The history of
The Bellamy/Nickels/Mooring House
Jackson County, Florida
by
Merritt Dekle
and
Dale Cox
Cindy Sloan
Betty Smith
All rights reserved!
"Samuel C. Bellamy decided to give his future wife the advantages of both city and country life. He began construction of a two-story Marianna ``town house,'' which when completed would be adorned with stately white columns and broad steps running the full length of the veranda. He also placed an order for expensive furnishings from Europe."
"The wedding took place in the rose garden, behind the new town house the afternoon of May 11, 1837."
"In the early evening hours after the candles and lamps were lit, most of the people moved into ``the big room,'' where all furniture had been removed and straight-back chairs lined the walls. It was after Elizabeth had removed her long wedding veil that the tragedy took place. Sam and Elizabeth were whirling around on the dance floor, caught up in the music of a beautiful waltz, when the back of Elizabeth's gossamer-like gown brushed too close to one of the candelabras and caught fire."
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Newspaper clipping (home to be torn down) click here.
From the History of Jackson County by J Randall Stanley
pp 59-60
The mansion was built by Dr. Samuel S. Bellamy for his bride, who died a tragic death on her wedding day. Dr. Bellamy never lived in the home and sold it to Chandler C. Yonge, U. S. district attorney, in the 1850's. In 1853, the Yonges sold the property to Thomas and Rose Gautier; and, in 1868, the residence and the entire block on which it was located, appraised at $12,000, was purchased by William Nickels for $1,200, a price which reflected the distressed condition of real estate following the Civil War. From his home Willie Ann Nickels eloped with Edwin W. Mooring, founding one of the strangest families in the history of the county. William Nickels' name was terminated abruptly by the tragic death of his son, William Nickels, Jr., who was shot and killed by his brother-in-law, Edwin Mooring. A second son, Woodbury (Woody) Nickels, was killed in the Battle of Marianna.
The house was still there when I was a child and I remember it well although I never went in it....it had been empty for years by then. It was razed sometime in the 1960s......a pity.
Where was the house ...address? Market St and Green St in Marianna. (It was originally on Market Street, but was moved around the corner onto Green Street ......sometime in the 1900s, not sure when. It had become some sort of business school in it's last few years before it was closed down and finally razed.)
"William Nickels was a picturesque but somewhat tragic figure in Marianna's history. He was a Yankee, a native of Maine, whose forefathers had built a great mansion on the coast at Wiscasset, over a century and a half ago. They accumulated a great fortuen in shipping in the days of the American Clippers and lived in a style befitting their wealth and attainments.
His name is perpetuated in Marianna history by the old Nickels home on North Green street - a two-story building with stately white columns, heavy cornices, and broad steps running the full length of the veranda - which has been a Marianna landmark for over a century.
The Wiscasset Mansion was featured in Nov. 1949 issue of McCall's magazine.
Nickels bought it in 1868; it was appraised at $12,000; Nickels bought it for $1,200
It covered a whole city block.
Shoffner quotes using the Marianna Florida Whig, with dates to the late 1840s. He also talks about the St. Joseph Times (date of 1836) and Apalachicola Gazette (1837).
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Another shot of the home.....taken around 1900? (I'm just guessing on these dates). I assume the women in the shot are 2 of the Mooring sisters. One of Wm's daughters married a Mooring and these were 2 of the daughters....there were 5 children and none of them ever married. Mooring was an ambassador and all of the children were schooled in Europe I remember hearing.
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To see bigger picture and to help identify people in photo go to this web page click here.
It was with a great deal of interest I read the article on the Jackson County Web Site about the Bellamy/Nickels/Mooring house. My husband (died 1994) is a descendant of Octavia Nickels Stanley who was a sister of William Nickels. She is enumerated next to him in the 1850 and 1860 Jackson County census. Have a different view of the house which was found in my mother-in-law's possessions. We (family members) had thought it might have been a house in Marianna but could not confirm until I read your article. It is believed that Octavia Stanley moved from Maine to Florida with her children to be near her brother after her husband Asel Stanley, a ship captain was lost at sea.
Octavia Stanley's daughter, Clara Octavia Stanley married Marcus Solomon
whose mother was Sarah Watson and the Watson family is shown in Jackson County
records. She is suppose to be buried at Sneed, Florida, but have not located
her gravesite.
