I represent William Browne. I was the brother of Lt. Gov. Montfort Browne and I was in on some of the generous land grants offered in the early years of the West Florida colony. My brother had gotten a grant of 20,000 acres anywhere he wanted in the province, and he sent me ahead to pick it out while he stayed in England and got together the people to work his land. I did not do a great job, at least in his eyes: I selected Dauphin Island, which was only 2,600 acres, it was already claimed by someone who had been in West Florida longer, and it was completely unsuitable for the colony of French Huguenot immigrants Montfort was planning on bringing to settle the place. But you can’t argue with the views. Perhaps I was a romantic.
Sources: 4, 12