In 1994, Wayne Gales distributed the following, a seven-page document at the annual Semer reunion at H.P. Eells Park in Bettsville, Ohio. He had researched the ancestry of Grandma Semer's family, the Russells of Key West—via the Bahamas—and shared his findings with the attendees. Subsequent to the preparation of this document, many additional documents became available through the magic of the internet. So many of Wayne's theories have been updated to correct the lineage of our Russell line. Wayne later wrote a series of books based in the Florida Keys, the characters loosely based off his ancestry research.
A brief story about the Semer Family and its Ancestors.
By: Wayne Gales, husband of Laura Jo Fuller Gales
The following is a short story about the Semer family. I married into the Semer family, by way of marriage to Laura Fuller, daughter of Florene Semer Fuller, in 1989. As an amateur historian, and very much interested in family histories, I naturally began to ask about Laura’s family history, more or less casually. My own family has proved very hard to track, with most ancestors fading into Texas and the Ozarks after only a few generations.
For Laura’s family, thanks to careful record keeping on the Blackburn/Ziegler/Fruth side of the family, there is a rich history, well documented. For the Semer side, the information was bits and pieces. I didn’t think I would find out very much, but for a very fortunate series of circumstances, which I will share with you now.
This is, by far, an incomplete story. I have only been in hot pursuit of the Semer/Russell family for about a year, and have a very long way to go. I will update this information as it is received, and make it available to everyone who cares to know. It’s been a very exciting and rewarding year, and has resulted in far more success than I ever hoped for. All the information is accurate the best we know. Along with this story is a family tree. Anyone that can find corrections, additions, or any additional information, please send it to me so we can update the tree. Dates of Birth, Death, marriages, children, occupations, and any interesting stories will be most appreciated. Perhaps when we get it all together, I will write a book.
To research family history, you need to be part sleuth, part historian, be good at guessing, and not afraid to ask questions. You never know when you will find the little clue that will open the big door. If you follow history, you can figure out why someone came from, or moved to, someplace, which will give you good clues as to where to look further.
This story actually started when Laura and I were transferred from Las Vegas to Orlando, Florida, to run the company’s office there. We run a tour and travel company, producing and selling packages to Florida, and from Florida to places such as Las Vegas, New Orleans and Hawaii. Among our products were packages to Key West, Florida. I had been told that Laura’s grandfather, Charles Allen Semer had been born in Key West, which I thought quite interesting. After all, Key West is a somewhat obscure part of the country, and not the usual starting sport for an upstanding Ohio family. Once I found that he was born in 1906, I surmised that his father was probably in the military, and Charles was an Army brat. Members of the family confirmed that William Lampson Semer, Charles’ father was indeed in the service, and, as a U.S. Army Coast Artillery Fireman, had been stationed in numerous places, from Pensacola, to Key West and points North, and many of the Semer children were born in these various places. Key West has been a strategic military outpost since the Civil War days, and, with Cuba a mere 90 miles away, was the most important Naval base during the Spanish American War. In fact, the USS Maine sailed from its base in Key West into Havana harbor in 1898, where it was blown up. The cry “Remember the Maine!” was the slogan that inspired the American armies in their victories.
I thought the mystery was solved: William Lampson Semer, a non-commissioned officer, had moved his family from place to place as he was transferred, and Key West, home of a very large military operation, just happened to be where Charles was born. Needless to say, I was most surprised to find out, when talking to James “Hob” Semer, that not only was Charles born in Key West, but so was his mother, Nettie B. Semer. Hob also said he thought that Nettie’s mother and father were both from Key West. This was a surprising development. Being born in Key West is like being born in Las Vegas: People move there, they aren’t born there, and Charles was supposed to be a three generation “Conch” (Pronounced “Konk”, it refers to the large mollusk that inhabits the Caribbean and warmer parts of the Atlantic. A food staple of the locals for centuries, that Key West natives have come to be called “Conchs” More about this latter)
I also found that Nettie B’s maiden name was Russell. Armed with this information, I took part of an afternoon during a business trip to Key West to visit the Monroe County library, where there is a back room area that contains microfilm and archives of much of the local history. Knowing that Charles was born in 1906, I assumed that Nettie B had to be around 15-18 years old at the turn of the century. I checked out the 1900 Monroe County census microfilms, and spend the rest of the afternoon going half blind, trying to interpret faded, hand written documents nearly a century old. The first thing I found was that the Russell name is not exactly rare in Key West. There were no less than 51 families with the last name Russell in Key West in 1900. Unfortunately, I did not have, at that time, Nettie’s fathers name, so I had to look at all of them!. Much to my disappointment, I did not find Nettie B Russell in the Census. Perhaps it was one of the faded pages, or maybe I just missed it.
