Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains

It's Christmas time.  I am swamped with shopping, school programs, Christmas parties, making gifts, and all the other daily things that make us busy.  And, this year, my business is growing, so thankfully I am busy from that as well.

Basically, my family history focus has been dimmed the past few months.  I hate it when that happens.  But, life goes on, and I fit it in where I can.

With Christmas comes music!  I love Christmas carols!  They are fun and uplifting and beautiful!  I have several favorites!  My mother has told me that at the hospital in Provo where I was born, they would broadcast the BYU games over the intercom.  But, on the day I was born there was no games, so they were playing Christmas carols instead.  "I Saw Three Ships" was playing as I was born, so as a default, it is one of my favorites. : )  And, how she had the presence of mind to remember that is beyond me!! Haha!!  There are songs that my mother sang when I was a child that are special to me, "I Wonder As I Wander" and "The Coventry Carol".  I love the carol "Angels from the Realms of Glory" that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing every year at their Christmas Concert.  I love the "Carol of the Bells" (and I can play it pretty decently on the piano now!).  I absolutely love "O Holy Night" and have sung it many times with a quartet of friends.  I should stop now, or this post is going to be all about me.

One of my favorites is "Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains."  It is a Christmas Carol written by my 3rd great-grandfather, John Menzies Macfarlane.  Over the years I have heard the story of how it was that he wrote this hymn.

John Menzies Macfarlane

"It was during the pre-holiday season of 1869 that John M. Macfarlane began to think about the approaching Christmas program.  He didn't much care for the Christmas songs he had for the choir to sing.  Why not make the highlight of the program a new song?  Time passed and began to be pressing.  Finally, in prayer, he spoke to God, but still his brain remained barren.

"The one night it came, suddenly, in a dream.

"John was awake instantly.  He shook Ann into wakefulness, crying out, 'Ann, Ann, I have the words for a song, and I think I have the music too!'

"Together they got up.  Ann lighted the bitch [a twisted piece of flannel in a dish of oil] and held it so he could see.  He hummed, wrote, erased, and wrote again, quite oblivious to the chill in the room.  Ann, clad only in her thin nightgown, looked longingly at her warm feather tick and thought aloud, 'Let it go for now, John, and finish in the morning.'  But he, fired by the Muse, gave her only a wave of the hand in reply.  At last, after what must have seemed to Ann a very long time, John leaned back, laid down his pencil, and pronounced the task finished.

"It would have been no surprise to the composer if the little Christmas carol he had composed had never been heard again after the Christmas program of 1869, but such was not to be the case.  Its simplicity, its swinging rhythm, the workmanship evident in each measure all insured its appeal to those who heard it or sang it.  But most importantly, it appealed to the highest good that resides in the human heart.

"At first, 'Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains' was sung occasionally, then again, and again.  Finally it spilled out of Dixie to be sung at Christmas time throughout the Church, to become known and loved by every Latter-day Saint.  Eventually it was destined to spread beyond the protecting mountains of Zion.  It would be sung in far-off places and in other churches.  It would become the possession of every soul who had ever thrilled over the story and message of Christmas.

"John never wrote both the words and music to another song.  Music was his talent.

" 'Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains' was published for the first time into the Juvenile Instructor on December 15, 1889, twenty years after it was composed.  It first found it's way into the L.D.S. Hymnal in the July 1, 1896 revision, four years after the death of the composer and twenty-seven years after it was written."

From Yours Sincerely, John M Macfarlane, pages 96-101

A copy of "Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains" as it originally appeared in the Juvenile Instructor.

A depiction of John Macfarlane writing the song.  

From the notes in the book Yours Sincerely, John M Macfarlane it says: "On the cover of the Instructor of December, 1961, there is reproduced a picture of Grandfather Macfarlane composing 'Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains.'  This picture, which without question was meant as a tribute to both him and his Christmas carol, contains the most remarkable errors; but then, that is poetic license.  It shows John M. Macfarlane clothed in his Sunday best, seated at an ornate parlor organ, recording the notes with a quill pen.  The light by which is writing comes from a beautiful kerosene lamp, and the inspiration for his composition emanates from the outline of the St. George Temple glowing through the window."  The author goes on to say that he should have been in a nightshirt, no one used quills any more, and the St. George Temple was not completed until ten years after the song was written. 

"Hasten the time, when from every clime,

Men shall unite in the strains sublime."

