Jeff LaHurd: The women who contributed to Sarasota's growth
Mary Jane Whitaker Among the first of these was Mary Jane Whitaker, wife of William Whitaker, Sarasota’s first pioneer settler. As gutsy as she was small — she stood in at 5 feet tall — the diminutive Mary Jane was fearless. Besides contending with the hardships inherent in surviving life on the frontier, she faced danger from marauding Seminole Indians who burned her Yellow Bluffs home down in a raid. Later, she went toe-to-toe with Union soldiers during the Civil War who threatened to ...
Source: heraldtribune.com