James Clarence PROCTOR

James married Betty Rae PERSON on 16 Sep 1917, and was divorced in Divorce. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. John Suwell PROCTOR
2. Wayne Horace PROCTOR

James married Leila Mae SHERWOOD [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. April Reshea PROCTOR was born on 18 Apr 1942 in Orlando, FL; died in 2004.

Notes:

Mr. Proctor (Jim) married Emma Jane Caruthers of Oxford in 1897 and moved to Summerfield. Their first home located on Highway 42 was up on a hill (Buck Mountain) To the northwest of where the home pictured is located.

Construction of this home was started in late 1800's, probably during the year of 1898. It was completed and occupied in or around 1902.

Grandpa cut the large pine trees from his property and hauled them to his father's sawmill in Pedro. They were cut in to lumber and he built this home. This home is located the corner of highway 42 and 470 Avenue in Summerfield.

Information from Ralph Dillon Hackett, their Grandson

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TRIBUTE TO MOTHER AND DAD, by Louise Proctor Livingston
My Mother and Dad were exceptional people, I think. When they were first married my Dad worked away from home long hours, for $1 a day. After the first year he built a house, doing most of the work himself, even splitting the shingles for the roof and cutting the logs and carrying [them] to his Dads mill for sawing. Dad worked at a mill near the house some. One day, when he was there, the mill blew up and injured many. He felt very fortunate to have missed the disaster. He and Mother -Lived together in this house for the next, 67 years. My Mother was ninety-two in Aug 1971 and still lives in this house. They had one child before building (born at another place) then 7 in this house and numerous grandchildren. There has been only 1 death in this house; the third child, Carl, age four.

Back in early times farmers let their hogs and cows graze on open range identifying by marks and brands. Land was cleared partly by slave labor before the Civil War.

I remember Dad going out at daybreak and working until sundown, just taking time to eat at noon and a short rest. He grew corn and always took some to the mill for our own use. That was the BEST meal and grits. He made syrup grinding his own cane and again using the mule at the mill. We had sweet potatoes and all vegetables. He grew tomatoes and melons, also cantalopes [sic] for trucks. He never owned a tractor. He did most of his cattle tending on horseback but did own a jeep the last few years. He was active up until 77 years old.

Mother was always busy about the house and garden. She cooked big meals daily and of course canned fruits and vegetables. We had our own hogs and worked our own meats, sausage, etc. She taught me to cook, can, and sew and we made all of our clothes. Aside from raising her own children, she has helped with grandchildren and we had company continually. It seemed she never tired. I've heard her tell of the times when she had many small children, about rocking the cradle with one foot, while ironing, sewing or cooking.

My deepest love and appreciation to them for their faithfulness and devotion.

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From the "History of the First Baptist Church, Summerfield, FL,":

When J.D., called Mr. Jim by his friends, and Emma married they first lived near Pedro. Early in 1900 they built a house on Cemetery Road near the corner of what is now 47th Ave. and Hwy 42. The house continues to be in the family. Like so many of his kin and friends, J.D. was primarily a farmer and cattleman.

According to records the church letters of J.D. and Emma and daughters Alma and Edith were received by our church from Pedro on Christmas Day, 1924. They had been in their home on Cemetery Road nearly a quarter of a century. The Pedro and Summerfield churches are about the same distance from this house. No reason is known as to why they changed churches. But thank the Lord for it because of the contributions in service made not only by J.D. and Emma but their descendants as well.

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James Proctor bid on the job of taking children from Summerfield to the schoolhouse, and was hired in 1920. He purchased an open air Ford bus with canvas awnings. His daughter Edith drove the first year, and his daughter Ruth drove for the next three years.

James married Emma Jane CARUTHERS on 20 Oct 1898. Emma (daughter of Preston CARUTHERS and Marion Tibitha PERRY) was born on 19 Aug 1879; died on 14 Apr 1972 in Summerfield, FL. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Alfred married Nancy Ophelia Madoria LEITNER on 20 Oct 1874. Nancy (daughter of Jacob LEITNER and Charlotte SOUTER) was born on 27 Apr 1852 in Richland Dist, SC; died on 1 May 1939 in Oxford, FL. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Better known as Ophie. Came to FL with her parents in 1855/6.

At age 83 in an interview, Ophelia said: "The greatest mechanical invention during my lifetime has been the radio

Preston married Marion Tibitha PERRY. Marion (daughter of Peter Boyer PERRY and Elizabeth DUKE) was born on 6 Mar 1862; died on 15 May 1945. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

John Proctor was the other prominent Pedro founding family.

John and his family came to Florida from Dillon, South Carolina during the middle 1800's. They first settled in North Marion County due to high water crossing the trail. They were delayed several weeks due to this high water. Later he settled in Pedro.

John had a family of eight (8) children when his wife died. He needed help to raise his younger children. He was told of a young woman who was looking for a home due to her parents being killed in a wagon wreck shortly after their arrival from another state.

He search for this young woman and found her in Oxford. He hired her to keep house for him. They eventually married and she presented him with a set of twins at his age 75. One of the twins was Jesse and his sister was Hattie. They went on to have three (3) additional children.