I am sure it still does his heart good to hear the generations that followed him, and people around the world, uniting in strains sublime to sing his beautiful Christmas carol.

Merry Christmas!!

Direct line ancestry: John Menzies Macfarlane --> Charlotte Ann Macfarlane --> Ruth McQuarrie --> Lulu Penrose --> Kathryn Bond --> Lora Marshall Nehring

Happy Birthday Gma Lu!!

I miss my grandmother.  She was a wonderful lady.  Today would have been her 99th birthday!  She died in 1997 right before my oldest daughter was born.  The last time I saw my Gma Lu, I told her that I really wanted my children to know her, but knowing she was going to be dying soon (I was told by the hospice nurse that she had been waiting for me to visit her before she died), she and I agreed that it was now my responsibility to make sure that my children knew her.  Hence, one of the reason for this blog.  

So, in honor of my Gma Lu's birthday, I am sharing some photos, and a story she told about one of her birthdays.

Lu Penrose - Senior photo

Lu right around the time of her marriage to Richard Bond - 1941

Lu Penrose Bond - October 1983

Lu and her granddaughters in 1993 - back: Lora Marshall, DeeDee Castle, Jennifer Castle

front: Laurel Castle, Lu Penrose Bond, Kristen Castle

My photos of Gma Lu from when she was young (that are not in profile) are copies of copies and are horrible.  If anyone has actual photos I would be so grateful to have a copy of them.

Gma talked about one of her birthdays:

One of my birthdays stands out in my mind, and I think it must have been when I was about twelve, because I invited bit girls and boys to my party for the first time, and because my birthday in close to Halloween, I had a Halloween costume party.  And everybody was coming to dinner and party and in costumes and one person came in particularly early, which we weren't too thrilled about, but we were polite, but I didn't know who the person was, but I was ashamed to admit that I didn't know who it was, and I said, "Come in."

"Am I early?"

"Well, yes, a little, but that's alright."

The rest of them were coming.  Well, so we had out dinner and played games and I kept thinking, "Who is that girl?  I don't know who she is, but I must have invited her."  And, I think, "Oh, that crazy Joe, he probably forgot the party was tonight.  His birthday is tomorrow and maybe he didn't even care about coming to the party tonight.  Well, he's the loser."

Anyway, we played games and did all those things, like bobbing for apples in a big wash tub thing and we had pumpkins with candles in them for lights.  We played spin the bottle and all those exciting games.  Had birthday cake and ice cream and when all the kids were ready to leave to go home, this girl came over tome and she says, "You don't recognize me, do you?"  Put me right not he spot, and I said, "No, I don't.  At first I thought you were so-and-so and then I thought, no I didn't invite her."  It was this Joe that I thought had forgotten to come to the party and he was in costume made up like a girl, everything about his costume and his makeup was so perfect nobody recognized him.  Nobody knew that the girl was a boy.  And that was Joe Paytrick that lived two houses away from me all my life, till I grew up and got married,  He was invited tot eh party and I thought he didn't come.  Nobody knew who that strange girl was who came to the party in a dress and long hair.  Absolutely perfect, and I think one of his sisters must have helped him.  Maybe he was wearing one of their dresses, who knows.  But that's the only party I remember from when I was young."

  (transcribed by Lora Nehring from a cassette tape recorded by Marji Castle 2 May 1982)

Here are pages from our family scrapbook that I made when Gma died.

Direct line ancestry: Lu Penrose Bond --> Kathryn Bond Berkowitz --> Lora Marshall Nehring

Gpa Marshall

My Gpa, Richard Allen Marshall, passed away today.  He was 93.  He lived a long, full life and I am glad I got to share it with him.

I love you Gpa!

Google Maps

The internet can be so cool!  Just for fun I have been entering addresses on Google Maps of great and great-great grandparents, whose homes I have photos of, to see if their homes are still there.  A lot of them are, and some are now parking lots or convenience stores.

When I was living in Arizona, my mom came to visit me and we found one of the homes that my mom had lived in as a child.  There really wasn't that much difference in the photos, other than an overhang.  And, yes, the house is still there.  I checked Googled Maps.  The overhang has been shabbily filled in to make another room.

1830 Indianola, Phoenix (Maricopa), AZ - 

My mom said she lived in this house when she was in the 1st grade, which would make this photo taken about 1949.

