William James “Will or W.J.” Baxley Sr.

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William James “Will or W.J.” Baxley Sr.

Birth
Hawthorne, Alachua County, Florida, USA
Death
15 Aug 1964 (aged 87)
Weirsdale, Marion County, Florida, USA
Burial
Weirsdale, Marion County, Florida, USA Add to Map
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Will (W.J.) was the son of John Christopher Baxley and Martha Jane Sherouse Baxley of Hawthorne FL. He was named for his grandfather who fought in the Civil War for South Carolina. He was hit in the nose by a baseball when he was young and broke his nose, so he had a crooked nose the rest of his life.

In his younger days, like on his marriage license, he was known as Willie J. Baxley. He was also called Buddy. He was married to Ida Melissa Boone Baxley, and had eleven children. Will captured many of the alligators for display for Ross Allen's Reptile Institute to open at Silver Springs, Florida. He hunted them at night in a small paddle boat with a light, where he slipped up beside them while blinding them then jumped on their backs grabbing them around the neck and sticking his thumbs into their eyes which would make them take him to the shore where he had men with ropes stationed ready to tie down the gator for transport. If the gator tried to dive under water, he said you just had to wiggle the fingers into the eyes more and hang on more firmly. This was not an easy way to earn a buck he told me. He said the main problem was getting fingers into both of the gator's eyes at the same time while still managing to hang on.

He was the only Grandpa I ever knew, and he taught me how to grow a garden of wonderful vegetables from scratch. Grandpa, thanks for spending that quality time with me. When I was a boy, he taught me how to do bookkeeping and balance a ledger, and that was invaluable training. Grandpa, I never heard a bad word come out of your mouth. I love you Grandpa. ---Wayne
Will (W.J.) was the son of John Christopher Baxley and Martha Jane Sherouse Baxley of Hawthorne FL. He was named for his grandfather who fought in the Civil War for South Carolina. He was hit in the nose by a baseball when he was young and broke his nose, so he had a crooked nose the rest of his life.

In his younger days, like on his marriage license, he was known as Willie J. Baxley. He was also called Buddy. He was married to Ida Melissa Boone Baxley, and had eleven children. Will captured many of the alligators for display for Ross Allen's Reptile Institute to open at Silver Springs, Florida. He hunted them at night in a small paddle boat with a light, where he slipped up beside them while blinding them then jumped on their backs grabbing them around the neck and sticking his thumbs into their eyes which would make them take him to the shore where he had men with ropes stationed ready to tie down the gator for transport. If the gator tried to dive under water, he said you just had to wiggle the fingers into the eyes more and hang on more firmly. This was not an easy way to earn a buck he told me. He said the main problem was getting fingers into both of the gator's eyes at the same time while still managing to hang on.

He was the only Grandpa I ever knew, and he taught me how to grow a garden of wonderful vegetables from scratch. Grandpa, thanks for spending that quality time with me. When I was a boy, he taught me how to do bookkeeping and balance a ledger, and that was invaluable training. Grandpa, I never heard a bad word come out of your mouth. I love you Grandpa. ---Wayne

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