Camann photos

Remember how excited I was a while back when I found all the Camann children!

My dad has been visiting us through this summer and he brought a box of family history that his father, Don Caman, had compiled.  I have been going through the box and scanning all the documents and photos, etc.  Yesterday, I came across a photo, and dad and I were trying to figure out who it was, as (sigh!) there was no name or date on the back of the photo.  (SOAPBOX: Write on the backs of your photos people!!)

We could tell it was a Camann, as it bore a striking resemblance to Carl Camann, as seen in this not-so-great copy of a photograph of Augustus Camann (my 3rd great-grandfather) and his brother, Carl Camann (on the right, in the right-hand photo):

But, we decided, the clothes were telling that this was not Carl, so, could it be their father Christoph Friedrich Camann??  His clothes were definitely an older style.

Then I saw this photo!!  I knew who it was before I turned the photo over.  That is what I love about family history!  You connect with people you have never met, and you KNOW them, even though you have not shared the same time on the earth.  I knew!  This is a photo of my 4th great-grandmother, Louise Friedericke Grobengiesser Camann!!

Isn't she marvelous?!!  What a beautiful photograph!  I turned it over and nearly started to cry when I saw her name written on the back of the photo.  I was instantly connected to her and all I know about her and her life!  Wonderful!!

And there was more!  In another file I found many of the other members of the Camann family! 

1. Frederich August Camann

2. Augustus William Camann

3. Wilhelm Julius Camann

4. Louise W Camann - no photo

5. Charles (Carl) Gotthilf Camann

6. Johannes Heinrich Camann

7. Paul Leberecht Camann - no photo

8. Augusta Louise Camann

9. Anna Lydia Camann

10. Martha Henriette Camann

And then, a few folders later, I found this paper, that confirms that the original photo we found was, indeed, Christoph Frederich Camann!

It is so thrilling to find wonderful photographs like these!! I love the photo of a young Augustus William Camann and the Civil War photo of his brother, Wilhelm!

I know this one is not a Camann (although her daughter would be by marriage), but I had the same reaction to this photo as I did to the one of Louise.  I am fairly certain that this is a photo of Anna Teressa Halligan, my 2nd great-grandmother. 

This photo looks very much like the photos I have of her daughter, Annie, but again, the period clothing make it seem more likely that this is Anna.  

What an absolute thrill!!  These women are so important to me and I am so happy to be able to have faces to put with the names!!

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

Thomas Halligan and James Costello

With the help of my Halligan cousin, Cynthia, we think we may have found the name of Thomas Halligan's father.  And, his wife, Ann's, father as well.

This is from the website www.mayoancestors.com (The Mayo is for Mayo County, Ireland) and it shows the marriage between Thomas Halligan and Ann Costello.  Listed as witnesses 1 and 2 are James Costello and Thomas Halligan.  On another record it refers to them as "pt" instead of witness.  Cynthia and I are speculating that "pt" stands for parent, as it is completely reasonable that the fathers would stand in as witnesses.  So, it would seem that Thomas Halligan is Thomas Halligan's father, and James Costello is Ann Costello's father.

Direct line ancestry: Thomas Halligan:James Costello --> Thomas Halligan:Ann Costello --> Anna Teressa Halligan --> Annie Marie Sammon --> Donald William Caman --> Donald William (Caman) Marshall --> Lora Teressa Marshall Nehring

Pioneer Rebecca

It's Rebecca's turn to do a pioneer trek this year.  The Fresno West Stake is putting on a "two" day Youth Pioneer Handcart Trek up at Millar Ranch in Coarsegold, California.  They went from Friday evening to Saturday late afternoon.  Amanda is out of town for  State FFA Finals and couldn't go......besides she already experienced the four day trek and didn't want to listen to kids whine about being out for only one day.  : )

It all began well, but when they started the trek on Saturday morning, Rebecca's allergies overcame her and she couldn't breathe!  She had to stop and wait for a vehicle to take her back to the base camp.  She ended up being one of the pioneers who "died" on plains.  Poor Rebecca.  She said she had fun though.  At least we know it is good she was not out for four days with those allergies.

Funerals are really just Family Reunions

I am not a big fan of funerals.  Let me rephrase, I am not a big fan of viewings.  I have never been comfortable with the idea.  I have told my husband repeatedly, my funeral -- no viewing!  The deceased never look like themselves, and they aren't there anyway.  Take my Gma Lu's funeral, for example.  My grandmother always had a beautiful olive complexion, yet the funeral home put peach colored make up on her.  I took one look and said, that is NOT my grandmother.  I have other ways of honoring the dead than by "viewing" them.

Anyway, I digress.

I am a fan of funerals, for the fact that I get to see so many family members.  It is like a reunion sometimes and I love that!  I am grateful for any opportunity that gets my spread-out family all in one place.  Such was the case with my Gma Willie's funeral back on 17 December 2012.  (Yeah, I know it has been five months, but I have been busy with everything except family history.  Sigh.)