This photo was taken in 1992

I also looked up the home of my great-great grandparents, Frank and Henrietta Bond in Washington DC.  

This is a photo of Henrietta and Frank in front of their home in 1939.  

This is their home on 3127 Newark Street in Washington DC, probably taken around the same time frame.

I looked it up on Google Maps, and there it is!  It is s a lot closer to the road than it appears in this photo, but all the elements of the house are still there.

Unfortunately there is no way to save the maps on Google Maps, so if you are so inclined, you can always put the address in to see it for yourself.

Trick or Treat

I have been busy.  And I hate it when busy keeps me away from the things that I love to do.  Thankfully most of the busy has been with things that I love to do. : )

One of the things I have been doing this month is visiting my Gma Willie.  She is not doing very well.  She just turned 89 (I am sorry I missed her birthday on here!) and her memory is gone and she is having a hard time completing coherent sentences.  She hasn't said my name for a very long time, but last week she was moved to a new home, and she introduced me to the nurse as her grand-daughter.  I was very happy to hear her say that!

It is still hot here in California.  Fall doesn't actually start here until December, no matter what the calendar says.  We carve pumpkins the day before Halloween so they don't collapse into moldy globs of goo before the Trick -or-Treaters arrive at the door.  Costumes have to be thin so you don't sweat to death in them.  Ironically, I grew up in Alaska where my parents drove us door to door or we went Trick-or-Treating at the mall because it was too cold to walk.  I don't mean we were wimps kind of cold, I mean your breath froze in your throat kind of cold.

Anyway, in honor of Halloween and all the other things that come with the month of October, here are a few photos of my Gma Willie in Halloween costumes as a child.  These are circa 1925.

Willie Love in a cat costume in 1925

In the book, "Grandma, Tell Me Your Memories. . ." Willie said: "[Dressing up in a costume] was my favorite thing when I was little.  My mom was really good in letting us use her things to 'look older'.  Also Halloween called for costumes.  (The knee socks are the kind that we always rolled down when we weren't near home.)  Trick or Treat wasn't around when I was growing up.  We had parties and rang doorbells and ran.  It did always call for a costume."

Willie and her sister, Juanita.

It is always a "treat" to be able to share all these photos and stories.

Honoring those who have served our country - Donald William Caman

(Ooops. I missed yesterday.)

Donald William Caman also began his military career in high school. He was in the ROTC, and in his Senior year he was a commissioned officer in Company C, Second Platoon. He was on the Boy's Rifle Team as well.



From the 1939 Scroll Yearbook of Herbert Hoover High School in Glendale, California.



Donald Caman, bottom photo, standing far left

Donald Caman, bottom photo, front row sitting, 6th from the left

Donald attended the Citizen's Military Training camp in Monterey, California and was appointed corporal. This program covered four summers, but Donald's completion of the ROTC program in high school allowed him skip the initial "basic" course.



Donald was also, at some point, an R.A.F. cadet (?). He is seen in the lower right with his back to the camera.



In 1942 was at Ft. Riley in Kansas and at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina in 1943, before being sent with his division to European Theater, where he was stationed in Germany and France during WWII.



From an interview with my Gpa Don Caman, in 18 October 1998 he talked about his time in the military.

"When I was a very young teenager, my father used to teach me that American citizens had many privileges, but they also had some responsibilities. To fulfill the responsibility was to prepare yourself militarily. In those days they had what was called Citizen's Military Training Camps, CMTC. The deal was to go for a month in the summertime and be trained by the regular army, reserve officers on active duty would go through the basic course, or the red, white, and blue course, which I did, for four summers. If you successfully passed the four courses, then you coulees apply to take the tenth series course, the correspondence course, and then you could dapple for commission as a second lieutenant, which I did. There was no pay, the reimbursement was $.05 a mile for your travel from home to the military post. Well, I could have gone to Ft. McArthur or Monterey. Well, I took Monterey because it was farther away and I got more five cents. I joined the cavalry, which at the time was a horse cavalry, because I figured riding a horse beat walking in the infantry. So, that's what started my military career.

"After I completed school, and after about a month at Ft. Riley - I was teaching communications to the recruits our at the CRTC, which is the Cavalry Replacement Training Center - I got my orders to report tot he reconnaissance troop of the 100th infantry division at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina.