Running late for my plane, I spent a few minutes with the curator of the historical society, and told him of my futile search. “Have you tried the babtism records?” He asked. I didn’t even know there was such a thing. He handed me a large binder, with records of babtisims in alphabetical order, dating back 150 years. I turned to the R’s with anticipation and, THERE! Nettie B. Russell, babtised in the Flemming Methodist Church on October 10, 1881. I had found Nettie.
Now armed with new-found enthusiasm, I acquired as much reading material about Key West as I could find. I learned much about what it was like to be in Key West in the turn of the century, and much more. Time for a little history lesson. Read this carefully - This is YOUR island; your ancestors settled it.
In the beginning, the Florida Keys were inhabited by the Calusa Indians. A peaceful people, they were chased from island to island by warlike tribes from the mainland, until they reached Key West, the end of the chain, where they were almost completely wiped out. Originally named “The Martyrs” by the Spanish explorers, it was re-named “The Island of Bones” when the aftermath of the slaughter was found. In Spanish, Island is “Cayo” and bones “Hueso” The maps began showing the island as Cayo Hueso, which was quickly changed to Key West by the slang happy English speaking whites that started to show up. After changing hands in private ownership for many years, the Island formally became part of the United States in 1822 when Lieutenant Matthew C. Perry hoisted the American Flag on the Island.
Key West’s first major industry was somewhat self-made. The treacherous coral reefs, uncharted waters, and frequent hurricanes took tremendous toll on the shipping that traveled this part of the world, and a very healthy industry sprang up almost overnight by enterprising Bahamians that lived by salvaging the wrecks. Called Wreckers, this hardy group was not beyond helping out their industry by blowing out the lights of the local lighthouses and putting up false lights in a different location to make the shippers go off course. (There’s a saying that if you look too hard into your family’s past you will find a horse thief - no horse thieves here, but methinks a pirate or two!)
By 1825 Key West was a bustling community, with wharves, shipyards and warehouses stuffed with salvage. That year, congress passed legislation which provided that all salvage taken from wrecks in U.S. waters would have to be brought to an American port for arbitration. In 1828 a Federal court was established for this purpose in Key West, and almost overnight, wreckers from all over, including the Bahamas, moved to Key West.
Within 20 Years, a series of reliable lighthouses, and more accurate charting made the wrecking business unprofitable. The Bahamians, which made up the primary white population of Key West turned to Sponges for income. Using a bottomless bucket that the gatherer could look through; he would use a long pole with a hook to pull up the sponges. Once dried and trimmed, they were shipped off to major metropolitan cities, where they were sold.
The Bahamians that moved to Key West had roots primarily from two different directions. Back in pilgrim times, a group of people, seeking religious freedom, sailed west. Calling themselves the Elutheran Adventurers, they settled an Island in 1647, calling it Eluthera, and founding the first independent government in the western hemisphere in the process. Among the families settling Eluthera was the Russell Family. Later on, we will establish links to that family. The other group of people from the Bahamas were British subjects, loyal to the crown, who left the Southeast when the Colonies earned their freedom from English rule during the Revolutionary War. Most of these families settled on Eluthera, Long Island, Abaco Island, and Nassau, among others. The Semer family also has ties to that group.
Back to Key West. With the Civil War looming in the distance, Key West became more important as a strategic location for the Union. Much of the Union blockade squadron was stationed in Key West. After the Civil War, with sponging flourishing, the cigar industry began to grow. Using Cuban tobacco, and Cuban workers, by 1873 Cubans comprised a large portion of the Key West population. The cigar industry grew tremendously, and became the island’s most important industry. No less than 150 cigar factories existed in Key West at its peak. Other areas in Central Florida, including Tampa, recognized the tremendous profits in cigar making, an industry that required only Cuban workers, and tobacco, readily available from Cuba. They began to woo away the factories from Key West, and by the time of the Spanish American War, cigar making had all but vanished from Key West.
