William Henry Whitaker 1821-1888 Yellow Bluffs ( Sarasota) This area so named for its outcroppig of yellow limestone, was the home of Sarasotas first inhabitants the Calusa Indians. Wm. Whitaker was the first recorded white settler in Sarasota. Whitaker (1846) and his brother came to YB at the time when Armed Occpation Act opened land for settlement south of Tampa Bay. He built a log cabin on 160 acres around the Sarasota Bay. He raised cattle and citrus. He later married (1851) Mary Jane Wyatt and had several childen. The cabin was burnt to the ground by Chief Billy Bowleggs raiding party. They later rebuilt (1855 picture) the house but further back from the bay.With the help of several men including Wm. Whitaker this was also the embarking point of Judah P Benjamin, member of the Confederate Cabinet, who fled America at the end of the Civil War. SCHS Historic Marker
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 23:10:43 +0000