"[I was in the Army] four years and ten days. I was enlisted, and officers are not enlisted. When my term was up and I had the points to get out. I got out and I stayed in the reserve and I got called for Korea, although I didn't go to Korea. I was instructor at Ft. Knox in Armored School, and then, that call up was supposed to for two years, but it only lasted seventeen months, so I separated and I came back [to California] and joined the Guard then, stayed in the Guard until April '65. I had command of the 1st battalion, 160th armored infantry battalion and the summer after I retired it was the battalion that was called in for the riots in Los Angeles in 1965. The Watts riots. If I had known that was going to happen, I would have stayed in."




Donald William Caman was buried with military honors in the Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California. He took his responsibility to serve his country seriously, and today I honor him.

Direct line ancestry: Donald William Caman --> Donald William (Caman) Marshall --> Lora Marshall Nehring

Honoring those who have served our country(?) - Frank William Penrose

It always amazes me how much I do NOT know about my ancestors until I try to sit down and write about them.



I know that my great-grandfather, Frank William Penrose, registered for the military on, interestingly enough, September 11, 1918. Below is a copy of his registration card.



Other than that I have no idea if Frank actually served in the military. I have never seen any photos of him in uniform or anything like that, and I don't remember my grandmother ever mentioning that he served in WWI. He was 42 years old at the time of his registration, so I doubt he served for that reason alone.

Does anyone know? Does anyone have any photos or documentation that he served?

So, this one is actually more about the fact that he registered on 9/11. And, I will honor him, regardless. : )

Direct line ancestry: Frank William Penrose --> Lu Penrose Bond --> Kathryn Bond --> Lora Marshall Nehring

Honoring those who have served our country - Bennett Franklin Michael

Bennett Michael served in the Union Army during the Civil War. He enlisted from Champagne Co., Illinois, on August 6, 1862, and was mustered into the United States service at Kankakee, Ill., August 22 of the same year as a private of Captain Joseph Park's company "C", 76th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Colonel Alonzo W. Mack commanding. (according to the rosters it was company "G")

His regiment was with General Grant on his campaigns. He was wounded at Vicksburg, Miss., by gun shot in the right hand while on picket duty. He served on detached duty most of the time during the last year of his service around Vicksburg. He was honorably discharged on June 2, 1864, by reason of promotion to the 2nd Lieutenant of Captain Nathaniel G. Clement's company "A" 52nd Regiment U. S. Colored Troops, Colonel George M. Ziegler commanding. He was later promoted to 1st Lieutenant of his Company. He resigned on August 31, 1865, at Vicksburg, Miss. on account of being needed at home and receiving a final honorable discharge by reason of resignation. (from his obituary)


Bennett Franklin Michael's military pension record

The Civil War was a terrible conflict in this country's history, but today I honor Bennett Franklin Michael for his service to our country.

To read more about Bennett Franklin Michael's military service CLICK HERE

Direct line ancestry: Bennett Franklin Michael --> Nellie Michael --> Clarence Chapman Caman --> Donald William Caman --> Donald William (Caman) Marshall --> Lora Marshall Nehring

Honoring those who have served our country - John Avery

Today I am going way back in our family, and our nation's history, for the story of John Avery, who served our country as it became our country.

John Avery was born in Dedham, Massachusetts in 1758. The Avery family came to America in 1690. When the colonists began to rebel against England, the Avery family took up arms in the defense of liberty.


A painting of a Revolutionary War soldier, by Frank Bond, 1901

From the Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, Volume 1, page 367 it states in regards to John Avery:

Avery, John, Dedham.Private, Capt. Aaron Fuller's co., which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775, from Dedham (First Parish); service, 9 days; also, Capt. Joseph Lewis's (1st) co., Col. William McIntosh's regt.; marched to Dorchester on the alarm of March 4, 1776; service, 4 days; also, descriptive list of men enlisted from Suffolk Co. in 1779; Capt. Battle's co.; age, 20 yrs.; stature, 5 ft. 7 in.; complexion, light; residence, Dedham; delivered to Ensign Edward White; also, list of men received by Justin Ely, Commissioner, from Maj. Stephen Badlam, Superintendent of Suffolk Co., dated Springfield, Sept. 20, 1779; also, pay roll for 6 months men raised by the town of Dedham for service in the Continental Army during 1780; marched July 15, 1780; discharged Dec. 24, 1780; service, 5 mos. 20 days.

