Lamar Graham, 99 and Counting

Here's Lamar T. Graham, only days before his 100th birthday, celebrating Thanksgiving, 2009. Lamar is the 3rd great grandson of Francisco Xavier Sanchez, co-author of the book Double Cousins, who was born December 8, 1909 in Fitzgerald, Georgia.
Contact him at w4fkr@aol.com.

Posted by his daughter, Dee Graham.

Charles R. Usina died October 30, 2009

A message from the Los Floridanos society sent the information about Charles Usina's death this morning:

It is with deep sorrow that I report the death of Charles Usina who passed away at his home Friday morning. Charles was a very active member of Los Floridanos and a major contributor to the society. We will miss him.

Visitation will be held 5 to 8 p.m. Monday at Craig Funeral Home, with prayer services at 6 P.M. Funeral services will be held 2 P.M. Tuesday at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine.

There is a news article in the St. Augustine Record from October 31, 2009 that describes highlights from his full life. It can be read at: staugustine.com/stories/103109/news_103109_019.shtml

Charles Robert Usina is a descendant of Joseph Simeon Sanchez, Francis Roman Sanchez' brother.

Los Floridanos Society Meeting - 10/10/09

Los Floridanos Society, Inc.

Florida’s First Spanish Families 1565-1763

P. O. Box 1891

St. Augustine, FL 32085

Sanchez www.losfloridanos.org Solana

Society News Updates October 2009

10/10/09 – 9:00 am - Informal membership breakfast to be held at the

IHOP Restaurant, 2600 Ponce DeLeon Blvd., St. Augustine, FL.

Please continue to support this organization by your participation at our scheduled events.

Remaining 2009 Calendar

11/14/09 – Informal breakfast – 9:00 AM - IHOP Restaurant

12/12/09 – Christmas Luncheon; Time & Location to be announced

For those of you who may not have heard, the City of St Augustine is sponsoring a historical marker program. The markers are placed at various locations around the city and inform the visitors to St Augustine of the events, persons and buildings that are a part of the city’s diverse history.

Los Floridanos Society is in the final development stages of a marker to commemorate our “Los Floridanos” ancestors. At the September membership breakfast, the marker layout by member Jeremy Cain was unveiled. A delegation has presented the layout to the city and found the cost of the marker will be $1,300. We are seeking donations to help defray the cost of the marker. To date we have collected $800 toward the cost of the marker. Thank you to the 4 members who have donated so far.

For members wishing to make a donation, kindly mail a check to the above address made out to Los Floridanos Society. Indicate on the check it is for the marker project. Thank you for your support.

Hello, Floridanos & Friends!

As Daddy (Lamar T. Graham) approaches his 100th birthday on Dec. 8, I'm starting a blog from my birthday (yesterday, Sept.8) to his. Please check it out, add memories or comments, and join us for the celebration when we reach this celebratory occasion!

The party is planned for an open house from about 5:30 - 8:30 pm at the Manatee Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Bradenton, Fl. ( http://www.uuofbradenton.org/), where folks can come by after work, bring a covered dish or a snack, sit down and visit a spell, compare geneaology charts and meet shirt-tail relatives. It will be casual, making the event low stress, but giving everyone a chance to share memories and pass the time. The focus will be memories, history, progress and wisdom.

In the meantime, please check out our new Blog, comment if you remember things about Daddy, the family or just back in the day. We want to keep looking forward to 2010, which promises to be a better year all the way around!

Blessings all!

Dee

Rev Dee Graham
Daugher of the late Edith Lucille Jones & Lamar T Graham
as seen in Double Cousins

(Which, by the way, Daddy and I hope to have updated sometime this year.)

Los Floridanos Activities Resume

Los Floridanos Society, Inc.

Florida’s First Spanish Families 1565-1763
P. O. Box 1891
Solana St. Augustine, FL 32085-1891 Sanchez
www.losfloridanos.org

Society News Updates September 2009


Welcome back. Hope you had a relaxing summer.

Los Floridanos has again been invited to participate in the City of St. Augustine’s annual reenactment of the founding of St. Augustine. The activities begin at 9:30 a.m. as authentically clad soldiers prepare for the reenactment of the landing by the city’s founder, Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles, at the Mission of Nombre de Dios. Plan to arrive about 15 minutes early to meet up with our President, Dick Rousseau. For more information call Dick at 797-4952

There has been a change to the September get together. There will not be a luncheon instead join us for a welcome back membership breakfast at 9 am at IHOP Restaurant, 2600 Ponce DeLeon Blvd., St. Augustine, FL.
Please post the calendar as a reminder of upcoming events and join us when you can!