The Spanish American War brought Key West again into wartime boom, and a huge influx of American Military flooded the island with young, single men. It was no doubt that these were the circumstances that brought a young Ohio born Yankee named William Lampson Semer to meet Key West native Nettie Blanche Russell. It might have been at “La Brisa”, a combination public swimming pool, dance hall, and concert pavilion. Built in 1896, it was a favorite for young locals, and might have very well been a meeting place for Nettie and William. Little is know of their courtship, but it is established they were married on Christmas Eve, 1902.
William Lampson Semer was born in 1878, in, according to his military records, in Semersville, Ohio. He was rather small, 5 feet 8 1/2 inches in height, with brown eyes, and dark brown hair, with dark complexion. He served as a Fireman of the Coast Artillery Corps of the United States Army. His honorable discharge reflected only his last enlistment. Since he was not an officer, he would re-enlist every 3 or six years. He probably first enlisted around 1896-1898, which was during the Spanish American War, and was discharged on June 17, 1917 at age 39, in Columbus Ohio. 1917 was the midst of World War 1, and his discharge was approved due to his very large family of 10 children, with 9 still living. His “mustering out” pay was $54.38. His character on his discharge papers was listed as “Excellent” William’s life ended in an untimely accident only three years later in a terrible accident on October 2, 1920 in an explosion/ fire in Bettsville, Ohio.
Nettie Blanche Russell Semer, was born on February 20, 1878 in Key West, the daughter of John Russell and Sarah Thomas Russell. Nettie had three sisters, Louisa Russell Barza, Mary, and Irene, and a brother John Russell junior. As mentioned, she was babtised on October 10, 1881 at the Flemming Methodist Church. Nettie died in 1951 in Bettsville, at the age of 73.
There are a couple of family stories that can be addressed. One story says that Nettie B was part Cuban. While it is very possible that a Key West Native be part Cuban at the end of the 19th century, as that was the predominant population during that period due the cigar making, which was almost entirely run by Cubans, I don’t think Nettie had too much of a chance. Although some Cubans came to Key West as early as 1831, the large influx did not arrive until about 10 years before she was born. I know where John Russell came from, the Bahamas, and he is almost undoubtedly pure English stock, back some six generations for sure, and most likely many, many more. With Nettie being born in 1878, her mother could not have been born much after 1860. With the maiden name of Thomas, again English, the only chance for Nettie to be Cuban would have been Sarah’s mother. Not impossible, but unlikely. However, Nettie’s sister Louise or Louisa, married into the Cuban Barza family, who were in the Key West Cigar industry, so she was related to Cubans by marriage.
The other story may have some truth. According to some family members, Nettie B. was a “Southern Belle” and married beneath her family when she wed William Semer. Although Key West is definitely in the South, there were no plantations, and not any real Southern Aristocracy. Nettie did come from a very old family, long on tradition, and rich in history. There is little doubt that her family was very displeased that she was marrying a soldier, and a Yankee soldier at that. In those days, there was probably nothing she could have done worse, (except marry a Cuban!) Whether or not her family had money is still a matter of research. There were rich Russells in Key West and Poor ones. The Wreckers, and their descendants probably had money and land; the latter spongers and late comers might have not been so well off.
Nettie and William Semer were blessed with 10 children: Hazel Semer Hartzel, born in 1905, Charles Allen “Chick” Semer, born 1906, Marietta Semer Bramel, 1910 Nettie Blanch Semer, born 1911, William Lampson Semer II, 1912, James Kennedy “Hob” Semer, 1915, Burl “Gassy” Semer, 1916, Raymond Semer, 1918, and Russell “Ruck” Semer, born 1920. Nettie Blanch Semer, born in Key West suffered a severe fall from a porch when she was eight years old, and died at age 17. After her fall she was retarded until her death.
Much can be written about children and families of Nettie B and William, and pen will be put to paper some day, but for this writing, I am going to go backwards, following John Russell and his family back as far as possible. Accompanying this little story is a printed family tree. Everyone please take time to examine the tree, and offer, at any time possible, dates.
