FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 22, 2025
Contact: Alonzo Hardy
uniteocala@yahoo.com
LAKE CITY, Florida – In honor of Black History Month this year, we are sharing information on the first African American doctors who practiced in this area. During segregation, these pioneering black physicians provided medical care to the area’s African American residents.
As far as the historical record indicates, the first African American physicians came to Lake City in the mid-1880s to the early 1900s. Early physicians in Lake City included Doctors Amos S. Jerry, Robert A. Miles Benton and R.S. Hughes. Later, Dr. L.W. Dukes and Dr. F. A. Murray practiced in the area. Earlier black dentists included Drs. S.W. Jefferson, Paul M.H. Stafford, Theodore Adams, and Julian F. Murray. Dr. Amos Simeon (A.S.) Jerry (1859-1926) was the first African American physician in Lake City, Florida.
Amos Simeon Jerry was born in December 1859 in Lake City, Columbia County, Florida, to Amos Jerry Sr. and Cilla Jerry. He received his early education in the city schools. He graduated from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee in 1885 and returned to Lake City to begin his practice. The Florida State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1886-87 list A.S. Jerry as physician in Lake City.
He was married to Miss Annie Johnson of the city. She was the daughter of Randall Johnson and Mary Cline. They had two children, Naomi and Horace. Three years later he went to Gainesville, Florida, where he practiced medicine. Later he moved to Sanford, where he continued the practice of his profession. In 1900 he located to Tallahassee, where he opened a drug store which he conducted in connection with his practice until his death. I have never been able to locate a photo of Dr. Jerry. Dr. Jerry died in 1926 at age 67. Lake City produces Greatness.
Willie Lillian Martin Dukes, Phar. C. (1876-1927) was the first female African American pharmacist in the state of Florida. She graduated from the Meharry Pharmaceutical College in 1899 with the Pharmaceutical Chemist (Ph.C.) degree. She passed the state pharmacy board examination in 1902. She worked in her husband’s drug store in Ocala for a period of time and taught school in Columbia County for a few years. She was a member of the Florida Pharmaceutical Association and other medical associations.
Willie Florida Lillian Martin was born on September 16, 1876, in Live Oak, Suwannee County, Florida, to Morris Martin and Mary Griffin. She moved to Lake City with her parents at a very young age. Her early years of study were in the public schools of Lake City. She married Dr. Lawrence Walter Dukes (1875-1910) in 1903 in Lake City. He was the son of John Walter Dukes and Carrie Dukes, and they had two children, Lawrence and Martin. She died in 1927 and is buried in Lakeland. Lake City produces Greatness.
Dr. William Oscar Bunch Jr., D.D.S. (1915-1999), was the fifth African American dentist in Lake City. Dr. Bunch came to Lake City in 1943 to practice his profession. William Oscar Bunch Jr. was born on September 15, 1915, in Raleigh, North Carolina, to William Oscar Bunch Sr. and Carrie Robinson Bunch. William married Mary Holt on April 3, 1942 in Goldsboro, North Carolina. She was the daughter of Dr. Samuel Collins Holt and Mable Lee Bright. No children were born to this union. He received his early education in Raleigh public schools. He attended Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, earning his B.S. degree in 1939. Dr. Bunch earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree, (DDS), from Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1943. Following graduation, he moved to Lake City where he opened a dental practice. He also served five seasons as the head football coach at the former Richardson High in Lake City. In 1948, he moved to Lakeland where he continue to practice his profession. He also served Winter Haven, and Lake Wales in Polk County. He died on June 19, 1999 and was buried in Lakeland.
Dr. Robert Allen Miles (R.A.M.) Benton (1873-1947) was the second African American physician to open a medical practice in Lake City. In 1900 he opened his office in Lake City. Robert A. Miles Benton was born in August 1873, in Live Oak, Suwannee County, Florida, to Ernest Benton and Mary Hicks Benton. Dr. Benton attended Florida Institute, now Florida Memorial University, in Live Oak. He graduated from Meharry Medical College in 1898. The following year he finished a graduate course in medicine at the Howard University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C. He was married twice. His first wife was Chaney Boyd. He married second Maggie Hart on June 25, 1921 in Citrus County. He had no children of his own.
After passing the medical examination for the State of Florida he set up a practice in Dunnellon. He practiced at Dunnellon until 1900 when he opened a medical practice in Lake City. After practicing in Lake City for one year he moved to Ocala, where he continued the practice of his profession, and helped found a small hospital there in 1903. Later he moved to St. Petersburg where he continued the practice of his profession. He died on June 14, 1947 and was buried in St. Petersburg.
Dr. Richard Samuel Hughes (1882-1943) was the third African American physician to open a medical practice in Lake City. He began his practice here in 1905. Richard Samuel Hughes was born on January 27, 1882, in Jonesville, Alachua County, Florida, to Richard Hughes Sr. and Isabella Wright Hughes. He graduated from Meharry Medical College in 1905 and began his practice in Lake City soon after he left school. He served as physician for the Afro-American Industrial and Benefit Association for the county. After practicing his profession at Lake City for two years he moved to Ocala and opened a drug store, continuing the practice of medicine in connection with the drug business. He opened a hospital there in 1925.