2009 Calendar
9/5/09 – Menendez Landing Reenactment and Mass – 9:30 am at the Mission Nombre de Dios.
9/12/09 – Welcome back Breakfast – 9:00 AM - IHOP Restaurant
10/10/09 – Informal breakfast – 9:00 AM - IHOP Restaurant
11/14/09 – Informal breakfast – 9:00 AM - IHOP Restaurant
12/12/09 – Christmas Luncheon; Location to be announced

Edith L. Graham died on July 8, 2009

Many of us have read Edith's book, Double Cousin. It is a book that anyone studying our Sanchez genealogy should be familiar with. Both she and her husband, Lamar T. Graham, collected the information, and she wrote the book.

The family wrote an informative obituary:

Edith L. Graham (Jones)

Edith L. Jones Graham, born May 19, 1915, dies July 8, 2009, at age 94. A genealogist and co-author of Double Cousins, which documented the story of "Los Floridanos" Sanchez family who pioneered Saint Augustine from before 1603, Edith Lucille Jones Graham died Wednesday, July 8, 2009, in Bradenton, FL. She was 94. After an injury forced her to retire in 1978, she and her husband Lamar Graham took advantage of their time to investigate their curiosity in genealogy and his family history to begin what turned into a discovery of a rich part of Florida 's diverse heritage. With the help of their daughter, the Rev. Dee Graham, a professional journalist, they wrote several books about the state's pioneer families. Characters they uncovered range from one of six Spaniards allowed to remain when the British took over in the 1700s to a signer of Florida's original constitution to several of Florida's first preachers and church founders to colonial clergy to pirates, Confederate soldiers and members of indigenous tribes. Surnames they covered included Sanchez, Sheffield, Graham, Thomas and Holland. The daughter of former Bradenton and Elyria, OH, Mayor Asaph R. Jones, and the niece of former Florida Sen. Lee S. Day, was born in Elyria and graduated from Bradenton High School in 1932, going on to both Virginia Intermont College and Florida State University. She married her high school classmate Lamar T. Graham, Sept. 14, 1935, and worked with him in running the Bradenton Credit Bureau until after World War II, when they both ended up working as United States Postal Clerks. Mrs. Graham was a founding member of the first Manatee chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution and of the National Organization for Women. She belonged to Bradenton's First United Methodist Church and the Manatee County Historical Society. Survivors include her husband of 73 years, Lamar T. Graham of Bradenton; her daughter, the Rev. Dee Graham of Saint Petersburg, grandson Asaph Graham and wife Marlaine of Seminole; granddaughters Austin Graham and Charlotte Quandt, both of Saint Petersburg; three great-grandsons, her cousin Doris Day Leland of Bradenton, and many nieces and nephews. A graveside memorial service will be held at 10 am Tuesday, July 14, at Manasota Memorial Park in Oneco, FL. Memorial donations may be made by check to the National Ataxia Foundation, 2600 Fernbrook Lane, Suite 119, Minneapolis, MN, 55447, www.ataxia.org.

A copy of this obituary appeared in The Bradenton Herald on Sunday, July 12, 2009.

FamilySearch.org has Somethings NEW!

Recently, the "pilot" FamilySearch.org added a database of Florida Death Certificates for the period 1877 to 1939. It is more than just an index, much of the information has been transcribed by volunteers into this database.

It is FamilySearch Records Search - Pilot Site, (or go to http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#start .)
You can leave the "first or middle names" blank, enter a "surname" like Sanchez.
For "Life Event" select Death/Burial,
For "Year" enter 1920,
For "Place" enter Saint Augustine, Saint Johns, Florida, United States, (if you leave off Saint Augustine, you will get all of Saint Johns County, or if you leave off Saint Augustine, Saint Johns, you will get all of Florida.)

With this example I got 6 results. When I pass my cursor over the blue underlined name, I get a summary on the screen. And if I click that blue underlined name, I get a page of information from the database.

Near the top of the page of information, you will see in blue and underlined "copy to clipboard", if you click that you can then add the information to your word processor or an email by pasting or keyboarding with control key + v.

To the left of "copy to clipboard" is "about this collection", click it and you get a history of the collection, but also at the to the words "search this collection." Now clicking it will limit the searching of Familysearch to just this database.

There are other refinements to searching possibilities that you can try as well.

But some names are spelt wrong: the volunteers transcribed what they saw, they were not familiar with the people or places.

