Francis Eppes Plantation - Owner

Owner

Francis Wayles Eppes, VII was a grandson of Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson and Thomas Jefferson. Eppes came to Leon County in 1829 with his wife Mary and numerous slaves from Virginia, including some descendants of Betsy Hemmings, his nurse and a matriarch of the slave community at his childhood home of Millbrook. While the territory was under Spanish rule, Eppes served as Intendant (mayor) of Tallahassee. He is noted for initiating the proposal to locate a state-supported seminary in Tallahassee, which eventually developed into Florida State University.

Eppes sold his plantation during the Civil War for Confederate money. He lost the remainder of his investment and slaves by 1865, when they were freed. Eppes left Tallahassee for Orange County, Florida to begin citrus farming.

Florida became part of the United States in 1821. As Francis Eppes arrived in Florida in 1829, at the time he was intendant/mayor of Tallahassee, Florida was no longer ruled by Spain.

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