This episode originally aired on Jan. 22, 2024.
David Rahahę·tih Webb was born in Southwest Florida and grew up on Sanibel Island, which puts him in a relatively small group of people compared to this area’s current population. But, his family roots go back for generations and their connections to life on Sanibel are both broad and deep. His ‘pioneer’ side goes back eight generations on Sanibel and his Seminole side goes back past recorded history.
His direct ancestors were Spanish Seminole members of the Sanibel Island Rancho. Ranchos were small, tight-knit communities settled by Europeans centuries ago. They were essentially fishing camps with as many as 600 residents, most of which were Seminole.
Members of his family were among the first documented births in southern Florida, and the first known on Sanibel. They were taken to Cuba for baptisms and David found those records for his new book “The Spanish Seminole: The Untold History of the Spanish Indians as Shared by a Descendant.”
And, David is a 4th generation Ding Darling employee — his great grandfather was the first refuge employee; the admin building was dedicated to his grandmother, who worked there for 33 years; his mother worked there when she was pregnant with him and he worked there while serving in AmeriCorps in the mid 1990s.
And he’s got deep roots here at Florida Gulf Coast University, where he graduated 20 years ago. David even carved the first nature trails on campus, back when he could just go out with his own chainsaw.
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