The morning of the funeral, my Aunt Lindi had us all meet at Sandy's Country Junction, as that was Gma Willie's favorite restaurant.  My youngest brother, Jeremy, asked what Gma's favorite was, and so he ordered a BLT sandwich in her honor.  Cool!

We went out the the Sanger Cemetery for the funeral.  It was one of those days that is threatening rain, but the sun shines while you need it to.  It was a lovely day!

I gave the Eulogy for my Gma:

Eulogy for Wilburta “Willie” June Love Linenbach - 17 December 2012

Wilburta June Love was born on 20 September 1922 in Glendale, California to Wilbur Ticknor and Florence Faye Alkire Love.  She was the second of two girls born to the Love family.

Wilburta was named after her father.  “I’m proud my parents wanted to name me after my dad, but I wish his name hadn’t been Wilbur.  Nobody could spell it and half the people couldn’t say it correctly.  I think my family started ‘Willie’ for my sake.  My father, bless his heart.  It never was a secret that he wanted a son.  He never, ever made me feel like I should have been a boy, except once.  I wasn’t too old but he told my mom one day that he’d take me for a haircut.  He did ask me if I would try a ‘boy’s bob’.  I know I did not want one but I said yes to please him and then I think I cried for 24 hours.  My mom felt sorry for me.”

In 1930, the Love family moved from Glendale to Reseda.  Willie said “ I was broken hearted, but it turned into memories that I'll never forget."  Willie loved animals and they raised dogs and chickens and other animals.

As a child Willie had a lot of fun, playing with friends and her many cousins who lived near by.  She loved school.  “I [sometimes] had to sit in a special chair in the hall for talking too much.  Parents used to visit school once in a while. Just drop by.  One time I was in ‘the hall chair’ and my mom dropped by.  She couldn’t believe it.  I think she almost laughed.  I’ll never forget it.”     

Willie attended Herbert Hoover High School in Glendale, California.  She did well in school and was the Honorary Major of the ROTC Drill team, and the Captain of the Rifle Team.  She was an excellent shot and won many competitions.  She graduated from high school in 1940.

Willie intended to go into the field of nursing, but when World War II started everyone’s plans changed.  She always felt badly about not following that dream.  Willie credited the development of her intense patriotism to her dad.

After high school, Wilburta joined the Glendale Women’s Ambulance Corps, where she served as a First Lieutenant.

While in high school Wilburta was friends with a man named Donald Caman.  They were married in 1942.  Donald went to France during the war and Willie was pregnant with their son, Donald Caman, Jr.  Donald returned to the United States and told Willie he had met someone in France and wanted a divorce.  Willie moved back to California to live with her parents, and there she met Richard Marshall.  They were married in 1947 and Richard adopted Don.  Richard had a son, Darryl, from his previous marriage.

The family moved to Fresno, where Lindi was born.  Willie took up golf and found it to be a sport that she loved very much.  In 1961 she was the Women's Champion at the Belmont Country Club.   Richard and Willie were divorced, and Willie went to work for Northrup King and then for the Fresno Unified School District as the Principal’s secretary at Ewing Elementary School.  

Willie finally found her true love, and in 1974 Willie married Clarence “Linn” Linenbach.  They shared a love of golf and traveling, and after she retired in 1976, they spent a lot of time on the road in their RV, visiting golf courses around the country.   They also went on cruises and travelled abroad, visiting Germany and Hong Kong.

Willie took up sewing as a hobby and sewed clothes for her family.  I remember matching light blue velour sweaters she made for my dad and I.

She and Linn spent thirty-three happy years together, until Linn passed away in January 2007.  

Sadly, in her later years, Willie was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and was not able to remember her full life.  Those who visited her were always greeted with a smile and a "Hi honey!"  She did not always remember our names, but she did know that we were connected to each other and that she loved us and we loved her.

I am grateful for the time that I got to spend with my Gma Willie in this life and I am comforted by the knowledge that when I see her again, she will remember me, and all of us, having been made whole again through the grace of Jesus Christ.

