How did Jose Monte, son of acrobats, become Joseph Montgomery? It all began in the late 19th century when a schoolteacher in the American Mid-West took pity on a young Spanish circus boy who could only speak a few words in English. As he wasn't athletic he was useless as an acrobat. The teacher gave him an education and returned him to his family. He became their manager and managed some other circus acts. In 1908 he left the family and moved to Chicago to become a theatrical agent.
From there he moved to New York and became interested in the development of a town in Florida where he bought land and progressed from there - until the First World War intervened.