Richard K. Call

Richard Keith Call was born on October 24, 1792, and passed away on September 14, 1862. He was an American lawyer and a politician. Call served as the 3rd and 5th territorial governor of Florida. Before becoming governor, he was elected to the Florida Territorial Council and also worked as a delegate in the U.S. Congress from Florida.

In the middle of the 1830s, Call created two large plantations in Leon County, Florida. One of these plantations was very big, covering several thousand acres of land. By the year 1860, Call was one of the largest slaveholders in the county, owning more than 120 people.

During a big and important war called the American Civil War, Call was known as a Southern Unionist. He did not agree with Florida deciding to leave the United States, which was a big and difficult time for many people.

Early life and education

Richard Call was born to William and Helen Meade Walker Call. He was the nephew of a Revolutionary War hero. Call was born in Pittsfield, Prince George County, Virginia. When he was young, his father and two of his brothers passed away. After 1800, his mother moved with her four surviving children and five enslaved people across the Appalachian Mountains into Kentucky. They settled in Russellville, Kentucky on land owned by her brother Senator David Walker, where Call spent much of his childhood. After his mother passed away in 1810, Call went to live with another uncle in Tennessee to attend school. In 1813, he left college to join the Creek War, which happened during the War of 1812 with Great Britain. Call was the uncle of Wilkinson Call, who later became a U.S. Senator.

War and politics

Richard Call gained the respect of General Andrew Jackson, a key leader during the war. In 1814, Call became a first lieutenant and served as Jackson's assistant in Spanish Florida. He saw the 1818 Treaty of Tuscaloosa being signed with the Chickasaw. Call went back with General Jackson in 1821 to help set up the territorial government after the United States took Florida from Spain through the Adams-Onís Treaty. After leaving the Army in 1822, Call settled in Tallahassee, FL and started a law practice.

Call attended the 1856 Know Nothing meeting in Philadelphia but left because of disagreements between the North and South about slavery, especially regarding a request to bring back Section 12 of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Marriage and family

In 1824, Richard K. Call married Mary Letitia Kirkman from Nashville. Her parents did not approve of the marriage because they were against General Jackson. The couple married at General Jackson's home, called the Hermitage. They had several children, but only two daughters, Ellen Call Long and Mary Call Brevard, lived to grow up.

Florida

Richard K. Call lived the rest of his life in Florida. He was a friend of Andrew Jackson and worked in the land office, which helped him understand how to develop new areas. He was elected to the Legislative Council of the territory and also served as a Delegate to the U.S. Congress.

In the 1830s, Call bought and developed two large plantations in Leon County. One was almost 9,000 acres, and the other, called The Grove Plantation, was a square mile in northern Tallahassee. Building on The Grove likely started in 1824 when Tallahassee was founded, and the mansion there became known for its beautiful Georgian-Colonial style.

On March 16, 1836, President Andrew Jackson appointed Call as the territory’s governor. As a leader in the Florida Militia, he helped fight the Seminole Indians, especially in the Battle of Wahoo Swamp during the Second Seminole War. Later, President Martin Van Buren replaced him as governor on December 2, 1839, after some disagreements with federal leaders about help during the war.

Call supported William Henry Harrison during the 1840 presidential campaign, even though Harrison was from the other political party. When Harrison won, he appointed Call again as governor of Florida. During this time, starting on March 19, 1841, Call worked to help Florida move closer to becoming a state. He tried to solve money problems Florida faced from bank failures and a national economic downturn. He left office on August 11, 1844.

When Florida became a state in 1845, Call tried to become the state’s governor but lost because of his support for President Harrison.

Planter and enslaver

During the 1830s, Richard K. Call developed two large farms called plantations in Leon County, Florida. One farm, Orchard Pond Plantation, covered more than 8,000 acres north of Tallahassee. The other, The Grove Plantation, was near the northern edge of Tallahassee, where a governor’s home was built much later.

By 1860, Call had over 100 enslaved people working at Orchard Pond Plantation, making him one of the largest landowners in the area. He passed away at The Grove in 1862. Many years later, the house at The Grove became a historic site and museum.

Legacy

Several streets in Florida are named after Richard K. Call. You can find Call Streets in Tallahassee, Starke, Jacksonville, Hollywood, Orange City, and High Springs.

During World War II, a ship called the SS Richard K. Call_ was named to honor him.

There was once an idea in 1828 to create a county in north Florida called Call County, but this plan was not accepted by William P. Duval.