Ephraim Tanner Sturtevant (July 28, 1803 – December 12, 1881) was an American professor, planter, and politician. He was the father of

Julia Tuttle Julia DeForest Tuttle (née Sturtevant; January 22, 1849 – September 14, 1898) was an American businesswoman who owned the property upon which Miami, Florida, was built. For this reason, she's called the "Mother of Miami." She's the only woman ...

, known as the "Mother of

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Early life and education

Sturtevant, son of Warren and Lucy (Tanner) Sturtevant, was born in

Warren, Connecticut Warren is a New England town, town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,351 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region, C ...

, on July 28, 1803. In 1816, his family removed to the

Western Reserve The Connecticut Western Reserve was a portion of land claimed by the Colony of Connecticut and later by the state of Connecticut in what is now mostly the northeastern region of Ohio. Warren, Ohio was the Historic Capital in Trumbull County. T ...

and settled in

Tallmadge, Ohio Tallmadge ( ) is a city in eastern Summit County, Ohio, Summit County, Ohio, United States, with a small district in neighboring Portage County, Ohio, Portage County. It is a suburb of Akron, Ohio, Akron and part of the Akron metropolitan area. T ...

, from which place he entered college. He graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1826.

Career

For twenty years after graduation he was occupied in teaching, beginning in

Derby, Connecticut Derby is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, approximately west-northwest of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven. It is located in southwest Connecticut at the confluence of the Housatonic River, Housatonic and Naugatuck River ...

. In the fall of 1827, on the opening of Western Reserve College, at

Hudson, Ohio Hudson is a city in northern Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,110 at the 2020 census. It is a suburban community in the Akron metropolitan area. John Brown made his first public vow to destroy slavery here and the ci ...

, he was appointed instructor in mathematics, and in the absence of other teachers performed the duties of the entire faculty for the first year. In May, 1829, finding the burden too severe, he resigned his position and opened a select school in Tallmadge, which he maintained with great success until 1846, when, in consequence of impaired health, he removed to a farm in

East Cleveland, Ohio East Cleveland is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,792 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a suburb lying east and south of Cleveland and west of Cleveland Heights. History Historically Eas ...

, where he was involved in many civic and educational endeavors. At length he felt obliged to remove from this trying climate, and in March, 1870, he settled on

Biscayne Bay Biscayne Bay is a lagoon with characteristics of an estuary located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida. The northern end of the lagoon is surrounded by the densely developed heart of the Miami metropolitan area while the southern end is large ...

in Southern Florida, where he occupied himself in cultivating tropical fruits and flowers. He also took an active part in the

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

government of the state and was efficient in promoting the control of the Republican Party. He was twice appointed County Judge, and in 1872 he was elected to 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 ...

for four years.

Personal life

In 1829 he married Helen L. Oviatt, of Hudson, who died early, leaving a daughter who survived for only a single year. He next married Julia A. DeForest, of

Huntington Huntington may refer to: Places Canada * Huntington, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Huntington, New Zealand a suburb in Hamilton, New Zealand United Kingdom * Huntington, Cheshire, England * Huntington, East Lothian, Scotland * Huntingto ...

, Connecticut, who died in 1845, leaving a daughter and two sons. He again married, this time to Frances (Pierce) Leonard, of Woodbury, Connecticut, who survived him with one daughter; one son by his second marriage also survived him. In the spring of 1880 the infirmities of advancing age compelled him to return to Cleveland, where he made his home with his only surviving daughter, for the rest of his life. He died in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, December 12, 1881, aged 78 years. On his death, his daughter Julia Tuttle inherited and relocated to his land in Florida, where she would eventually found the city of Miami.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sturtevant, Ephraim 1803 births 1881 deaths People from Warren, Connecticut Yale College alumni Case Western Reserve University faculty People from Tallmadge, Ohio People from East Cleveland, Ohio Florida state senators 19th-century members of the Florida Legislature