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Snow Family papers, 1826-1956

 

Summary

Creator:
Ederington, Francis H. (Frances Higgins) (1824-1866)
Mein, William H., Jr. (1865-1932)
Abstract:
Papers of the Snow, Ederington, Nevitt, and Mein families documenting plantation management, land transactions, timber operations, legal affairs, and family life in Hernando County, Florida, from 1826 to 1956. Materials include correspondence, financial records, deeds, promissory notes, receipts, estate records, and documents relating to slavery and local governance.
Extent:
1.25 Linear Feet
3 boxes
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Snow Family papers, USF Libraries - Tampa Special Collections, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.

Background

Scope and content:

The Snow Family Papers document the personal, legal, financial, and agricultural activities of the Ederington, Snow, Nevitt, and related families in Hernando County, Florida, from 1826 to 1956. The collection includes correspondence, deeds, land records, promissory notes, receipts, tax records, estate papers, and business documents relating to the ownership and management of Mt. Airy Plantation, later known as Snow Hill. These records provide insight into land acquisition, agricultural production, timber operations, family relationships, and civic life in nineteenth-century Florida.

The collection also contains materials relating to slavery, including bills of sale and other legal and financial records concerning enslaved African Americans, as well as documents associated with local law enforcement and frontier life. Together, the papers offer valuable evidence of plantation management, economic development, family networks, and the social and legal systems that shaped Hernando County during the territorial, antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction eras.

Biographical / historical:

Born in March 1824 in South Carolina, Colonel Francis H. Ederington married Precious Ann E. Nevitt (1823–1869) in 1844. In 1851, the family relocated to Hernando County, Florida, bringing with them their nine children and eleven enslaved African Americans. Upon arriving in Florida, the Ederingtons purchased the plantation known as Mt. Airy, located on Tiger Tail Hill. The manor house had been constructed in 1842 by Colonel Byrd Pearson, who acquired the property through the Armed Occupation Act of 1842.

Francis Ederington died in 1866, and Precious Ederington passed away three years later. Ownership of the property subsequently transferred to their daughter, Charlotte Ederington, who inherited the estate at the age of twenty-one. Charlotte assumed responsibility for managing the household and agricultural operations while helping to care for her younger siblings. She later married Dr. J. R. Snow, a South Carolina physician who served as a Hernando County Commissioner from 1885 to 1889 and as a representative in the Florida Legislature from 1889 to 1893.

Following Charlotte's marriage, the plantation became known as Snow Hill and remained in the Snow family until its sale to Raymond Robins in 1905. Robins renamed the property Chinsegut Hill. Charlotte and J. R. Snow's son, Ernest Snow, remained on the property for a time after the sale, assisting Raymond and Margaret Robins as they adapted to managing the estate.

Frank H. Ederington, Jr., Charlotte's brother, continued to support himself through agricultural work associated with Snow Hill and remained one of the last descendants of the Ederington family to maintain a close connection to the property. He later married Sara E. "Sallie" Ederington and spent the remainder of his life in Hernando County, where he died at the age of ninety-four.

References: Bell, Blake. (2025). Chinsegut Series Part 1- 4. Hernando Sun.

History of Chinsegut Hill Retreat and Conference Center. (2020). https://chinseguthillretreat.com/history-of-chinsegut-hill/

Acquisition information:
Robert Snow donated material dated between 1826 and 1873. Blake Bell donated material dated between 1884 and 1956.
Processing information:

Complete. Collection has been processed at the item level, with original documents filed individually by date. To facilitate accessibility of handwritten script, documents in Box 1 and 2 are accompanied by typed reproductions of the text. Box 3 transcriptions and digitization are pending.

Arrangement:

Materials are arranged chronologically by the date in which they were produced.

Accruals:

Blake Bell donated material from 1884 to 1956 in August of 2026.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Original documents are fragile and should be handled with care.

Terms of access:

None.  The contents of this collection may be subject to copyright.  Visit the United States Copyright Office's website at http://www.copyright.gov/for more information.

Preferred citation:

Snow Family papers, USF Libraries - Tampa Special Collections, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.

Location of this collection:
The University of South Florida, Tampa Campus
4202 East Fowler Ave. LIB122
Tampa
FL
33620-5400
USA