W. T. Cash (1878–1951) was an educator, writer, Florida State Representative, Florida State Senator, and Florida's first state librarian. He is listed as a Great Floridian. A collection of his papers are held at the

Florida State Archives The State Library and Archives of Florida is the central repository for the archives of state government for the state of Florida. It is located at the R.A. Gray Building on 500 South Bronough Street in Tallahassee, Florida, Florida's capital. M ...

. Some of his papers are also collected at

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

Early life and education

Cash was born in Lamont, Florida in Jefferson County, Florida on July 23, 1878. Benjamin Franklin Cash and Susan Mixon Cash were his parents. His father died when Cash was thirteen. His mother remarried to John Henry Mathis in 1886, having three more children. Cash worked as a farmworker while he was a teenager to support himself since he did not live with his mother. He was taught in a Taylor County public school by

Cary A. Hardee Cary Augustus Hardee (November 13, 1876 – November 21, 1957) was an American educator, lawyer, legislator, and banker who served as the 23rd Governor of Florida. Biography Early life and career Born in Taylor County, Florida, he spent mo ...

, who influenced him to become a teacher. When he was nineteen years old, he became certified to be a teacher.

Career

Cash was a teacher and later became President of the Taylor County Teacher's Association. In 1917, he taught Florida History and civic courses during summer school at the Florida State College for Women in Tallahassee. Cash was elected to 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 ...

in 1909, 1915, and 1917. He was elected to the Florida Senate in 1918 and served two years of his term before departing to become Superintendent of Public Instruction for Taylor County. He helped pass legislation that created the Florida State Library and served as the first Florida State Librarian beginning in 1927. He remained the state librarian until retiring shortly before his death. Cash worked during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and World War II, was an advocate for social spending, and was involved in the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

Rare Books Project. He died in Tallahassee, Florida on July 8, 1951.

Bibliography

*"History of the Democratic Party in Florida: Including Biographical Sketches of Prominent Florida Democrats" (1936) *"Political Parties of Florida" (1938) *"The Story of Florida" (1938) *"Florida Becomes a State" by W. T. Cash and

Dorothy Dodd ''For the archivist and librarian in Florida see Dorothy Dodd (librarian)'' Dorothy Dodd (1926 - 2006) was an Australian popular song composer and lyricist of the mid-twentieth century. She was best known for the English lyrics to the widely reco ...

. (1945) *"Events in the History of St. Marks" (1946)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cash, William Thomas Librarians from Florida People from Jefferson County, Florida 1878 births 1951 deaths Florida state senators Members of the Florida House of Representatives Historians of Florida