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Lake City, Florida: A Sesquicentennial Tribute (2009) H. Morris Williams, Dr. Kevin M. McCarthy











                                                                        Chapter Five: 1850 - 1859










                                                                    Silas Leslie Niblack











                                         One of the young professional men who would have an
                                 important role in the 19th-century history of Lake City was Silas
                                 Leslie Niblack, who was born in Camden County, Georgia, in 1825;
                                 studied law; was admitted to the bar about 1851 and began practicing
                                 law in Lake City, Florida. He became judge of the probate court of
                                 Columbia County, as a Democrat successfully contested the election
                                 of Josiah T. Walls to the 42nd Congress, and served from January
                                 29 to March 3, 1873. He did not win reelection in 1872, but did
                                 become a member of the State Senate in 1879. He was a successful
                                 farmer and lawyer in Lake City until his death in 1883. He is buried in
                                 the city’s Scarborough Cemetery, located just off East Baya Avenue.

                                         About religion in Lake City: In 1852, the Methodist Church

                                 bought its first property in the town. In 1856, a Presbyterian church
                                 was organized. In 1859, church officials established the Bethlehem
                                 Lutheran Church, which became the first Lutheran church organized
                                 in Florida. The first church membership roster included such well-
                                 known local pioneer family names as Feagle, Haltiwanger, Koon,
                                 Snelgrove, and Witt.

                                         The mayors that decade were, possibly, James McNair
                                 Baker and M. Whit Smith, the latter of whom served as mayor
                                 from 1859 till 1875.

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