Tne maps of the Spanish estates* at tiie time transferred to EnglandyI763 j do not show any estates north of tne St.John’s River. The Spaniards had many mission stations in 1657 among the Indians hut all built of wood.After the attack of Moore I702&I703 PcImer 1727 -23 Oglethorpe 1740 those far away missions were broken up. Peter Force’s Archives jive accounts of fights , attacks etc.in the east of Georgia in the early days of the Revolution.You will be interested in tiie next book to be published by the Florida State Historical Society written by Prof.’7x1 our H.Siebert on East Florida 1763-I774or 1776. Prof.Siebert has collected a large number of documents for this book. Two years ago he spent five days working in our library nere with me, and his wife helping to make copies from books. He is research professor in -cisfory for the Ohio State university , and has written many books.I feel this next book will be of more general interest than his "Loyalists of East Florida" as tne documents in that were many records of real estate damages, due to the return of Florida to Spam.
This question of Ponce de Leon is in a way a good thing lor Florida ,as it is showing Senator Fletcher and the united States the necessity of making a study of the history of Florida. 1 have aone what 1 could ,but I have realized my limitations arm wished that tne scholars ol the country and those who could afford to secure tiie needed records would take some interest in it.
I can hejbp with what l know, and tiie materials l have collected,pioneer work will help the man or woman who has the proper education like Prof.Siebert end Col.Landers to wrote or consider properly the debatable subjects,especially as they nave many more sources to nraw on ior correct information. So much oi tne history has been written carelessly,and then taxen a.s being correct that it is hard to combat it.Lowery in his "Spanish Settlements" gives a most absurd account of the landing of Ponce de Leon "near the St.John’s River" and tells of the flowers the Jessamine and Yucca, those of us wiio live herg know that the Jessamine has finished blooming by April and the yucca does not come out till nearly June.Lowery never was in Florida. Prof.Bolton and others follwv^Lowery,who I believe never was in Florida. Last winter Mrs.Corse told me of a very old map in a collection in Georgia that showed the mission stations in Florida.T:,e map was made on parchment ,was very old and sne had a photostat copy made of it, which she showed me. The minute I looked at it I told her phis map may be old but the pictures have been put on it recently perhaps by a travelling artist, as one of these missions is a sketch of the ruins at New Smyrna made in the past twenty years or so. I knew from various accounts that the ruins had cnanged very much since 1836 when the Indians destroyed the sugar mills, as stone had been taken from them for building purposes. Mrs.Corse then made some inquiries about the map and found that it was one made by Prof.Bolton and another map for an exhibit in Spain,and was ma.de on parchment to look old, the pictures of missions were put on where they thought they had been etc.To me,that is not the way to teach or wrote nistory, and Mrs.Corse had it copied because she thought it a proof that there had be^n old stone missions in Florida,outside of St.Augustine. Tiie report of the Spanish engineer Arredondo about 1744 , to tiie king, that no stone had been discovered excepting that on Anastasia Island ,is to me proof that tire ruins at New Smyrna were not built in 1696 as claimed They were eitiier built just before the English came,or later.
Thanking you for jtour very nice letters , and hoping that it will not be necessary for you to change the booklets as to tne 1 nding of Poneede Leon and that we shall hear from you again,I remain
Yours Sincerely