Direct descendants of the original Key West settlers and pioneers, the innkeepers of the
Conch House possess a rich legacy that reads like a history of the island itself. On the
Bahamian Conch side of English ancestry, there's the Lowes and the Currys from Green Turtle
Cay in the Abacos. More came by way of Philadelphia in 1852, when brick mason John
J. Delaney left there to help build Fort Zachary Taylor.
The Conch House came into the family from its Cuban ancestry after Carlos Recio purchased
the property in 1895. Arriving in Key West in 1872, he had built the largest
wholesale/retail grocery store on the island. A close friend of Cuban
revolutionary Jose Marti, Recio did much to help the Cuban freedom effort,
including smuggling supplies to revolutionists on merchant ships.
It was his daughter, Herminia, who made the Conch House her home, along with her four
children and husband Lance Lester, whose own family's history and influence in Key West
dates back to the mid-1800's. Captain Joseph Lester of England settled here after following
the sea for many years. Captain John Whalton, another Lester ancestor, established
the first lightship at Carysfort Reef off Key Largo in 1826 and died there in an Indian
ambush a decade later.
Lance Lester himself was the first graduate of Key West High School and the University
of Florida Law School. He devoted his entire life to the service of Key West citizens,
first as a respected lawyer, then as city and state attorney. The Monroe County Justice
Building is named in his honor.
The Conch House is now owned by Carlos Recio's great-granddaughter, Francine Delaney
Holland, and great-great-grandson, Sam Holland, Jr.