John Proctor was the Great, Great grandfather of this writer. Family members who are now deceased have passed down these stories. Ralph Dillon Hackett

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John Proctor enlisted in 1862 in Capt. Joseph Eicheberger's Co., 5th Battalion Florida Calvary of the Confederate Army in the Civil War. He was wounded at the Battle of Olustee on February 20, 1864, near Lake City, FL. The battle lasted 7 hours. The battle ground is now a state park near Lake City, FL.

From the Voice of South Marion newspaper (date unknown).

Plans have been made for a dedication ceremony May 6, a Saturday (time will be set later) of the Confederate marker at the grave of John Proctor at Pine Level Cemetery. John Proctor was wounded at the Battle of Olustee and his descendants are too numerous to mention. One, Fred Proctor of California, is planning a trip at this particular time. It is hoped the word will get out to the many others related to John Proctor. Much appreciation was expressed to Bob Watkins who did a beautiful job of setting this marker.

The marker was dedicated on May 6, 2000 at 11:00 A.M.

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Children of John Proctor according to a letter from his Great-Great Grandson, Fred G. Proctor:
Amey
Lenora
Charles
Alfred (married to Amelia)
Colin (Fred's Great-Grandfather)
Maria
John R.
Mealy
Flora

This information has not been entered into the database because of conflicts and concerns about the reliability of the data.

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(Research):
In 1857, John and Martha Ann moved from Little Rock, South Carolina to Ocala, Florida.  They lived in Eureka on the eastern part of Marion County before moving to Pedro, which is near Summerfield, Florida, near the Sumter- Marion County boundry.

In 1862, John Proctor enlisted in Capt. JacobC. Eichelberger's
Company K, 9th Regiment, Florida Infantry, CSA.  He was wounded February
20, 1864 in the battle of Olustee.  He mustered out April 26, 1865.

John Proctor was a registrant on the Florida Voter Registration
Lists 1867-68.  He had voter number 65 in Precinct 8, registering on Aug
17. He had been in the state of Florida and in Marion County 9 years.

John married Martha Ann DILLON, Proctor in Marlboro, South Carolina, United States. Martha (daughter of William DILLON and Lucretia COTTINGHAM) was born on 19 Sep 1824 in Little Rock, SC; died on 5 Mar 1886 in Summerfield, Marion, Florida, United States; was buried in Pine Level Cemetery, Oxford, Sumter, Florida, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Martha Ann Dillon met and married John Proctor in Dillon, SC. They moved to Marion County, FL from Dillon, SC in 1857.

Martha Ann was helping son Alfred and his wife Ophelia nurse their children through the Measels when she took the
disease and died. (told by granddau. Mattie Leitner Moore) There were 10 children.

(Research):





Martha Ann Dillion Proctor lived to the age of 62 years.  She was helping
her son, Alfred and his wife, Ophelia, nurse their children through the
measles, when she took the disease and died.

Pine Level Cemetery, Oxford, FL;  "In Memory of Martha Ann Proctor, wife
of John Proctor, 7 Sept 1825, 5 Mar 1886."

Notes:

Jacob Leitner, Jr. and Charlotte Souter were United in Holy bonds of matrimony by Rev. John P. Cook. They settled near the lines of Fairfield and Richland Counties in Richland on land given him by his Father where they lived until in the year Dec. 1855. They started to Florida on 13th of Dec. by private conveyance and landed In Florida Jan. 8 1856. They settled in Marion County, East Florida later known as Anthony, Florida. Jacob Leitner died Sunday morning, July 20,1884 at the age of 76 years, 8 months and 15 days. He had been for many years a member of the Methodist church and died in full triumph of Christian hope. He has a very prominent place in the early establishing of the Methodist Church in Florida and was the founder of the Spring Hill church and in the history of the M.E. churches in Florida says "For all of our knowledge of it's predecessors Hickory Grove and Andrew's Chapel" Quoting also, "People from the north began to come into this section after 1874, and in 1876, Mr. Leitner sold his home place to Col. Anthony from Muncie, Indiana. The railroad had been surveyed and would be built within a few years through the Leitner property." Jacob Leitner reserved land at this time for the Anthony Cemetery, where he and his wife and many, many of his descendants are buried. (Fannie P. Kipp note: Their granddaughter, Lizzie Fife was the first person to be buried there. In 1876 definite boundaries were put on the land.) Again quoting "Mr. Leitner was the class leader, the song leader and one of the most earnest and forceful of its new members. His house was always the preacher's home. All members of his family were staunch members. They could always be depended upon to hold up his hands. TRULY, METHODISM AND LOVE FOR THE CHURCH WERE THE FRUITFUL HERITAGE OF HIS MANY DESCENDANTS. (Fannie P. Kipp note: ((1971)) 94 year old Papa, Clarence C.Priest, was 8 years old when his Grandpa Leitner died. He remembers that Grandpa could be heard a quarter mile away saying family prayers.) Mrs. Charlotte Leitner of Griner Farms, Marion County passed her 82 birthday Feb. 20, 1902 [This date is disagrees with other records]. She was married at the age of 14 years. She gave birth to 10 children and reared 9 to manhood and womanhood, who like their Mother married early in life. She had 58 living grand children and fifty living great grand children. It would require time to count the number of deaths of grand and great-grand children not included in the above, which is approximately thirty. She is still physically active and mentally vigorous, reads without her glasses and does not feel too old or too learned to attend Sunday School regularly as a scholar. Her mother died at age 93 and her great grandmother at age 115. There was a family reunion Sunday, Feb. 10, 1907 at the hospitable home of Buford H. Leitner to celebrate the 87th birthday of his Mother. Many of her descendants and children were there to extend congratulations and wish Mrs. Leitner many more happy birthdays. Mrs. Charlotte Leitner not withstanding her advanced years had the use of all her faculties and is not only active but true to her ideas of thrift and industry and does not permit idle moments to wear out her mind. She died at her daughter's, Mrs. Alfred Proctors home at 11 o'clock on the night of Oct. 18, 1909 in her 89th (should this be 90th) year. She was buried at the Anthony Cemetery.

