Peter "Pete" Lawrence Rollo was born in Milton Florida in 1878, the son of Lawrence Jefferson Rollo (1838-1898) and Martha A. "Mattie" Cartwright (1848-1902). Peter's father was a former Confederate soldier with Company "G" of the 1st Florida Infantry Regiment. His father was born on March 20, 1838 in Montgomery, Alabama and would enlist in Milton, Florida on May 8, 1862. He reached the rank of sergeant before his capture at Glasgow, Kentucky during the Battle of Perryville. He was eventually paroled and returned to his regiment. On April 10, 1865 he was detailed as a gunsmith before the Confederate Army surrendered to Union forces in Greensboro, North Carolina. After the war, his father supported his family in the lumber business as a "sawyer" as late as 1870. He would pass away in 1898 and was buried in the Milton Cemetery. There, he was joined by Mattie in in July 1902 after she passed away at her home in Perdido. Her remains were loaded onto the steamer "Enterprise" that made a special trip to Milton in her behalf. The boat departed from Palafox Wharf at 8:00 AM and carried Martha and her funeral cortege to Milton for her services.
Pete was also the brother of Lawrence Jefferson Rollo (1871-1939), Henry Jackson Rollo (1875-1934), John Green Rollo (1880-1955), Samuel Columbus Rollo (1882-1968), and David Arthur Rollo (1884-1947) all of which were well-known in the Milton and Pensacola area. Pete would marry Laura Lee Sutherland (1883-1952) in 1904, the daughter of John W. Sutherland (1851-) and Adeline "Addie" A. Gartland (1854-). Laura's father immigrated to America from Scotland in 1852 and became a railroad contractor. From 1913 till past 1924, he was working as a brickmason and living at 273 East Gregory Street in Pensacola. John and Addie were married on June 15, 1874 in Escambia Co., Florida by Methodist minister D. M. Hudson. Today, both are buried in St. Michael's Cemetery, Pensacola.
As for Pete, he became a successful businessman in Pensacola not only as the supervisor of Starr Piano Co. at #16 South Palafox Street but as the president of the Rollo Lumber Company at 204 1/2 South Palafox. He registered for the draft during WWI but was never called up most likely because of his asthma. He would pass away on May 2, 1952, followed by his wife Laura eight days later on May 10, 1952. Both were buried in the Lewis Williams Memorial Cemetery in Milton, Florida.
(1878-1952)
Pensacola News Journal 3-17-1926
Pensacola News Journal 5-3-1952
Pensacola News Journal 5-9-1952
Buried Lewis Williams Memorial Cemetery, Milton, Santa Rosa County, Florida
Pensacola News Journal 5-12-1952
Buried Lewis Williams Memorial Cemetery, Milton, Santa Rosa County, Florida
Lawrence J. Rollo - Confederate Roster of Company "G" of the 1st Florida Infantry Regiment. Served with the Army of Tennessee, Army of Mississippi, and the Army of Pensacola. Fought in the following engagements: Battle of Santa Rosa Island, Battle of Shiloh, Siege of Corinth, Battle of Perryville, Battle of Stones River, Jackson Expedition, Battle of Chickamauga, Battle of Missionary Ridge, Atlanta Campaign, Battle of Resaca, Battle of Marietta, Franklin-Nashville Campaign, Third Battle of Murfreesboro, Carolina Campaign, Battle of Bentonville, and surrendered at Bennett Place, North Carolina.
St. Michael's Cemetery, Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida
St. Michael's Cemetery, Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida
Pensacola News Journal 7-29-1902
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