My cousin, Kerri June Reynolds Thomas, shared memories about her "Gram":

My Aunt Lindi, Uncle Rich, and my dad, Don Marshall, all shared their memories and feelings:

Darryl Marshall shared a scripture that he read from a Bible that belonged to Willie's mother:

And then we all got to stand around and talk and laugh and remember.....and that is the part I love the best about funerals!  Family!

left to right: Ginnie Westfall (Willie's sister's, Juanita, daughter), Suzanne Mello (Ginnie's daughter), Rich Clark (Lindi's husband), Darryl Marshall (Willie's son), Don Marshall (Willie's son), Lindi Clark (Willie's daughter), Jason Hunt (Lindi's son), Kerri Thomas (Lindi's daughter), Joseph Thomas (Kerri's son), Hayli Thomas (Kerri's daughter), Cheryl Hunt (Jason's wife), Michael Thomas (Kerri's husband), Jared Hunt (Jason's son), Justin Hunt (Jason's son), Lora Nehring (Don's daughter), Jeremy Marshall (Don's son), Rebecca Nehring (Lora's daughter), Katrina Nehring (Lora's daughter), Kevin Nehring (Lora's husband), and Amanda Nehring (Lora's daughter) -- Wilburta "Willie" Linenbach's funeral - Sanger Cemetery - 17 December 2012

Cousins: Jeremy Marshall, Lora Marshall Nehring, Kerri Reynolds Thomas

Siblings: Darryl Marshall, Lindi Marshall Clark, Don Marshall

Last month I went out to the Sanger Cemetery again and was able to get a photo of the Linenbach headstone:

I think about my Gma Willie a lot.  I used to see her every Friday morning, so often, especially on Friday mornings, I think about her.

Gma Willie

This morning, very early, my grandmother passed away peacefully.  There is a line from one of my favorite movies that immediately came to mind.  "I am happy and sad for you."  I am sad, mostly for me, as she is the last grandparent on either my side of the family or my husband's.  I am happy though, because I am grateful that she is free from the ravages of alzheimer's and age.  I have been to see her many times in the last month and it was hard to watch her deteriorate so drastically.  But now, she has her memory again and she is with her husband and her family and friends, and I know she is happy!  What a blessing!

I am honored to be giving the eulogy at her services on Monday.  Ever the historian. : )

Wilburta Linenbach - 1992

I love you Gma!!

Lu Penrose Bond - 28 October 1912

Today would have been Gma Lu's 100th birthday!  What a marvelous milestone!!  Yet, she would have been unfazed.  Haha!  She was a very regal woman, and just took things as they came. I miss her.

Lu Penrose Bond - 1983

I lived with Gma for a year in 1991.  I want to quickly share the story of that came to be.  I was going through a time in my life where things were not going the way I was hoping they would.  I was kind of stuck and I wasn't sure what I should be doing.  I was living in Tucson, AZ, going to school at the University of Arizona.  I had been praying about what I needed to be doing, and one day, as I was walking to work, I was in the middle of an empty parking lot, outside an abandoned building, and I heard a voice say very clearly, "move to Fresno."  I was so startled and I looked around to see who had said it.  There was no one anywhere.  It would never have occurred to me to move to Fresno!  I thought of Fresno as, and I quote (keeping in mind that I was young and stupid), the "armpit of California."  Nevertheless, I got to work, and called Gma Lu.  I asked her if I could come to stay with her.  She said yes, and within two weeks, I had finished everything up in AZ, and moved to Fresno.  I know I was supposed to be there, with my Gma, for that period in time! 

I joked for a long time that all my friends in Fresno were little old ladies, as I took Gma to DUP, The Silver Belles get-togethers, etc..  We would sit at her dining room table and I would ask her questions, and she would tell me stories, and I wrote them down as quickly as I could.  She told me about her youth, about her parents, about her marriage.  All wonderful memories to be preserved.

I remember that she always had a "round robin" going with all of her siblings.  They would send a manilla envelope with letters and photos in it from one person to the next.  You would read everyone's things, add your own, and take out what you had put in previously, then send it on to the next person.  I thought that was so cool, and wanted to do that with everyone when we got older, but by then there was email and digital photos, etc., and it didn't seem as necessary.  Kind of a shame.

For me, it was the WAY she told stories. I have very specific phrases that come to my mind, and I hear them in my head in HER voice.  When I am having nasal issues, I hear her voice saying, "By dose is rudding a streab."  She told the story about her father who always had such amazing sandwiches in his lunches and one day (at the other man's request) traded sandwiches with a co-worker. As he bit into the peanut butter sandwich he had been given, he yelled out, "Help!  I've been poisoned!!"  I remember how she called people "ding-a-lings" when they did something she didn't like.  I loved it when she told me the story of how after she and Gpa had gotten married, he shaved his mustache.  When he came out of the bathroom, he asked, "How do I look?"  Gma said, "Clean."  He said, "Yes, but how do I look?"  She looked at him harder, trying to figure out why he kept asking, and said again, "Clean."  As she was telling me the story, Gma took her hand and waved it over her head and said, "Woosh!"  That just cracked me up!

I remember sitting watching her paint her nails.  I always thought her nails were so beautiful, always long and thin.  I remember how she always sat up straight, no matter where she was.  Even sitting on a couch.  I remember what a prolific reader she was!  Always reading something!  I remember giving her two rolls of Certs for Christmas one year, and she treated them as if I had given her something very important.  I remember the "ACK!" sound she would make when she was telling a story where she had been surprised or startled.  I remember how the air felt and smelled and I would step out of her house onto the back porch.  That is how Fresno is supposed to feel and smell.  I can't describe that any other way.  

