Lone black family in city for 20 years was respected

By SCOTT TAYLOR HARTZELL

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 19, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- Memories of Edward Donaldson inundate Roger Hammond when he walks the Demens Landing sea wall.

"It brings back the old days," said Hammond, 52. "My grandfather (Donaldson) had a concession stand there."

Edward Donaldson and his father, John, were stalwarts of the city and the area's first black family. They settled in the area, became property owners and were widely respected members of the community at a time when blacks were being treated harshly elsewhere.

"(The Donaldsons) were respected by all their white neighbors," historian Karl Grismer wrote.

Black people who followed weren't as fortunate.

"The tolerance and respect accorded (the Donaldsons) would not be extended to later black settlers," said Ray Arsenault, another historian.

According to the 1870 census, John Donaldson was born in 1853. The 1880 census places his birth date in 1849.

From atop an ox cart, the former slave left an Alabama plantation three years after the Civil War. John Donaldson arrived in Tampa 30 days later with his white boss, Louis Bell Jr., and his future wife, Anna Germain.

Grismer recorded that John Donaldson stayed with the Bells several years and then settled near Tangerine Avenue in 1871, paying $36 for 40 acres. He elevated the Pinellas Peninsula's population to 25.

John Donaldson raised cattle and hogs and grew oranges, sugar cane and sweet potatoes. "His homemade sausage and sugar cured hams were the talk of the (area)," Edward Donaldson once said.

Grismer said most people "considered (John) one of the best well-off settlers on the lower peninsula."

He was "a man universally respected and one who really kept pace with his white neighbors," historian John Bethell noted.

Although Arsenault described him as illiterate, John Donaldson was a postmaster. "He carried the mail by horseback for five years," son Edward wrote in a 1963 letter to county historian Ralph Green.

In 1887, John also legibly signed his name to a petition calling for the area's separation from Hillsborough County.

The St. Petersburg Times reported that John Donaldson died on Jan. 27, 1901, of tuberculosis. He was buried at Glen Oaks Cemetery, alongside white members of the community.

His son, Edward Donaldson, was born Jan. 15, 1873, according to city records reviewed by historian Walter Fuller. The 1880 census said he was born in 1877. He was the fourth of 11 children.

Edward attended Disston City (Gulfport) School for 2 1/2 years. He told Fuller that "nobody ever paid any attention to the fact that some of the children were black and some white."

For 20 years, the Donaldsons had been the only black family in St. Petersburg, and tolerance reigned.

"This situation began to change in 1888, when the community experienced its first real influx of black settlers," Arsenault recorded.

Black neighborhoods such as Pepper Town and Cooper's Quarters sprang up. Segregation had begun.

"Negroes here were (both) respected and scorned; were treated fairly and were denied basic rights; were feared because of their growing numbers," the Evening Independent wrote.

Amid the evolving racial situation, Edward Donaldson made his mark.

He supervised work on the 3,000-foot railroad pier at First Avenue S in 1889. Arsenault called it "the pride of the local business community."

Edward Donaldson was also involved in construction of the Brantley Pier in 1896. He also helped supervise the building of Fort Dade and Fort De Soto for developer H. Walter Fuller, father of historian Fuller. Donaldson helped the senior Fuller build the street car line and the electric power plant.

"(Edward) was one of the men who -- quite literally -- helped build St. Petersburg," the Times reported.

In 1914, the city hired Edward Donaldson. "I think he worked in the parks department," said Hammond, whom Edward raised for nearly eight years. Edward retired from the city in 1945.

Augusta Davis, Edward Donaldson's niece, recalled the barbecue sales frequently held at his home at 401 12th St. N. "People bought slabs of ribs every Saturday," said Davis, 64.

Edward Donaldson then opened a concession stand at South Mole Beach (Demens Landing). It featured sandwiches and candy and became quite popular.

"Oh, God, they'd be crowds there," said the Rev. Isaac McNeal, 92, former assistant pastor at St. Marks Missionary Baptist Church, where Edward Donaldson worshiped.

"(I) went there practically every day," said Peter Simpkins, 62, who was also raised by Edward and his wife, Roxanna, his grandparents.

"Roxanna was a midwife, you know," said Annie Jenkins, 75, who lived near the couple.

Known as Mother Roxanna Simpkins, Edward's wife delivered nearly 500 babies in 18 years.

"I'm (Edward's) fourth or fifth wife," the renowned midwife said in 1966, "and I'll tell you one thing, I'm going to be his last."

Edward Donaldson, thought to be St. Petersburg's oldest native resident, died on Nov. 13, 1967.

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