William Harrison Caman is an example of one of the quiet superstars of American life. He didn't do anything overly amazing, but he was instrumental in many people's lives. (No pun intended!)
William was born in Elmwood, Knox, Illinois in 1867, the son of Augustus and Charlotte Caman. Charlotte died when William was not quite three years.
William began his life with a love of music. Although there is no mention, as far as I have been able to find, of how early William began to learn to play instruments, at the age of 19 he was good enough to be hired in a band.
"I had played with my hometown band at La Cygne, Kansas, and one day in the spring of 1887 I was in Kansas City when the circus came to town. I took in the show,for a circus was always a thrill to me, and got a seat as near the band as possible.
"When it came time for the band to lead the procession around the ring, I heard the leader inquiring what had become of the cornetist. One of the bandsmen said the cornetist would be there soon but he failed to show up, and the director decided to play without him.
"I felt I could hold down such a job, so I volunteered my services to the director. He evidently decided that any kind of a trumpet player was better than none and accepted my offer. He asked me to remain after the show. I did, and soon found myself in a job at the sum of $10 a week with food and shelter furnished.
"The circus was S. H. Barrett's New United Railroad shows. The fact it traveled by rail put it ahead of the lesser shows which moved from town to town on wagon roads." (Day World-Herald, Omaha, Neb., December 22, 1940)
Following his summer with the circus, William settled in southern Kansas and was band leader in several towns there, including his own, "The Caman Band".
William got his start in his career accidentally. In an interview with Donald William Caman (William's grandson) on 18 October 1998, Don described what happened.
"When William was sitting watching trains, that was what you did before radio and television, the train pulled into town and two men got off. They told William that they were expecting a shipment of telephone equipment, like switchboards and telephones, and they asked him if he would watch for it. Later when it arrived, William called the men to let them know that it had gotten there. They told him to put it together and start up the telephone business there. So, that is how William started working for the Lincoln Nebraska Telephone Company. He ended up being their district manager." The Lincoln Telephone Company was a forerunner in the spread of telephone service, and increasingly improved quality of service, throughout the midwest. William retired in 1933.
William Harrison Caman - 1924
William and Nellie Michael were married in 1889 and they had two children, Hazel and Clarence. William continued to serve as director of many bands, including the Beatrice Community Band and the Shrine Band. He was a member of the Shriners and a Mason.
William Harrison Caman in his Shrine Band Leader Uniform - circa 1940
I recently contacted the Gage County Historical Society, who sent me several copies of newspaper articles and clippings from their archives about the Caman family, including a photo of the house in which the Caman family resided in at 425 North Fourth Street, Beatrice, Nebraska.
William died in 1944 and is buried with his wife and daughter in the Evergreen Home Cemetery in Beatrice, Nebraska. The caretaker at the cemetery was very kind to go out and take photos of the headstones and send them to me. I am always very grateful for the willingness of people every where to go out of their way to help with family history research!
The Caman family plot in the Evergreen Home Cemetery in Beatrice, Nebraska
William Harrisno Caman's headstone at the Evergreen Home Cemetery in Beatrice, Nebraska
Four generations of Camans: taken in Beatruce, Nebraska in 1920
Direct line ancestry: William Harrison Caman --> Clarence Chapman Caman --> Donald William Caman --> Donald William (Caman) Marshall --> Lora Marshall Nehring
