Floyd Rhodes Wylie, Sr. - Jacksonville, FL
N 30° 20.524 W 081° 27.678
17R E 455661 N 3356780
The grave of Floyd Rhodes Wylie, Sr. is located in the Tillotson Family Cemetery in Jacksonville, Florida, USA. He lost his life at sea.
Waymark Code: WMPXN8
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 11/05/2015
Views: 2
Close-up of headstone inscription:
"On March 8, 1957, this community suffered a great tragedy. Three Mayport fishermen were caught in a hurricane and went down with their ship after radioing for help because they were taking on water faster than their pump could take it out. The Coast Guard responded and started to their rescue, but picked up another boat instead. I've heard a lot about this but everything is still not clear in my mind so I will not attempt to explain. These were fine young men whom I had known for years. They were Floyd Rhodes Wylie, Johnny Gavagan, and Melvin Singleton. The boat was The Donald Ray out of Mayport."
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"Fishing was an important but risky source of income in Mayport. Party fishing boats took the affluent out in the river or the sea to try to catch big game fish. The shrimp industry boomed. Portuguese fishermen, such as the Perry and Roland families, brought a spark and experience when they arrived in the 1920s. They joined other ethnic groups in shrimping. African-Americans shrimped as well. It was a hard business which required strong, patient men. The boats ranged far and wide, often traveling hundreds of miles to catch enough. Sometimes disaster struck. The Donald Ray sank in March, 1957 off the coast of Ponte Vedra with Rhodes Wylie, Melvin “Sweet Pea” Singleton, and John Gavagan being lost."
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