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Marie Stapler Gladden's "Black Pioneer" Gladden Information Sheet
Collection
The Gladden Document Collection
Format
Original standard letter paper
Date
c. 1982
People
Bessie Gladden; Elizabeth Gladden
Michael Gladden Sr.; Michael Gladden
Location
Apopka, Florida, United States of America.
Historical Background
A list handwritten by Marie Stapler Gladden for the Apopka Historical Society's records. This document is part of a set of handwritten information sheets detailing the origins of Black pioneer families before they migrated to Apopka, Florida. This sheet is dedicated to the history of the Gladden family in Apopka, detailing the family name, date of coming to the area, previous home, members of the family who first came here, why the Apopka area was chosen, how the property in Apopka was acquired, manner of earning a living, descendants, person reporting, and how the above information is verified. The sheet lists the family names who moved to Apopka: Michael Gladden Sr. and Elizabeth "Bessie" Gladden. They arrived in Apopka in 1910 upon the recommendation of Sarah Mead, a formerly enslaved woman who became an entrepreneur in the Apopka area. The Gladden family, including young Michael Jr. and William Sr., met Sarah Mead in their previous city, Jacksonville, Florida. The Gladden family would move to the historic Mead's Bottom area in South Apopka, where Michael Gladden Sr. would work as a woodcutter for Consumer Lumber and Veneering Co. The information was verified by an insurance policy, likely preserved by Michael Gladden Jr.
