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It was a warm summer Sunday evening, just after dark, in the year 1898. George Paul Canova and his brother-in-law, Thad Hill, were returning from a conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon). George, then fifty-four years old, the Sanderson Branch President, was in high spirits after a day of inspiration. At a point some five miles from home, they approached a gate where the fence separated pastures. Thad jumped out of the white topped buggy and called out, "George, someone has blocked the gate." George answered, "They oughtn't to have done that." Those were his last words. At that moment, guns were fired from behind large trees. George was hit. Thad, fearing for his life, ran for help. It was several miles to the nearest farm where he got a horse and buggy to continue on to the Canova home for help. Tom was the first one at his father's side. He gave this report: "The moon had come up and it was a little brighter. We saw an object on the side of where the buggy and horse were standing when he was shot. 'Seems he had jumped out or was dragged out, we couldn't tell, but when he was on the ground, we think he was still alive as he had grasped pine straw in his hands. They had contracted with the straw in them, showing they had run around to where he was and put the gun close to his head and split his head open. His derby hat was two or three feet away with a bullet hole through it showing they had shot him close up, and the force of the bullet had knocked his hat off. I saw something white on his head and it was his brains. We took cloths and wrapped his head and put him in the buggy and took him home." (1) Left to mourn were his widow, Diannah, twelve children, eleven grandchildren, his mother, his mother-in-law, eight brothers and sisters-in-law. Of his children, six were married, Annie, Paul Elisha, Edward Emanuel, Joseph Francis, George Walter and William Robert. Tom was nineteen, Adaline seventeen, Catherine (Kitty) fifteen, Albert Crespo thirteen, Alonzo Bartola (Lonnie) would be ten in just four days and Oscar Nolan was only eight years old when this tragedy robbed them of a father. Tom did all he knew how to comfort his mother and younger brothers and sisters. Apostle Francis M. Lyman, sent a letter of condolence which was a great confort to the family. He spoke of his many visits with President Canova and his family. "...In no place were we better taken care of, than in Sanderson, by Brother Canova who has been consigned to a martyr's grave by the hands of cruel assassins." (2) George Paul Canova had a good life. He and his three sisters grew up in a home of refinement and wealth, his marriage was happy, he provided well for his family and contributed to his church and his community. George was born in St. Augustine, Florida on April 23, 1844. His family moved to Jacksonville where his father, Paul Bartola Canova, was a captain of a steam boat that plied up and down the wide St. Johns River. Paul aulso had a large mercantile store and was a successful businessman. George's mother, Celestina Crespo, was a refined, self-possessed lady, full of fun. George was reared a Catholic. The family moved to Sanderson when George was in his teens. He learned the mercantile busiess in his father's large store in Sanderson. George studied telegraphy, and at age seventeen, served as a telegraph operator in the Civil War. It was he who sent the message from Virginia to Jacksonville that the Yanks were coming. (3) Geoge married Diannah Greene on July 5, 1865, shortly after he returned from the war. He met Diannah when she was ploughing barefoot in the field -- the slaves had been run off by the Yankees during the war. Diannah, Born November 9, 1846, in Sanderson, Florida, was the oldest of the twelve children of pioneer parents, Elisha Greene and Elizabeth Ann (Betsy) Driggers. (1) The Greenes were staunch Baptists. Elisha read the Bible through once a y ear, and, no doubt, instilled the teachings in their children. He was a successful farmer and slave owner before the war and remained a pillar in the community. Diannah's mother, Betsy, was a hard-working feisty little lady who taught her children to love God and to be respectful and kind. George was five feet six inches tall and weighed one hundred fifteen pounds at the time of his marriage. Diannah was tall and stately. George and Diannah moved into a little log cabin three m iles south of Sanderson. He had only ten dollars when they were married. He first worked in his father's store for $30.00 per month. He began making money by hauling logs, getting up at three o'clock in the m orning. He was anxious at the outset to be a successful businessman like his father. George and Diannah were busy with their large family of nine boys and three girls. Another daughter, Rosa Lee, had died in infancy. They wanted to see that their children had good experiences. The boys worked in the mercantile store and were given schooling beyond what the county provided. The girls were sent to a Catholic Convent. The fact that george was Catholic and Diannah a Baptist caused some opposition in the religious teachings of the home. The children were given music lessons and encouraged to excel. George and Diannah indulged the girls. Shopping trips to Jacksonville were a highlight of their young lives. The Canovas were very generous to their extended family, especially the Hills. George and Diannah went through boom years after the railroad came through Sanderson. They had their ups and downs. There was the yellow fever epidemic when trains were not allowed to stop in Sanderson. Supplies were thrown from the train as it p assed through. The Canovas were fortunate that there were no serious illnesses in the family. They were living in a county known for its rough element. One day, a neighbor came to Diannah and said that two men had come into the store and were giving George a bad time. Diannah knew that George was unarmed at the time, so she walked across the street with a pistol tucked under her apron. She walked past the two men and said in a loud voice, "Geoge, here is your gun." The two men immediately left. At one time, when purchasing a little ranch, he paid $8,000.00 in gold which he carried in a little birdshot pouch. At the time of his death, George was considered the wealthiest man in Baker County. He owned about ten thousand acres of grazing land, one thousand head of cattle, turpentine trees, timber land, a large mercantile store, a hotel, a large cotton gin and orange groves. George was an honest man, he paid his debts when due, extended credit to all who needed it. There were times when he had to foreclose on the lazy and slothful. This sometimes caused enmity. He was kind to the widows and his sharecroppers. They could have all the pigs and chickens and feed, and all the milk they wanted. George was a conscientious Democrat, an extreme Partisan, and one of the most active workers in his Party. He was elected to the Legislature in 1879, the year Tom was born. In his first term, he served on the Committee for Finance and Taxation, and he was chairman for the Committee on Claims. He was elected to a second term and was Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners in 1898.
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