Alachua-Hamilton-Levy County FlArchives Biographies.....Shands, Thomas Walter 1866 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/fl/flfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com February 11, 2008, 8:15 pm Author: B. F. Johnson (1909) Thomas Walter Shands Having made a splendid success of life by his own merits Mr. T. W. Shands, of Gainesville, can afford to take pleasure in and be proud of the excellent stock from which he comes. Like so many good families in the South and West, the Shands family goes back to Virginia as the American starting point. Just when the first progenitor came to Virginia cannot be definitely stated, though enough is known to make it certain that he was among the early settlers. According to the family tradition he came with his uncle, one Mr. Minge, who was secretary of the colony. Later, the brothers, John and Joel Wingfield, of Sussex, married the sisters Elizabeth and Sallie Shands. These Wingfields were descendants of one of the very early colonial governors, and the sisters were descendants of the first Shands. In 1722 we get on solid ground, as on February 18, 1722, there is recorded a patent from George II through Drysdale, then governor of the colony, under which 250 acres of land in Kent county is deeded to William Shands. This William is said to have married his wife Margaret about 1700, and the land above mentioned, together with other lands, remained in the hands of his grandchildren until 1850. The first William had four sons, William, John, and two whose given names are unknown, but one of these unknown sons left a widow, Elizabeth Shands. One of his daughters married Nathaniel Mitchell, and is known to have had a son, John Mitchell. Another daughter married a Stuart, and had a son, James Stuart. A third daughter married a Golightly, and had a son named Shands Golightly. The will of William Shands is dated January 4, 1759, and was probated on August 17, 1759. The second William married his wife Priscilla on November 9, 1738. They had children as follows: Lucy, born January 9, 1740, Mary, born in 1742, Phoebe, born January 21, 1734, Augustin, born April 18, 1746, Amy born September 8, 1749, Elizabeth, born February 14, 1751, Thomas, born in 1753, William, born in 1755, William, born September 5, 1757. (It is probable that the first named William died in infancy and the name was then passed on to the next and last child.) The will of the second William Shands bears date of October 13, 1774, and appointed his son Augustin as executor. Receipts given in March and May, 1777 show final receipts from heirs, given to Augustin as Executor, in settlement of their shares of the estate. Augustin was the eldest son of the second William. He was born April 18, 1746, and on February 6, 1770, married Amy Adkins, who was born May 1, 1748. They had children as follows: John, born November 5, 1770; Thomas, born January 9, 1773; Priscilla, born December 26, 1774; Elizabeth, born September 1, 1777, (died July 12, 1780), William, born September 2, 1783; Augustin, born July 25, 1786; Lucy and Phoebe, born February 27, 1789, (twins). Augustin's will bears the date of November 19, 1813. The second Augustin was the fourth son and sixth child of the first Augustin. He was born on July 25, 1786, and came to Florida probably after the territory was acquired from Spain. On March 17, 1829, he was married to Sarah C. Glenn, by the Rev. John Jennings. Of this marriage the following children were born: William Augustin, born April 5, 1830, died September 3, 1875; John Fletcher, born March 2, 1832, died June 28, 1856; Amy Elizabeth, born December 21, 1833; Sarah Jane, born August 31, 1835, died April 10, 1840; Mary Arabella Glenn, born January 16, 1838; Thomas Josiah, born November 11, 1841; Martha Frances, born October 10, 1844, married a Jackson and died December 4,1881. In the various generations there were intermarriages with many of the best families of the country. One of these deserves mention. Lucy Shands, the oldest child of the second William, born January, 1740, married William Rives and was the grandmother of certain distinguished Virginians of that name. One of her grandsons, William C. Rives, was United States Senator from Virginia, and twice Minister to France. He left sons and daughters who are now prominent and wealthy residents of New York and Boston. Alexander Rives, a brother of William C, was an able lawyer and died while occupying the position of United States District Judge in Virginia. Francis E. Rives served two terms in Congress, from Virginia. Timothy Rives, who died during the Civil War, was a distinguished lawyer and orator. The above were grandsons, and the great-grandchildren in the present generation are notable people. In every war from the Revolution down the Shands family have been represented. In the Revolutionary generation a grandson of the first William was one of the fiery Virginians who helped to expel Governor Dunmore from Virginia; later he was captured by the British and was stabbed by a drunken soldier of Cornwallis' army for refusing to drink the health of King George. William Rives who married Lucy Shands, was taken prisoner by the British, carried to the West Indies, and kept there twelve months. A son of this William Rives, married back into the Shands family. In the War of 1812 Francis E. Rives and his brother-in-law, _____ Shands, were officers in the Virginia militia, and stationed at