Never a Dull Moment

We have seen that Joshua was busy making a home for and providing for his family.  But how was the rest of the family doing?  If you think they had a nice, quiet life on the banks of the Pearl River, well, you might want to rethink that!

First, let’s take a look at the events that were happening in the Mississippi area as the Seales moved to Marion County.  At the turn of the 19th century, Florida was a Spanish colony.  Florida looked much like it looks today, except that the panhandle of Florida extended all the way to the Mississippi River, which included the coast of what would become Alabama, Mississippi, and part of Louisiana.  Then, in 1803 the United States made the Louisiana Purchase, almost doubling the size of the United States.  According to the United States, the deal included all of the Florida panhandle up to the present day boundary of the State of Florida.[1. Issac Joslin Cox, The West Florida Controversy, 1798-1813: A Study in American Diplomacy, (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1918), map 2, p. 2-a]  Spain wasn’t so sure.

For several years after the Louisiana Purchase, Spain still occupied much territory that was really part of the United States.  At first it was US policy to let the American people expand  into these areas instead of provoking Spain and taking them by force.[2. John Monette MD, History of the Discovery and Settlement of the Valley of the Mississippi (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1846), p. 457.]  After all, the United States was only 25 years old!  No need to go poking the bear   just yet!

As Americans began to move into the area along the Gulf Coast, the United States began to officially claim the extended Florida panhandle.[3. Cox, West Florida, 2a]  The area up to the Pearl River officially became US territory in 1810, and then the area up to the present Alabama border was claimed by the U.S. in 1812.

In the mean time, things were not going well between us and the British.  England covertly allied with an upset Spain, many Native Americans, and anyone else they co

uld find to “restore the county to its lawful owners”.[4. Monette, History of the Discovery, 429, 435.]  The situation came to a head in 1814 when General Andrew Jackson marched into the area and defeated the British forces and their Native American allies.[5. Monette, History of the Discovery, 417-432.]

You might be thinking, “Did this crazy man move his wife and family into a war zone?”  Not exactly.  The land Joshua settled on was north of the boundary line with Spanish Florida, although only by 10 miles, so the area he settled in had been US territory since 1798.[6. Cox, West Florida, 2a]  In addition, the area where most of the fighting was taking place was in  Georgia and the eastern part of the Mississippi Territory, so it was several hundred miles away from the Seales.[7. Wikipedia, www.wikipedia.org, “Creek War”, revised 04:50 August 22, 2015.]  But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t plenty of activity around.  Several of the major roads used for communications and to move supplies passed close to the Seales.[8. William Dollarhide, Map Guide to American Migration Routes (Bountiful, Utah: HeritageQuest, 2000), p. 36.]

So how was the Seale family faring during all of this activity?  The family added 4 by birth and 6 by marriage!  More about that next time!

[9. Erna Risch, Quartermaster Support of the Army, (Washington DC: US Government Printing Office, 1962), p. 128]