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Ellen Attaway Booker (1816-1873) was the great grandniece of George Washington and the sister of Princess Catherine Murat (1803-1867), the wife of Achille Murat. In the 1820s, Catherine and Ellen moved from Virginia to Florida with their family. Ellen married three times: Samuel H. Duval in 1831, William Henry Brockenborough, and George Booker. Ellen and George had a son, Edward Murat Booker, in 1856. He worked as a chemist in Tallahassee before moving to Texas. In 1893, leading citizens of Tallahassee petitioned President Grover Cleveland to appoint E. Murat Booker, then living in San Antonio, Texas, as consul of the United States at Santiago, Cuba.
After the death of Achille Murat, Catherine visited the court of Emperor Napoleon III, who provided her with an annual pension. After Catherine's death in 1867, Emperor Napoleon III extended this pension to Ellen.
Summary:
This collection consists of two letters and a petition related to the Booker family. The first letter, dated September 13, 1867, is from Emperor Napoleon III to Ellen A. Booker after the death of Catherine Murat, giving his condolences to Ellen and expressing his wish to provide her with a pension of 6000 francs per year. The second letter, dated September 30, 1867, is the official notice of the establishment of this pension. These letters are in French. The petition, dated February 17, 1893 and addressed to President Grover Cleveland, requests that he appoint E. Murat Booker as Consul of the United States at Santiago de Cuba. City, county, and state officials, as well as leading citizens of Tallahassee, signed the petition.
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Associated Materials:
For more records relating to the Murat family, see Collection N2017-58: Achille Murat Papers, 1826-1847, 1867 and 1870 (.5 cubic foot).
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Previously State Library of Florida Manuscripts Collection MS13.
for detailed listing.