard M. Dillard.
from: History of Lake County Florida, Wm. T. Kennedy,
Editor-in-chief, History of Lake County Florida Part II,
Biographical. Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of
Lake
County, Florida p192
HARRY C. DUNCAN
Harry C. Duncan of Tavares, one of the
ablest
lawyers of the State, has a long record of achievements to
his credit, and his name has been closely woven in the
county’s growth
and development.
He was born at Yalaha on August 18th,
1883, son of
H. H. and Marion E. Duncan. His father was the venerable
Clerk of
the Circuit Court of the County for thirty-three years. An
account of his life will be found elsewhere in this volume.
Mr. Duncan attended the public schools
of Tavares,
and spent one year at the Florida Conference College at Leesburg, and
then attended the Academy and Law School at Stetson University,
receiving the degree of LL.B. in 1906. Mr. Duncan was one of
the
best football players of Stetson University at the time he was there
and one of the things in his life he is most proud of is the fact that
he served as captain of the football team in 1904 and 1905.
He began the practice of his profession
at Tavares
in 1907 and practiced alone until Mr. R. P. Hamlin became his partner,
at which time the firm name became Duncan and Hamlin. This
firm
has become one of the largest and most substantial in central Florida
and many large corporations, banks and important individuals
are numbered among its clients. Mr. Duncan, himself, has made
somewhat of a specialty of corporation law, having organized a large
number of the corporations doing business in Lake County, and at the
present time is serving as a director or an officer in about
seventy-five. He
is also one of the leading bankers of the County, being President of
the Bank of Tavares and an officer and director in the following
banks: Citizens Bank of Eustis, First State Bank of Clermont,
the
Bank of Groveland, and the First National Bank of Leesburg.
Mr. Duncan has yielded very great
influence in
public affairs in Lake County for many years, and he has served as
Chairman of the Executive Committee for the past twenty
years.
Although he has never sought public office, Mr. Duncan has been
importuned to run for important offices on numerous occasions, but he
has steadfastly refused to do so, believing that he can exercise
greater influence
and be more independent by not holding office himself.
In addition to his legal and numerous
business
interests, Mr. Duncan has large citrus interests in Lake County,
and has also dealt extensively in land.
His fraternal affiliations are with the
Elks and the
Knights of Pythias.
He was married to Edna Schaeffer, of
Elkins, West Virginia, and has three children: Geneve
Simpson,
Harry C., Jr., and Virginia.
It is interesting to note that all of
Mr. Duncan’s
children have followed in his footsteps in regard to athletic ability,
his son being a brilliant football player, and his daughter being a
basketball player in Stetson University.
from: History of Lake County Florida, Wm. T. Kennedy,
Editor-in-chief, History of Lake County Florida Part II,
Biographical. Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of
Lake
County, Florida p195.
H. H. DUNCAN
There are always certain citizens who
are utterly
devoid of selfish motive; who strive unceasingly for the
advancement of the community in which they reside and who are deeply
conscious of the trust reposed in them by the people. H. H.
Duncan,
for thirty-three years Clerk of the Circuit Court of Lake County, was
such a man. He was born at Springfield, Illinois, on
September
5th, 1846, son of H. H. and Mahala Caroline Duncan. He was
descended
on his father’s side from an old Philadelphia family and on
his
mother’s
side from an old South Carolina family.
When a small boy he was taken to
Kentucky by his
parents and after his father’s death and his
mother’s remarriage he was
taken to Alabama where he received a limited education and where he ran
a newspaper for some years. From Alabama, he went to St.
Louis,
where he taught school for a time, and in 1875 he came to Yalaha (then
Sumter County, now Lake County). Here he farmed for a time,
but
as his school teaching experience soon became known, he was elected
County Superintendent of Schools for Sumter County a few years after
his arrival. While holding this position, he was elected a
member
of
the State Legislature, first as Representative and later as Senator,
and he was a member of the body when Lake County was formed and it was
he who gave the County its name.
Immediately after formation of the
County, he was
elected the first Clerk of the Circuit Court of the County, which
position, as stated above, he held for thirty-three years, from 1887
until his death in 1920.
Mr. Duncan was a Civil War veteran,
having served in
an Alabama regiment all through the war and having been
wounded three times. He always took a very active part in the
reunion of the Confederate Veterans, and at the time of his death he
was Commander of the Confederate Veterans of Florida.
He was a very active member of the
Methodist Church,
and his fraternal affiliations were with the Knights of Pythias.
He was married at Yalaha on March 24th,
1880, to
Marion E. Peet, the daughter of another pioneer of Lake
County.
Seven children were born to this union: Marion D., Harry C.,
W.
L., Dorothy H., W. S., Carl E., and Forest B.
Mr. Duncan’s influence will
long be felt and his
memory will be cherished by the hundred of warm friends,
who admired and esteemed him as one of the finest characters Lake
County has ever known, and whose conduct of the important office
he so long held was so satisfactory as to be above reproach.
from: History of Lake County Florida, Wm. T. Kennedy,
Editor-in-chief, History of Lake County Florida Part II,
Biographical. Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of
Lake
County, Florida p195-196.
W. L. DUNCAN
W. L. Duncan is a son of the late
beloved
H. H. Duncan, who served as Clerk of the Circuit Court of Lake County
for thirty-three years. He was born near Yalaha on May 29th,
1888, and his education was received in the public schools of Tavares,
at Stetson University and at the Georgia School of Technology.
After leaving college, he worked in the
office of
the Clerk of the Court for a time and also was associated with his
brother, Harry C. Duncan, in his law office for a few years. In 1913 he
joined the Lake Abstract and Title Guarantee Company, of which he is
now Vice-President and General Manager. This company, which
was
originally known as the Lake Abstract Company, is the oldest and
largest abstract company in Lake County.
