Memorials › William Alexander "W.A." Pringle

William Alexander "W.A." Pringle

14 Apr 1853 – 11 Sep 1931

Birth14 Apr 1853
Death11 Sep 1931
CemeteryMiami City Cemetery
Miami , Miami-Dade County , Florida , USA
Added bySam O. on 09 Jun 2012
FaGhttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41887656

Gravesite details

Buried below son Carl Pringle

Bio

W.A.'Bud' was a horticulturist, night watchman, farmer, rancher and stage coach driver during his life. He was born near Pensacola, FL, migrated to AL, MS, Kosse, TX, Ozona, TX, San Angelo, TX and then to Miami, FL. His family lost their plantations during the Civil War and his parents died in route to Texas leaving about 8 or 9 children orphaned. They traveled by wagon as far as East Texas when many contracted some illness. They had relatives in Limestone Co. TX, where the children were taken in and cared for by relatives & family friends until they married and started their own families. W.A. first married Ada Judson 'Juggie' Adams, had two children, when wife 'Juggie' and young daughter Ada died of whooping cough. W.A. then married Harriet Victoria 'Vicky' Long, moving to homestead 1/2 section of land in Emerald, later known as Ozona in West Texas. He was the 28th Homesteader of Crockett Co. TX. W.A. was a known imbiber of alcohol, when wife 'Vicky' cried for three days, saying "she wasn't going to stop crying until he quit drinking". W.A. gave in and became a 'Christian'. He drove a stagecoach, a hack & freight wagon route from Ozona to San Angelo. One tale is told that when W.A. was hauling freight, he would have to camp overnight and when transporting spirits to the town saloon, he would heat up a nail in the campfire and burn a small hole in a keg where the brand was burnt. In the morning he would seal the small hole with clay & ash and continue on his way, no one the wiser. W. A. decided to move on to San Angelo where there was more water. He worked as a railroad expressman for the Santa Fe Railroad. He began a salvage business that was advertised as a scavenger enterprise, resulting from him hauling off anyone's refuge and second hand items, when offering a free cleanup service. He would then repair sellable items and sell them wholesale to Taylor's Second Hand Store. Staying for 13 years, W.A. & Victoria began the first Church of Christ, meeting first at their home in San Angelo. The family struck out for FL winding up in Miami City, FL. There the family with relatives, started the first Church of Christ in their home in Miami, which became known as the Central Church of Christ. W.A and his daughter Florence (age 20) developed the disease Pellagra. Unknowingly, Florence would not eat and became so weak that she died after several months, whereas W.A. recovered from Pellagra by eating niacin enriched bread. W.A. was a night watchman for the John Deering estate, a Renaissance Italian Villa of 34 rooms built in 1916, now known as the Viscaya Museum. Records show that W.A. had a city permit to roast peanuts and sell them on the downtown streets. W.A. had a varied business history and played the french harp very well.

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