Preserving the Heritage of the World’s Luckiest Fishing ......Preserving the Heritage of the...
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Preserving the Heritage of the World’s Luckiest Fishing Village! Pioneers of Paradise Page 5 O.T. Melvin, Sr. By Jean Melvin Captain O.T. Melvin walked the 35 miles from Phillips Inlet to Destin with his brothers in 1910. They stayed and their fishing ability is legendary. They came to Destin to join the fishing crew of Captain Leonard Des- tin, Jr. At this time, Destin was a thriving community of 18 large fish camps located on the shore of Choctawhatchee Bay and along the Destin Harbor. During the fishing season there were more people in Destin than in Camp Walton. As was the custom, each fish camp consisted of a bunk house and a cook house. Each camp had its own seine boat. Many had their own schooner which took the catches to Pensacola to be sold. Captains O.T. Melvin, John Melvin, and Homer Jones lived in Capt. Leonard Destin, it is camp. They fished from his seine boat the “Christina”, a 38 ft. boat with a 50 horsepower Gray Marine gasoline motor. Captain Melvin had been born in Vernon, Florida in 1893. His father was Thomas Melvin and his mother was Correl Miller Melvin. His grandfather David Melvin was the County Judge for Washington County. At an early age his family moved to Phillips Inlet. There at the age of 15 his daddy made him captain of a seine boat which was the beginning of his fishing career. Capt. O.T’s fishing ability is still remembered all along the Gulf Coast from Bayou LaBatre to St. Andrews. He once took a boat load of more than 77,000 pounds of snapper into Bayou LaBatre to unload. For several years he averaged catching 300,000 pounds of fish a year. His first seine boat was the “Fish Hawk”. For a while, in 1915 O.T. ran the mail boat “Ruth” from Pensacola to Ft. Walton. There were only six or seven families, including the Destins, Marlers, Williamses when O.T. arrived. All were living as squatters on a military reservation. In 1933 O.T. was asked to appraise the land for the U.S. Govern- ment. The land was sold to original settlers who were living on it. 1914 was a big year for O.T. That was the year he married his boss’s daughter Ellen Destin. From this union came four children, O.T. Melvin, Jr., Bennie Clyde Melvin Quinn, Gwen Melvin Shaw, and Carolyn Melvin Vagias. 1914 was also the year his mother, brother Millard, sister Kathleen and brother Jewel moved to Destin. His brother John Melvin married Mary Marler Melvin, brother Millard (Pete) married Sara Dorn Melvin, sister Kathleen married Homer Jones, and brother Jewel married Ruby Woodward Melvin. Each family made a great contribution to the settlement of Destin. The most enduring feat credited to Capt. O.T. was the relocation of Destin’s East Pass. In 1926, after a spring storm the water in the Bay was six feet higher than the Gulf of Mexico and coming up over the docks. To relieve the high water in Choctawhatchee Bay, O.T. and his crew, Arn Strickland, Dolf Weekly and Dewey Destin, Sr. dug thru a low place in the sand at the end of Santa Rosa Island to make a small ditch for the water to empty thru. No one realized the force the water would have as it poured through the small man made channel, eventually chang- ing the location of the pass into the Gulf forever. In a few months the channel at the end of the Destin Harbor had closed and created the safe mooring we have today. Capt. O.T. was a tough and tenacious man who worked hard and took care of his family and looked after his neighbors. When asked, if you could relive your life what would you do? His reply was “I would do the same thing. I have never wanted to do anything but fish, it was a good life, and the harvest of the sea was bountiful!”
Transcript of Preserving the Heritage of the World’s Luckiest Fishing ......Preserving the Heritage of the...
Preserving the Heritage of the World’s Luckiest Fishing Village!
Pioneers of ParadisePage 5
O.T. Melvin, Sr.By Jean Melvin
Captain O.T. Melvin walked the 35 miles from Phillips Inlet to Destin with his brothers in 1910. They stayed and their fishing ability is legendary. They came to Destin to join the fishing crew of Captain Leonard Des-tin, Jr. At this time, Destin was a thriving community of 18 large fish camps located on the shore of Choctawhatchee Bay and along the Destin Harbor. During the fishing season there were more people in Destin than in Camp Walton. As was the custom, each fish camp consisted of a bunk house and a cook house. Each camp had its own seine boat. Many had their own schooner which took the catches to Pensacola to be sold. Captains O.T. Melvin, John Melvin, and Homer Jones lived in Capt. Leonard Destin, it is camp. They fished from his seine boat the “Christina”, a 38 ft. boat with a 50 horsepower Gray Marine gasoline motor.
