Hamlin Valentine Snell (February 14, 1810 – January 29, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician in Florida. He served as speaker of the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

, was president of the

Florida State Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

, and was the eighth

mayor of Tampa The Mayor is the highest elected official in Tampa, Florida. Since its incorporation in 1856, the town has had 59 mayors. Tampa had no mayor from 1862 until 1866, during which time the city government was temporarily suspended during and immediat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. He was born in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

. He was William H. Whitaker's half-brother. Snell originally moved to Florida in the late 1830s. In 1840 he'd be elected as Calhoun County's representative to the Territorial Legislative Council. He'd move once more again to what is today

Sarasota County Sarasota County is a county located in Southwest Florida. At the 2020 US census, the population was 434,006. Its county seat is Sarasota and its largest city is North Port. Sarasota County is part of the North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota, F ...

in 1842 where he started a

guava Guava ( ), also known as the 'guava-pear', is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava '' Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), nativ ...

plantation. Snell was elected to the Florida Senate to represent Hillsborough County in 1854. He led the creation of

Manatee County Manatee County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 399,710. Manatee County is part of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its county seat and largest ci ...

in 1855. In 1856, he was elected as the first state representative of the newly created Manatee County in the Florida House of Representatives. Snell moved to

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

sometime in late 1857. He became the Port of Tampa's deputy collector in June 1858. He served as the mayor of Tampa from February 1, 1860, until February 2, 1861. As mayor, he celebrated the start of the American Civil War.

Martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

was declared in Tampa on April 21, 1861, by the 20th Florida Regiment after it had taken control of

Fort Brooke Fort Brooke was a historical military post established at the mouth of the Hillsborough River (Florida), Hillsborough River in present-day Tampa, Florida in 1824. Its original purpose was to serve as a check on and trading post for the native S ...

. Close to three weeks after martial law was declared, he fled Tampa like many other citizens of the city at the time. He married Mary Beville in 1867. Local artist Ruth Finney Horney painted a portrait of him. He died on January 29, 1886, in Gainesville, Florida.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snell, Hamlin Valentine 1810 births 1886 deaths Mayors of Tampa, Florida Politicians from Savannah, Georgia Members of the Florida Territorial Legislature Speakers of the Florida House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Presidents of the Florida Senate Democratic Party Florida state senators 19th-century American lawyers Florida lawyers 19th-century members of the Florida Legislature

See also

References