Born David Levy on June 2, 1810, he spent the first few years of his life as a British subject on St. Thomas in the West Indies.
His father, Moses Elias Levy, came to Spanish Florida after the War of 1812 and became a pioneer in its settlement. David
was educated primarily in Virginia, and at age seventeen he moved to live on his father's plantation outside Micanopy, Florida.
While there he made numerous trips to St. Augustine and cultivated the acquaintance of many Spanish and East Florida families,
including some officials of the federal government. Through these contacts he met and studied law with Robert Raymond Reid,
who was later governor of the state and a federal judge. After being admitted to the bar in 1832, he was successful at practicing
law in St. Augustine. He began his public career by becoming a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1838 and
clerk to the Territorial Legislature in 1841.
In 1841 Levy was elected democratic territorial delegate to the national House of Representatives and served in this capacity
for four years. While in office he upheld the causes of the southern states, including slavery, and he fought for Florida's
admittance to the Union. In 1845 Yulee was elected as Florida's first U.S. Senator, at the same time becoming the first Jew
to serve in the Senate. He officially changed his name to David Levy Yulee in 1846, resuming the use of his family's original
surname. He served two non-consecutive terms in the Senate, losing the 1850 election to Stephen Mallory but defeating Whig
candidate, Thomas Brown, in 1854 to win a second term. While in the Senate he took strong stands to promote the building of
iron ships and to improve the postal service, especially in his home state. Yulee also fought for the expansion of the number
of slave states and territories in the Union, believing that without expansion the southern states would become static and
lose political clout.
The establishment of the Florida railroad system is widely thought of as Yulee's greatest constructive achievement. He firmly
believed that further economic development in the south would lead to white immigration, thus nullifying southern fears of
that time of "Africanization" (a majority black population). Florida owes Yulee, more than any other single politician, for
his efforts under the Internal Improvement Act of 1855, which made it possible for Florida's railroads to receive vital land
grants. While Florida was still relatively unsettled, he utilized federal land grants as a basis for credit to build an extensive
system of railroads through the wilderness. The railroad program favored by Yulee included a line from the Atlantic to the
Gulf of Mexico. This railroad was incorporated in 1853 as the Florida Railroad, with construction beginning in 1856 at Fernandina
and reaching Cedar Key by 1861. Eventually mail and other delivery contracts were obtained, but the start of the Civil War
put a stop to further productive plans. He was president of the Florida Railroad Company from 1853 to 1866, and president
of the Peninsular Railroad Company, the Tropical Florida Railway Company, and the Fernandina and Jacksonville Railroad Company.
His work earned him the title of "father of Florida's railroads."
Leading up to the Civil War, Yulee exercised his considerable political connections on behalf of the South and the secessionist
cause. When hostilities broke out, Yulee left the Senate and returned to Florida. The Florida Railroad, in which he had a
large private stake, became a unit of the Confederate government. Railroad offices were located in Gainesville and Yulee traveled
between Fernandina, his home, and these offices until union troops forced the evacuation of Fernandina in 1862. Early in his
Senate career, in 1846, Yulee had begun constructing a family estate and large sugar plantation near Homosassa on the Gulf
coast. When the family was forced to abandon Fernandina, Yulee moved to the Homosassa plantation and he spent most of the
next two years there or in Gainesville managing the railroad. In 1864, while in Gainesville, Yulee received news that the
plantation and family home had been destroyed by Union troops and his family had been forced to flee. He and his family lived
with friends until Yulee was able to build a new home and plantation, Cottonwood, in Archer. At the end of the war, Yulee
was captured because of his support of the Confederacy and interred for several months at Fort Pulaski near Savannah.
The last two decades of his life were devoted to restoring the vitality of the Florida railroad system and expanding his real
estate ventures. At the end of his career, Yulee sold the Florida Railroad to outside investors and retired to Washington,
D.C., where his wife Nancy Wickliffe Yulee had family. David Levy Yulee died in October 1886 in New York State. In eulogizing
him, the Washington Post summarized his importance to the development of Florida by stating, "as Senator from Florida, he
was better known than the state he represented."
The Yulee Papers document the life of a key political figure and leading entrepreneur of Florida in the 19th century, and are an invaluable resource
for information related to Yulee's personal and business affairs, the politics of the time, Florida railroads, and industrial
capitalism in general. The collection includes correspondence, business and legal papers, copybooks, letterbooks, maps and
surveys, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, land abstracts, and photographs. Although the collection spans from 1800 to 1954,
the bulk of the materials are dated between 1840 and 1886. In addition, the majority of the correspondence and business papers
created following David L. Yulee's death in 1886 are those of his son, C. Wickliffe Yulee.