And it is free.

Los Floridanos Picnic on May 9th 2009

LOS FLORIDANOS ANNUAL PICNIC:

If you have not marked your calendar for the May 9th Annual Picnic, do so now. Put a big red circle around May 9th as a reminder.

The picnic this year will be at the St. Augustine recreational park across the street from the St. Augustine Lighthouse. The park has ample shade and parking.

Following lunch, for the young at heart, you may want to work off the calories with an aerobic workout climbing the lighthouse’s 219 steps. If that is not your thing, you might want to cross the street to the lighthouse gift shop and museum. The gift shop is open to the public but there is a charge for the tower, museum and audio tour. For more information, including ticket prices, check out the web site: www.staugustinelighthouse.com.

The Society is providing the meat. Please bring a covered dish: salad, vegetable and/or dessert. See you there!

^^^The above is from an email received on April 29 from the Society.^^^

Los Floridanos Society - April Announcements

Los Floridanos Society, Inc.

Florida’s First Spanish Families 1565-1763
P.O. Box 1891
St. Augustine, FL 32085-1891
www.losfloridanos.org

April 11, 2009 9:00 AM Breakfast Meeting

The Society will be meeting, April 11, at the IHOP Restaurant, 2600 Ponce DeLeon Blvd. St. Augustine, Fl. Please plan to attend this meeting.

Mark your calendars for the May 9th annual Society picnic The place and time will be forthcoming.

If you have not paid your annual dues for 2009 please forward a check to the above address or bring your payment to the breakfast meeting on Apr. 11. Annual dues are $15.00 for the calendar year.



Additional (by mail):

May 9, 2009 12:00 PM Annual Family Picnic
Members and guest, plan on attending the Los Floridanos Annual Picnic on Saturday May 9th. Bring a dish to share. It can be a main dish, side dish, or a dessert. The Society will be furnishing fried chicken, iced tea and papers products.
Feel free to bring your folding chairs for your comfort.
Please note that the family picnic has been moved up to the Spring. And, we are looking into holding the picnic at a different site. Watch for a mailing with more information.

2009 Calendar

4/11/09 - Informal breakfast; IHOP Restaurant
5/9/09 - Family Picnic - Location to be announced
June, July, August - Summer off
9/12/09 - Welcome back Luncheon; Location to be announced
10/10/09 - Informal breakfast; Location to be announced
11/14/09 - Informal breakfast; Location to be announced
12/12/09 - Christmas Luncheon; Location to be announced

Los Floridanos Society - March Announcements

Los Floridanos Society

Florida’s First Spanish Families 1565-1763
P.O. Box 1891
St. Augustine, FL 32085-1891
www.losfloridanos.org

The Society will be joining the Menorcan Society at the annual Menorcan Heritage Celebration on March 14th. The Celebration will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Llambias House, St. Francis Street. Come join in the fun and feast on pilau and chowder.

The Society will resume its regular second Saturday breakfast meeting on April 11th.

Mark your calendar for the Society’s annual family picnic on May 9th. The picnic location will be announced in a forthcoming newsletter.

Martha S. Sanchez' Death

Martha S. Sanchez (b. 20 Jan 1841) is Alexander Boneparte Sanchez' third child.

Some Sanchez descendants are reporting her death as 4 Dec 1927 in Waldo, FL.

Can someone identify the source of this information? Please.

Two Mary Ann Coldings

I am offering this information to correct some databases that some Sanchez descendants have.

Louisa Colding the wife of Alexander Boneparte Sanchez (Senior) had a sister Mary Ann Colding. Samuel Gibbons reports her birth and death as 09 Apr 1812 and 15 Nov 1851, respectively. Mary's were often then nicknamed Polly.

She married Kinchen Syms (no record) and they had two daughters Georgia(nna) and Nancy L.

Mary Ann (as Polly) appears on the 1850 Florida Census Sheet for Marion County 2nd District, page 130 as part of the household of Ann Colding (her mother). Also listed are her husband and daughters.

There is another Mary Ann Colding in the area (Alachua County). There is a record of her marriage to Willis Chamberlin in 1839. There were three children 2 sons and a daughter. Mr. Chamberlin leaves. However this Mary Ann (also Polly) appears in the 1860 and 1870 Censuses in Alachua County. THIS MARY ANN COLDING IS NOT LOUISA COLDING'S SISTER. If the Chamberlins are in your database you might consider removing them.. She is likely a cousin of Louisa, but there are no familial known connections.

This information was clearly provide to me by Shelley Chamberlin.