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LIFE HISTORY OF A. G.
(GUS) HARTRIDGE,
JACKSONVILLE LAWYER
(Florida)
Mr. Hartridge seems very well preserved
for his age. He is a rather large man, weighs 205 pounds, and is a little
over six feet tall. He will reach his "three-score and ten" in May of this
year, and since he retired two years ago from the active practice of his
profession, has been engaged in taking care of the rental service of the
six-story Hilderbrandt Building, where his office is located on the second
floor. We had a 3:30 appointment, and as I stepped off the elevator, he
was there to greet me and conduct me to his office down the hall.
There were no loose papers on the desk where he seated himself, inviting
me to take a chair on the opposite side. All around was neatness,
cleanliness and order. Only a 1939 calendar, with large block figures, and
no illustrations hung on the wall; there were no pictures or mirrors. A
typewriter desk was to his left in the corner by the window in the western
wall, the machine, which he himself uses to make out contracts and conduct
any correspondence necessary in his position, was covered; the files were
closed, and he had evidently completed his work for the day, and was ready
to talk without interruption.
On addressing him, I noticed he was slightly deaf in his left ear, but by
raising my voice a little he was able to understand perfectly and rarely
asked for a question to be repeated.
"My family were English," Mr. Hartridge said. "My father came to
Jacksonville from Madison County, Florida in 1853. I was born May 27,
1869. I was educated in the Jacksonville schools and later attended the
Citadel Military Academy, in Charleston, South Carolina from which I was
graduated.
"Our family home was on the corner of Liberty and Forsyth Streets, which
was a popular residence section in the early days.
The house was destroyed with all of our papers and most of our belongings
in the great fire of 1901.
"My mother, Mrs. Theodore Hartridge, with Mrs. Aristides Doggett, and Mrs.
Alexander Mitchell, started St. Luke's Hospital in Jacksonville. The first
building was erected on the corner of Church and Market Streets, but was
burned to the ground just before it was completed. The cause of the fire
was never determined.
The building was insured, and with this coverage, they built another St.
Luke's in the early 1870's on East Duval Street near the end of the
present viaduct on that thoroughfare.
"St. Luke's Hospital in those days was run by Dr. J. D. Mitchell, Mrs.
Doggett and my mother, Mrs. Hartridge.
"Mrs. Alexander Mitchell, a very wealthy and charitably inclined lady came
to Jacksonville from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, about this time, and built a
beautiful country home 'Villa Alexandria' on the St. Johns River on the
south side. She, too, helped with the organization and administration of
the hospital affairs.
"Her home was a large, two-story, frame building - nothing elaborate, but
most handsomely furnished with expensive draperies, rugs, furniture,
paintings and bricabrac from the four corners of the world, for she was a
great traveler.
"Once a year Mrs. Mitchell gave a lawn party and fete for the benefit of
the hospital. This was the outstanding social event for the citizens of
Jacksonville. Boats were chartered and people carried down there for the
afternoon and evening. The grounds were illuminated by thousands of
Japanese lanterns. A small admission was charged at the landing, 25 cents,
and all kinds of articles for sale in booths around the lawn - fancy work,
beautifully dressed dolls, pastries, candies, etc. The house was also
open, for those who wished to view the inside of the residence.
"There were no electric lights at that time, so the Japanese lanterns were
the only means of lighting the grounds, and of course there were no hot
dogs or ice-cream cones like we are used to now.
"Several thousand dollars were
realized, which was quite a sum for that period, and considering the
population of Jacksonville as compared with the present time.
"These three women, Mrs. Mitchell, Mrs. Doggett and Mrs. Hartridge finally
found the burden too much for them to handle, and St. Luke's Hospital
Association was formed, and the active management turned over to that
body.
"There were no trained nurses in those days - they had only practical
nurses and volunteers, but almost any woman, it seems, made a capable
nurse in her own family and others also, when emergency required. The
doctors of Jacksonville gave their services free to the poor. Even the
Hospital Association found it rather hard going - not that there was any
opposition, people just are not interested and could not sense the need of
a hospital.
"There were three great yellow fever epidemics - one in 1857, another in
1858, and the last one in 1888. I heard a great deal about them,
especially the last one, although we were not in the city at the time.
Residents, not knowing of course, that yellow fever was propagated by
certain types of mosquitoes, thought the weather had something to do with
the contagion, and those who could afford it, absented themselves during
the hot weather and until after the first frost, which killing the
mosquitoes, naturally made it safe to return.
