Who Was Jonathan Dickinson?
Shipwrecks, survival, and a story of triumph
Three miles to east of Jonathan Dickinson State Park, on September 23, 1696, the British barkentine Reformationfoundered off Jupiter Island. The 24 survivors included a party of Quakers bound from Jamaica to Pennsylvania. Leader of the Quakers was Jonathan Dickinson who described the trials of the group in his book, God's Protecting Providence (Jonathan Dickinson's Journal), the first account of Indians on the southeast coast. Attacked by Indians and driven northward, the party arrived at Saint Augustine in November 1696.
Jonathan Dickinson Fun Facts!
- Jonathan Dickinson was born in 1663 in Jamaica. He Became a merchant like his father selling goods to the people of Port Royal.
- The earthquake of 1692, which nearly destroyed Port Royal, caused the Dickinson family great financial losses.
- In 1696 Jonathan Dickinson left Jamaica with the intention of settling with his family in Philadelphia.
- Dickinson and his family, which included his wife, Mary, their six-month-old son, Jonathan, and his ten slaves, took passage on the barkentine Reformation and sailed for St Augustine.
- On September 24 a storm, which may have been a hurricane, drove the ship onto a reef and then onto shore on Jupiter Island, Florida, a little ways north of Jupiter Inlet near present-day Hobe Sound.
- Within a few hours they were discovered by the local Jobe Indians, and taken captive to what is now Dubois Park. On September 28 the party was allowed to leave the Jobe village, heading north to Saint Augustine.
- After the shipwreck and reaching St Augustine, Jonathan Dickinson finally reached Philadelphia. He prospered there and served as Mayor of Philadelphia for 2 terms.