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Bannerman and Seabrook family papers, 1827-1999, bulk 1910-1930
Amount:
9 cubic ft.
Medium Included:
Organization/Arrangement:
Arranged by family member, then by record type.
Restrictions:
Terms Governing Use:
Biographical/Historical:
Charles Bannerman (1806-1866) moved to Florida from North Carolina in the 1820s, settling on 160 acres northwest of Tallahassee near Lake Iamonia alongside Joseph W. and Hanna Bannerman and Alexander and Rebecca Bannerman Cromartie's existing land tracts. In 1852, Charles Bannerman and his wife, Elvira Ann Carden Bannerman (1819-1900), built a labor farm and named it Bannerman Plantation, though it is also referred to as Iamonia Plantation, due to its location along Lake Iamonia. Charles maintained his labor farm through the forced labor of enslaved Black men, women, and children, eventually enslaving so many people that he required an overseer to preside over the labor farm. Outside of his agricultural pursuits, Charles completed voluntary service in the Second Seminole War and served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives in 1847 and 1848.
William Tennant Bannerman (1851-1935), one of Charles and Elvira's eleven children, worked as a land surveyor in Atlanta and Tallahassee. William, along with siblings and other family members, inherited portions of the reported 1549.63 acres owned by his father upon his death. William married Ellen Caroline Hunter (1870-1945), a school teacher originally from Westminster, South Carolina, before moving to Beachton, Georgia. The couple had two children: Robert and Mary.
Robert Lee Bannerman (1893-1961) studied civil engineering at Georgia Tech. He worked as a land surveyor throughout his career, most notably for the Army Corps of Engineers and the Everglades Drainage District. In the 1930s, he created an asphalt formula used on roads across Florida. Robert married Sarah Lucile Dixon and had two children, Robert Jr. and Ann.
Robert Lee Bannerman Jr. (1925-2003) served in the Navy in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Following his service, he returned to Tallahassee to continue his education and became a member of the first graduating class of Florida State University. Robert Jr. retained close ties with FSU, founding both the Seminole Boosters and the FSU Foundation.
Ann Bannerman (1930- ), a lifelong resident of Tallahassee, graduated from Leon High School in 1947 and married Spurgeon Camp (1925-2003) in 1949. The couple had four children: Byron, Stephen, David and Carden. Ann earned a B.S. in Early Childhood Development and Education and a Master's degree in Housing and Interior Design, both from Florida State University, before pursuing a career in interior design. She is an active member of the Tallahassee community, serving as a member of the Board of Directors for Be the Solution and as an Advisory Committee member for Westminster Communities Northwest, among other positions. Ann is largely responsible for the donation of her family's papers to the State Archives of Florida.
Mary Allison Bannerman (1897-1971) grew up in Tallahassee and attended Florida State College for Women. In the late 1910s, Mary married Lee Whitmarsh Seabrook (1893-1982). Lee served in World War II and owned the Seabrook Hardware Company store in Tallahassee on Adams Street, in the area now known as Midtown. Mary and Lee had two children: Inez and William.
Inez Bannerman Seabrook (1918-2013) attended New York University's School of Retail before transferring to and ultimately graduating from Florida State College for Women. Inez was active in Tallahassee organizations, as a founding member of the Junior League of Tallahassee and member of the Holly Garden Circle, Town Club, Cotillion Club, and Presbyterian Women's Circles. She, along with her business partner Mary Eleanor Daniel, ran The Carriage Shop, a high-end women's clothing boutique, in downtown Tallahassee. In December 1940, Inez married James Thomas Davenport (1911-1987), and they had 2 children: Lee (b. 1942) and James (b. 1946).
Inez's husband, James, graduated from Georgia School of Technology with a degree in electrical engineering and served in World War II. After the war, he returned to Tallahassee and worked alongside his father-in-law and brother-in-law in the Seabrook hardware store. The majority of the Bannerman and Seabrook family papers were found in Inez and James' attic in the early 2010s. Lee Davenport Yeiser lives in Tennessee and is also responsible for the donation of her family's papers to the State Archives of Florida. Dr. James Alexander Davenport married Diane Mary Ryan in 1971 and is a practicing gynecologist in Tallahassee.
William Whitmarsh Seabrook (1920-1986), studied civil engineering at The Citadel, a military college in South Carolina, and was granted a lieutenant commission in the Army upon graduation, where he served in a construction battalion during World War II. He also worked alongside his father in the Seabrook hardware store, taking a larger role after he returned from the war. He married Suzie on May 30, 1942, and they had 2 children: Harriet (b. 1943) and William Jr. (1946-2001).
The first generation of Floridian Bannermans established themselves in nineteenth century Tallahassee through their large tracts of land, labor farms, and related agricultural endeavors as well as through their military and political involvement. Subsequent generations continued this tradition and built upon it in the Tallahassee area and beyond. Bannerman Plantation joined the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
Summary:
This collection documents the Bannerman and Seabrook families of Tallahassee, Florida from the late nineteenth century through the late twentieth century. The collection consists of correspondence, deeds, photographs, and other personal records of family members. Several family members are represented in the correspondence, the bulk of which belong to William Tennant Bannerman, Ellen Hunter Bannerman, Robert Lee Bannerman, Ann Bannerman Camp, Mary Allison Bannerman Seabrook, Inez Seabrook Davenport, and William Whitmarsh Seabrook.
Finding Aids:
Folder listing available. 0
Additional Physical Form:
Reproduction Note:
Location of Originals/Duplicates:
Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, Georgia United States of America Georgia Tech has scans of Robert Lee Bannerman's letters written during his time as a Tech student. The donor loaned them to Georgia Tech before gifting them to the State Archives of Florida.
Associated Materials:
University of Florida Smathers Libraries 205 Smathers Library Gainesville, FL 32611-7005 United States of America. MS 309: Charles Bannerman Papers. Charles Bannerman. A portion of these records are digitized and available online in the UF Digital Collections. Extent: 0.4 Linear feet. 1 box.
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Electronic Records Access:
Subject Access Fields:
Florida State College for Women. United States. Army. --Corps of Engineers.
Family Florida Farms Florida Fishing Florida Schools Florida Universities and colleges--Students Universities and colleges Florida
Deeds. aat Diaries. aat Photographs. aat Mortgages. aat Manuscripts. aat Letters. aat Clippings. aat Financial records. aat
Georgia. Leon County (Fla.) Tallahassee (Fla.)
for detailed listing.