Cracker Times and Pioneer Lives: the Florida Reminiscences of George Gillett Keen and Sarah Pamela Williams.

Edited by James M. Denham and Canter Brown Jr. (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, c. 2000. Pp. xx, 215. $39.95, ISBN 1-57003-346-3.)

Pioneer settlement is often painted in grand and sweeping strokes, but in Cracker Times and Pioneer Lives James Denham and Canter Brown Jr. provide a human perspective of frontier Florida from two distinct angles. George Gillett Keen, whose story makes up the bulk of this volume, personifies Florida's "Cracker" class and closely resembles a member of Frank L. Owsley's "plain folk." Sarah Pamela Williams, on the other hand, reflects the highly literate, well-traveled, and cultured plantation elite who were also instrumental in moving the Florida frontier more deeply into the peninsula. Hardly a "Cracker," Williams would be more at home in the pages of Elizabeth Fox-Genovese's Within the Plantation Household (Chapel Hill, 1988). Separated by class, Keen and Williams nevertheless lived in the same locale, that of northeast Florida's Columbia County and its county seat, the aptly named Alligator, which later became Lake City.

The editors uncovered the aged Keen's memories as printed in the Lake City Florida Index at the turn of the century. In a series of far-ranging letters to the paper, Keen recounted a life full of adventure, larger-than-life figures, practical jokes, joy, and heartbreak. Of particular note is Keen's insight into the development and operation of a nascent legal system in frontier Florida. At times, the residents appreciated the need for laws, sheriffs, and courts, but at other times they were quite content to do without those trappings of civilized life. Another significant recurring theme in Keen's memories is of the bloodshed that resulted from native and settler struggles over their conflicting versions of Florida. Keen, however, barely addresses the Civil War or Reconstruction in his letters.

Williams's section of the book is composed of excerpts from her autobiography. Much slimmer than Keen's contribution, Williams's reminiscences take up less than twenty-five pages. Even so, her story is decidedly different from Keen's. The editors wisely chose those elements that most clearly highlight the distinctions between the two characters. Despite her privileged upbringing, however, Williams was a product of the frontier who described Charleston, South Carolina, as a "Fairyland" (p. 115). Her memories also provide material that fills gaps in Keen's story, most notably with regard to the Civil War's impact on northern Florida.

Fortunately, Denham and Brown choose to remain as fully in the background as possible. Much to their credit, they avoid tampering not only with what their subjects say but how they say it. For readers interested in more detail, the book includes a lengthy list of short biographies of the people mentioned in the text, as well as an extensive bibliography. This volume is an example of what skilled editing can tease out of limited sources. Denham and Brown have added a solid contribution to the growing literature on frontier Florida.

GEORGE B. ELLENBERG
University of West Florida