John K. Cheyney

John King Cheyney (1 April 1858 – 19 March 1939) was a Sponge Company & Sponge Exchange founder, a local politician and a sponge industry promoter in Tarpon Springs, Florida.[1][2][3][4] A memorial on Dodecanese Boulevard commemorates his life.[5] He is listed as a Great Floridian.

Biography

He was born on 1 April 1858 in Philadelphia. He died on 19 March 1939 in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

Legacy

The John K. Cheney House (1890) at 30 West Tarpon was home for the Philadelphia banker who financed establishment of the sponge industry in Tarpon Springs, bringing Greeks from the Dodecanese Islands.[6] His efforts as a land developer seeking establish Tarpon as a sponging center failed for nine years until the Spanish–American War caused boats from Key West to shelter in the area.[1] In 1896 the first Greek, John Cocoris, arrived and he brought his brothers in 1901.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3
  2. ↑
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  4. ↑ Webb's Historical, Industrial and Biographical Florida (1885)
  5. ↑
  6. ↑
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