Dennis Partridge

Dennis N. Partridge has been conducting personal research into his family since 1980. In 1996, in the infancy of the Internet, he morphed into a web developer bringing with him his passion for genealogy. Today, Dennis owns and operates AccessGenealogy (https://accessgenealogy.com/), one of the largest, privately owned genealogical websites online, well-known and frequented by Native American family researchers. Dennis also serves as President and Webmaster for the Amelia Island Genealogical Society. He specializes in breaking down brick walls, Native American ancestry, New England ancestry, and French-Canadian ancestry. However, his knowledge is broad enough to answer (or find the answer) to any geographical area.

Vaughan Cemetery Dedication

Vaughan Cemetery

John Daniel Vaughan was a veteran of both the American Revolution and the War of 1812. The original monument was placed prior to the Civil War and was destroyed during that time. A six-foot-tall, four-sided obelisk was placed on the grave of John Vaughan prior to 1927. Tradition says that this obelisk and the original monument were placed by the U.S. government. It is thought that John Vaughan was the only veteran of both the Revolution and the War of 1812 buried in Florida. Service was also rendered by John Vaughan in the Indian wars. In 1797, he received a grant from the Spanish for a large tract of land on Amelia Island. He later received one hundred acres bounty land for service in the Revolution and a grant for service in the Indian war. Vaughan was married to Rhoda Effingham, daughter of Pharaba Milller. Rhoda Vaughan preceded her husband in death by many years. His final request was “to be buried in the same grave with his beloved wife.” Because of his request, it is assumed that she is also buried here. Indications are that others are buried in the Vaughan Cemetery, but no definitive list of interments is known to exist. Graves one through ten are shown on the plat even though identities of the interred are not known. Grave 11 is W. E. Scott, Jr., and Grave 14 is the Vaughan obelisk. Vaughan Cemetery Location (Amelia Island)5059 1st Coast HighwayFernandina Beach, FL 32034 USA GPS Location 30.583360, […]

Vaughan Cemetery Read More »

St Peters Cemetery Layout

St. Peter’s Episcopal Cemetery

St. Peters Episcopal Church was organized on June 14, 1858, by Rev. Owen P. Thackara, who is buried in the cemetery, and a small group of Fernandina citizens. This meeting was held on the second floor of Timanus Hall, a building which once stood on the corner of Second and Centre streets and was destroyed by fire in 1876. The first church building was a wooden structure located at the southeast corner of the present St. Peter’s Episcopal cemetery. During the War Between the States, the building was occupied by the federal troops. Unauthorized burials were made on the church property during the time of occupation. It is thought that the first burial was that of Frederick Albert Grossman, the two-month-old son of Frederick Grossman, a captain in the 7th U.S. Infantry. Peter W. O. Koerner, a county surveyor who was born in Prussia, surveyed and divided the cemetery into plots, circa 1872 . He was also the surveyor for the new town of Fernandina. Church records show a variety of causes of death: yellow fever, catarrh (sic) of stomach, consumption, phthisis, neuralgia of the heart, congestion of the brain, killed by a train, bitten by a shark and bled to death, shot, drowned. Young Willie Jeffreys died after being attacked by a bear from a traveling circus while attending school in Gainesville. His body was returned to Fernandina for burial. Low cemetery walls surround many of the old grave sites. Many of the early tombstones were made by the

St. Peter’s Episcopal Cemetery Read More »

Judd Cemetery

Judd Cemetery

The property on which the cemetery is located was purchased by Jehiel S. Judd on January 10, 1884 from Marion N. Sanderson. The transfer is recorded in Nassau County Deed Book T, page 453. The property was described as lots 13 and 14 of Subdivision S 2/3, Sec 12 T2N, R28E of the Suarez Grant. Part of this property was used for a burial site which evolved into the Judd Cemetery. The seller of the property, Marion Harrison Sanderson, is buried in the Harrison Cemetery. At one time, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church built in 1923 by Gus Gerbing was adjacent to the cemetery. Judd Cemetery Location (Amelia Island)4522 Buccaneer TrailFernandina Beach, FL 32034 USA GPS Location 30.596617, -81.459052 The Judd Cemetery is located 100 yards south of Philips Manor Road on the east side of Amelia Road. Additional Information about Judd Cemetery Surveyed before 1997 by the Amelia Island Genealogical Society, and again on 2 January 2010 by Jean Mann. Data on the Cook family burials and family relationships supplied by Jean Bain August 2013. Malisa Remboswki and Jim Miller completed a photographic survey in 2014. Judd Cemetery Layout

