Title: Author pens history of Hudson area Author: Klint Lowry Publisher: The Suncoast News Date: 4/16/2010 It really isn't too surprising that Jeff Cannon would have a deep passion for the history of Pasco County, and of Hudson in particular. While most people around here are from somewhere else, Cannon's roots run deep. He isn't just a native son he's a native great-great-grandson. "I'm fifth generation from Hudson. My family's been here since the late 1870s," Cannon said. "Through marriage, I'm related to the Hudson family." A few years ago, Cannon began devoting himself more fully to his interest in local history as a member of the West Pasco Historical Society, in New Port Richey, and the Pioneer Florida Museum Association, in Dade City; as president of the West Elfers Cemetery Preservation Association and operator of the Pasco Cemeteries website, and as a historical researcher and writer. It is in that last capacity that The Sea Pine Civic Association, 7817 Gulf Way, will welcome Cannon for a "meet the author" night 7 p.

m. this Wednesday, April 21. Cannon is the author of "Hudson," an entry in Arcadia Publishing's popular "Images of America" series. These table-top books tell the stories of individual communities' beginnings through the use of hundreds of historical photographs and carefully researched captions. Since its debut in 1993, the format, with its familiar sepia-toned cover, has presented the histories of thousands of communities. Cannon said he contacted Arcadia and submitted a proposal to do a book on Hudson after he saw the local reception for Adam Carozza's 2004 release of "Images of America: New Port Richey." It was easy to convince the publishers that the Hudson area also had a story to tell and that he was the right man to tell it. Once Arcadia gave him the green light, it would take him about a year to compile the book, but that was based on years of previous professional and personal background research.

"A lot of that's connected to family research It all kind of merges together," Cannon said. "The history of the town is kind of my family's history, too." On Monday, Cannon stood at the Hudson Cemetery. Because it is on a small lot at the busy intersection of U.S. 19 and Hudson Avenue, the cemetery often goes unnoticed by drivers zipping past. It's hard amid the midday traffic to imagine the cemetery used to be nestled in secluded woods. "Up through the 1950s, U.

S. 19 wasn't here," Cannon said. Even then, at first it was only a two-lane road. While Hudson was first settled around 1872, the community's namesakes, the family of Isaac Washington Hudson Sr., did not permanently move here until 1878. That same year, the cemetery got its first resident, Hudson's 16-year-old daughter, Ida Melissa. Cannon pointed out her headstone. Many of his own ancestors are buried here, too.

The cemetery is one of the few remaining physical remnants of those early years, Cannon said. Most have given way to progress, though he is happy to note that Isaac Hudson's original house still stands, near the intersection of Pine Road and Harbor Drive. "It's kind of had modern siding put on it, but the historic value of that structure is still the same," he said. What do remain in greater quantity are photographs and documents, and Cannon uses them to great effect in his "Hudson" book. Along with his own collection, Cannon contacted the descendents of many of Hudson's founding families and found artifacts that help provide a portrait of the area's early decades. One of his favorite finds is the book's cover photo, which he determined shows a survey crew at Hudson Spring. It is known the town was platted in 188.