Dr. Jefferson Jefferson
From Omnictionary
Dr. Jefferson Jefferson (1908-1963) was an orange juice magnate and Florida pioneer who helped pave the way for the development and growth of Central Florida. He is the namesakes of many Central Florida landmarks and institutions, including Jefferson Park, Lake Jefferson, Dr. Jefferson Jefferson Middle School, and Jefferson Orange Juice.
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Biography
Early Life
Jefferson's parents, Marie and Howard, moved from northern Alabama to Lakeland, Florida in 1910, when Jefferson was two. (Marie and Howard also had a girl, who died of fever six months after their arrival in Florida.) Jefferson's parents worked as cotton sharecroppers until purchasing their own small plot of land with soil that most considered unpromising. The family planted a few orange trees, which took root, and by 1920, 12-year-old Jefferson Jefferson dropped out of fifth grade to work full time at his parents' clapboard roadside orange juice stand.
Jefferson Orange Juice
The Jefferson family cleverly reinvested their roadside stand profits not into a fancier store but into more land, which in turn led to more oranges and more juice. Howard died in 1930, and Jefferson Jefferson took full control of the company. He began bottling the orange juice in washed-out glass milk jugs and hiring local children to go door-to-door soliciting orange juice sales. The Jefferson Orange Juice corporation weathered the Depression surprisingly well, and moved to downtown Orlando in 1937. Orange juice had become a highly profitable phenomenon locally, but only achieved national success when he developed "Ice Trucks" with onboard refrigeration systems that allowed fresh orange juice to travel to grocery stores around the country.
The Dr. in Dr. Jefferson Jefferson
In 1947, an article in the Orlando Sentinel referred to Jefferson as "the wealthiest and most prominent among all the citizenry of Orlando." That same year, Jefferson--who'd always been touchy about his lack of formal education--decided he should have a name befitting his wealth and stature. On October 16, 1947, Jefferson went to court and formally made his middle name "Jefferson" and his first name "Dr." Capital D. Lowercase r. Period.
Family and turmoil
Although Jefferson's life as a businessman was one of unparalleled success, his personal life was marked by tragedy and strife. Jefferson was married to Caroline Teague Jefferson for 52 years, although he was notorious for extra-marital affairs, and is said to have slept with the wives of three different mayors of Orlando. Nonetheless, Jefferson and Caroline's passion for each other was evident, as they had three sons and two daughters. Their youngest son, Teague, died at 14. Both of his daughters, Jessica (b. 1938) and Ernestine (b. 1941), appear to have run away in their teens; their whereabouts are unknown and are the source of frequent gossip in Orlando, since neither daughter has come forward to collect the more than 10 million dollars owed them in inheritance money in the 45 years since Jefferson's death.
The two surviving Jefferson sons, Jeff Jr. (b. 1931) and Elijah (b. 1934) have apparently not spoken to each other since their father's death in 1963. According to reports in the Orlando Sentinel, the brothers fought during their father's final illness over issues surrounding control of the paper (then owned by Jefferson), the larger business, and also whether any money should be held in escrow for their missing sisters. In the end, all of Jefferson's holdings were liquidated upon his death and the brothers split the windfall, with a $20 million trust fund created for their sister. Jeff Jr., a real estate developer, and Elijah, a philanthropist, live in large homes on opposite sides of Jefferson Park.
