St Johns County FlArchives Biographies.....COLEE, LOUIS ALBERT March 22, 1854 - ************************************************ 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: Nancy Rayburn Naev@earthlink.net January 24, 2008, 2:32 pm Author: The History of Florida: Past & Present, The Lewis Publishing Co., 1923, Vol. II p97 COLEE, LOUIS ALBERT. A thriving business enterprise of St. Augustine which has been in existence for many years, which has kept fully abreast of the times and which reflects the energy and business acumen of its proprietor is the St. Augustine Transfer Company. The directing executive of this concern is LOUIS ALBERT COLEE, who in addition to being a progressive and successful business man is one who has served the city well and faithfully in a number of important executive positions, in the discharge of the duties of which he gained the confidence and good will of St. Augustine’s best citizenship. Mr. COLEE was born at St. Augustine, March 22, 1854, and is a son of JAMES LOUIS and MARY P. (IRWIN) COLEE, natives of this city. His father, born in 1832, was educated at St. Augustine and adopted the profession of civil engineer, in which capacity he served the Florida East Coast Canal Company in laying out the canal from St. Augustine to Miami. Prior to the Civil war he owned much land and was a slave owner, also engaging in the lumber business, and following the war continued in his several activities, finally taking up the transfer business, which he followed with his son until his death in 1878. He was a democrat in politics, and a member of the Roman Catholic Church. Mrs. COLEE, who was born in 1834, died in January, 1895. They were the parents of six sons and two daughters, of whom four sons survive. The eldest of his parents’ children, LOUIS ALBERT COLEE attended the parochial schools until the breaking out of the war between the states, when he entered the public schools. At the age of twenty-one years he joined his father in the transfer business, the association continuing up to within a short time of his father’s death, when the son took over the business and has continued as its proprietor to the present. He was the first to operate a bus to the Ponce de Leon and Alcazar hotels, and these lines are still in operation. He was also the first to place agents on the trains of the Florida East Coast Railway, and maintains the same contract at this time. He operates a thoroughly modern transfer company, operating carriages and automobiles for passengers, doing hauling and handling baggage, and renders prompt and efficient service in every department of his business. His reputation in business circles is an excellent one, and has been built up through honorable dealings and fair representation. Mr. COLEE has been active and prominent in civic affairs. For about six or eight years he served as a member of the City Council, and was then elected city treasurer, an office in which he served for five terms, or ten years, succeeding himself in the office each time and being elected by large majorities. In 1880 he was elected a member of the School Board, and served in that body for twenty years, during eight years of which he acted in the capacity of chairman. He was also a member of the Water Works Board, and its chairman for ten years, occupying this position and that of member of the School Board at the same time. His allegiance has always been given to the democratic party. All public-spirited movements have his aid and co- operation, and his friendship for education and religion, has been evidenced on numerous occasions. Mr. COLEE is a member of the Roman Catholic Church, and his fraternal affiliation is with the Knights of Columbus and St. Augustine Lodge, No. 829, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In 1875 Mr. COLEE was united in marriage with Miss MERCEDES B. REYES, who died in 1916, having been the mother of nine children: JOSEPH HERBERT, who is acting as bookkeeper for the St. Augustine Transfer Company; JOHN LOUIS, who died at the age of thirty-eight years, leaving a widow and five children; BEATRICE, who died in infancy; THEODORE F., who died at the age of eighteen years; DAVID B., who died in infancy; JAMES ALBERT, cashier of the Peoples Bank of St. Augustine, who is married and has one child; RICHARD; AMBROSE, who has six children; and STANLEY, who has one child. In September, 1921, Mr. COLEE married Mrs. ADA (ANDREW) COOPER, the widow of Judge M. R. COOPER. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/fl/stjohns/bios/colee72nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/flfiles/ File size: 4.8 Kb