De Bary Hall - The DeBary's in Florida

The DeBary's in Florida

Frederick DeBary's wife Julie died in 1868. After her death, the widower ventured on a steamboat ride down the St. John's River in Florida. The quiet natural setting appealed to deBary. In January 1871, Frederick deBary bought three parcels of land from Oliver and Amanda Arnett. The property abutted Lake Monroe with a grove of live oaks and green pines. The large home soon became the Winter retreat of deBary and his relatives and friends. Hunting parties left the house very early in the morning with breakfast for the hunters served at four-thirty in the morning. deBary arrived in Florida each year at the end of December or early January. He typically came with a crowd of guests. DeBary Hall served as an active hunting and fishing preserve during the mild Florida winters.

As an always eager Entrepreneur, Frederick DeBary turned his winter retreat into a profitable venture. He amassed over 10,000 acres (40 km2) and planted orange groves. He built a packing house beside the lake pier and was one of the first citrus growers to sort oranges by size by rolling them down an inclined trough with variously sized holes. deBary also joined the profitable steamboat trade developing the DeBary Merchants Line. The steamboats ran from Jacksonville to Enterprise along the St. John's River. Until 1889, most of the steamers along the St. John's would be deBary boats.

Frederick deBary died on December 23, 1898. His citrus trees had been decimated by hard freezes and the steamboat industry was gradually being taken over by the faster railroad industry. His son, Adolphe and daughter, Eugenie inherited DeBary Hall and the other five estates deBary accumulated through the years. DeBary Hall is thought to be the smallest of all six homes owned by Frederick deBary. Eugenie moved to Germany with her husband Baron Hugo Von Mauch before her ninetieth birthday. Adolphe deBary was fifty-three years old at the time of his father's death and ascended to his father's place in the importing firm and the DeBary Merchant Line. Adolphe also inherited his father's love for horses and hunting. Adolphe kept no less than six horses in the carriage house. He also kept a collection of vehicles including a brougham, a surrey, a phaeton, a brake cart, and pony carts for children. Adolphe DeBary outlived all four of his children. Upon his death in 1928, DeBary Hall passed to his grandchildren Leonie deBary Lyon and Adolphe deBary Lyon.

Leonie and Adolphe were minors when their grandfather died and the deBary estate was placed in a trust for them guarded by their father Cecil Lyon. Leonie and Adolphe became the last American deBary heirs as both died early. Adolphe deBary Lyon graduated in 1935 from Harvard College. On September 19, 1937 Adolphe went to a party with a group of friends. As the party left, a young woman began to cross a street and did not notice a car driving towards her. Adolphe saw it and rushed in front of the car pushing the young woman out of the way and was struck. He died at twenty-three years old. His sister Leonie became the sole owner of DeBary Hall with her husband, Benjamin Brewster, a childhood friend. Leonie made more renovations to the family home than any previous owner including putting in a tennis court, new flooring, and a larger bathroom in the Master Suite. The biggest change however was transportation to DeBary Hall. Leonie and her husband were flight enthuasists and constructed a runway and an airplane hangar on the property.

On May 9, 1941, Leonie and Benjamin planned to fly from Long Island to Philadelphia. The weather conditions were not suitable for flight but the couple insisted and did not heed to the warnings. In the blinding rain the plane crashed into the side of a mountain killing the young couple instantly. Leonie was thirty-one and had no children.