who was the first territorial delegate to congress from florida
Joseph Marion Hernández
title: Florida Territory text: Florida Territory The Territory of Florida was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 30, 1822, until March 3, 1845, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Florida. Originally the Spanish territory of "La Florida", and later the provinces of East and West Florida, it was ceded to the United States as part of the 1819 Adams–Onís Treaty. It was governed by the Florida Territorial Council. Florida was encountered by Europeans in 1513 by Juan Ponce de León, who claimed the land as a possession of Spain. St. Augustine, the oldest title: Mala Compra Plantation Archeological Site text: in which the horses trod a path twenty-four feet in circumference. There were other buildings including a corn crib, a driver's house, and a privy, as well as slave cabins. Hernández was Florida's first delegate to the U.S. Congress in 1822 and 1823 and the first Hispanic to serve in the United States Congress. He was a brigadier general commanding troops of the Florida Militia during the Second Seminole War, who while negotiating with Seminole leader Osceola under a white flag of truce in October 1837, took him captive by order of General Jesup. It was from Mala Compra that title: Joseph Marion Hernández text: Joseph Marion Hernández José Mariano Hernández or Joseph Marion Hernández (May 26, 1788 – June 8, 1857) was an American politician, plantation owner, and soldier. He was the first from the Florida Territory and the first Hispanic American to serve in the United States Congress. A member of the Whig Party, he served from September 1822 to March 1823. Hernández was born in St. Augustine, Florida during Florida's second Spanish period. His parents were Minorcans who had originally come to the region as indentured servants in Andrew Turnbull's New Smyrna colony. Prior to the American acquisition of Florida, Hernández owned title: Joseph Marion Hernández text: three plantations south of St. Augustine (in what was then East Florida): San Jose, Mala Compra, and Bella Vista, the last of which is now Washington Oaks State Gardens. When Spain ceded the Floridas to the United States in the Adams–Onís Treaty in 1819, Hernández pledged his allegiance to the U.S. After the organization of the Florida Territory, he was elected Florida's first to the United States House of Representatives, and was approved by President James Monroe on September 30, 1822. He thus became the first Hispanic ever to serve in the U.S. Congress. He served for six months, leaving title: Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida text: Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida The Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida, often referred to as the Florida Territorial Council or Florida Territorial Legislative Council, was the legislative body governing the American territory of Florida (Florida Territory) before statehood. The territory of Florida was acquired by the U.S. in 1821 under the Adams–Onís Treaty. Replacing the form of martial law that had existed in the territory since Florida was acquired, the U.S. Congress in 1822 established a territorial government consisting of a governor, secretary, thirteen-member Legislative Council, and judiciary, all of whom were appointed by the U.S.