Buckingham Smith - Great Floridians
Posted by: 
Norfolk12
N 29° 53.898 W 081° 18.834
17R E 469694 N 3307557
A blue plaque commemorating Buckingham Smith
this is at the entrance to the Huguenot Cemetery, in St Augustine.
Waymark Code: WM4P2Q
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 09/14/2008
Views: 29
Thomas Buckingham Smith was born in 1810 on Cumberland Island, Georgia. In 1820, upon his father’s appointment as U.S. Consul to Mexico, he moved to St. Augustine with his mother and younger sister. In 1836 he graduated from Harvard Law School and returned to St. Augustine to practice law. Smith served a term on the city council and, in 1841, a term in the Florida Territorial Legislature. From 1850 until 1868, he held foreign service offices in Mexico and Spain. During these years, he researched Spanish settlement in Florida. He translated numerous documents from Spanish or Portuguese to English including The Narrative of Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca (1851) and Narratives of the Career of Hernando de Soto in the Conquest of Florida, as told by a Knight of Elvas (1866), and authored several important publications. Although Smith and his mother were slave owners, he supported the Union in the Civil War. His will provided a life estate to one of his former slaves and cash to others. The remainder of his estate became the Buckingham Smith Benevolent Association, a corporation that benefits African-Americans in St. Augustine. This fund is partially responsible for recent nursing home construction in the city. In 1868 he was appointed tax commissioner in Florida, but in 1870, relocated to New York City and died there the following year. His Great Floridian plaque is located at the Huguenot Cemetery, Castillo Drive, St. Augustine.
Blue Plaque managing agency: Florida League of Cities 2000
Individual Recognized: Buckingham Smith
Physical Address:
A1A
St Augustine, FL USA
Web Address: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
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