His epitaph reads, "Sleep father dear and take thy rest; God called thee home, he thought it best."

In addition to several of his sons and sons-in law, At least two of Jacob's nephews, Wesley Smith and John Weiley Leitner (both of S.C.) were killed in this war. (Researched by Fannie Belle Priest Kipp from papers obtained from the Florida and South Carolina Archives and from stories told by relatives.)

Written by Dorothy Spencer Wright (told to her by her Grandmother,Maria Proctor Leitner) "When Jacob Leitner, Jr. as a boy of 14, first saw his future wife she was a baby in a crib. He said 'I'll wait for her to be my wife' and he did!" (She was 14 and he 28 when they married-. FPK)

Jacob married Charlotte SOUTER on 1 Nov 1834 in South Carolina. Charlotte (daughter of George SOUTER and Catherine Barbary SMITH) was born on 10 Feb 1820; died on 18 Oct 1909; was buried in Anthony Cemetary, Anthony, FL. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Her epitaph reads, "None knew thee but to love thee."

The following is from a Marion Co. (Fla.) newspaper Story:
Jacob and Charlotte Souter Leitner were pioneer residents of Marion Co.,Fla. They left their home in Columbia,S.C. on Dec-13,1855 for Florida with their nine children for what is now known as Anthony.

Mr. and Mrs.Leitner and the smaller children rode In a carriage, the older children in buggies, and wagons (covered) carried personal and household goods and the Leitner slaves. On the first day the caravan traveled only 15 miles and the entire trip took over four weeks.

Eight of the Leitner's nine children settled in and around Marion Co. One daughter,Susan Anne C.Leitner married Jefferson Lever of Columbia,S.C. and she returned there to live. . . .

Notes:

Peter Boyer Perry served in Company F, 9th Regiment, State of Florida during the Civil War. He was paroled at Appomattox Court House, VA on April 9, 1865.

"Peter B. Perry taught school in a log meeting house near the Crum cemetery, southwest of Summerfield, beginning in 1854, for a number of years." Excerpt from, "Gone with the Hickory Stick: School Days in Marion County 1845-1960," by Broward Lovell

The following article appeared in the Ocala Star Banner on 21 October 1998

"Founding Families still live in Pedro," BY CHRISTOPHER LLOYD, STAFF WRITER

Chances are if your family has lived near the comer of County Roads 42 and 475 for a long stretch of years, you had some Proctors or Perrys among your ancestors.

Those two families settled Pedro, a loosely defined community west of Summerfield, more than a century ago. They raised cattle, hogs and watermelon, and it wasn't at all uncommon for a Proctor gal to marry a Perry feller, or vice-versa.

"There's an old saying that if you see some guy on the street, you can say, 'Hello, Mr. Perry,' and if he doesn't answer you can come back and say, 'Hello, Mr. Proctor' and get an answer," said Ralph Hackett, 67.

Hackett, who lives across the street from his [grand]father's farmhouse where he was born, is a direct descendant of Peter Boyer Perry, who gave Pedro its name. His great-great-grandfather passed through the area in 1847 on his way to fight in the Mexican-American War.

Perry helped win the war, planting a flag inside Mexico City. He stayed there for two more years, friends with many of the Mexicans who used to be his enemies.

"He was called Pedro, which is Spanish for Peter," Hackett said.

As he prepared to return to the States, Perry's mind recalled the quiet open lands in Florida he had passed through, and thought it would be a great place to raise cattle. He became one of the first white men to settle the area, and gave it his Spanish name.

In 1849, when most people were going out West for the Gold Rush, he came to Florida," Hackett said. Don't make the mistake of pronouncing the name as "pay-dro," though it's "pee-dro!'

It would remain a spread-out farming community. In the early days the Perrys let their cattle roam free, rounding them up when auction time came. Occasionally the men would fight off roving raiding bands of Seminole indians.

Nearby Dank

Peter married Elizabeth DUKE. Elizabeth (daughter of Robert DUKE and Nancy KING) was born on 25 Jul 1831; died on 18 May 1894. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]