Daniel Ladd (March 21, 1817 – October 22, 1872) was born in Augusta, Maine and was an exporter, cotton broker and merchant in early Florida and active as a member of the Secession Convention of Florida.
Having a growing business, Ladd purchased a side-paddle wheel steamer in 1850 which was named the Spray.
The Spray operated as far south as Cedar Key, Florida, up the Apalachicola River to Columbus, Georgia, up the Suwannee River and west to New Orleans transporting cotton, naval stores, hides, tobacco, beeswax.
With his location as well as businesses and transport, Ladd became a mercantile power handling almost all of the merchants and planters for the Red Hills Region and nearby.
[1][2][3] Upon the outbreak of the American Civil War, Ladd was offered an officer's position in the Confederate Army.