When I looked through the census records in Key West, I found two families headed by a John Russell. Since I did not find Nettie B. I did not know which family was the right one. When I return, I will be able to pinpoint much more information about the Russell family. I did note that both John Russells listed themselves as Bahamian, which means they were not born in Key West. I now know that John had Six brothers and one sister. (See the family tree). From here up, dates have not yet been established, although the number of generations to the oldest recorded ancestor are about right.
(Note - One of John Russells brothers was Joseph Russell. Part of the future research in Key West will be to find out if this Joseph Russell had a son that he also named Joseph. There was a Joseph “Josie” Russell that was a contemporary of Nettie B.; Josie was a fisherman and bar owner, founding a bar now famous as Sloppy Joes’ in Key West. Josie’s closest friend during the 1930’s was author Ernest Hemmingway)
Update: The following paragraphs contain incorrect information regarding John Russell's parentage and our Russell line.
John Russell’s parents were David Calvin Russell and Mary Susan Roberts Russell, of Harbor Island, on the island Eluthera in the Bahamas. David Calvin is the son of Thomas Russell II and Wyannie Malone Russell, also of Harbor Island. Thomas was the son of Thomas Russell Sr, and Elizabeth Adams Russell, and Elizabeth was the daughter of Jacob Adams and Wyannie Malone. (Note - there were three Wyannie Malones - One married Thomas Russell, One married Jacob Adams, and one was our oldest current ancestor, the Widow Wyannie Malone. It was Wyannie’s daughter that married Jacob Adams, and her Granddaughter, the daughter of Ephram Malone, that married Thomas Russell. That means her Granddaughter married her Great Grandson. “Kissin Cousins”
The Widow Wyannie Malone left Charleston, South Carolina in 1785 with her four children. Wyannie was a British subject, loyal to the crown, and left, along with a large group of “Tories” that did not wish to become part of the United States. Wyannie moved to Long Island, Bahamas, where she was said to have re-married, and later died. As you can see, Wyannie Malone is a direct ancestor of Nettie B Russell Semer, and your Grandmother, as much as 10 generations past.
How did I get this information, and Is it accurate? There is only one weak link in the story, and that is whether I have the correct John Russell. I would guess that there is a 95% chance it is. As I mentioned, John Russell lists himself as a Bahamian, and there is much record of the Russells leaving the Bahamas, either Eluthera or Harbor Island and moving to the Keys. There were many other Russells that did so, but none of them have a John in them.
Note: It was the wrong John Russell.
How I got the information about the early ancestors is an interesting story in itself, a little luck, and a little research. As I mentioned earlier, there were a handful of families that pop up many times in the Florida Keys, among the Russells, Pinders, Sawyers and others. One of my travel agent accounts in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, was named Pinder, and, on a hunch, faxed her a short note about my research, and suggested that I would be ironic if her family and my wife’s family were distantly related. Cathy Pinder called me almost immediately, and told me that her husband had been born on Eluthera, that he was most certainly among the long-standing families from there, and that his best friend was named William Russell!. What was much more exciting, her husband was going to call Mr. Russell, and have him give me a call. Later that day, William Howard Russell III, Great Great Grandson of David Calvin Russell, called me and shared his family tree. He faxed the tree over to me, and confirmed that several members of David Calvin Russell’s family had emigrated from the Bahamas to the Florida Keys in the mid-1850s’, which would be about perfect.
I plan to meet with William next time I am in Freeport, and I have already arranged transportation to Eluthera and Harbor Island, where I hope to find the link from Thomas Russell to the original Elutheran Adventurers, English pilgrims who departed England in 1647 to escape religious persecution. (It’s interesting that I have read several books that identify the Elutheran Adventurers as Methodists, which is very interesting as John Wesley, acknowledged founder of the Methodist church was not born until 1701)
Again, I urge everyone to send me as much supportive (Or corrective) information possible. Even the smallest tidbit may be a very important key. For those of you that have read the book on the Fruth family, ancestors of Ellen Fruth Ziegler, mother of Opal Irene Blackburn Semer, I hope to eventually get this information to the point of making a complete family history for the Semer family and its ancestors.
Wayne Gales
July 10, 1994
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