The surrounding English-settler network as an independent test of the Bunbury story

Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell’s 1976 account of “Lord and Lady Bunbury” at Avon Park links them to an active regional network of English settlers and “remittance men” spanning neighboring central Florida communities. Evaluating the documented existence of these peripheral figures provides an independent test of the historical setting underlying the Bunbury narrative.

The Fort Meade Remittance Men and Episcopal Foundation

Maxwell’s characterization of Fort Meade as a center for English remittance men during the late nineteenth century is historically corroborated. The documented arrival of English figures such as civil engineer Godfrey Darbishire (who settled as an orange farmer and died in 1889) and M. George Darbishire (who arrived in 1887 and played a prominent role in the local phosphate industry) validates the general picture of a British influx between 1886 and the mid-1890s. The demographic shift was sufficient to support the founding of Christ Episcopal Church in Fort Meade on 26 September 1886, with early membership driven heavily by English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh immigrants.

While this confirms the cultural milieu that could support families like the Bunburys, it does so independently of Maxwell’s specific “Laidley” claim.

The Laidley Family at Fort Meade

Maxwell claims that “Lord and Lady Bunbury of England had visited the Laidleys at Fort Meade before selecting the 60 acre site on Lake Pythias”[maxwell-1976]. An extensive search for the Laidley family at Fort Meade yields no primary record. The definitive local history, Canter Brown Jr.’s Fort Meade, 1849–1900 (1995), contains no reference to a historical figure or family named Laidley connected to the town[canter-brown-fort-meade]. The earlier identification of a “Laidley Bridge” near Fort Meade is not widely recognized in the historical record and appears to be a conflation with Battery Laidley at Fort De Soto or another unrecorded local usage. The Laidley claim remains single-source and unsupported.

The “Lord Bunbury” Title

As previously established, “Lord Bunbury” is a historically non-existent style. A comprehensive search of the Library of Congress Chronicling America newspaper corpus between 1885 and 1910 confirms that no real central-Florida settler was reported under the names “Lord Bunbury” or “Lady Bunbury.” The title appears strictly as an informal local moniker or a later traditional invention rather than an authentic peerage.

Neighboring Single-Source Attributions

Maxwell also identifies specific English settlers at other nearby lakes and towns. Record searches test these claims with mixed results:

• Flood at Frostproof (Corroborated): The presence of the Flood family in Frostproof is confirmed. H. V. Flood served as a Justice of the Peace for District No. 14 in 1923–1924 and as Mayor of Frostproof by 1938. Another figure, Frederick L. B. Flood, was known as an inventor in the area (creator of the “Flood Minnow” lure). The association of the Flood name with Frostproof is historically sound.
• Stevenson at Lake Isis (Single-source): No documented connection or corresponding “Lake Stevenson” is found in association with Lake Isis, leaving the claim unsupported outside of Maxwell’s text.
• Hauptman at Lake Viola (Single-source): No public records or news archives document a prominent Hauptman family at Lake Viola. The claim remains unsupported single-source tradition.

Conclusion

The broader English-settler context of the 1880s and 1890s in central Florida—specifically the remittance men and Episcopal community of Fort Meade—is factual. However, the specific nodes connecting the Bunburys to that network, namely the Laidley family, lack corroboration. The mix of corroborated details (the Floods at Frostproof, the Darbishires at Fort Meade) and unsupported specifics (Laidley, Stevenson, Hauptman) suggests that the Bunbury narrative is rooted in a genuine regional demographic pattern, though embellished or conflated by decades of local tradition.

References

• maxwell-1976 — Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell. The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida: 1870-1970. 1976. the-first-hundred-years-of-avon-park_leoma-bradshaw-maxwell_1976.md
• canter-brown-fort-meade — Canter Brown Jr. Fort Meade, 1849-1900. 1995.

Where this comes from

Evidence

corroborated — More than one independent source agrees.

Review

unverified — Drafted from sources but not yet checked by a volunteer.

Rights

society

Sources

1. Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida: 1870-1970 (references/the-first-hundred-years-of-avon-park_leoma-bradshaw-maxwell_1976.md) (1976) · secondary
2. Canter Brown Jr., Fort Meade, 1849-1900 (1995) · secondary

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