Last year, I did a post about her birthday as well, which can be seen HERE

Gma Lu was a special lady.  An old friend of Gma's calls my oldest daughter, "Little Lu".  I am glad to have that frequent reminder in my life of how much she meant to people.

I hope that we can always continue to share these wonderful stories of our family members so they continue to live on with us!

Happy Birthday Gma Lu!!  I love you!

Direct Line Ancestry: Lu Penrose Bond --> Kathryn Bond Berkowitz --> Lora Marshall Nehring

Happy Birthday Gma Willie!!

My grandmother, Wilburta June Love Linenbach, turns 90 years old today!!  I visit her as often as I can, usually about once a week, and she is always so happy to see me.  I don't know that she remembers who I am exactly, but she knows we belong together and that she loves me and I love her! Every once in a while she will mention my aunt, Lindi, or my dad, by name, but usually not.  I am sad that she doesn't remember the full life that she lived!  

In honor of her birthday, I want to share some photos of her life!

Wilburta June Love was born on 20 September 1922 in Glendale, California, the second daughter to Wilbur and Florence Faye Alkire Love.

Wilburta (6 months)  and Juanita (2 years 3 months) Love - 1923

Wilburta Love (7 months) - 1923

Wilburta Love - circa 1924

Wilburta Love (1 year, 9 months) - 19 June 1924

Juanita (3 years 6 months), Florence Faye, and Wilburta (2 years) Love - 1924

Wilburta Love - 1926

Wilburta Love - about 18 years

Wilburta Love - circa 1939

I have already posted many photos from Willie's high school years that can be viewed HERE.

Willie Love Caman and her first child (my dad), Donald William Caman - 1943

Willie and Don Caman - 1944

For more details about Willie's first two marriages, click HERE.

Willie Love Marshall with her parents and grandparents - back: Wilburta and Dick Marshall, Juanita Love Troth, holding Lindi Marshall, and Les Troth, Anna and Henry Alkire, Faye and Wilbur Love; front: Ginnie Troth, Don (Caman) Marshall and Darryl Marshall - 1948

Willie with her children - Don (Caman) Marshall, Willie Love Marshall, Darryl Marshall and Lindi Marshall - circa 1952

The Fort Washington Invitational - 9 June 1960 - Sally White - Sunnyside Country Club, Mary Pewthers, Ft. Washington, Willie Marshall, and Naomi Dunn

Willie Marshall - about 44 years old - circa 1966

Willie married Clarence "Linn" Linenbach in 1974 and they had a wonderful life together!

Willie Linenbach - Hawaii - 1974

Willie and Linn Linenbach - Munchen, Germany - Farewell Night - 15 September 1976

Willie Linenbach - Floating Restaurant - Victoria Harbour - Hong Kong - about 1978

"My retirement" - Willie and Linn Linenbach - 1976 

Willie Linenbach - circa 1970s

Linn and Willie Linenbach, and Kerri Reynolds - May 1983

Willie and her children - Darryl Marshall, Lindi Reynolds, Willie Linenbach, Don Marshall - 1986 - in the Linenbach's home, Fresno, CA

Willie's 70th Birthday Party - back: Darryl Marshall, Lindi Clark, Jeremy Marshall, Don Marshall, Candace Marshall; front: Corissa Marshall, Lora Marshall, WIllie Linenbach, Kerri Reynolds, Lindsey Marshall, Jordan Marshall - 13 September 1992 - Arroyo Grande, CA

Willie and Linn Linenbach - 1987

Linn and Willie Linenbach in Kokanee, Canada - 27 August 1995

Willie and her children - Darryl Marshall, Lindi Marshall Clark, Willie Linenbach, Don Marshall - at the Belmont Country Club - 26 January 2007 

Willie Linenbach with Lora Marshall Nehring, Amanda Nehring (9), Rebecca Nehring (6) and Katrina Nehring (2) - May 2007

Willie with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren on Don's side - back: Jake and Candace Marshall Mele, Amanda Nehring, Kevin Nehring, Ayla Fortini, Corissa Marshall Fortini, Ryan Fortini, Jeremy Marshall, Jordan Marshall.  fron: Parker Marshall, Debra Marshall, Lily Marshall (on Deb's lap), Zachary Marshall, Rebecca Nehring, Willie Linenbach, Don Marshall, Lora Marshall Nehring and Katrina Nehring - Fresno, CA - 17 April 2011

Happy Birthday 90th Birthday Gma Willie!  We love you!

Direct line ancestry: Willie Love Linenbach --> Donald (Caman) Marshall --> Lora Marshall Nehring