The majority of the collection is comprised of the voluminous business, personal, and family correspondence created or received
by Yulee from the 1840s to 1886. Prominent correspondents include Stephen R. Mallory, John C. Calhoun, Jefferson Davis, Joseph
Finegan, and Stephen A. Douglas. Numerous files, primarily dated from the 1850s to the 1880s, pertain to the development and
management of the Florida Railroad. The collection's subject matter also includes land grants, Spanish Florida, plantation
ownership, the development of Fernandina, secession and the Confederate States, slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and
the development land companies of the 1900s. There also are several files pertaining to Yulee's father, Moses E. Levy, including
correspondence between father and son.
The microfilm copy of the collection is open for research, but the original papers are closed. Patrons may not use original
materials in the collection
without the permission of the curator.
This collection has been microfilmed and is available on reels 149-A to 149-S in the P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History.
Patrons may not use original materials in the collection without the permission of the curator.
[Identification of item], David Levy Yulee Papers, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University
of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
The David Levy Yulee Papers were acquired in 1948 from Yulee's daughter, Florida Yulee Neff.
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David Levy Yulee Papers
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Box 1 |
Moses E. Levy - Data from Denmark.
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Claims - Amelia Island Area - Yulee. 1800-1856 |
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Administration of Moses E. Levy Estate. |
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Claim - Humphrey Case - Yulee. 1840-1842 |
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Office - Catalogue of Papers in Washington Office. November 1877 |
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Claim - Atkinson Case - Yulee. 1830-1840 |
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Moses E. Levy - Money Due, Land Sales, Contracts. |
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Copy of Diary of Moses E. Levy. |
Box 2 |
Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1842-1843
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1844-1845 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1846 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1847 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. January-June 1848 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. July-December 1848 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1849 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - Letter from John C. Calhoun. October 1849 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1850 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - Letter from S.R. Mallory to Charles Byrne, Key West. November 1850 |
Box 3 |
Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - S.R. Mallory Letter. 1851
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - Letter from Jefferson Davis. July 18, 1851 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. January-June 1851 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. July-December 1851 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. January-June 1852 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. July-December 1852 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1853 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. January-June 1854 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. July-December 1854 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - Moses Levy Correspondence. 1851-1854 |
Box 4 |
Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. January-April 1855
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. May-August 1855 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. September-December 1855 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. January-August 1856 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. September-December 1856 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. January-February 1857 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. March-April 1857 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - Jefferson Davis Letters. 1856 |
Box 5 |
Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. July-August 1857
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. November-December 1857 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. January-February 1858 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. March-April 1858 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. May-June 1858 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. July-September 1858 |
Box 6 |
Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. October-December 1858
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. January-April 1859 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. May-August 1859 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. September-October 1859 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. November-December 1859 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. January-April 1860 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. May-September 1860 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. October-December 1860 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. January-June 1861 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. July-December 1861 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - Stephen A. Douglas Letters. Not Dated |
Box 7 |
Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers (Original Letter from Robert E. Lee, 1862, Stolen but Available on Microfilm).
1862-1864
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. January-September 1865 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. October-December 1865 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. January-March 1866 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. April-August 1866 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. September-October 1866 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. November-December 1866 |
Box 8 |
Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. January-June 1867
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. July 1867-March 1868 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. April-December 1868 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1869 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1870 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1871 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1872 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1873 |
Box 9 |
Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1874
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1875 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. January-May 1876 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. June-December 1876 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - Bank Statements. 1875-1876 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1877 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1878 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - Undated. 1875-1878 |
Box 10 |
Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. January-June 1879
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. July-December 1879 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1880 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. January-June 1881 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. July-December 1881 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1882 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - Undated. 1879-1882 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. January-August 1883 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. September-December 1883 |
Box 11 |
Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - Undated. 1883-1884
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. January-March 1884 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. April-June 1884 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. July-December 1884 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. January-March 1885 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. April-December 1885 |
Box 12 |
Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. January-April 1886
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. May-August 1886 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. September-October 1886 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. October-December 1886 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. January-May 1887 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. June-December 1887 |
Box 13 |
Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1888
