Uriah Guptill (1848 - 1912)

Born 1848 in Washington, Maine, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Virginia B (Webb) Guptill — married 24 Jul 1877 in Manatee, Florida, United States

Husband of Elizabeth C (Webb) Guptill — married 16 Jun 1879 in Manatee, Florida, United States

Died 1912 at about age 64 in Osprey, Manatee, Florida, United States

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Biography

Frank was a sailor and boatbuilder. He was one of the earliest settlers on Webb Point(Spanish Point) in Osprey, Florida.

Frank was born in 1848 in Maine, to Thomas and Emily Guptill. From at least 1850 until at least 1860, his family lived on their farm in Cutler, Maine.^[1][2]

At the age of 11 or 12, Frank stowed away on his half-brother Nahum's brig, the Thomas Owen. He spent many years sailing around the world, including rounding Cape Horn and visiting Madagascar. After contracting "African Fever" (probably Yellow Fever), he returned to the United States. In 1870, he was living with his widowed mother and some of his siblings in Cutler.^[3]He arrived in Jacksonville, Fiorida in 1872. A trip to recover a schooner that had run aground at Longboat Key brought him to the west coast of Florida, where he met John Webb and his family.^[4]

By 1877, he was living in Manatee. He made a homestead claim for 83 acres at South Creek, one mile south of Spanish Point. The Webb's commissioned him to build a boat for them, a ten-ton schooner named Vision. Frank married Virginia (Ginnie) Webb in 1877.^[5]Ginnie died in 1878, after falling down the kitchen stairs while pregnant with their first child while Frank was away delivering produce. Frank then married her sister, Eliza, in 1879.^[6]In 1880, they were living with Lizzie's father John, and his second wife Emily.^[7]John Webb gifted 20 acres of his homestead to Lizzie. In 1881, Frank relinquished his homestead claim to the Blackburn family. He built a boat, the Florence, which he and Lizzie lived on.

in 1900, Frank and Lizzie lived in Manatee. Frank was employed as a boat builder. He built many boats for the Webb family which were used to transport citrus and other produce grown by the family to Cedar Key and Key West^[8]In 1901, Frank built a home on Spanish Point, on the 20 acres John Webb gave to Lizzie. It became part of the Webb Winter Resort and he and Eliza rented rooms to winter boarders. Frank and Lizzie frequently entertained Winter Resort guests at their home, where Frank played his fiddle and Lizzie played piano. They also took guests sailing, fishing, shell-collecting and picnicking on nearby islands. His boatyard was near their house. After Spanish Point was purchased by Bertha Palmer in 1910, Frank and Eliza moved to their bungalow on the southern end of Siesta Key.^{[9] [10]}Frank and Lizzie had no children.

Frank died in Osprey in 1912. He is buried there in Pioneer Cemetery on Spanish Point.^[11]

Research Notes

Frank and his siblings were said to have been born in Cherryfield, where Thomas' first wife Sophia was from. However, in the 1840, 1850 and 1860 Federal censuses, they are enumerated on their family farm in Cutler, which was some distance from Cherryfield.

Sources

1. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6VC-L2S : 22 December 2020), Uriah Guptitle in household of Thomas Guptill, Cutler, Washington, Maine, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDHK-V79 : 18 February 2021), Euriah Guptill in entry for Thomas Guptill, 1860.
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6D7-ZK1 : 2 January 2021), Uriah Guptil in entry for Emily Guptil, 1870.
4. ↑ sire.scgove.net, Historic Designation Report, Guptill House
5. ↑ Florida Marriages, 1837-1974", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5Z9-62D : 11 January 2020), Frank Guptill, 1877.
6. ↑ "Florida Marriages, 1837-1974", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5Z9-62X : 11 January 2020), Frank Guptill, 1879.
7. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNZW-2FB : 12 November 2020), F. Guptill, Manatee, Florida, United States; citing enumeration district ED 104, sheet 22D, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,254,130.
8. ↑ "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M36H-66M : accessed 7 February 2021), Frank Guptill, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 84, sheet 22B, family 485, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,173.
9. ↑ http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/history/buildings/warner-guptill-home/
10. ↑ "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MVKX-8RG : accessed 7 February 2021), Frank Guptil, Manatee, Florida, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 95, sheet 17B, family 347, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 164; FHL microfilm 1,374,177.
11. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 07 February 2021), memorial page for Frank Guptill (1848–1912), Find A Grave: Memorial #24241578, citing Pioneer Cemetery, Osprey, Sarasota County, Florida, USA ; Maintained by Leanne Keefer Bechdel (contributor 46601597) .

• sire.scgov.net, Historic Designation Report, Guptill House