History of the Stringfellow Family

Thornton Buford Stringfellow

Date of Birth	07/21/1860
Date of Death	12/03/1945
Baptism
Father	William Hall Dr. Stringfellow
Mother	Sarah Angelina Dogan Wright

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Thornton Buford Stringfellow 1860 – 1945

From the Gainesville Daily Sun December 4, 1945

FUNERAL RITES FOR STRINGFELLOW SET TOMORROW

Funeral services for Thornton B. Stringfellow, 86, prominent Gainesville resident who died Monday morning in the St. Vincent’s Hospital in Jacksonville will be conducted tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 from the First Presbyterian Church in Gainesville.

Mr. Stringfellow came to Alachua County in 1860, where he worked in young manhood in the mercantile business for G. K. Broom.  He later entered the retail grocery business with his brother, Robert L. Stringfellow on the west side of the court house square, many years ago.    The brothers later built what is now the A. C. L. depot and went into the wholesale grocery business there.  They moved to Jacksonville in 1900 and established the Stringfellow Brothers Wholesale Grocery at the foot of Hogan Street in that city.

Moving back to Gainesville in 1907, Mr. Stringfellow became highly interested in civic affairs.  He was president of the Diamond Ice Company, president of the Sweet Water Mills and the Stringfellow Grocery Company.  Mr. Stringfellow’s principal business interest, however has been in real estate.  He has owned valuable property both in Jacksonville and Gainesville for many years.

 He was married in Gainesville to Miss Willie Adams in October 1895.  He was preceded in death by his wife who died on June 18 of this year. 

Surviving him are three sons:  Hart R., Gainesville, Jack B., Ashville, N. C. and Arthur K., Gainesville, and one daughter, Miss Marguerite Stringfellow of Tampa, one sister Mrs. E. S. Walker of Gainesville and eight grandchildren.

 Dr. U. S. Gordon of Gainesville and Dr. Melton Clark of Jacksonville will officiate at the service tomorrow.

Pall bearers will be:  E. W. Jones, R. B. Livingston, C. B. Thomas, Benmont Tench, Jim Arnette, P. D. Prevatt, Arch Campbell, Clarence O’Neill, A. J. Duke, W. E. Baker, Mason Tison, Joe Hannon, and John Powell.

Internment will be made locally.  The Thomas Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

$200,000 DAMAGE DONE BY FLAMES AT LOCAL ICE PLANT

BUILDING TOTALLY DESTROYED FRIDAY

From the Gainesville Daily Sun                                                                 October 23, 1926

Conflagration Due to Unknown Causes Began at About 3 O’Clock; All Equipment Called Out

Fire of unknown origin yesterday destroyed the $200,000 plant of the Diamond Ice Company in southwest Gainesville.  The blaze was noticed about three o’clock by H. Wilkerson, chief engineer and a group of five workmen, the alarm was turned in about 3:10 and when firemen arrived about two minutes later three-fourths of the entire plant was in flames.

Although the machinery and the plant was a total wreck the office and valuable papers were saved, and through courageous work on the part of the firemen three crude oil tanks in the rear of the building were prevented from going up in flames.

The fire is said to have been the largest which has been witnessed in this city in a decade.  But little more than one third of the damage was covered by insurance, according to R. B. Livingston, stockholder in the corporation and active manager of the plant.  He was unable to state the exact amount of insurance held but estimated it to be about $80,000.

Gainesville today will suffer a shortage of ice, but delivery service will be resumed in full Sunday.  Carloads of ice were ordered yesterday from the High Springs plant of the Diamond Ice company, but this will not be able to supply the Gainesville demand in entirety.  Mr. Livingston said that ice will be ordered from Jacksonville.  It is believed that the fire yesterday occurred to late to permit the Jacksonville cars to get into Gainesville this morning. 

The fire department under the leadership of acting Chief T. J. Swearington had the blaze fully under control by 4 o’clock, and by 5 o’clock two of the trucks had returned to the fire station leaving several firemen playing water on the smouldering embers.

A group of firemen experienced a narrow escape with their lives.  They were ordered from the burning building by Chief Swearington.  Scarcely had they reached the outside platform before the roof of the building fell with a great crash.

Gas tanks, ammonia pipes and barrels of oil exploded in quick succession during the first few minutes of the fire.  The heat was so intense that automobiles a full block from the building became too hot to touch.

Officers of the Diamond Ice company are T. B. Stringfellow, president, and R. B. Livingston, secretary and treasurer.  These are the two major stockholders.

Mr. Livingston announced while the fire was in progress that immediate steps would be taken for rebuilding the plant.  New equipment valued at $15,000 had been installed this year.

That the fire started from internal causes was declared improbable by Mr. Wilkinson.  He said that he and his group of workers noticed the blaze on the southwest corner of the building, and at the time the wind was blowing from that direction.  Although a pressure hose was played upon the blaze, then the size of an automobile, no headway could be made and the stiff breeze carried it to the other parts of the old frame structure.

“It was just like someone had poured oil over the building,” said Mr. Wilkinson.  “I never saw a fire spread so quickly.”

No stacks or exhausts of the plant were in a position to have thrown the spark which started the flame.  No electric lines were near the point of origin, and all pipes there had been disconnected. 

All facilities of the Gainesville fire department were brought into play for the fire.  At least seven hose lines were kept playing on the building from all quarters.

At four o’clock black smoke began rising from the oil tanks in the rear, and Chief Swearington sent his men back to prevent a possible explosion.  They quickly extinguished the fire there, and cooled the tanks down.

No one was injured in the blaze.

Relation with

Willie Adams , Married (Place : , Date : 1895)

Harriet Broome , Married (Place : , Date : 1888)

Children

Hart Robert Stringfellow

Frederick Buford Stringfellow

Jack Boyd Stringfellow

Arthur King Stringfellow

Marguerite Stringfellow

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