Richard Keith Call (October 24, 1792 – September 14, 1862) was an American attorney, politician, and slave owner who served as the 3rd and 5th

territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

. Before that, he was elected to the

Florida Territorial Council The Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida, often referred to as the Florida Territorial Council or Florida Territorial Legislative Council, was the legislative body governing the American territory of Florida ( Florida Territory) before ...

and as a delegate to the U.S. Congress from Florida. In the mid-1830s, he developed two

plantations A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...

Leon County, Florida Leon County is a county in the Panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. It was named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. As of the 2020 census, the population was 292,198. The county seat is Tallahassee, which is also the state ...

, one of which was several thousand acres in size. In 1860 he held more than 120 slaves and was the third-largest slaveholder in the county.Thomas Blake, "Largest Slaveholders from 1863 Slave Census Schedules"
Free pages, Rootsweb

Early life and education

Richard Call was born to William and Helen Meade Walker Call and was the nephew of another Richard Call, a Revolutionary War hero."Call and Brevard Family Papers"
, ''Florida Memory'', State Library and Archives of Florida Call was born in

Pittsfield Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield ...

, Prince George County, Virginia. When Call was young, his father William and two of his brothers died. Shortly after 1800, his widowed mother brought her four surviving children and five slaves across the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...

into Kentucky. She eventually settled on land owned by her brother Senator David Walker in Russellville, Kentucky, where Call spent most of his remaining childhood. Following the death of his mother in 1810, Call settled near another uncle in Tennessee in order to receive a formal education. In 1813 he left college to take part in the

Creek War The Creek War (1813–1814), also known as the Red Stick War and the Creek Civil War, was a regional war between opposing Indigenous American Creek factions, European empires and the United States, taking place largely in modern-day Alabama ...

, which occurred during the period of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

with

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

. Call was the uncle of

Wilkinson Call Wilkinson Call (January 9, 1834August 24, 1910) was an American lawyer and politician who represented Florida in the United States Senate from 1879 to 1897. Biography Wilkinson Call, nephew of Territorial Governor of Florida Richard K. Call an ...

, who much later became a U.S. Senator.

War and politics

Richard Call came favorably to the attention of General

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

, a leader during the war. In 1814, Call was commissioned as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

and went to

to serve as Jackson's personal aide. He returned with General Jackson in 1821 to establish the

government after the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

acquired

from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

by the Adams-Onís Treaty. After resigning from the Army in 1822, Call decided to make

his home and opened a legal practice. Call was a delegate to the 1856

Know Nothing The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

convention in Philadelphia, but walked out over the North vs. South split over slavery (demanding that Section 12 in support of the Kansas-Nebraska act be restored).

Marriage and family

In 1824 Call married Mary Letitia Kirkman of Nashville. Her parents were enemies of Jackson and opposed the marriage. The young couple was married at General Jackson's home, the Hermitage. Of their several children born, two daughters: Ellen Call Long and Mary Call Brevard, survived to adulthood.

Florida

Call made the rest of his life in Florida. He was appointed as receiver in the land office, giving him insight into developing areas. He was elected to the Legislative Council of the territory and served as a Delegate to the U.S. Congress. In the 1830s, he bought and developed two plantations in Leon County. One had nearly 9,000 acres and the other,

The Grove Plantation The Grove, known officially as the Call/Collins House at The Grove, is an antebellum plantation house located in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. Territorial Governor Richard Keith Call constructed The Grove circa 1840. By 1851, Call deeded th ...

, was a square mile in northern Tallahassee. On March 16, 1836, he was appointed by President

as the governor of the territory. During his first term, as brigadier general of the territorial

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, he led forces in fighting the

Seminole Indians The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and ...

, winning victories at the second and third Battles of Wahoo Swamp in the Seminole War. President

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...

replaced him as governor with

Robert R. Reid Robert Raymond Reid (September 8, 1789 – July 1, 1841) was the fourth territorial governor of Florida. Earlier in his career he was a Representative from Georgia and held several judicial positions. Robert Reid was born in Prince William Pari ...

on December 2, 1839, following a dispute with Federal authorities over their assistance during the war. In the 1840 presidential campaign, Call crossed party lines to assist Whig

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

, who won and appointed him again as governor of Florida. During this second term, which began on March 19, 1841, Call moved the territory closer to statehood. He worked to minimize the financial problems that

suffered due to bank failures and a national business depression. He left office on August 11, 1844. In 1845, Florida became a state and Call sought election as governor. His role in supporting the election of President Harrison caused him to lose.

Planter and slaveholder

During the 1830s, he had developed two

on land that he purchased in Leon County.

Orchard Pond Plantation Orchard Pond Plantation was a large cotton plantation originally of 8754 acres, (35½ km2) developed and owned in the 19th century by Richard Keith Call, attorney, planter and future Territorial Governor, in what is now northwestern Leon Coun ...

had more than 8,000 acres and was located north of Tallahassee.

was located on Tallahassee's northern outskirts, where the Governor's Mansion was later constructed. By 1860, Call had more than 100 slaves at Orchard Pond Plantation and was the third-largest slaveholder in the county. He died at The Grove on September 14, 1862. The Grove Plantation was purchased in 1942 by future Florida governor LeRoy Collins, and his wife Mary Call Darby Collins, a great-granddaughter of Richard Call. Collins later was elected for two terms as governor. Today the Call-Collins Mansion at the Grove is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The Collinses sold the house and property to the state for use as a historic house museum.

Legacy

Several streets in Florida are named after Richard K. Call. Call Streets are in

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

, Starke,

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

, Orange City and

High Springs High Springs is a city in Alachua County, Florida, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in Alachua County and seventh-largest in North Central Florida. The population was 6,215 at the 2020 census. History The present-day area of High S ...

. The

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Ma ...

was named in his honor.

References

*Morris, Allen and Joan Perry Morris, compilers. ''The Florida Handbook 2007–2008'' 31st Biennial Edition. p. 304
Peninsula Publishing
Tallahassee. 2007. Softcover Hardcover

External links

Biographical Directory of the US CongressOfficial Governor's portrait and biography from the State of FloridaCall Family and Brevard Family Papers
''Florida Memory'', State Library and Archives of Florida. This collection contains correspondence, writings, and other papers of Richard Keith Call and his family from 1788 to 1916. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Call, Richard K. Governors of Florida Territory Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from Florida Territory Members of the Florida Territorial Legislature 19th-century American politicians 1792 births 1862 deaths United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 American military personnel of the Indian Wars American people of the Seminole Wars People of the Creek War American planters Florida Whigs Florida Constitutional Unionists Southern Unionists in the American Civil War People from Russellville, Kentucky People from Tallahassee, Florida American slave owners United States Army officers