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1889 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1890 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1891 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1892-1893 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1894-1895 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1896 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1897 |
Box 14 |
Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1898
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1899 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1900 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1901 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1902 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1903 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1904 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1905 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1906 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1907 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1908 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1909-1910 |
Box 15 |
Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1911-1915
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1917-1920 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers. 1923-1926 and Not Dated |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - Paper by C.W. Yulee on Michael Angelo (Michelangelo). 1870 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - Letterbook by C.W. Yulee. 1896-1902 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - Copybook. 1896-1898 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - Copybook. 1896-1902 |
Box 16 |
Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - Letterbook. 1853-1854
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - Letterbook. 1857-1858 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - Letterbook. 1859-1860 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - Notebook B (Legal Views). Not Dated |
Box 17 |
Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - Letterbook. 1861-1864, 1870
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - Letterbook. 1869-1872 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - Letterbook. 1871-1874 |
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Correspondence, Business, and Legal Papers - Letterbook (Includes Tax Statements and Index). 1872-1878 |
Box 18 |
Miscellaneous Maps. 1857-1887 and Not Dated
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County Maps of Florida. 1857-1860 and Not Dated |
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Cedar Key and Maps of Area. Not Dated |
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Maps and Surveys of Fernandina Area. 1856-1857 and Not Dated |
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Miscellaneous Bonds and Tax Records. 1870-1888 |
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Miscellaneous Acts of Congress. 1860-1886 |
Box 19 |
Miscellaneous Newspaper Clippings. 1850s
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Miscellaneous Newspaper Clippings. 1860s |
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Miscellaneous Newspaper Clippings. 1870s |
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Miscellaneous Newspaper Clippings. 1880s |
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Miscellaneous Newspaper Clippings. 1889-1900, 1909, 1954 |
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Miscellaneous Newspaper Clippings. Not Dated |
Box 21 |
Miscellaneous Pamphlets Not Pertaining to Florida. 1844-1886
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Box 22 |
Miscellaneous Undated Material (Legal). Not Dated
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Miscellaneous Undated Material (Legal). Not Dated |
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Miscellaneous Undated Material (Legal). Not Dated |
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Miscellaneous Undated Material (Legal). Not Dated |
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Miscellaneous Undated Material (Legal). Not Dated |
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Miscellaneous Undated Material (Legal). Not Dated |
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Miscellaneous Undated Material (Legal). Not Dated |
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Miscellaneous Undated Material (Legal). Not Dated |
Box 23 |
Mr. Levy's Case.
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Estates of Moses Levy. |
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Freelands Bond material. |
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Oranges, Cotton, Waterpower, etc. |
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Homosassa Lands. |
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Washington Property. |
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Clippings on Convention. 1850 |
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Newnansville Land Patents. |
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Miscellaneous Notes, Maps, Letters, etc., on Florida Lands. |
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Land Patents of John Parsons and Nannee Yulee. |
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D. Yulee vs. A.A. Canova. |
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Abstract of Private Confirmed Land Claims. |
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Humphries Debt. |
Box 24 |
Receipts of Levy's Heirs.
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Finegan Case. |
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Yulee vs. Finegan. |
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Benlisa Settlement and Will Case. |
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Lumber Company Papers. |
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Agreements 1855, 1860, 1861, etc. 1855-1861 |
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J.B. Aiken vs. Florida Town Improvement Co. |
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Inventory. |
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Accounts. |
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Final Accounts Prepared by Swann. |
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Interest Account. |
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Almy Fraud. |
Box 25 |
Taxable Property in Duval County. 1879
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Taxable Property in Levy County. 1879 |
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Taxable Property in Alachua County. 1879 |
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Tax Sales Decision. |
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Miscellaneous Papers. |
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Miscellaneous Papers. |
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Miscellaneous Papers and Correspondence. |
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Arredondo Land Abstract. |
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Alachua County Land Abstract. |
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Duval County Land Abstract. |
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Putnam County Land Abstract. |
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Bradford County Land Abstract. |
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Levy County Land Abstract. |
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Land Sales Contracts. |
Box 26 |
Miscellaneous Undated Material.
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Miscellaneous Undated Material. |
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Miscellaneous Undated Material. |
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Miscellaneous Undated Material. |
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Miscellaneous Undated Material. |
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Miscellaneous Undated Material. |
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Miscellaneous Undated Material. |
Box 27 |
Papers on the Florida Town Improvement Co. 1891-1899
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Papers on the Florida Town Improvement Co. 1900-1901 |
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Notes on the Contested Election. 1851-1852 |
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David L. Yulee - His Citizenship. |
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Two Photographs of David L. Yulee. |
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Miscellaneous "Special" Items. 1845-1886 |
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Copies of Letters. 1845-1886 |
Box 28 |
Miscellaneous Legal Papers.
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Miscellaneous Legal Documents. |
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Miscellaneous Legal Documents. |
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W.M. Tunno vs. Florida Town Improvement Co. |
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J. Finnegan and McGehee vs. D.L.Y. |
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Stewart vs. Cowgill. |
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D.L. Yulee vs. Francis Vose. |
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Stewart vs. Atlantic Gulf and West India Co. |
Box 29 |
Railroad Material - Bound Set of Booklets and Clippings.
