Bio of St. Francis Inn and the Dummett family.
Our History
Just around the corner from St. Augustine's picturesque "Oldest House" you'll find what is unquestionably St. Augustine's "oldest inn," the St. Francis Inn. Dating from 1791, the Inn embodies the rich history and culture of the nation's oldest city, and visitors are invited to delve into the stories that comprise its colorful past.
In 1838 it became the property of Colonel Thomas Henry Dummett. Dummett, who grew up on the Caribbean island of Barbados, retired from Britain's Royal marines and began a sugar plantation. He and his wife Mary had 11 children, however only six lived to adulthood. And only three - son Douglas and daughters Anna Maria and Mary Mortimer - lived to see middle age. In 1819, Dummett had moved his family to America after the English ban on slave trade caused many planters in the colonies to give up their way of life. There is a story that British authorities tried to detain Dummett and that he smuggled himself aboard a ship, hiding in an empty sugar barrel. In 1825, Dummett bought several hundred acres along the Tomoka River south of St. Augustine and built a sugar mill plantation. After a few years of struggling, and developing a rum distillery to process some of his crop, Dummett began to prosper. Like other well-to-do planters, Dummett kept a house in St. Augustine, now the St. Francis Inn. Carrying on the military tradition, Colonel Dummett's daughter Elizabeth married William J. Hardee, an 1838 graduate of West Point and survivor of the battles of Shiloh, Missionary Ridge, and Atlanta. His Rifle and Light Infantry Tactics was adopted as a textbook for the Army. Another Dummett daughter married Brigadier General Melville A. Cochran, whose book of reminiscences described the Inn as "one of the best in St. Augustine" at the time of the Civil War.
Elizabeth died in St. Augustine in 1853. Lt. Colonel Hardee buried her in the St. Augustine National Cemetery at 104 Marine Street where she received a full military burial.
Sources:
U.S. Military Burial Registers, 1768-1921 about Mrs Elizabeth Dummit Hardee.
History from: The St. Francis Inn bed and breakfast.
Bio of St. Francis Inn and the Dummett family.
Our History
Just around the corner from St. Augustine's picturesque "Oldest House" you'll find what is unquestionably St. Augustine's "oldest inn," the St. Francis Inn. Dating from 1791, the Inn embodies the rich history and culture of the nation's oldest city, and visitors are invited to delve into the stories that comprise its colorful past.
In 1838 it became the property of Colonel Thomas Henry Dummett. Dummett, who grew up on the Caribbean island of Barbados, retired from Britain's Royal marines and began a sugar plantation. He and his wife Mary had 11 children, however only six lived to adulthood. And only three - son Douglas and daughters Anna Maria and Mary Mortimer - lived to see middle age. In 1819, Dummett had moved his family to America after the English ban on slave trade caused many planters in the colonies to give up their way of life. There is a story that British authorities tried to detain Dummett and that he smuggled himself aboard a ship, hiding in an empty sugar barrel. In 1825, Dummett bought several hundred acres along the Tomoka River south of St. Augustine and built a sugar mill plantation. After a few years of struggling, and developing a rum distillery to process some of his crop, Dummett began to prosper. Like other well-to-do planters, Dummett kept a house in St. Augustine, now the St. Francis Inn. Carrying on the military tradition, Colonel Dummett's daughter Elizabeth married William J. Hardee, an 1838 graduate of West Point and survivor of the battles of Shiloh, Missionary Ridge, and Atlanta. His Rifle and Light Infantry Tactics was adopted as a textbook for the Army. Another Dummett daughter married Brigadier General Melville A. Cochran, whose book of reminiscences described the Inn as "one of the best in St. Augustine" at the time of the Civil War.
Elizabeth died in St. Augustine in 1853. Lt. Colonel Hardee buried her in the St. Augustine National Cemetery at 104 Marine Street where she received a full military burial.
Sources:
U.S. Military Burial Registers, 1768-1921 about Mrs Elizabeth Dummit Hardee.
History from: The St. Francis Inn bed and breakfast.
Family Members
Advertisement
Advertisement