A bust of Livingston Wellesley Bethel was unveiled in the Key West Memorial Sculpture Garden Wednesday afternoon. Livingston Bethel, who served as mayor of Key West from 1877-1880, was the great grandfather of current City Commissioner Harry Bethel.
The Bethel family and a group of local well-wishers attended the unveiling ceremony.
Livingston Bethel was two years old when his father, Judge Winer Bethel, moved from Nassau, Bahamas, to Key West. He attended school here and at Walnut Hill Military Academy in Geneva, New York. He read law under Homer G. Plant, District Attorney for the U.S. Southern District of Florida and was admitted to the bar in 1869.
After his stint as mayor here, he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Florida as the running mate of Governor W.D. Bloxham. He served until 1884. He then served as U.S. District Attorney until 1889.
In 1895, he became judge of the Criminal Court in Monroe County and was elevated to Judge of the 11th Florida Circuit Court in 1911. He served in that capacity until his death in 1914.
The bust was donated by the Bethel family, David D. and Irene Eyer, with the assistance of a grant by the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.