For some time I have been running mini-biographies of Pagosa Country pioneers.
The source of this information is a collection of obituaries. I believe these are interesting and help us understand the history of our chosen home because they help us understand the people who first settled here.
And so, we continue.
Joseph A. Latta was born at Dallas, Ark., March 14, 1858, and died at Juanita, down the river from Pagosa Springs, July 4, 1933. On Jan.1, 1878, at Rocky Comfort, Mo., he married Nancy Arabella Hatcher. The couple had five children. In 1896, the couple moved to Dyke, a few miles west of Pagosa Springs, and six years later located at Juanita.
Nancy Arabella Hatcher Latta was born near Dubuque, Iowa, June 20, 1858, and died Oct. 16, 1944. She was a member of the Hatcher family, including several brothers who were prominent in early Pagosa-area history.
Alvern Maud Mellinger was born Jan.10, 1892, at Trinidad, Colo., to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Mellinger. The family moved to Pagosa Springs shortly after she was born. She married Harry E. Lattin July 2, 1907.
Earl Lattin was born October 11, 1893, at Chama, N.M., to Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Lattin. He married Phoebe Jones in July of 1920 and passed away in June of 1966.
George Dewey Lattin was born in the San Luis Valley Feb. 16, 1899, He moved to Pagosa Springs in 1902, and passed away Jan.3, 1936.
Harry E. Lattin the son of Samuel and Rachel Lattin, was born Jan. 13, 1886, at Kansas City, Missouri. He was reared in the logging business of northern New Mexico. On July 1, 1907, he married Maude Alvern Melliunger and the couple had seven children. He died Oct. 26, 1972.
Ida Florence Lattin, nee Holiday, was born to Nick and Florence Holliday July 11, 1907, at Neodesha, Kans., and moved with her parents to New Mexico in 1908. She married Melvin “Toots” Lattin Sept. 9, 1925.
John H. Lattin was born July 24, 1890, at Chamita, N.M., to Samuel and Rachel Lattin. He married Matilda Jacobson December 29, 1911, in Pagosa Springs. He died in Durango April 15, 1971. He had served eight years as sheriff of Archuleta County.
Matilda Jacobson Lattin was the youngest child of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Jacobson and was born in Bourbon County, Kans., Sept. 30, 1889. She came to Pagosa Springs with her parents in 1898. She passed away in March of 1924.
Roy Samuel Lattin was born Aug. 9, 1888, in Kansas City, Missouri, and died July 2, 1960. He was the son of Samuel Wright Lattin and Rachel Frances Griffith.