Judd Cemetery Read More »

Harrison Cemetery Marker

Harrison Cemetery

The Harrison Family Cemetery is located on a portion of the 18th century Harrison Plantation, on the south end of Amelia Island. The cemetery is a land-locked fenced and gated one acre parcel, with an easement onto First Coast Highway/A1A. Access is limited to Harrison descendants and invited guests. Access to the easement, and gate, is via First Coast Highway. Immediately upon entering the parcel you will find plaques for the Historic Harrison Family Cemetery and Native Americans of the Guale Tribe, who were reburied on the parcel in 1985. Harrison Cemetery Location (Amelia Island)1300 Plantation Point DriveFernandina Beach, FL 32034 USA GPS Location 30.5 -81.4 Contact Mary Long at harrisonfamilycemeteryonamelia@gmail.com for access. Additional Information about the Harrison Cemetery The fenced cemetery is approximately 120 ft by 75 ft. The fence posts are from the Mary Lee Jones Hamilton Family home in Jacksonville which burned in the great fire of 1901, while the fence was salvaged from a Tennessee cemetery moved during the creation of Tellico Lake. The Harrison Family Cemetery was previously surveyed prior to 1954 (Harrison Private Cemetery, Amelia Island, Nassau County) and later in the 1990’s and reported in Cemeteries of Amelia Island Florida (1997). The 2013 Survey team is shown in the attached photograph. The Survey document completed by Jim Miller for the latest survey in 2013 can be seen here. Harrison Cemetery General Photographs

Harrison Cemetery Read More »

Franklintown Cemetery Layout

Franklintown Cemetery

Old-timers tell us that there was a deed to the Franklintown Cemetery issued in 1924; it, however was never recorded and has been lost. In 1971, the owners of what is now Plantation Point subdivision, Harry and Melba Sahlman, deeded the cemetery and an access easement to the trustees of the Franklintown Cemetery Association. The configuration of the present fenced area matches the 1971 deed description, but old-timers say that the missing deed covered a larger area and that there are graves outside the fence. The recorded deed gives the trustees the right to determine those entitled to be interred there; burials are reserved in perpetuity to “all descendants and their spouses of those colored workers prior to and at the close of the War Between the States belonging on and to the old ‘Harrison Plantation’.” In plain language, burial privileges are restricted to those who are descendants of the Harrison Plantation slaves. Franklintown Cemetery Location (Amelia Island)1300 Plantation Point DriveFernandina Beach, FL 32034 GPS Location 30.569958, -81.455926 The Franklintown Cemetery is located off A1A at Plantation Point Drive on Amelia Island. Florida Master Site File ID NA00726, established circa 1860, 52 graves. Additional Information about the Franklintown Cemetery Anyone interested in further details should see Nassau County Circuit Court records book 15, pages 469-472. Many of the obvious graves are unmarked. Of those marked, a high percentage are military; there is one marking a Union soldier. A practice of shallow burial with the top of the encasing concrete vault

Franklintown Cemetery Read More »

Layout of the Fernandez Cemetery

Fernandez Cemetery (aka Villalonga Park)

The Fernandez Reserve is also known as Villalonga Park and is situated on the site of the Spanish land grant given to Domingo Fernandez. This is the last remaining parcel of the plantation which had been sold by the Fernandez heirs to David Levy Yulee in the 1850’s when the town of New Fernandina was founded. In July 1870 the Florida Town Improvement Company executed a deed to Bishop Augustin Verot of the Roman Catholic Church in the Diocese of Florida, transferring a parcel of land 30 by 200 feet for the use of the parish church. the deed also stipulated that the land known as the “Fernandez Acre” or “Cemetery Reserve” is to be reserved to the heirs of Domingo Fernandiz in perpetuity. (Amelia Island)Between 4th and 5th Street north of Broom StreetFernandina Beach, FL 32034 USA GPS Location 30.673999, -81.461293 The Fernandez Reserve Burial Grounds are located in the center of the Park between St. Michael’s Catholic Church and the former St. Joseph’s Academy. The location in Fernandina Beach is between North 4th Street and North 5th Street just north of Broome St. The Burial Grounds are surrounded by a wrought iron fence. Further Information about the Fernandez Cemetery A large monument for the Villalonga family is inscribed on four sides as follows (map location #15): West Side: Sacred to the memory of our beloved and only son JULIUS A. VILLALONGA born September 19th 1837 on Amelia Island Fla Died in Savannah GA July 1st 1877 South Side:

