William Amory Underhill 1910 - 1999

Introduction

William Amory Underhill, 1910 - 1999, was my first cousin once removed, whom I considered more of an uncle than cousin since he was only two years older than my mother and a generation older than I. In my family, he was known as Amory, not William. Until I moved to Arlington, Virginia with my wife, Karen, in 1976 as a young adult, I had only met Amory once on a visit by him to my hometown of Okeechobee, Florida. But I had heard much about him over the years because he was one of the few people in my collection of relatives who had distinguished himself by leaving Okeechobee and the cattle business, moving with his mother and father, Martha Mable and Wilford Perry Underhill to DeLand where he was enrolled in and was graduated from Stetson University and later the Stetson Law School. His grandparents, William Michael and Lena Walker Alderman had previously moved to the area to live next to Cassadaga, since they had an interest in the Spiritualist movement prevalent there, as did Amory's parents.

Amory was held out to me as someone who transcended his Okeechobee roots to not only receive a college education but also a law degree followed by service in the Navy as a junior officer in WWII followed by the position of Assistant US Attorney General in the Truman Administration to be capped by many years as a successful lawyer in Washington, DC. It was at this later time that I visited him at his law office on K Street and at the Democratic Club on Capitol Hill for the five years I lived in the Washington, DC. Area. He was always gracious and kind to me as his young relative and exposed me to people and things I would not have otherwise seen. He would give me occasional advice but had harsh words for me once when I opined that the Stetson Law School could not possibly be of the same high caliber as the law school of a particular Ivy League university. His response was quite harsh, and I fear that his opinion of me never fully recovered. After my family moved from the DC suburbs to Tampa, Florida, on our occasional trips to or from the Carolinas we would stop in to visit with Amory in DeLand if he happened to be there instead of DC at the time. He was always gracious and made us feel welcome, usually taking us to dine at his favorite place there.

The material presented here is all thanks to the diligence of his secretary, Marsha Titus, during all his years as a lawyer in DC. She donated many of his papers to the Stetson University Library and organized some of the rest. What you see below is a small portion of that material passed on to me because of my relation to Amory and my interest in such things. And, I have decided to put some of the material here since others may find it interesting.

A photo of Amory and my wife, Karen Kalshoven LaMartin, at the Shorham Hotel, Washington, DC, in April of 1976: Photo

William LaMartin 2017

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William Amory Underhill 1910 - 1999

Introduction

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Basinger

Okeechobee

Cassadaga

Family at Cassadaga

Spirit Cards (communication with the deceased via a medium) with transcriptions

Lily Dale, New York

Department of Justice

Politics and Friends

Miscellaneous