Latta Malette "LM" Autrey (July 7, 1876 – May 17, 1938) was an American politician who served one term as the 25th mayor of

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, from 1926 to 1929. Two of his former homes are now designated as historical landmarks, the Autrey-Williams House in

Newton, Texas Newton is a city in and the county seat of Newton County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,633 at the 2020 census. History Both Newton County and its county seat, Newton, were named after John Newton, a supposed hero of the Americ ...

, built in 1912 and currently being restored by David Holmes, as well as the L. M. Autrey House in the Lake Eola Heights Neighborhood in Orlando, Florida.

Early life

Latta Malette Autrey was born on July 7, 1876, in

Cumberland County, North Carolina Cumberland County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 334,728, making it the List of counties in North Carolina, fifth-most populo ...

, the first of six children born to Alfred Randley (1847-1892) and Elizabeth R. (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Johnson Johnson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Johnson (surname), a common surname in English * Johnson (given name), a list of people * List of people with surname Johnson, including fictional characters *Johnson (composer) (1953–2011) ...

) Autrey (1855-1892). He was likely born in/near

Eastover, North Carolina Eastover is a town in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,656 at the 2020 census. It was incorporated on July 25, 2007. History The Robert Williams House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places ...

, as that is where he lived in 1880.

Marriage and children

Autrey married Leila Brannan on November 1, 1903, in

Greene County, Mississippi Greene County is a county located on the southeast border of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,530. Its county seat is Leakesville. Established in 1811, the county was named for General Nathanael Gree ...

. He had first met her there. They then decided to live there until around 1908 when the turpentine industry was exhausted. They then moved to

Jasper, Texas Jasper is a Administrative divisions of Texas, city in and the county seat of Jasper County, Texas, Jasper County, Texas, United States. Its population was 6,884 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, down from 7,590 at the 2010 Un ...

. They had 7 children in the course of their marriage, Gladys, Lottie Mae, Anna "Annie" Rosa, Latta Malette Jr. (who died at 3 years 9 months), Olive "Ollie", Elizabeth "Bessie", and Walter. The first three were born in Mississippi, and the rest were born in Texas.

Orlando Mayorship

Sometime before 1926, the family moved to

. There, Latta decided to run for mayor, and won. He assumed duty on January 1, 1926. On January 1, 1929, he was replaced by his predecessor

James LeRoy Giles James LeRoy Giles (June 16, 1863 – May 3, 1946) was the twenty-second, twenty-fourth, and twenty-sixth Mayor of Orlando, serving non-consecutively from 1916 to 1920, 1924 to 1926, and 1929 to 1932. He also served as an alternate delegate t ...

. Following his defeat, the family relocated yet again to

Valdosta, Georgia Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, Lowndes County in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area, Valdosta metropolitan statistical area, ...

Death

Autrey died of

coronary thrombosis Coronary thrombosis is defined as the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel of the heart. This blood clot may then restrict blood flow within the heart, leading to heart tissue damage, or a myocardial infarction, also known as a heart ...

caused by

arterial hypertension Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms itself. It is, however, a major risk ...

and

atherosclerosis Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis, characterized by development of abnormalities called lesions in walls of arteries. This is a chronic inflammatory disease involving many different cell types and is driven by eleva ...

on May 17, 1938, in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

."Florida Deaths, 1877-1939", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FP9B-X8H : accessed 2 April 2022), Latta M. Autrey, 1938. He was 61 years old. He was interred at Sunset Hill Cemetery.

References

* Orlando Sentinel - November 12, 1995 "Early Mayors Guided Orlando Through The Boom-bust Years" Mark Andrews of The Sentinel Staff * Texas Historical Commission list of landmarks * A Guide to Historic Orlando By Steve Rajtar {{DEFAULTSORT:Autry, Latta Malette 1876 births 1938 deaths American business executives Mayors of Orlando, Florida People from Newton, Texas