Bernard Romans - Travels in The Floridas

Travels in The Floridas

In 1766-67, he commanded the sloop Mary. On his first voyage, the ship went aground on the Dry Tortugas, but he was able to get the ship off and reach port. On his second voyage, the ship was lost near Cape Florida (Key Biscayne). Having lost much of his personal wealth with the wreck of the Mary, Romans turned to surveying. He obtained employment as deputy surveyor of Georgia. He also accepted private commissions to survey land grants in East Florida, which had come under British control at the end of the French and Indian War.

In 1768, Romans became principal deputy surveyor for the Southern District (the British Colonies of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, East Florida and West Florida). Starting in 1769, Romans surveyed the coastal waters of East Florida. Later that year, his boat sank in the Manatee River near Tampa Bay. Romans walked overland from there to St. Augustine. Well aware of the historical significance of where he walked, he later wrote that he had been "on Ferdinando Soto's tract". He outfitted another boat at his own expense, and resumed surveying the coast in September 1770. He reached Pensacola, Florida in August 1771, having recorded depth soundings, good harbors and sources of fresh water, and drafted coastal charts, for much of the East Florida coast.

Upon reaching Pensacola, Romans was hired to survey the western part of West Florida and the lands of the Choctaws and Chickasaws. The survey was not without its dangers; the Choctaws and the Creeks were at war. Rumors even reached Mobile that Romans and his party had been killed by Creeks. Roman's survey work in West Florida continued into 1772.

In Pensacola, a Dr. John Lorimer recruited Romans to explore for new plant specimens. Romans soon discovered what he believed to be true jalap, which was much in demand in Europe as a cathartic. Jalap had previously been available only from Mexico, and the prospect of a supply under British control pleased many in West Florida. It was later realized that Roman's jalap was not the Mexican jalap, but a relative in the Convolvulaceae family, probably Solanum jamesii. This "wild jalap" or "wild potato" was in the Pharmacopoeia of the United States from 1820 until 1863. Romans pursued his botanizing enthusiastically, collecting many plant specimens and seeds, and began seeking support for a plan to establish a botanical garden in West Florida.