Though I have not been able to find any published paintings of John, I do have a photo of his headstone in Howland Cemetery, Conway, Franklin, Massachusetts.



If it were not for the strength and determination of the early patriots such as John Avery, we would not have the freedom we enjoy in this great country of ours. I am grateful for his service to the beginnings of our nation. Today I honor him.

Direct line ancestry: John Avery --> Lindamina Avery --> Avery John Bond --> Frank Bond --> Rolf Wallace Bond --> Richard Griffiths Bond --> Kathryn Bond --> Lora Marshall Nehring

Honoring those who have served our country - Wilburta June Love

Next Sunday is the 10th anniversary of 9/11. I have been to the top of the World Trade Towers several times when I was studying architecture in New York. I have a drawing that I did of the New York skyline with the Towers in it. I remember that morning when I woke up and saw one tower burning, smoke billowing, on the television. It was surreal and at first I could not grasp what I was seeing. As the towers fell I cried and cried, knowing how many people must be in those buildings and the crushing destruction that was caused as they fell.

There is a website called 911day.org and I was impressed by their call to perform some act of service or tribute to honor those who lost their lives.

As I have mentioned before, we have a strong legacy of military service in this family. For generations, this family has served this country in it's times of need. I actually tried to join the Air Force when I was in college, but I wanted to fly jet fighters and I am unfortunately too short to be a pilot int he military.

In tribute to those who lost their lives on 9/11, and in honor of those who serve our country each day in the armed forces, this week I want to post stories of the members of our family who have selflessly served their country.

I am starting today with my Gma Willie - Wilburta June Love. Willie learned a strong patriotism from her parents and grandparents. While she was in High School she was a member of the ROTC, and an honorary battalion major.



From the 1939 Scroll Yearbook from Herbert Hoover High School in Glendale, California - in both photos, Wilburta Love is top center.

Wilburta was also the Captain of the Girl's Rifle Team which competed as high as the National matches which competed with squads from all over the United States.


Wilburta is on the left, holding the sword

After high school, Wilburta's military career continued.

From the book, "Grandma, Tell Me Your Memories. . . " WIlburta wrote to following:

"On 7 December 1941. . . I was just barely in Jr. College. Many boys in our high school class enlisted and many of us girls signed up for volunteer ambulance, nursing, etc. duty. We marched and took first aid, auto mechanics, etc. Many of us married instead of continuing our education because of "war fines". Nobody invaded the USA, but we thought it was a strong possibility in 1942 and 1943. Many friends - boys - died in the war.

"I could semaphore (signal) faster than anyone at a meet. Don't know why I remember that except the Morse code came into the lime-light during WWII.

"I was in parades only during '41-'43. I belonged to the Women's Ambulance Corps. Those were patriotic years!"


Wilburta is in the first row, third from the right


Wilburta is in the left center of the photo


Wilburta is in the group of two women in the center, in the back

Wilburta was promoted to First Lieutenant in the Glendale Women's Ambulance Corps and was in command of the first platoon.


an undated clipping from a Glendale newspaper

My grandmother is a very patriotic woman and I am grateful for the service that she gave for our country. I honor her today.

Direct line ancestry: Wilburta June Love --> Donald William (Caman) Marshall --> Lora Marshall Nehring

Charles W. Penrose

I found out today that there are no written biographies of Charles W. Penrose, which I found surprising. I was looking for a feed on the lds.org website and I stumbled across the Legacy podcasts from the Mormon Channel. Episode 57 is The Life of Charles W. Penrose. It is a 45 minute discussion with Historian Kenneth Godfrey on the life of missionary, Apostle, and First Presidency member Charles W. Penrose. I learned quite a few things I hadn't known about him.



To hear the broadcast CLICK HERE

Direct line ancestry: Charles William Penrose --> Frank William Penrose --> Lu Penrose Bond --> Kathryn Bond Berkowitz --> Lora Marshall Nehring

Ann Chatterly Macfarlane - 1800s women's lib

I have grown up hearing from my Gma Lu what an amazing woman Ann Chatterly Macfarlane was. Gma Lu particularly liked to talk about how Gma Mac took care of herself and her family. Because of this, Ann Macfarlane has always been an inspiration and an example for me.



