Colonel Joseph
Smith was buried in the Huguenot cemetery
in 1846. The Colonel was appointed to Saint
Augustine in 1823, shortly after Florida became
a United States Territory. The Colonel related
a strange tale that took place the very first
week he was in Saint Augustine.
Lee N. Pallas
At the grave of Colonel Joseph Smith
As Saint Augustine’s high-ranking military
official, Colonel Smith was invited to many
social functions. The first week he attended
a ball. It was there that he met the most
beautiful woman he had ever seen. He quickly
became acquainted with her and her husband.
That evening they talked and became great
friends. They looked forward to seeing each
other again. The party broke up the woman
and her husband left with other guest. The
young woman took ill that evening and within
a week she was pronounced dead due to a sever
illness. The young ladies husband invited
Colonel Smith to attend the funeral, he asked
the Colonel to walk beside him in the procession
to the Tolomato cemetery.
The custom of the family, the deceased was
carried in a seated position to the burial
site. It must have been quite a sight to see
this beautiful woman being carried in a chair
to the cemetery. With every bump in the road
her head lolled back and forth, back and forth.
On the way to the cemetery they passed beneath
the thorny overhanging branches of the Apopinax
tree. One of the long thorns pierced the skin
of the dead woman, scraping her skin along
the temple. She began to bleed profusely.
Colonel Smith, who had not taken his eyes
off of her, called out that he had seen her
eyes blink. He believed that she was not dead.
The husband and other mourners thought that
Colonel Smith was deluded and preceded to
bury the beautiful woman. Colonel Smith became
more insistent and consequently they took
her home. Surprisingly, she was alive!! She
recovered in a few days and lived for another
six years. Had it not been for Colonel Smith,
she would have buried alive!
At the end of the following six years she
did in fact die. She died again. She once
more was carried to the Tolomato cemetery.
The procession followed the same format as
was six years earlier. The only real change
to the procession was that her husband shouted.
Do not let her come anywhere close to that
Apopinax tree. I cannot go thru this again.
Legend has it that you can see this beautiful
woman wondering about the Tolomato cemetery.
May she is looking for her husband? Or is
she looking for Colonel Smith?
Old Tolomato Cemetery St.
Augustine Florida There have been many reported
sightings of a child playing around a large
old tree in the Tolomato cemetary
Ghost Tours of St. Augustine
was developed in 1994 by Sandy Craig, a native
resident of St. Augustine. Sandy's heritage
roots go back 400 years in St. Augustine,
to the first Spanish settlers who arrived
in this ancient city. She is of Minorcan descent,
a cultural group of people migrated from Minorca,
Spain who still inhabit St. Augustine. Maybe
this explains her interest with the old spirits
of St. Augustine. She's been know to say,
"When I pass away, I want to stay here
like everyone else and have people tell fascinating
stories about why I just can't leave this
wonderful city."
The Ghost Tours of St. Augustine
have been featured on the Discovery Channel,
History Channel, and A&E.
We are constantly involving ourselves with
new ventures. Television, Radio, and books.
The Ghost Tours of St. Augustine will be opening
a new tour involving the original wax museum.
The first wax museum in the United States.
“POTTERS WAX MUSEUM”
Any one wishing to learn more about us can
visit our web page.
www.ghosttoursofstaugustine.com
We now have a new
location. Number 2 Saint George Street. Here
in Saint Augustine Florida. Our phone number
is 888 461 1009. Or call locally at 904 829
1122
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