You never know on any given day who is going to walk into the studio. Today, a member of one of the most prestigious names in Central Florida graced our doorstep. Today, we got to meet a genuine Jernigan.

No, that is not an heir to the hand lotion empire… that would be Jergens as my wife was so quick to remind me. For those who have not brushed up on their local history (like me apparently), up until 1857, the city of Orlando was known as Jernigan, named after the area’s first white settler.

Aaron David Jernigan moved to Orange County FL in 1843 and settled on the shores of Lake Holden in what is now downtown Orlando. He raised cattle and planted corn, cotton, rice, sugar cane, pumpkins and melons. He grew so influential in the establishing of the community, his family home was even designated as the post office.

In fairness, my client was more closely tied to Aaron’s brother Isaac who also moved to Central Florida at the same time and settled in at the same time. Why Aaron is given all the accolades for being the first settler and not Isaac is probably due to some sibling rivalry thing but, be that as it may, being a Jernigan in the area that your ancestor helped to settle is a pretty impressive thing.

How the city came to be known as Orlando is up for debate. There are multiples theories:

1. Judge James Speer who worked hard to designate the city as the county seat named it Orlando after a man who once worked for him.
2. Speer named it after a character in Shakespeare’s As You Like It.
3. A man named Mr. Orlando was traveling through the area with oxen, became ill and died. He was buried on the spot and as people passed by they would say, “There lies Orlando.”
4. The most commonly accepted story is that the city was named after Orlando Reeves, a soldier who, during the Seminole Wars, spotted an Indian assault upon his camp. He warned the camp and in doing so successfully drove back the invaders but was felled during the skirmish. He was buried on the shores of Lake Eola. And the area was subsequently named after him.

Whichever version you accept, it is always a thrill to welcome these reminders of the past into our studio. If you ever choose to trust us with your family memories to preserve, I hope you’ll be able to stay for a while and tell us some of the interesting back stories that make up your history. It is one of the perks of our business and it really does help to put things into perspective.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotapes, audio recordings, photos, negatives, and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website.