Infamous Women of Florida

The untold story of Florida's most defiant women.

Florida in the 1800s was a borderland-caught between empires, ravaged by wars, and ruled by those brave or desperate enough to survive its swamps, reefs, and storms. In this unforgiving landscape, women carved out power in ways history rarely records.

Florida's Infamous Women (Pre-1900) brings to light the pirates, spies, smugglers, survivors, and outlaws who refused to live by the rules others made for them. From the deck of a pirate ship to the mangroves of the Keys, from a courtroom fighting for wrecking rights to a steamboat bound for exile, these women lived boldly, dangerously, and on their own terms.

Inside these pages:

• Anne Bonny & Mary Read - Female pirates who terrorized the Caribbean and fought in men's clothing
• Polly Parker (Emateloye) - Seminole woman who escaped the Grey Cloud steamer during forced removal and walked 400 miles home
• Milly Francis - "The Creek Pocahontas," who saved an enemy soldier's life during the First Seminole War
• Lola Sánchez - Confederate spy whose intelligence helped capture the USS Columbine
• Women of the Wrecking Courts - Key West widows who fought in court and won fortunes from salvaged ships
• Spanish Mary - Smuggler who moved contraband through Key West for decades
• Nancy White - Confidence woman who swindled Tallahassee's merchants
• Bolita Queens - Women who ran Tampa's underground lottery from grocery stores and kitchens
• Laura Upthegrove - "Queen of the Everglades," bootlegger and outlaw during Prohibition
• María del Carmen Huerta - "Bandit Queen of the Lower Keys," who commanded smuggling operations through the mangroves

Drawing on court records, newspaper archives, oral histories, and her own Creek ancestry, author Deborah Kunzie spent decades researching these stories. Some are well-documented. Others survive only in folklore and family memory. All deserve to be told.

This is Florida history written from the margins-where women fought, survived, and left their mark on a state that tried to forget them.

Perfect for readers who love: Women's history • Florida history • True crime • Frontier stories • Native American history • Maritime history • Tales of survival and defiance