Captain James Ormond

Our chapter is named for Captain James Ormond, whose family settled in Volusia County in the 18th century. He was the captain and owner of the armed brig Somerset, in the service of Panton, Leslie & Company, a Scottish firm involved in the Indian trade in Florida. He traded from Savannah to Apalachicola to the West Indies. After leaving the sea, he owned a sugar plantation in Exuma in the Bahamas.

When Spain regained Florida from England by a treaty in 1783, large land grants were offered to encourage individuals to come to Florida with their families to live. Captain James Ormond sold his plantation in Exuma and moved with other plantation owners to Volusia County in 1790. His first plantation was located in the Spruce Creek/New Smyrna area. His other property, Damietta, included a grant of 2,000 acres, located just south of Bulow Ville at the head of the Halifax River.

Both Captain James Ormond I and his wife, Russell, were born in Scotland. Captain Ormond was shot and killed by a runaway slave while walking with his son Emmanuel in 1817. Captain Ormond and his wife were buried on their Spruce Creek plantation. After the Captain’s death, Russell returned to Scotland to live with their son, James Ormond, II. In 1890, the Colony of New Briton was renamed Ormond after the pioneering family. In 1950, it was decided that both the mainland and peninsula side of Ormond would be called Ormond Beach.

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Site last updated  September 11, 2022