In my Gma Lu's own words: "My great grandmother, Ann Chatterly Macfarlane, was a very independent woman. And the things she wanted, she worked for. She was like an 1800s woman'd lib. She worked hard and she had a good life and she stayed independent all her life. She died in her eighties, and she was still paying her way, doing whatever she wanted to do. But she, through trading or however she got them, she got some sheep. And she really tended them herself. Bred them, she raised them. She sheared them, sold the wool. Sold what wool she didn't use herself, because she used to make yarn from the wool of the sheep and make their clothes, and dyed the wool the color she wanted with the plants that grew around St. George. And the money she got for selling her excess wool she called her pin money, and that was for her to do whatever she wanted to do for herself. It didn't go for food or clothes or school or anything, it was just for her. And in those early days in Utah, people paid their taxes and their tithing with things like eggs and wool and vegetables and whatever they had, that's how they paid their bills because they didn't have cash.

"Ann Chatterly Macfarlane was John Macfarlane's first wife and during the days of polygamy , John married two other wives. And when things were getting pretty desperate and the federal authorities were after all the men who had more than one wife, John decided that he would take all of his families and go to Mexico. And Ann Chatterly Macfarlane, my great grandmother, wanted no part of that. She said, 'This is my home. I worked hard to have a good home here and my children and I are not going to Mexico. You go to Mexico if you want, and if you ever want to come back and see me I will be here. But I will not go to Mexico.' And she didn't.

"She stayed in St. George and supported herself and her, I think, nine children, who all grew up, got families of their own eventually. But John took his other two wives and all of their children and went to Mexico and that was even a harder life than they had in St. George. But my great grandmother did not go to Mexico and when John became very ill and he came back to St. George, and my great grandmother took care of him. He died in St. George, leaving his other two wives and all those children in Mexico. They came back. They had to sell everything they had in Mexico to get enough money to came back to St. George. Originally John had said that Ann, if she wasn't going with them, and she was working for her own money herself, and she did it. She kept her own nine children in food, clothing, and shelter." (transcribed from a recorded interview, 2 May 1982)

In the book, Yours Sincerely, John M. Macfarlane written by L.W. Macfarlane, M.D. it says of John's departure to Mexico: "It was John M.'s suggestion that Ann accompany him to Mexico, as she had to St. Thomas. But Ann, with the memories still very fresh of the pioneering she had done there, quite understandably declined. In this Tillie supported her, and the two women stood four square. Ann then made a suggestion of her own: 'Take Lizzie. She has little children who need a father. You should have your little family with you.' With this John M. agreed, and so it was settled."


The Macfarlane family. Taken on the morning Tillie and her family left St. George for Mexico, October 31, 1891. Top, left to right: Andrew Winsor, Jennie M. Clark, Sarah M. Mathis, Caddie M. Andrus, William Macfarlane *, Isaac Macfarlane * (holding Heppie Milne), Robert McQuarrie, Robert Macfarlane McQuarrie, John Morton Macfarlane *, David H. Morris. Second row: Aggie M. Winsor (holding Leon), Tillie Macfarlane, Ann C. Macfarlane, Nellie M. Frost, Annie M. McQuarrie * (holding Irvine), Nora A. Macfarlane (holding Menzies), Front row: Tillie Winsor, Menzies John Macfarlane, Erastus Macfarlane, Ann Macfarlane, Chauncey Macfarlane, Maud M. Judd, Ruth M. Penrose, Clyde McQuarrie, John M. McQuarrie, Lottie M. Worthen, Wallace Macfarlane, Laura Macfarlane, Flora M. Brooks. (from the book, Yours Sincerely, John M. Macfarlane written by L.W. Macfarlane, M.D.) (*) denoted Ann's children.

Here is a closer look at Ann Macfarlane in 1891.



Below is a copy of a letter that Ann wrote on 19 December 1909.




To see another story about Ann CLICK HERE

Direct line ancestry: Ann Chatterly Macfarlane --> Charlotte Ann Macfarlane McQuarrie --> Ruth McQuarrie Penrose --> Lu Penrose Bond --> Kathryn Bond Berkowitz --> Lora Marshall Nehring

I found them all!!

I found all of the Camann children!! Woohoo!

I have been working on this for a few months, and today I found the last one!! In a copy of Christoph's biography, it says that he and Louise had ten living children. I have found information in obituaries, on the internet and this week I had talked to a very nice lady at the Historical Society of North German Settlements in WNY, and she sent me a page from the Holy Ghost Church records, and on that list was the one child I was missing!

