Community Sunday Favorites: Madam Joe, A True Pioneer

Madam Joe was  Palmetto’s first entrepreneur, a cattle rancher, a shopkeeper and a blockade-runner during the Civil War. Her home was destroyed by the 1846 hurricane and she would eventually become the first person in the continental U.S. to grow coffee.

TERRA CEIA -- Julia Hunt was born in the City of Bradford near the River Rhine in Bavaria, Germany on December 25, 1807.She was a warrior from the start; out of four children she was the sole survivor. Her mother died when she was 11 and her Uncle adopted her, raising her until she was old enough to be on her own. She married Joseph Atzeroth at the age of 24 who was also a native of Bavaria.

Soon after the birth of their first child Eliza, Joseph and Julia left their homeland and immigrated to the United States, arriving in New York in August of 1841. After only a few months of inhaling industrial pollutants, Julia’s health began to fail drastically. The family relocated to Philadelphia then Easton, Pa., but the move only worsened her fragile condition. Then, following a doctor’s advice, the family traveled south to New Orleans where they remained for one year. 

Julia hired a German physician who advised her to go to Florida to regain her strength. At that time, fair-weathered Florida was thought to be a sacred healing ground. The bountiful springs were utilized for medicinal purposes and many afflicted visitors not only recovered from whatever health problem they were suffering, but decided to stay permanently to retain their sense of wellbeing. In the spring of 1843, the family, accompanied by their physician, sailed down the Gulf coast on the government schooner Essex, arriving at Fort Brook (Tampa) where they began the search for the perfect piece of property.

After about two months of exploring, they decided to settle on Terra Ceia Island. The foursome, accompanied by a small dog named Bonaparte, came ashore on April 12, 1843. Progress was slow due to the thickness of the brush. Joseph and the doctor were making some headway with their axes, but when it appeared they were growing tired from the terrain, Julia picked up an axe to aide their efforts. This marked the beginning of her grubbing and chopping in Florida, from that time on, Julia would become an expert. 

Julia felt a new strength. Her indolent liver began performing its normal functions. She fired her physician and discarded her medications – she was a new woman on a new horizon and she was thriving from it.

The family resided in a tent temporarily. Upon growing weary of tent life, Julia followed the example of other pioneer families and gathered palmetto fans and branches in order to construct a simple palmetto hut.  Her inexperience in thatching left the family scrabbling for shelter under the table when the first rain shower struck.  Julia didn’t give up; she re-thatched the hut and secured it to surrounding trees so it was sure not to blow down.

The closest place to buy supplies was Fort Brook, and when their reserve began to wear thin, Joseph set out for provisions in a canoe.  On his way back a storm blew the canoe miles off course and when he reached land he was in what is now Sarasota. It took more than a week to get back to Terra Ceia. 

During his absence, Julia reached her second milestone. Only her, 11-year-old Eliza and Bonaparte remained in the Palmetto hut. Outside, the sounds of the wild animals inhabiting the thick brush became disquieting; and Julia feared for the lives of her small family. Then one night, an owl began killing the chickens roosting in the trees. Julia had no idea if Joseph would return, and was not willing to lose the last of the family’s sustenance. She seized Joseph’s musket and pulled the trigger to scare away the wild animals – it wasn’t loaded. Julia couldn’t remember whether to put the powder or the shot in first. Luckily she loaded it correctly, but poured an excessive amount of powder in the barrel. When she walked out the door and discharged the musket, it kicked so hard it knocked her down. That was just the beginning – Julia became an expert with both a shotgun and rifle. During the Seminole Wars in 1855, she stood guard with her gun whenever services were needed.

Joe eventually returned and the two became successful farmers. Julia often worked as hard as Joe, and would frequently ride a horse astride or, as it was called in those days, Comanche style. 

Because she always called her husband "Mr. Joe", Julia became "Madam Joe" to locals. The couple hired a man with a boat to transport and sell their vegetables in Fort Book. 

Meanwhile Madam Joe’s sister remained in New York and, the former wanted her to migrate to Florida and help with the farm, however their modest earnings weren’t enough to cover the travel expenses. Col. W.W. Belknap, commander of Fort Brook, offered to loan her the money. Mr. Joe traveled to Key West and caught a schooner to New York to pick up his sister-in-law, her husband, and their small baby. The trip back was long and rough but soon the divided siblings were reunited. 

Their business was gaining success, but it was not without hardships. The couple purchased 160 acres under the Armed Occupation Act, but when the government questioned the land title, Joe and his brother-in-law, Mr. Nicols, had to walk 150 miles to the land office to get the issue resolved. When they returned, Mrs. Nicols went into labor, but both she and the baby died during childbirth. Madam Joe adopted her little niece, who was only two-years-old.

Madam Joe was troubled because she had still not repaid her debt to Col. Belknap. She had no mean’s to recompense the Colonel, but Belknap compromised. Instead of making her pay off the debt monetarily, he arranged for Madam Joe to work as his family’s housekeeper. It was here that she met Seminole leader Billy Bowlegs, for whom she cooked ”many a meal.“ Working indoors generated a recurrence of her liver disease and Madam Joe was obliged to return to Terra Ceia, where the constant outdoor activity required her only putative prescription – A grubbing hoe and elbow grease.

Madam Joe would go on to become Palmetto’s first entrepreneur, a cattle rancher, a shopkeeper and a blockade-runner during the Civil War. Her home would be destroyed by a hurricane and she would eventually become the first person in the continental U.S. to grow coffee. Tune in next week to for the second half of her amazing life journey.