May 1, 1967


Mr. Janes Lindsley
214 St. George St.
St. Augustine, Florida

Dear Jim:

Thanks for the copy of Eleamor Barnes' notes on the Horruytiner
family, which like the notes you left with Mr. Wolfe, we will add to our
file on this house. It is our fond hope that when a research program out-
side of St. Augustine can be activated, that information on this house--
and many others--can be located in Spain, in Cuba or in Mexico, where
the documents of the First Spanish Period were moved. It is a very un-
happy circumstance that we know so little about these houses before 1763,
due to the fact that none of these documents (unlike the Second Spanish
Period) were retained here. Even those which Stetson brought back from
the Archives of the Indies and which have been extensively used in Gaines-
ville seem to provide very little information on houses; they are almost
all political and diplomatic documents.

We have at last been able to establish contact with a University in
Spain which has agreed to apply some of its scholars to research for us,
and one very distinguished scholar who has worked with Mark Boyd of Tal-
lahassee for years on the de la Puente material, has agreed to assist these
students, although he cannot do it himself. I am hoping to get to Spain some-
time this year and get this program organized, as we seem unable to do by
mail.

If we can ever locate a large Body of the real estate documents--
Escrituras--of the First Spanish Period, or groups of family papers still
in the hands of their descendants, we may be able to break open this log jam.





*



Mr. James Lindaley
Page two
May 1. 1967


It applies particularly to the Governor's Mansion, for which we have
inadequate data for 1763, although we have relatively full material after
that.

I wonder if the Horruytiners did not take their family papers with
them when they left St. Augustine for Campeche? Dr. Rubio Mane is not
encouraging about the survival of anything but the church vital records,
which is where he found the data which I sent on to you. He says that the
family archives in Campeche were mostly all burned during the Revolution.

You know we will help you in any way we can, but there's got to be
some material to work from.

Cordially,


Earle W. Newton
Executive Director


EWN mr


cc: Mr. H. E. Wolfe