Some Minorcan History

NOTE: from Jerry:: You may care to print the following information and share with your children and other relatives. The article was first presented by Eleanor Philips Barnes in 1949 to the St. Augustine Historical Society. It is taken from MY RELATIVES "The Rogero Family History". The name Rogero is pronounced as Rohairo and originates from Minorca Spain.  You will note that the Minorcans that came to New Smyrna Fl. were Minorcan-Greek, Minorcan-Italian, Minorcan-French. When Andrew Turnbull recruited the colonists and placed them on the island of Minorca, marriages between the different cultural groups took place.  The Minorcans, mostly Roman and Latin, was descended from the famous Carthaginians.  Now for the Story: JD.

                 THE MINORCANS

           BY Eleanor Philips Barnes

"You have read about the St. Augustine's history as a city.  Strangely enough, one of the strongest influences upon its social life is the story of Minorcan people who formed such an important part in one chapter of Florida's history.

In 1763, after England took over Florida, nearly all the Spanish residents fled to Cuba.  Dr. Andrew Turnbull, a Scottish physician and the former British Consul at Smyrna, Turkey (now known as Izmir) in the Levant (countries bordering on the eastern Mediterranean), was granted several thousand acres of land in Florida Dr. Turnbull formed a land company and came to Florida to select the site of the proposed colony.  After many months, he decided upon a site about 70 miles south of St. Augustine and called it New Smyrna for where his wife was born in Smyrna Turkey. (note: Ponce Inlet at Daytona was once named and called Mosquito Inlet).It was proposed that the colony undertake the raising of cotton and olives and the making of wine and silk.  Dr. Turnbull then returned to Europe to complete plans for the colonization.

Dr. Turnbull first recruited one hundred and ten Italians as colonists,--Pacetti's being among them.  He then took them to the port of Mahon on the isle of Minorca, the second largest island of the Balearic group in the Mediterranean. He then sailed to the port city of Smyrna, and the surrounding Levant to collect several hundred Greeks, some being Canova and Triay.  Upon his return to Minorca months later, he found that nearly all the Italians had married lovely Minorcan girls. Now, the families of those girls were appealing to be included in the proposed British Colony.  The Minorcans were excellent material as their stock, mostly Roman and Latin, was descended from the famous Carthaginians.  On the 17th. of April in 1768,  1403 Italian Minorcan, Greeks Minorcans and a few Frenchmen set sail in 8 ships for America. Thus, on the banks of the ninth Inlet, the colony of Mahonese had its beginning.