William J. Matheson was a philanthropist, agriculturalist, and pioneer developer in South Florida in the early 20th century. His agricultural experiments, social activities, travels, and estate are recorded in this collection and offer a unique visual history of Key Biscayne. Matheson served as commodore of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club from 1912 until 1923. His annual Chowder Party on the Key became a highlight event of the season. In the early 20th century, Matheson traveled on a world cruise with his friend Arthur Curtiss James aboard his yacht, Aloha. Matheson also supported the development of south Florida, and nearly one hundred maps, plans, and images document his visionary work - including architectural plans for three of his residences, two of which are no longer standing. In 1940, Matheson's children donated more than 800 acres to Dade County for what would become Crandon Park.
The Blez family played a role in the Cuban independence movement of 1868. Felicia Marcé Castellanos (1850-1941), widow of Blez, sewed one of three flags commissioned by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes to represent the Cuban independence forces. A native of Bayamo, Marcé made the flag when she was 18 years old, giving the nascent republic a symbol around which people could rally. Soon after making the flag, she was married and almost immediately widowed when her husband was executed by colonial Spanish forces. Marcé was named a “Libertadora Insigne” for her involvement in the Cuban independence struggle of 1868 and 1895. Her son is the well-known Cuban photographer Joaquín Blez Marcé (1886-1974).
Novelist and playwright Evelyn Wilde Mayerson was associate professor of English and director of the composition program at the University of Miami, from where she received her B.A. in 1963. She is the author of several books set in South Florida including "No Enemy but Time" (1983) and "Miami: A Saga" (1994), as well as other titles. Her play "Marjory", about the life of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, was commissioned by the Coconut Grove Playhouse to celebrate Miami's centennial and debuted in 1996.
Augustus C. Mayhew (1879-1961) was born in South Norwalk, Connecticut, the son of Theodore and Jennie (Dugan) Mayhew. In 1901, he traveled aboard a steamship operated by the Cuban-American Steamship Company to La Gloria, Cuba, where he had purchased land. In La Gloria, which came to be the largest American settlement on the island, Mayhew operated an apiary on his property, the "Bee Ranch" and exported honey.
In about 1915, Mayhew married Beulah Nevada McAbee, the daughter of American colonists who ran the J.C. Francis Store in La Gloria. Mayhew and his wife Beulah had four children: William H., Frank, Lucille Delight, and Augustus C., Jr.
During the 1930s, Mayhew purchased a 100-acre orange grove in La Gloria known as the Griffith property. Augustus C. Mayhew, Jr. managed the family's orange groves after his return from serving in the United States Navy during World War II. Mayhew, Jr. married Lucille Sanderson. With their three children Clarence, Augustus C., III, and George, they lived in La Gloria until 1953 when they sold their property and returned to the United States.