Captain Melvin had been born in Vernon, Florida in 1893. His father was Thomas Melvin and his mother was Correl Miller Melvin. His grandfather David Melvin was the County Judge for Washington County. At an early age his family moved to Phillips Inlet. There at the age of 15 his daddy made him captain of a seine boat which was the beginning of his fishing career. Capt. O.T’s fishing ability is still remembered all along the Gulf Coast from Bayou LaBatre to St. Andrews. He once took a boat load of more than 77,000 pounds of snapper into Bayou LaBatre to unload. For several years he averaged catching 300,000 pounds of fish a year. His first seine boat was the “Fish Hawk”. For a while, in 1915 O.T. ran the mail boat “Ruth” from Pensacola to Ft. Walton.
There were only six or seven families, including the Destins, Marlers, Williamses when O.T. arrived. All were living as squatters on a military reservation. In 1933 O.T. was asked to appraise the land for the U.S. Govern-ment. The land was sold to original settlers who were living on it. 1914 was a big year for O.T. That was the year he married his boss’s daughter Ellen Destin. From this union came four children, O.T. Melvin, Jr., Bennie Clyde Melvin Quinn, Gwen Melvin Shaw, and Carolyn Melvin Vagias. 1914 was also the year his mother, brother Millard, sister Kathleen and brother Jewel moved to Destin. His brother John Melvin married Mary Marler Melvin, brother Millard (Pete) married Sara Dorn Melvin, sister Kathleen married Homer Jones, and brother Jewel married Ruby Woodward Melvin. Each family made a great contribution to the settlement of Destin.
The most enduring feat credited to Capt. O.T. was the relocation of Destin’s East Pass. In 1926, after a spring storm the water in the Bay was six feet higher than the Gulf of Mexico and coming up over the docks. To relieve the high water in Choctawhatchee Bay, O.T. and his crew, Arn Strickland, Dolf Weekly and Dewey Destin, Sr. dug thru a low place in the sand at the end of Santa Rosa Island to make a small ditch for the water to empty thru. No one realized the force the water would have as it poured through the small man made channel, eventually chang-ing the location of the pass into the Gulf forever. In a few months the channel at the end of the Destin Harbor had closed and created the safe mooring we have today.
Capt. O.T. was a tough and tenacious man who worked hard and took care of his family and looked after his neighbors. When asked, if you could relive your life what would you do? His reply was “I would do the same thing. I have never wanted to do anything but fish, it was a good life, and the harvest of the sea was bountiful!”
Documenting and sharing the complete history of Destin !
Climbing your family tree today is easier than ever before in his-tory! Whether you are just curious about how to find your family’s his-tory, a hobby genealogist, or just trying to make sense of inherited family papers, be thankful for the Internet and World Wide Web! At a touch of a button, you have access to documents and libraries all over the world cov-ering every era of time and every country of the world. Many avenues are free! How do you start your family history? Easy! First, write down what you already know about your family. You’ll actually be surprised at what you do know. Second, review what is missing. Decide what you would really like to find out. Third, find out what information already exists. Gather copies of documents that family members already have such as marriage, birth and death certificates as well as photographs. Visit a family history center in your area. Start checking out the great internet sites de-voted to the art of family research. And fourth, share what you have and decide what you want to do next. Sharing your research ensures that your family information is preserved and may help to interest other family mem-bers in their family history. Choose another path or question and continue the search. Leave a written history of yourself for family members and pos-terity. Genealogy is an adventure. Discovering the story of your family’s heritage will help you have a better appreciation of who you are. Happy hunting!
The Museum, like so many families...has photos that came to us with no names and/or dates. Do you recognize any of these? Let us know if you do!!!
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? !Mystery Photos ? !
Climbing the Family TreeAssociate Director’s Corner
What’s Out There
There are commercial sites, free sites, government sites, and hybrid sites. Much of the data you may need you can access free, some may be at a nominal price, or require a subscription. Every day, more and more re-cords from around the world are being digitalized and made available on the internet.
Great Internet Sites
www.usgenweb.orgwww.worldgenweb.orgwww.rootsweb.comwww.findagrave.comwww.familytreemagazine.comwww.cousinconnect.comwww.cyndislist.comwww.footnote.comwww.geni.comwww.ansestry.com