Norfolk. In the Mexican War, Thomas Shands, a brother of the 1812 militiaman, served as a soldier in the Virginia regiment. In the Civil War the family had a large number of representatives in the Confederate Army, and Mr. William B. Shands, of Virginia, says that as near as he can estimate one-half the able bodied members of the family, in both the male and female lines, either fell on the battle-field, or died from disease contracted in the service. The Florida family began with the second Augustin. His oldest child was William Augustin, who was born in South Carolina near Spartanburg on April 5, 1830. William Augustin Shands was a farmer, soldier and merchant. He married Sarah Jane Jackson, and prior to the Civil War had become quite prominent in his section. On July 4, 1860, he was commissioned Adjutant of the Twelfth Regiment Florida Militia. May 11, 1861, he was commissioned as Captain of Company No. 4, in the same regiment. Later Captain Shands became a private in the Fifth Florida Regiment, C. S. A., under Col. O. B. Lamar, and after long service was promoted to Second-Lieutenant of Company "F," March 10, 1864, as the old furlough paper preserved by his son shows, he had never had a leave of absence, and as he was then down with scurvy, he was furloughed for forty days. He never saw further active service, for when he reported the surgeons pronounced him unfit for duty, and he was detailed to recruiting service in Florida. After the Civil War he moved to Bronson, Levy county. In 1859-1860 he had served as County Commissioner, in Hamilton county, and in Levy county he was pressed into the public service. In the early seventies, he served as Justice of the Peace, County Superintendent of Schools, County Surveyor, and was County Judge at the time of his death. An upright, useful and most highly esteemed citizen. Thomas Walter Shands, of Gainesville, was born at White Springs, Hamilton county, on July 11, 1866. His parents were Captain William Augustin and Sarah (Jackson) Shands. After such preparatory training as the local schools of Bronson afforded, he attended Emory College, at Oxford, Ga., but did not remain to graduate. In 1885, then a mere youth, he engaged in mercantile business at Bronson, in which he was successful from the start. Later on he added the operating of turpentine farms, and in this line he was also successful. In 1902 he moved to Gainesville as affording a better field. He conducted the mercantile business, at the same time retaining his turpentine interests, until 1906, when he sold out the mercantile interest and organized the Gainesville National Bank, of which he was made president, and which position he still retains. His interests have widened and diversified; he has been uniformly successful and is now recognized as one of the most capable and enterprising men in middle Florida. He is now Vice-President of the Gulf Fertilizer Company (Tampa), President of the Gainesville National Bank, Vice-President of the First National Bank of Alachua, Director in the Bank of Biscayne Bay (Miami), and the owner of a half dozen turpentine plants. In addition to his private enterprises, he has been active in the public service. While a resident of Levy county, he served as County Commissioner for two years, and from 1889 to 1899, ten years, was County Treasurer. Since moving to Gainesville, he has served as President of the City Council. In 1886 he married Miss Corris Annie Parker, of Bronson. They have six children, as follows: James S., William Augustin, Jr., Joseph Walter, Alvin Glenn, Corris and Velma Shands. In politics Mr. Shands is a Democrat. Like his father before him, he is a communicant of the Methodist Church. In fraternal circles he is affiliated with the Masons, the Shriners, and the Elks. Like many busy men Mr. Shands has been compelled to confine his reading to current periodicals, and he thinks they can be of great benefit to thoughtful readers. Mr. Shands had three brothers, Joseph Fletcher, Alvin Turner, and William Augustin, all of whom have passed away, leaving of his immediate family only his sister Leila, now Mrs. Glenn Coursey, of Tampa, and himself. Dr. J. M. Jackson, of Miami, is a double first cousin. Yet a comparatively young man, he has achieved a notable success by hard work, good judgment and strict integrity. His good qualities have won for him a large measure of personal popularity, which is most desirable, when as in this case it comes spontaneously and not as a result of political arts. He comes of generations who were good citizens in peace and good soldiers in war. In his hands the family name has suffered no loss, but has gained added luster. He is of that highest of all American types-the good citizen. Additional Comments: Extracted from: FLORIDA EDITION MAKERS OF AMERICA AN HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL WORK BY AN ABLE CORPS OF WRITERS VOL. III. Published under the patronage of The Florida Historical Society, Jacksonville, Florida ADVISORY BOARD: HON. W. D. BLOXHAM COL. FRANK HARRIS HON. R. W. DAVIS SEN. H. H. McCREARY HON. F. P. FLEMING W. F. STOVALL C. A. CHOATE, SECRETARY 1909 A. B. CALDWELL ATLANTA, GA. COPYRIGHT 1909 B. F. JOHNSON Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/fl/alachua/photos/bios/shands68gbs.jpg File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/fl/alachua/bios/shands68gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/flfiles/ File size: 11.1 Kb