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.

Governor Patrick Tonyn

Patrick Tonyn (1725-1804) was the British Governor of East Florida (1771-1783) that gave Francisco Xavier Sanchez a considerable amount of grief.

Tonyn stayed on in Florida after its return to Spanish control. He worked with the Spanish governor, Vicente Manuel de Zespedes, sharing a bit of control over British Tories who choose to stay in Spanish Florida after the American Revolution. This went well for over a year until he provided a list of English speaking Floridians who needed discipline. The more relaxed Zespedes released Tonyn as an aid to his staff.

Francisco Xavier Sanchez got on the wrong side of Tonyn by associating with Dan Gritt, the leader of the Banditti [real bandits]. Tonyn then worked at connecting him other possible crimes.

Tonyn is a bit hard to understand. Andrew Turnbull was on his "enemies list" which resulted in the releasing of hundreds of Spanish speaking Minorcans. Prior to the release his had express concerns about arming the Minorcans in defense of the colony.

If you are interested, Tonyn's correspondence with Zespedes about Francisco Xavier Sanchez can be read in Zespedes in East Florida, 1784-1790 by Helen Hornbeck Tanner. Another book that discusses Gov. Tonyn's activities in Florida is Florida in the American Revolution by J. Leitch Wright. Both these books are available in most Florida libraries.

On the lighter side his portrait does make him look a little like George Washington.

Books that feature Francisco Xavier Sanchez

Our ancestor, Francisco Xavier Sanchez, is seriously mentioned in several books.

1. Spanish pathways in Florida, 1492-1992 by Ann L Henderson & Gary Ross Mormino (1991)
2. Zéspedes in East Florida, 1784-1790 by Helen Hornbeck Tanner (1963)
3. East Florida, 1783-1785; a file of documents assembled and many of them translated by Joseph Byrne Lockey (1949)
4. Colonial plantations and economy in Florida by Jane G Landers (2000)
5. The African American heritage of Florida by David R Colburn & Jane Landers (1995)
6. Black society in Spanish Florida by Jane Landers (1999)

Books 4, 5 & 6 rehash the same material over and over.

These books are more to do with history than with genealogy. Check the big library in your area and see if they have these book.