Their second daughter, Mabel, was born at East Cape. In 1893, one of the holdings 'at Flamingo became available and was purchased by Duncan Brady. There were several other settlers living along the water front and Brady spearheaded the drive for a post office. They chose the name Flamingo, as at that time the colorful birds were seen there. The Brady’s carried their furniture with them on the boat, chairs, tables and beds. The same mattresses were used on the berths on the boat as on the beds ashore. When they stayed awhile at any place, if a house was not available, Mr. Brady built a palmetto shack and all the furniture was moved ashore. Maude Brady remembers that her father felt the open beach at Flamingo would not be safe in a hurricane.

There was no school at Flamingo at that early date, so as soon as Maude was old enough to go to school, her father moved the family to Chokoloskee, where a palmetto shack housed the school for about a dozen children from the McKinney, Wiggins and Robinson families. Chokoloskee had a store, a post office and a church up the river. The people were mostly fishermen, and Brady made a trip to Key West whenever he got a load of barrels of salted down fish. He often brought back cash as well as provisions. By this time there were more girls in the family all with names starting with M - Maude, Mabel, Myrtle, Muriel, and Marie. Two boys were born but one was killed by lightning. Maude remembers that all the girls were given nice dolls with china heads and rag bodies. They were expected to take good care of them.

Mrs. Brady had a sewing machine and made all their clothes. She taught her daughters to sew when they were old enough. The Brady children enjoyed swimming, hunting shells and second daughter, Mabel, was born at East Cape. In 1893, one of the holdings 'at Flamingo became available and was purchased by Duncan Brady. There were several other settlers living along the water front and Brady spearheaded the drive for a post office. They chose the name Flamingo, as at that time the colorful birds were seen there. The Brady’s carried their furniture with them on the boat, chairs, tables and beds. The same mattresses were used on the berths on the boat as on the beds ashore. When they stayed awhile at any place, if a house was not available, Mr. Brady built a palmetto shack and all the furniture was moved ashore.

Maude Brady remembers that her father felt the open beach at Flamingo would not be safe in a hurricane. There was no school at Flamingo at that early date, so as soon as Maude was old enough to go to school, her father moved the family to Chokoloskee, where a palmetto shack housed the school for about a dozen children from the McKinney, Wiggins and Robinson families. Chokoloskee had a store, a post office and a church up the river. The people were mostly fishermen, and Brady made a trip to digging clams. Occasionally their father hunted, but it was usually their mother who shot birds for food. They also ate a lot of turtle meat. After a few years at Chokoloskee, they moved on to Sandfly and Four Brothers. Mr. Brady ran the Stoffer's boats - the Berta Lee.and Cleo. They also lived at Horr's Island, where Kitty Horr had a big two-story house, and he ran the Horr boats.

 In 1906, they moved to Sanibel where the children went to school. In all the places they lived, Duncan Brady built and repaired boats in addition to his trips. Maude said the children would help him when the boats were on the ways. Maude met James Robert Simmons at Sanibel. He was farming tomatoes. They were married and left the island before the1906 storm. Mr Simmons was born at Bushnell Florida. He farmed tomatoes and beans with his brother at Watula, stayed awhile with his family at Inverness, went to Lost Man's River, and then to Key West where Mr. Simmons worked on the Key West Extension. In 1912, when the Extension was finished came to Detroit. The Brady left Sanibel and came to Miami. Duncan had a new boat - the biggest one he had ever owned. He worked at the quarantine station fumigating boats, and also ran a tug boat on the river. Somehow he got his leg tangled in some machinery and it had to be amputated. He still worked around the water, but couldn't go out on the boats anymore.

He died in the twenties. Mrs. Brady lived until 1950. Mabel and Myrtle still live in Miami, and Muriel is in a nursing home in Sarasota. Maude, now Mrs. Jones and into her nineties, lives in Leisure City.

Excerpts from “Man in the Everglades” by Charlton Tebeau and from “Gladesmen” by Glen Simmons