Fernandez Cemetery (aka Villalonga Park) Read More »

Amelia Plantation Chapel Columbarium

The Amelia Island Plantation Chapel Columbarium, located in the Memorial Garden at the Amelia Plantation Chapel, was dedicated on Palm Sunday, March 27, 1994. the minister, Dr. Cavid L. Uhl, and the President of the Governing Board, Marilyn Evans-Jones presided. The Amelia Plantation Chapel is an interdenominational community church and was formally dedicated on October 29,1990. To reach the Chapel, enter the main entrance to the Amelia Island Plantation off A1A, turn left at the entrance for the Administration Building, follow the circle around and turn to the right on Bowman Road. There is no restricted entry. Installation of the cremains in the niches are currently restricted to those who had membership in the Chapel congregation. Address (Amelia Island)36 Bowman RoadFernandina Beach, FL 32034 USA(904) 277-8323 GPS Location: 30.557201, -81.447788

Amelia Plantation Chapel Columbarium Read More »

Bosque Bello Cemetery Sign

Bosque Bello Cemetery – New Section

The Bosque Bello Cemetery is located one mile North of Atlantic Avenue on North 14th Street within the city of Fernandina Beach, Florida on Amelia Island. The old and new sections of Bosque Bello Cemetery are together on one site. The “New” section of the cemetery was added by the City of Fernandina on land donated by J.G. Cooper and Sadie Cooper in 1945. Location (Amelia Island)1240 N 14th StreetFernandina Beach, FL 32034 USA(904) 310-3362 GPS Location: 30.686466, -81.451044 About the New Bosque Bello Cemetery Survey The original section of the Cemetery was surveyed during 1987 by the General Duncan Lamont Clinch Historical Society of Amelia Island. You can find that survey here. In 1997, the Amelia Island Genealogy Society updated the original survey to include later burials, and surveyed the “New” section of the cemetery. This information is included in the current database. Mary Nelson, Nancy Sturges, Hal Belcher, Jean Mann, Joan Johnson, Pat Graham, Bill Hayes, and Ken Sturges Jr. completed this second survey. A complete resurvey of the New Cemetery is underway in 2012 and will include at least one photograph of each headstone. We are currently about 75% complete, and this section of the Bosque Bello Cemetery is estimated to contain 3,500 graves. The Graves in the new section of the cemetery are divided into 71 Divisions, including Babyland, and 32 Blocks. The Divisions are subdivided into Subdivisions A through E, which are divided again into sections and lots. The Blocks are subdivided directly into lots.

Bosque Bello Cemetery – New Section Read More »

Bosque Bello Cemetery Sign

Bosque Bello Cemetery – Original or Old Section

The Bosque Bello Old Cemetery is located one mile North of Atlantic Avenue on North 14th Street within the city of Fernandina Beach, Florida on Amelia Island. The original section of the cemetery is thought to have been established in 1798 but the oldest identifiable grave, of French Soldier Peter Bouissou de Nicar, dates from 1813. Location (Amelia Island)1240 N 14th StreetFernandina Beach, FL 32034 USA(904) 310-3362 GPS Location: 30.686466, -81.451044 About the Original Bosque Bello Cemetery Survey The Cemetery Survey was conducted during 1987 by the General Duncan Lamont Clinch Historical Society of Amelia Island, by the following members of that society: George E. Barnes; Claire and Harold J. Belcher; Nancy and Scott R. Berryman; Mary Holt Boswell; David G. Bowers; Harry Bridges; Marie and Ernest Chaplin; Par Cottrell; Mary Isabel Doak; Carolyn Durden; Suzanne Hardee; Betty Long; Audrey Mertz; Fran and David Mudd; Ruth N. Neely; William F. Oliver; Annie Francis; Jack Walker; and Patsy and Allen P. Whitfield. In 1997, the Amelia Island Genealogy Society update the original survey to include later burials, and this information is included in the current database. Mary Nelson, Nancy Sturges, Hal Belcher, Jean Mann, Joan Johnson, Pat Graham, Bill Hayes, and Ken Sturges Jr. completed this second survey. Confederate Soldier burials were supplied by Jean Mann and Ken Sturges respectively, and their input is appreciated. The Grave location is given in two parts, first the name of the plot, if identified, and then the location on the map shown, so a

Bosque Bello Cemetery – Original or Old Section Read More »

Scroll to Top