Virginia W Jones of Atlanta, GA
My husband's line is as follows:
Francis H Jones, III (b 14 Sep 1923 d 11 Apr 1994) and m 4 Oct 1947 Virginia
Weathers (b 19 May 1923) was son of Ellie Octavia Solomon (b 17 Oct 1897
d 20 Feb 1957) and Francis H Jones Jr (b 13 Oct 1895 d 4 Aug 1949) and they
m 14 Sep 1921). Ellie Octavia Solomon was daughter of Samuel Asa Solomon
(b 26 Oct 1859 d 29 Sep 1918) and Mary Barnett (b 25 Oct 1864 d 12 Dec 1955)
and they m 22 Oct 1884. Samuel Asa Solomon was son of Marcus J Solomon (b
11 May 1839 d 1 Apr 1901) and Clara Octavia Stanley (b 30 Jun 1835 d 23 Aug
1912) and they m 17 Nov 1858. Clara Octavia Stanley was daughter of Octavia
Nickels (b 1810 d 1870) and Asel Stanley (b 1800 d 1845) and they m 19 Sep
1834. Octavia Nickels was daughter of William Nickels (b 12 Jan 1766 d 30
Oct 1815) and Jane McCobb (b 24 Sep 1775 d 30 Nov 1812) and they m 1796.
Have some data on ancestors of William and his wife Jane if you would like.
Now the Solomon line with connections in Jackson County is as follows:
Marcus J Solomon was son of Samuel Ludwig Solomon (b 14 Jul 1806 d 18 Apr
1859) and Sarah Watson (b 12 Aug 1815 d 14 Sep 1888) and they m 1 Jan 1833.
Sarah Watson was daughter of Richard L Watson and Jane Burch. Jane Burch
was daughter of John Burch and Sarah Phillips (11 Jul 1758 d 1840). Sarah
Phillips was daughter of George Phillips and Hannah Unknown. Marcus J Solomon
married second 25 Feb 1869 Amanda Valonia (b 12 Dec 1846 and d 12 Apr 1927).
They had seven daughters and lived in Bristol, Liberty County, Florida. I
have sent to the Florida Archives of Civil War Pesion records of Marcus.
Just discovered last week that he was in the Civil War. Three of his brothers
are shown in Chisolm's Company I, 5th Florida Cavalry according to Dale Cox
data.
Sarah Watson Solomon is in the 1885 Jackson County census with son John Z and John Z's wife is in some later census records. Old data I have states Sarah Watson Solomon is buried in Sneed, Florida.
The two year old Octavia shown as daughter of Mr and Mrs R W Stanley is probably a granddaughter of Octavia Nickels Stanley as she had two sons but have not located them in later census records.
Also have note from History of Henry County which shows Octavia N Stanley as a Postmistress for Columbia Oct 1866 - Jul 1869 so she may have moved to that area from Marianna.
Virginia W Jones of Atlanta, GA
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This is the interior of the Nickel's Home....."the Big Room" mentioned in the story about the Ghost of Bellamy Bridge. This would have been the fireplace that caught the bride's trane on fire. The portrait above the mantle is of Wm. Nickels Jr. It now hangs in my living room. I'm enclosing a photo of it...I assume it was painted around 1860 or so.
The photos I have of the Nickels Home and family.....there's a bunch of papers about the geneology and family history, including his will if any of that interests you. William Nickels Jr. was born in Wiscasset, Maine....the son of a sea captain. The family home there is a historical site open to the public (the Nickels/Sortwell House); there's probably some link to it on the web. Two of his sons were killed in the Civil War, and there's a story about Woody Nickels, one of the sons killed, in the Battle that took place at St. Lukes in Marianna, that I recall finding somewhere on the web....if you want to tie that in. So here they are......M
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William Nickels, Jr. | |
| William Nickels Jr......about 1870? |
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Catherine Lawrence Nickels, wife of Wm. Nickels about 1870? |
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| Louisa (Loulie) Nickels, one of Wm.'s daughters about 1870? |
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Woody Nickels died in the Battle of Marianna at St. Lukes. |
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Nickels-Sortwell House,
1807
Corner of Main and Federal Streets
Route 1, Wiscasset, Me. 04578
Phone: (207) 882-6218
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Betty James Smith
10 Oct 2000