Rebecca Weiss

A Florida Pioneer: the Adventurous Life of Josef Henschen, Swedish Immigrant in the 1870s Rebecca Weiss

A Florida Pioneer is a book about the adventurous life of Josef Henschen, Swedish immigrant to Florida in the 1870s. Henschen was a young medical student in Upsala, Sweden when, in 1871, he was asked to recruit and bring over a large group of Swedish laborers to Florida. The group he brought went to work at Henry S. Sanford's plantations in Seminole County. There the Swedes founded the New Upsala settlement, and many Swedish descendants in central Florida have their roots in this colony. Josef fell in love with Florida and stayed there for nearly sixty years, until his death in 1930. He became one of the four financiers of the Orange Belt Railroad, and he gave the city of St. Petersburg its name. This book contains many of Josef's letters and paints a fascinating picture of Florida pioneer life. Gary Momino, Professor of History at the University of South Florida,calls A Florida Pioneer "An extraordinary document...a historic treasure."