John Sewell (July 20, 1867 in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

– December 1, 1938 in Miami, Florida ) was the third Mayor of Miami. John W Sewell was born in 1867 in

Elbert County Elbert County is the name of two counties in the United States: * Elbert County, Colorado * Elbert County, Georgia {{Geodis, uscounty ...

, Georgia, and moved with his parents to Florida when he was 19 years old. Sewell, working for Henry Flagler, served as foreman and superintendent for the Florida East Coast Railway during the construction of the line from Jacksonville to Miami and later joined the hotel construction department. After helping to construct The

Royal Poinciana Hotel The Royal Poinciana Hotel was a Gilded Age hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, United States. Developed by Standard Oil founder Henry Flagler and approximately 1,000 workers, the hotel opened on February 11, 1894. As Flagler's first structure ...

and The Breakers Hotel at Palm Beach, Sewell moved to Miami in 1896 to work on the Royal Palm Hotel. While working on the hotel, Sewell stumbled upon the burial grounds of the Tequesta Native-Americans. Sewell gave away some of the skulls as souvenirs, and ordered African-American laborers to move the remaining bones and bury them in a hole. Sewell remained in the employ of the Florida East Coast Railway until 1899, when he left to concentrate his efforts on the mercantile establishment jointly owned with this brother. He was Mayor of the City of Miami from 1903 to 1907. After serving in local politics, Sewell began the construction of his house in 1912. Built on the highest point in the city, the house was named

Halissee Hall The Halissee Hall is a historic site in Miami, Florida. It is located at 1475 NW 12th Avenue. On October 1, 1974, it was added to the United States, U.S. National Register of Historic Places. References External links Dade County listingsaNa ...

from the Seminole word meaning "New Moon." Sewell wrote a self-published autobiography entitled ''John Sewell's Memoirs and History of Miami, Florida''. It included an appendix describing his witnessing the attempted assassination of president-elect

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

in 1933. The book is valuable as a primary source of information on pioneer days in Miami. His brother, E.G. Sewell was 13th, 16th and 19th Mayor of Miami. He is buried in the

Miami City Cemetery The Miami City Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Miami, Florida, United States. It is located at 1800 Northeast 2nd Avenue. On January 4, 1989, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. History Miami city cemetery was locat ...

References

University of Miami website
* * Sewell, John. ''John Sewell's Memoirs and History of Miami, Florida''. (No place): (No publisher), (No date). But self-published in Miami in 1933. 1867 births 1938 deaths Mayors of Miami {{Miami-stub

See also

References