Mr. Duncan has various real estate and
citrus
interests in the county and has taken a prominent part in civic affairs
in Tavares, having served as a member of the City Council and he is
now serving as one of the School Trustees.
He has always taken an active part in
church work
and is a steward in the Methodist Church of Tavares.
He was married at Tavares to Essie Long,
a daughter
of W. G. Long, who served as Tax Collector of Lake County for
thirty-three years. Mr. and Mrs. Duncan have two
children:
W. L., Jr., and Joe Douglas Duncan.
from: History of Lake County Florida, Wm. T. Kennedy,
Editor-in-chief, History of Lake County Florida Part II,
Biographical. Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of
Lake
County, Florida p19.
DR. WYETH S. DUNCAN
Dr. Wyeth S. Duncan of Leesburg was born
in Tavares
on February 2, 1897, son of Henry Holcomb and Marion E.
Peet Duncan; his father being the well-beloved Clerk of the Court of
Lake County for thirty-three years, and his brother, Harry C., one of
the best known lawyers of the State.
After his early years at school in
Tavares, Dr.
Duncan definitely chose dentistry as his profession and all his courses
were taken with the intention of fitting himself to make a success of
his chosen profession, which he has done. He attended the
University of Florida and the Atlanta Southern Dental College, where he
received his degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery.
Dr. Duncan started the practice of
dentistry in
Leesburg in 1921 with Dr. Charles B. Gamble, but the partnership is now
dissolved and each is practising alone.
During the World War he served with the
field
artillery at Camp Jackson and at other posts. He is a member
of the Xo Psi Phi Dental Fraternity, and also a member of the Rotary
Club of Leesburg. His church affiliations are with the
Methodist
Church.
He was married to Frances Taylor at
Leesburg, and
they have two daughters, Frances Muriel and Joan Moore.
from: History of Lake County Florida, Wm. T. Kennedy,
Editor-in-chief, History of Lake County Florida Part II,
Biographical. Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of
Lake
County, Florida p196
JOHH HOWARD DUTILL
John Howard Dutill was born at Bronson,
Florida, on January 13, 1890, son of Howard and Olive Nettie (Arnold)
Dutill. His father was one of the early settlers, coming to
Grand
Island in 1887, and being one of the first preachers in Lake
County.
He traveled throughout the county, preaching at the Grand Island and
Mascotte settlements in 1887 and 1888, later serving the churches at
Tavares and Umatilla, and is now retired and living at Umatilla.
John Howard Dutill attended the public
schools in
various parts of Florida, and spent two years at Southern College in
Lakeland, Florida.
Previous to the World War, Mr. Dutill
served in the
United States Navy for one term, and during the War was with the 120th
Regiment, U. S. Engineers, as sergeant.
His religious affiliations are with the
Methodist Church.
September 9, 1917, he married Ethel Mae
Kennedy at Umatilla, and they have three daughters: Margaret Elizabeth,
Dorothy Marion, and Janet Kennedy.
from: History of Lake County Florida, Wm. T. Kennedy,
Editor-in-chief, History of Lake County Florida Part II,
Biographical. Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of
Lake
County, Florida p199
GEORGE W.
DYKES
George
J.
Dykes was born at the Dykes homestead near Altoona, Lake County,
Florida, August 8, 1876. His father, E. Duncan Dykes, was a pioneer of
the State. His mother, Jane E. Dykes, was a native of Georgia. Mr.
Dykes has spent his entire life in Lake County with the exception of
two years. He bears the distinction of a native son on his native
heath. His childhood days were spent on the farm with a few of the
luxuries of this day, but under the ennobling influences of his parents
who gave him the primary education that our institutions then afforded.
He first attended the Bay View School, later the normal school at White
Springs, the Umatilla Normal school and the
Tampa Business College. At the age of nine years he suffered infantile
paralysis
and since then he has been handicapped by the use of his right arm, but
unmindful
of the affliction he carried on when others of less determination would
have
looked upon the world through dark glasses. Mr. Dykes first entered
public
life as a teacher in the school at Cassia, in 1896, and followed this
profession
for eighteen years; five years at Cassia, one year at Umatilla, one
year
at Turkey Creek, in Hillsborough County, one year at Pierson, in
Volusia
County, and ten years at Altoona. His rugged honesty, his sunny
disposition
and splendid fellowship popularized him among his fellowmen and he has
filled
many public offices with credit to himself and satisfaction to the
public. He served ten years as County Treasurer of Lake County, 1903 to
1913; Clerk-Assessor
of the City of Eustis from 1923 to 1928; and Postmaster at Eustis
during
the Administration of President Wilson. As Postmaster, he was also
recruiting
officer during the World War. At the General Election held November 6,
1928,
he was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court for Lake County for a term of
four
years, a further testimonial of the belief of the people in his
executive
ability and a tribute to his party loyalty. Mr. Dykes has always taken
an
active part in civic and religious matters, being an active member of
the
Eustis Chamber of Commerce, the Kiwanis Club, the Knights of Pythias,
the
Woodmen of the World, and identified himself with every project for the
betterment
of his City, County and State. He has never been called and found
wanting,
either in financial support or personal service. He is a member of the
First
Baptist Church of Eustis. On December 24, 1902 Mr. Dykes was married to
Lena B. Walden, and to this union was born a son, G. Malcolm Dykes.
from: History of Lake County Florida, Wm. T. Kennedy,
Editor-in-chief, History of Lake County Florida Part II,
Biographical. Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of
Lake
County, Florida p199-200
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