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The Latham and Morse families lived and worked in the city of Fernandina, Florida, including in "Old Town," the oldest portion of the city. Amos Latham was the first lighthouse keeper of the Amelia Lighthouse on Amelia Island. Captain George Washington Avery Latham and Mary Ann Latham were Amos' children. George and his brother-in-law, Captain Samuel Cribb, organized the first pilots' association for the Fernandina Branch in about 1837, the year that Samuel married Mary Ann.
George W. Latham and his wife, Hester Amanda Johnson, were the parents of George Avery, Frank C., and Jane Rebecca. Frank married Mary Baggs, who married George after Frank's death in 1886. Jane Rebecca married harbor pilot James Madison Morse in 1859, and their son, Captain Edward Francis Morse, later also a harbor pilot, was born in 1866.
Summary:
This collection consists of microfilmed land records, correspondence, tax records, and business and financial records of members of the Latham and Morse families of Fernandina, Florida. Included are translations of Spanish land grants on Talbot Island (1809, 1819); Talbot Island land surveys and descriptions; Old Town Fernandina land conveyances (1851, 1866, 1871); tax sale certificates for Old Town lots (1878-1904); city, county (Nassau), and state tax receipts; death certificate of George A. Latham (1917); bank books, checks, and receipts; mortgage deeds (1899-1907); satisfactions of mortgage; letter regarding the death of William A. Morse (1909), brother of Edward; warranty deeds for land in Fernandina and Coral Gables; income tax information and returns; and genealogical information regarding the Morse, Latham, and Cribb families.
The collection also includes copies of four photographs, including the boardwalk across the marsh and Egan's Creek in Old Town; a view of Old Town looking south from the marsh along Egan's Creek, with the Pilot's Lookout Tower in the center; the wedding party of Daniel Patrick Mularkey (brother-in-law of Edward F. Morse) and Rachel Wheeler; and the Mularkey Brother store on Centre Street in Fernandina.
Finding Aids:
Additional Physical Form:
Reproduction Note:
Microfilm.
Location of Originals/Duplicates:
The original papers are in the custody of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Sintes of Fernandina Beach, Florida.
Associated Materials:
For related materials, see Collection M96-3, Morse Family and Fernandina Harbor Pilots Papers, 1860-1940 (1 microfilm reel).
Language Notes:
Ownership/Custodial History:
Mrs. Helen Sintes, one of the donors of the collection, is the granddaughter of E.F. Morse.
Publication Note:
General Note:
Electronic Records Access:
Subject Access Fields:
Cribb family. Latham family. Morse family Morse, Edward Francis, 1866-1940
Deeds Florida --Nassau County Land grants Florida Land sold or redeemed for taxes.
Deeds. aat Mortgages. aat Photographs. aat Tax records. aat
Fernandina (Fla.) Florida Genealogy Nassau County (Fla.)
for detailed listing.