John W. Donaldson (1897-1946) was born on September 8, 1897, to John F. and Hattie Donaldson in Waldo, Florida. He enlisted in the United States Army in March of 1918, at the age of 20, and was assigned to the Motor Transport Corps of the 5th Division. John trained at Camp Johnston in Jacksonville, Florida, before leaving for New Jersey, where he set sail aboard the USS America on June 10, 1918, and arrived at Brest, France, on June 19, 1918. He spent some time at Camp Pontanezen, a crowded rest camp, where soldiers performed construction work. In France, John served as a chauffeur in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. During the intense six-week battle, John sustained shrapnel wounds on his left knee and burns on his neck. Before being honorably discharged on May 3, 1920, he rose to the rank of Sergeant Major, the highest rank for a non-commissioned officer. Donaldson returned to Florida after discharge, where he married Archie K. Hughes in 1924, in Winter Haven. In 1929, they had a son named Delbert. The couple divorced in 1931. He visited VA hospitals in North Carolina and Bay Pines, Florida, for tuberculosis treatment. On April 10, 1937, John married again to Lillie May Holloway, but they divorced some time after. John was admitted to the VA hospital in Kerrville, Texas, on February 9, 1946, and died two days later due to cerebral thrombosis. He rests in Bay Pines National Cemetery at Section 11, Row 2, Site 13.

In 2017, the University of Central Florida was one of three universities selected to launch the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program Project. The program engaged a team of scholars to make the life stories of veterans buried in the Florida National Cemetery available to the public. The project engages UCF students in research and writing and fosters collaboration between students, faculty and local Central Florida schools to produce interactive curriculum for K-12 students. The corresponding website exhibit uses RICHES Mosaic Interface to create a digital archive of related data. The public can use the project-developed augmented-reality app at more than 100 gravesites at the Florida National Cemetery, where they can access the UCF student-authored biographies of veterans.]]>
Florida Department of Health]]> Polk County Clerk of Court.]]> Florida Department of Health]]> Veterans Legacy Program Collection ]]> ]]> Florida Department of Health.]]>
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In 2017, the University of Central Florida was one of three universities selected to launch the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program Project. The program engaged a team of scholars to make the life stories of veterans buried in the Florida National Cemetery available to the public. The project engages UCF students in research and writing and fosters collaboration between students, faculty and local Central Florida schools to produce interactive curriculum for k-12 students. The corresponding website exhibit uses RICHES Mosaic Interface to create a digital archive of related data. The public can use the project-developed augmented-reality app at more than 100 gravesites at the Florida National Cemetery, where they can access the UCF student-authored biographies of veterans.]]>
Veterans Legacy Program Collection ]]> ]]> RICHES for educational purposes only.]]>
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Born on June 27, 1898, Pygman registered for the draft in September of 1918. At the time, he worked as a timekeeper for the Wabash Railroad Company. He entered the service on October 20, 1918, serving in the United States Army. After completing his service, Pygman moved back home with his parents and began teaching in public schools. On December 22, 1923, at twenty-five years old, Pygman married Sylvia Hummel. Less than four years later, they welcomed a daughter, Janet Eileen Pygman, on April 15, 1927. By 1930, Pygman rose to the position of principal in a Maywood area public school, and became a school superintendent by 1940. On July 12, 1952, Pygman married Alverna V. Nellis. Pygman and his wife moved to Fort Myers, Florida, in the 1970s, where they remained until Pygman passed away on November 29, 1988. Both Pygman and his wife are buried together in Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell.

In 2017, the University of Central Florida was one of three universities selected to launch the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program Project. The program engaged a team of scholars to make the life stories of veterans buried in the Florida National Cemetery available to the public. The project engages UCF students in research and writing and fosters collaboration between students, faculty and local Central Florida schools to produce interactive curriculum for k-12 students. The corresponding website exhibit uses RICHES Mosaic Interface to create a digital archive of related data. The public can use the project-developed augmented-reality app at more than 100 gravesites at the Florida National Cemetery, where they can access the UCF student-authored biographies of veterans.]]>
Veterans Legacy Program Collection ]]> ]]> RICHES for educational purposes only.]]>

Born on April 7, 1903, in Binghamton, New York, Amasa Edward Hoyt Jr. enlisted in the United States Army on May 13, 1918, at the age of fifteen. He was discharged on August 31, 1918, when the Army discovered that he lied on his enlistment form. This dishonorable discharge would have made it impossible for Hoyt to be buried at Florida National Cemetery. However, an Act of Congress on March 3, 1936, upheld that soldiers who sought to serve before the legal age be “considered to have been honorably discharged,” recognizing their desire to serve their nation during wartime. Hoyt later served in World War II as a second lieutenant, and his unit occupied Berlin during the post-war period. While in Berlin, he met Martha Lehmann, who worked in a United States military office there. She returned to the United States with him as his fiancé in 1946, and they married in 1947. The two divorced in 1953. Hoyt was eventually appointed as a postmaster for Florida by President John F. Kennedy. He passed away on November 22, 1989, and is buried in Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell.