Dr. Hughes was first married to Lula Butler, and then to Hermia Laroche. He and Hermia had 8 children, Audrey, Doris, Nadine, Richard, Herman, Annabelle, Calvin, and Everett. He was one of the best known physicians in his day. He died on June 12, 1943 and was buried in Ocala.
Dr. Lawrence Walter Dukes (1875-1910) was the fourth African American to practice medicine in Lake City. He began his practice here in 1907. Dr. Lawrence W. Dukes graduated from Edward Waters College, now Edward Waters University, in Jacksonville, Florida. He graduated from Meharry Medical College with honors in 1901. Dr. Dukes won a gold medal for surgery at Meharry Medical College. He passed the medical examination for the State of Florida, and started a practice in Tampa. From there he went to Sanford and practiced for a short time. In 1904 he moved to Ocala where he opened a drug store in connection with his practice of medicine. Later he moved to Lake City where he continued in the practice of medicine until 1910 when death removed him from the community. Lawrence Walter Dukes was born in Archer, Alachua County, Florida, on September 16, 1875, to John Walter Dukes and Carrie Dukes. By 1900, his family moved to Ocala. He married Willie Florida Lillian Martin, daughter of Morris Martin and Mary Griffin, and they had two children, Lawrence and Martin. He was a member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. He was also a member of the Edward Waters University and Meharry Medical College Alumni Associations.
Dr. Francis Arthur Murray (1882-1940) was the first African American physician to locate permanently at Lake City. He was also the First African American Pharmacist in Lake City. Dr. Murray came to Lake City to engage in the practice of medicine in 1910. Although he was not Lake City’s first black doctor, for many years, Dr. Murray was Lake City’s only black physician. The 1926 city directory listed his office at 14 Railroad Street. There he set up a drug store and continued to practice his profession until his death on January 11, 1940.
I have never been able to locate a photo of Dr. Murray. Francis Arthur Murray was born in Ritter, Colleton County, South Carolina, on July 30, 1882, to Henry Murray and Julia Ann Rutledge Murray. He received his early education in Colleton County public schools. Dr. Murray attended University of West Tennessee and graduated from the Leonard Medical School of Shaw University in North Carolina, in 1908. He married Emmie Julie Brown in Colleton County. He and Emmie had three children, Leon, Julian, and Eunice. Dr. Murray was considered to be a very capable doctor of his day.
Dr. Samuel Weston Jefferson, D.D.S. (1876-1950), was the first African American dentist in Lake City. Samuel Weston Jefferson was born on April 26, 1876, in Charleston, South Carolina, son of Mary Emily McKenzie. By 1880, his family moved to Florida. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Fisk University in 1896. He graduated from Howard University School of Dentistry with honors in 1900. He began his practice of dentistry in Jacksonville immediately after graduating from dental school. In 1902 he left Jacksonville, and for a short time practiced in Lake City and Palatka. In 1903 he removed to St. Augustine where he remained in active practice for three years. Then he went to Pensacola, where he resided until his death on August 24, 1950. Dr. Jefferson married Cecilia Stephanie Sunday on April 14, 1907 in Pensacola. She was the daughter of John Sunday and Seraphine Landry. He and Cecilia had three children, Philip, John, and Daisy.
Dr. Paul Milton Hezekiah (P.M.H.) Stafford, D.D.S. (1890-1949), was the second African American dentist in Lake City. Paul Stafford was born in Mineola, Lowndes County, Georgia, on April 6, 1890, to Dr. Isaac Sanford Stafford and Leah Walker Stafford. He was married three times. Maude Glover, Rosa B. Jackson and Geneva Jones. He graduated from Meharry Medical College in 1911 with the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery. He opened his first dental practice in Jacksonville in 1911. He served in the army from 1918 to 1919. After the war he returned to Jacksonville and resumed the practice of dentistry. In 1928, Paul was practicing Dentistry in Lake City. Later he moved to Gainesville where he continued the practice of his profession. Dr. Stafford passed away February 16, 1949.
Dr. Theodore Adams, D.D.S. (1906-?), was the third African American dentist in Lake City. In the 1935 state census he listed his occupation as dentist. As to when he died, is unknown. Theodore Adams was born in Lake City in 1906. His parents were Robert T. (“Bob”) and Mattie C. Adams. His school of medicine is not recorded. His father Bob was considered one of the best barbers in the city. Lake City produces Greatness.
Dr. Julian Francis Murray, D.D.S. (1908-1945), was the fourth African American dentist in Lake City. Julian Francis Murray was born March 6, 1908 in Ritter, South Carolina, the son of Dr. Francis Arthur and Emmie Julie Brown. His family moved to Lake City when he was young. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, from which institution he graduated Magna Cum Laude, and earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry, where he graduated first in his class in 1935. He did his internship at Guggenheim Dental Clinic in New York City. He was briefly a dentist in New York City. He married Frances Walton in 1937 in New York City. She was the daughter of Willie Walton and Susie Holmes. They had three children, Julian, Janice, and Maureen. He was in Lake City by 1940 with his family and where he practiced as a dentist. He later practiced in New York City. He died in 1945 at the age of 37.
Lake City produces Greatness.
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