790. Milton High School First Graduating Class 1917

Updated: Feb 26, 2022

Milton High School was established in 1915 on Canal Street for the total price of $40,000 until the current school was built on Stewart Street in 1953. But here on Canal Street, the first graduating class consisting of 8 seniors received their diplomas in 1917. This accomplishment represents these young men and women leaving their adolescence behind and their entry into adulthood. They left their hallowed halls and childhood friends behind and set out to fulfill the dreams they had harbored their whole lives. No more lockers, no more cafeterias, and no more homework! Some succeeded and sadly some did not. Many would leave for far off battle fields of WWI, some to return and some to perish. But regardless of the year they graduated the obstacles and aspirations of each generation remain the same over the years. Below is a glimpse into the lives of that first class of 1917!

Verla Louise Jernigan (1897-1983) would marry Frank Beverly Richardson (1889-1962) on March 24, 1920 in Santa Rosa County. He would support his family as a car salesman most of his life in Dallas, Texas. They would have a daughter, Beverly Richardson Haden (1921-2018). She was born in Dallas on June 20, 1921 and would pass away on April 27, 2018. She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband of 52 years, Robert Oliver Haden. Beverly was survived by her three daughters Victori Palmer, Susan Shiu, and Jo Galbraith. Frank and Verla were buried in the Sparkman Hillcrest Memorial Park in Dallas, TX.

Hurley Washington "Dutch" "Jack" Holland (1897-1973), was born in Santa Rosa County, Florida, the son of John W. Holland and Elizabeth V. Elliott (1870-1910). His father was a farmer that became a shipyard laborer toward the end of his life. Hurley would enlist in the Florida National Guard on June 18, 1914 and was activated into the US Army during WWI on April 13, 1917. On November 21, 1918, he was assigned to the medical department of the 118th Machine Gun Battalion. He would board a transport on October 6, 1918 and sail for France with his battalion. By February 22, 1919 he had been detached to the Camp Hospital #101 before transferring to Camp Hospital #52. He would return from France aboard the SS Kaiserin Auguste Victoria on July 9, 1919 from the port of Brest, France. By this time, he was a sergeant first class in the Brest Casual Company at Camp Hospital#52. He was discharged two weeks later on July 23, 1919 and returned to his father's home at 317 N. Davis Street, Pensacola. Upon his return he attended the University of Florida where he obtained his Bachelor of Law degree in 1922. He would earn his law degree before marrying Miss Mailande Weems (1902-2004) on January 1, 1927 in Meridian, Mississippi. Sadly, his son Albert Granville Holland (1931-1949) died from head injuries sustained as a passenger in a speeding automobile that hit a telephone pole and threw him out of the vehicle in Lexington, Virginia. Hurley and Mailande were buried in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Saint Petersburg,

Daisy "Priss" Agnes Butler (1899-1972) was the daughter of Joseph L. and Leola Butler and would marry Samuel "Sammie" Davis Stewart (1897-1964) on November 20, 1923 in Santa Rosa County. Samuel was the past president of the Milton Kiwanis Club and was supported his family with the New York Life Insurance Company. Today both are buried in the Milton Cemetery.

Louis Randall "Prof" Ramsey (1892-1951) was a WWI Veteran of Company "A" 118th Machine Gun Battalion, 31st Division along with his Milton high classmate Hurley W. Holland. He enlisted in the Army on May 1, 1917 and was discharged July 24, 1919. He originally was from Leesburg, Alabama and would reside in Milton and Pensacola as of 1910. He was the son of John William Ramsey (1869-1928) and Emma Irene Awbrey (1874-1929). His father was an engineer on a boat in Santa Rosa County in 1920 and at the time of his death was an engineer for the White Belt Dairy in Miami, Florida. His maternal grandfather was a Confederate Sergeant with Company "D" of the 22nd Alabama Infantry Regiment. After high school he became a teacher in in Santa Rosa County and would pass away on April 26, 1951 in Gainesville, Florida and was buried at Barrancas Cemetery.

Cason "Casey" Walker (1897-1963) was the son of Oliver Hazard Perry Walker (1851-1926) and Viola McLeod (1861-1901). He married Virginia Barrick (1902-1981) and moved to Santa Rosa County in 1901 from his native county of Rutledge, Alabama. He supported his family as in real estate in 1920, as a post master for Milton in 1930-1935, at Eglin Airfield (government) in 1941, and as an abstracter in 1940.

Mary Emma "Emmie" McDaniel (1896-1990) was the daughter of Edward L. McDaniel (1862-1916) and Ida Sabra McDavid (1867-1956). Ida and Edward were married in 1886. Her maternal grandfather Joel Alexander McDavid was a Confederate cavalry trooper with Company "B" of the 3rd Florida Battalion later incorporated into the 15th Confederate Cavalry. After the war he would marry Sabra Williams (1834-1919). Mary Emma would marry Francis Emanuel Villar (1896-1982) and had a son William Edward Villar (1928-1976). At the time, Mary was in school while her father supported them as an insurance agent. Mary's husband was a WWI veteran with the US Navy 1918-1919 then worked as an bookkeeper at a sawmill in Pensacola in 1920. He became an insurance agent in 1940 and would retire as an accountant. Both Francis and Mary are buried in the Serenity Gardens, Milton, FL.

George Creary "Ham" Hamilton (1898-1973) was the son of John Milton Hamilton (1854-1941) and Nancy Spears (1864-1930) who were married in 1880 in Santa Rosa County. He was a graduate of University of Florida and would return to Milton High School as a math teacher for forty years retiring in the mid-1960s. He would serve both as a principal and a vice principal. He was also a veteran of WWI and WWII would retire as a school teacher in Milton. He was buried in Milton Cemetery.

The last student shown above was Abraham "Abe" Reiner, but unfortunately there is no surviving information.

Milton High School (1915-1952)

Verla Louise Jernigan

Verla Louise Jernigan

Mailande Weems Holland Barton (1902-2004) was attending school in Washington, D.C., when she made friends with two St. Petersburg women, Mary Chancellor and Sally Mae Sumner. On a visit to see them, she met Hurley "Jack" Holland, a local lawyer and businessman. One thing led to another and were married in 1927.