 From 1848 to 1860 , Cooley acquired several properties in the Tampa region , including one at Worth 's Harbor . By 1850 , he lived with seven slaves and was a Captain of the " Silver Grays " — a militia for the home defense of Tampa in the 1850s . He owned a general store in the city , eventually sold to a member of the Tampa Masonic Lodge . He was nominated Port Warden of Tampa in 1853 . By 1855 , Cooley had become a leader in local politics ; he was the chairman at a meeting of the Democratic Party in Tampa , with sixty @-@ five members enrolled , on August 4 , 1855 . He was brought in as an alternate councilman for two months in the first Tampa council , served a full @-@ year term beginning in February 1857 , and returned in 1861 for another full term . Cooley estimated his personal wealth at $ 10 @,@ 060 in 1860 . 
