If this couple would be alive today, they would be millionaires without a doubt. They are James Howell Blake, better known as Papa Blake and Elena Alamilla Blake, also known as Mama Blake. Papa Blake and his wife Leni lived in what was considered a mansion in San Pedro prior to 1908. It was a magnificent Colonial style building, three stories high with polished floors and expensive furnishings.
Now why would they be millionaires? Well, Papa Blake’s father, James Hume Blake had purchased the entire island of Ambergris Caye in an auction sale on September 13, 1869 for the sum of $625.00. That price was extremely low even by the standards of the time. Only a few parcels of Ambergris Caye were either sold or given to the Parhams and Alamillas, who were related to the Blakes through intermarriages. With the current price of real estate in Ambergris Caye today, certainly Papa and Mama Blake would be multi-millionaires if they would be owners of this jewel of ours, La Isla Bonita.
One Response
Papá y Mamá Blake son mis bisabuelos.
Yo iba de vacaciones a San Padró y la pasaba en su casa ( Casa Blake)
Soy nieto de Emma Blake Alamilla e hijo de Patricia Cooper Blake.
Papá y Mamá Blake, pasaron sus últimos años en el puerto de Veracruz, en casa de mis abuelos Emma Blake A. y Cecil Cooper G.