So, here is the information I have about Christoph and Louise Camann and all ten of their children:

Christoph Friedrich Camann
parents: Dr. Carl (Charles) Gotthilf Camann (in Brussow in the Neumark) and Marie Karch (not married)
birth: 30 September 1807 - Brussow, Prussia
occupation: Slippermaker (per 1838 court document), School teacher and Sexton at Holy Ghost Church, New Bergholz (per biography in the “Kirchliches Informatorium”, official publication of the Synod of the Prussian Emigrated Lutheran Church, Dec 1857)
emigrated to America: Hamburg, Germany to New York, New York, 26 August 1843 on the Barque Rainbow (35 years old)
married: 30 September 1838 - Bergholz, Niagara, New York
death: 27 October 1857 - Bergholz, Niagara, New York
consumption
burial: Holy Ghost Cemetery, Bergholz, Niagara, New York
(it is confirmed that Christoph is buried there, but the headstone may have been removed)

spouse: Louise Fredricke Grobengieser
parents: John Justus Grobengieser and Caroline Wilhelmine Ribicke
birth: 5 September 1815 - Brussow, Prussia
emigrated to America: Hamburg, Germany to New York, New York, 26 August 1843 on the Barque Rainbow (28 years old)
death: 6 Mar 1895 - Bergholz, Niagara, New York
burial: Saint James Lutheran Church Cemetery, Bergholz, Niagara, New York



children:
1. Frederich August Camann
birth: about 1839 (18 years old at time of father's death in 1857)
emigrated to America: Hamburg, Germany to New York, New York, 26 August 1843 on the Barque Rainbow (4 years old)
death: date unknown, New York, United States

2. Augustus William (August Wilhelm Camann) Caman
birth: 1 Jan 1841 - Brussow, Prussia
emigrated to America: Hamburg, Germany to New York, New York, 26 August 1843 on the Barque Rainbow (2 years old)
military: Private, Company A, 28th Regiment, Sixtieth New York Infantry, Civil War (Union)
spouse: Charlotte Courtney
married: 17 September 1866 - Lockport, Niagara, New York (in the home of her father)
occupation: Wagon maker/Carriage Builder - Bergholz, Town of Wheatfield, New York and LaCyne, Kansas
death: 27 Oct 1857 (50 years, 27 days) - Bergholz, Niagara, New York
consumption
burial: Oaklawn Cemetery, LaCygne, Linn, Kansas




3. Wilhelm Julius Camann
birth: about Feb 1842
emigrated to America: Hamburg, Germany to New York, New York, 26 August 1843 on the Barque Rainbow (1 year 6 months old)
death: date unknown, New York, United States

4. Louise W Camann
birth: 1845
death: 1907
burial: Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, Erie, New York



5. Charles (Carl) Gotthilf Camann
birth: 21 February 1846 - Niagara, Niagara, New York
spouse: Emilie Grassman
death: 22 Feb 1919 - Niagara, Niagara, New York
burial: Holy Ghost Cemetery, Bergholz, Niagara, New York




6. Johannes Heinrich Camann
birth: 24 May 1848

7. Paul Leberecht Camann
birth: 25 Feb 1850 - Niagara, Niagara, New York
death: 21 June 1868 - Niagara, Niagara, New York
burial: Saint James Lutheran Cemetery, Bergholz, Niagara, New York



8. Augusta Louise Camann
birth: 13 May 1852 - Niagara, Niagara, New York
spouse: Herman Ferdinand Stieg
death: 1926
burial: Saint John Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery, Niagara County, New York



9. Anna Lydia Camann
birth: 10 June 1854
death: 1935
buried: Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, Erie, New York



10. Martha Henriette Camann
birth: 26 June 1856
spouse: Mr. Wendell "of Buffalo, NY" (from Augustus Caman’s obituary)
death: 1936
burial: Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, Erie, New York


This is kind of funny! This is the Camann plot marker from the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, New York. When I was looking at the photo up close, you can see Martha's headstone in the background. The plot marker is blocking the last number of her death year.

Direct line ancestry: Christoph Friederich Camann --> Augustus William Caman --> William Harrison Caman --> Clarence Chapman Caman -- Donald William Caman --> Donald William (Caman) Marshall --> Lora Marshall Nehring