Andrew Turnbull

Who was Andrew Turnbull?

Andrew Turnbull was a Scottish physician who later served as a British Consul at Smyrna of the Ottoman Empire, in what is now Turkey. He organized the largest attempt at British colonization in the New World by founding New Smyrna, Florida, named in honor of his wife's birthplace, in 1768. Turnbull was married to Maria Gracia Dura Bin, the daughter of a Greek merchant from Smyrna. His colony was located in the province of British East Florida, and encompassed some 101,400 acres; it was nearly three times the size of the colony at Jamestown.

Along with Sir William Duncan he secured a grant of 40,000 acres of land on the east coast of the peninsula, with the requirement from the British government that it be settled within 10 years in the proportion of one person for every 100 acres. In 1765 he sailed to St. Augustine, Florida, the capital of the province, and secured the grant from Governor James Grant. The land was located at what is now New Smyrna Beach about 62 miles south of St. Augustine.