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Railroad Material - Bound Notes on Schedules and Fares. |
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Account Book - Riggs and Co. |
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Railroad Undated Material. |
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Railroad Undated Material. |
Box 30 |
Miscellaneous South Florida Railroad.
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Miscellaneous South Florida Railroad. |
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Florida Railroad Miscellaneous and Undated. |
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Florida Railroad Miscellaneous and Undated. |
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Florida Railroad Miscellaneous. |
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Railroad Material Undated. |
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Railroad Miscellaneous "Special" Items. |
Box 31 |
Florida and Georgia Railroad Report. 1854
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Railroad Land. 1925 |
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Railroad Bills. |
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Robert Johnson vs. [Florida] Railroad. |
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Robert Johnson vs. [Florida] Railroad. |
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Florida Railroad Rations and Lumber. |
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Florida Railroad Stock Subscription. |
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Florida Railroad Tax Case. |
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Florida Railroad Special Privileges. |
Box 32 |
Articles of Incorporation for the North Railway of the State of Florida.
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Railroad Agreements. |
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Sales of Railroad Lands. |
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Sales of Railroad Lands. |
Box 33 |
Notebook "A" - Economic Problems Relating to the Construction of the Florida Railroad. Circa 1854-1855
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Letterbook. 1860-1861 |
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Railroad Correspondence. 1851-1853 |
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Railroad Correspondence. 1854 |
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Railroad Correspondence. 1855 |
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Railroad Correspondence. January-July 1856 |
Box 34 |
Railroad Correspondence. August 1856
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Railroad Correspondence. September-December 1856 |
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Railroad Correspondence. January-April 1857 |
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Railroad Correspondence. May-June 1857 |
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Railroad Correspondence. July-August 1857 |
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Railroad Correspondence. September-October 1857 |
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Railroad Correspondence. November-December 1857 |
Box 35 |
Railroad Correspondence. January-March 1858
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Railroad Correspondence. April-May 1858 |
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Railroad Correspondence. June-September 1858 |
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Railroad Correspondence. October-December 1858 |
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Railroad Correspondence. January-June 1859 |
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Railroad Correspondence. July-December 1859 |
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Railroad Correspondence. 1860 |
Box 36 |
Railroad Correspondence. 1861-1864
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Railroad Correspondence. 1865 |
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Railroad Correspondence. January-June 1866 |
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Railroad Correspondence. July-December 1866 |
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Railroad Correspondence. 1867-1868 |
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Railroad Correspondence. 1868-1869 |
Box 37 |
Railroad Correspondence. January-June 1870
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Railroad Correspondence. July-December 1870 |
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Railroad Correspondence. 1871 |
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Railroad Correspondence. January-March 1872 |
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Railroad Correspondence. April-December 1872 |
Box 38 |
Railroad Correspondence. 1873-1874
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Railroad Correspondence. 1875-1876 |
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Railroad Correspondence. 1876-1877 |
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Railroad Correspondence. 1878 |
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Railroad Correspondence. 1879 |
Box 39 |
Railroad Correspondence. 1880
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Railroad Correspondence. January-June 1881 |
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Railroad Correspondence. July-December 1881 |
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Railroad Correspondence. 1882-1883 |
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Railroad Correspondence. 1884-1885 |
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Railroad Correspondence. 1886 |
Box 40 |
Personal and Family Correspondence. 1847-1848
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Moses E. Levy Correspondence. 1842-1852 |
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Letters to Mrs. Yulee. 1845-1846 |
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Personal and Family Correspondence. 1848-1850 |
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Personal and Family Correspondence. 1851-1854 |
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Personal and Family Correspondence. 1855 |
Box 41 |
Personal and Family Correspondence. 1856
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Personal and Family Correspondence. 1857-1858 |
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Personal and Family Correspondence. 1858-1859 |
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Personal and Family Correspondence. 1860-1864 |
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Personal and Family Correspondence. 1865 |
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Personal and Family Correspondence. 1866 |
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Personal and Family Correspondence. 1867-1869 |
Box 42 |
Personal and Family Correspondence. 1870-1871
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Personal and Family Correspondence. 1872-1874 |
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Personal and Family Correspondence. 1875-1877 |
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Personal and Family Correspondence. 1878-1880 |
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Personal and Family Correspondence. 1881-1883 |
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Personal and Family Correspondence. 1884-1885 |
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Personal and Family Correspondence. 1886 |
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Personal and Family Correspondence. Not Dated |
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Pocket Diary (Includes Confederate Memorial Half Dollar). 1876 |
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Letters of Mrs. Yulee to Husband and from Both Parents to the Children. |