In 2017, the University of Central Florida was one of three universities selected to launch the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program Project. The program engaged a team of scholars to make the life stories of veterans buried in the Florida National Cemetery available to the public. The project engages UCF students in research and writing and fosters collaboration between students, faculty and local Central Florida schools to produce interactive curriculum for k-12 students. The corresponding website exhibit uses RICHES Mosaic Interface to create a digital archive of related data. The public can use the project-developed augmented-reality app at more than 100 gravesites at the Florida National Cemetery, where they can access the UCF student-authored biographies of veterans.]]>
The Press and Sun-Bulletin]]> The Press and Sun-Bulletin, December 16, 1946.]]> The Press and Sun-Bulletin]]> Veterans Legacy Program Collection ]]> ]]> The Press and Sun-Bulletin.]]> The Press and Sun-Bulletin and is provided here by RICHES for educational purposes only.]]>

In 2017, the University of Central Florida was one of three universities selected to launch the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program Project. The program engaged a team of scholars to make the life stories of veterans buried in the Florida National Cemetery available to the public. The project engages UCF students in research and writing and fosters collaboration between students, faculty and local Central Florida schools to produce interactive curriculum for k-12 students. The corresponding website exhibit uses RICHES Mosaic Interface to create a digital archive of related data. The public can use the project-developed augmented-reality app at more than 100 gravesites at the Florida National Cemetery, where they can access the UCF student-authored biographies of veterans.]]>
Contra Costa County Municipal Services]]> Contra Costa County Municipal Services]]> Veterans Legacy Program Collection]]> Contra Costa County Municipal Services.]]>
• reproduce the work in print or digital form
• create derivative works
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This resource is provided here by RICHES for educational purposes only. For more information on copyright, please refer to Section 5 of Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code.]]>
Oviedo Historical Society Collection, Oviedo Collection, Seminole County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]>
Around 1855, Judge James G. Spear planted orange groves and built his home around Lake Apopka. Called Oakland, Speer's home served as a location for Christians to assemble daily for prayer and for Sunday services conducted by the judge himself. The first group of Presbyterians to arrive in Fort Read after the Seminole War were Dr. Andrew C. Caldwell and his family, who migrated to Florida from Greensboro, North Carolina, in May 1867.

In 1869, Reverend John W. Montgomery, the Evangelist of Florida Presbytery, organized the Sumter Church in Sumter County. The name of the church was later changed to the Leesburg Presbyterian Church and a building was constructed in 1884. Plans to organize and build a church at Fort Read began in 1869, with Reverend F. F. Montgomery conducting services. Silver Lake Church was officially organized in February 1870 and the church building was completed the following year. St. Johns Presbytery was organized at Silver Lake Church on March 9, 1878. In 1900, after much of the population shifted toward the growing Town of Sanford, the church dissolved.]]>
Chase Collection (MS 14), box 173, folder 9.52, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.]]> Sanford Country Club and Golf Course Collection, Sanford Collection, Chase Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Chase Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/pkyonge/chase.htm.]]> Adobe Acrobat Reader]]> Chase Collection is comprised of four separate accessions from various donors, including Cecilia Johnson, the granddaughter of Joshua Coffin Chase and the children of Randall Chase.]]> Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Rights to this item belong to the said institution, and therefore inquiries about the item should be directed there. RICHES of Central Florida has obtained permission from Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida to display this item for educational purposes only.]]>
St. Luke's Episcopal Church]]> St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Merritt Island, Florida: Florida Historical Society LibraryCentral Brevard Public Library, Cocoa, Florida.]]> St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Merritt Island, Florida.]]> Florida Historical Society Library, Central Brevard Public Library, Cocoa, Florida.]]> St. Luke's Episcopal Church Collection, Merritt Island Collection, Brevard County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Adobe Acrobat Reader]]> St. Luke's Episcopal Church.]]> St. Luke's Episcopal Church and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]>