"Recreation in the early days was confined to dancing, riding and
picnicking. The Florida Yacht Club was established in 1878. Dances were
held regularly every two weeks in the winter time; also there were
informal dances each Saturday evening at the St. James Hotel, now the
Cohen Store building.
"One enjoyable feature was the moonlight boat-rides on the St. Johns.
There were no railroads running up the river, so these boat excursions
terminated at Green Cove Springs, Middleburg, and Arlington. Those were
also favorite picnic spots.
"In horseback riding, we used to go out some distance on the old plank
road towards Lake City, and again on the 10-mile drive around by
Talleyrand Avenue along the River and back.
"The Springfield section from the time of my early boyhood was known as
the Jones Plantation. Mr Jones was the grandfather of the late Mr. William
Bostwick.
"At Arlington was the Sammis Plantation. Mr. Sammis' wife was an African
Princess.
"On the South side of the River were the Hudnall Plantation, Phillips'
Plantation - Red Banks - the Hendricks', Hegarths', and the Bigelow's at
Strawberry Creek.
"Mandarin, when I first knew of it, was a series of well-kept estates
owned by English people - the Bowdens, Bardins, the James family, and
others, and was beautifully developed in bearing orange groves. The big
freeze of 1884 or 1885 killed the trees and ruined the orange culture,
which had grown to be quite an industry in that section.
"What do I think of Jacksonville? I have always thought it the most
wonderful place in the world to live, filled with wonderful people.
And of course, I believe it has a most promising future, its geographical
location on the river, and so close to the ocean, makes it valuable for
receiving, for shipping, for manufacturing, for travel. In my opinion, it
the most solid place financially and economically in Florida.
"I am in favor of Mr. Roosevelt's policies and programs. I consider him
the most wonderful man alive today.
"I practiced law in Jacksonville for six years, was State's Attorney for
sixteen years, and for six yours afterwards was Judge of the Criminal
Court of Palm Beach County. I retired from active practice of law two
years ago, but still conduct my office in the rental department here.
"What was my most interesting case? That of the State vs. Eddie Pitzler,
charged with the killing of Maria de Gatte, a beautiful Cuban girl. The
murder was committed one evening in 1895 on 16th Street, which was then
not in the corporate limits of the city of Jacksonville. The girl was a
native of Jacksonville, the daughter of G. de Gatte who owned and operated
De Gatte's Cigar Factory here.
The boy and girl were sweethearts and the evidence, all circumstantial,
indicated a violent lover's quarrel induced by jealousy on the part of the
young man. The girl had been deliberately shot.
There was no question but that Pitzler was guilty of the crime with which
he was charged, but he was freed on perjured testimony - a woman testified
he was at her home when the crime was committed, and we were unable to
shake her testimony.
"The late Senator Fletcher was associated with me in the prosecution, also
Col. A. W. Cockrell.
"Pitzler's lawyers were Col. Alexander St. Clair Abrams, Frank Pope, and
Dan Campbell.
"The trial lasted for three weeks and created intense excitement. Women
brought their lunch, so they would not lose their seats at the noon-time
intermission. The boy was good looking, and was the recipient of flowers
and other tokens of admiration from the ladies. They considered me a
heartless, inhuman prosecutor, and I remember," he said chuckling softly
to himself, "two of these Jacksonville women who were constant attendants
at the trial, did not speak to me for two years afterward.'"
"Both the Pitzler and DeGatte families left Jacksonville immediately after
the case was closed."
Asked about laws, Mr. Hartridge said: "We have too many laws, far too
many. A good many of them should be repealed entirely, and others
amended."
As to hobbies, "I like hunting," he said, "but I am also a devotee of
fishing - deep-sea fishing off the Florida coast, the best sport in the
world.
Mr. Hartridge remarked that his family had accumulated a great deal of
historical matter, papers, etc., but all of these were lost in the fire of
1901. The only things of importance saved were a silver service of
considerable value, and the family portraits of his father, mother and
grandmother.
February 28, 1939.
A. G. Hartridge.
Lawyer.
211 Hilderbrandt Bldg.
Jacksonville,
Florida.
Rose Shepherd, Writer
Text from: Library of
Congress, Manuscript Division, WPA Federal Writers' Project Collection
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