James Gamble Speer (June 23, 1820 - October 31, 1893) was a judge and state legislator in Florida. He was a founder of

Oakland, Florida Oakland is a town in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,516 at the 2020 Census, representing a growth of 38.5% over the population of 2,538 recorded during the 2010 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metr ...

. He served in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

and the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

. He was also a delegate to Florida's 1885 Constutional Convention. He was a Democrat.https://www.floridamemory.com/fmp/territorial-legislative/PeopleOfLawmaking.pdf In 1879 he represented Orange County, Florida in the Florida Senate. His post office was in

. He was born in

Abbeville, South Carolina Abbeville is a city and county seat of Abbeville County, in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is located west of Columbia and south of Greenville. Its population was 5,237 at the 2010 census. Settled by French Huguenot settlers, it was ...

and came to Florida as a member of the Indian Removal Commission of 1854. He advocated for a canal between

Lake Apopka Lake Apopka is the fourth largest lake in the United States, U.S. state of Florida. It is located northwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, mostly within the bounds of Orange County, Florida, Orange County, although the western part is in Lak ...

and Lake Dora. Speer Park and Speer Avenue in Oakland are named for him.

References

Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives 1820 births 1893 deaths {{morecat, date=November 2023