Write on your photographs!!

I am always encouraging people to write on the back of your photographs!! You may know who is in them, but not everyone else will years down the road.

I am fairly good figuring things like this out, but not always.

Take these two photos for example. These are beautiful photos and I have no idea who these people are. (They both were with photos from my Dad's side of the family.)




This beautiful photo is of the Parks family.



There is actually writing on the back, but as you can see, it doesn' t help all that much.



There are six names on the back of the photo, and seven people in the photo. And, one of the names is fairly indecipherable. And "Grandma" is not helpful either without a name attached to it. Is that the grandmother of the people in the photo, or the person writing the names on the back of the photo?

I was able to figure out, with reasonable certainty, who all these people were, based, actually, on other photos.

Ambrose Parks and Mary Andemia Gower had eight children, six of which grew to adulthood. These children were George Ambrose. Nancy Almira, Laura Etta, Minnie Alice, Nellie Isabella and James WIlson.

It was easy to figure out the men, as their ages are seventeen years apart. So, this is George:



and this is James:


If there was any doubt, here is a (really bad!) photo of James as an adult:



So, now the women. It turns out that the names on the back are not written in any particular order, so it was not as easy as matching the name with the position they were standing in. As it so happened, the positions they are standing in is actually the clue that helped me figure out which woman was which.

Let's take Minnie for example. This is her in the first photo:



and here she is in a (really bad!) photo from circa 1944. She is in virtually the same position!



The same thing with Nancy Almira. (I believe that the indecipherable name on the back of the photo is hers, but I still can't figure out how.) Here she is in the first photo:



And here she is, circa 1944:



Nellie is not listed on the reverse of the photo, so I didn't want to leave her out. I don't have a photo of her from later on.



Lastly, my great-grandmother, Laura Etta. This is her in the first photo:



and this is a photo of her in 1947:



And, Grandma. . . .



Well, she is either Grandma Parks or Grandma Gower, neither of which I have any information, or she is the grandmother of the person who wrote the names, and she is the mother of the children in the photographs, which would make her Mary Andemia Gower Parks. I am guessing that this is the case.

Mary's husband Ambrose died in April of 1911. The woman in the photo is dressed in black, which I am making the assumption, is mourning clothes. There are still a lot of leaves on the trees, so this would put the photo in the early 1911, or into the spring/summer of 1912. Laura married Porter Marshall about 1912, so this was right around the time she got married.

So, make sure you write on the back of your photographs. Names, dates, places. Your great-grandchildren will thank you for it! : )

Direct line ancestry: Mary Andemina Gower --> Laura Etta Parks --> Richard Allen Marshall --> Donald William (Caman) Marshall --> Lora Marshall Nehring

Historic Penrose Cabin

I often complain that I don't have enough storage space for all the STUFF that we have as a family. I cannot image living in a tiny, one room cabin, yet many of my ancestors did.

In an interview with Lu Penrose Bond, recorded in 1982, she talked about her grandfather, Charles W. Penrose.



"My father's father, Charles W. Penrose, was born in England, February 4, 1832. I think that sounds right. Anyway, he came to America in about 1850 . . . . . I can't remember. When he first came to Utah, he and his first wife and a few children lived in a log cabin in Farmington, Utah, and that log cabin is in Farmington today. It has a plaque on that says he lived there."

This is a photo of me in front of the Penrose Cabin, taken in December of 1991.



The cabin was closed when I was there so I have never been able to see inside. I hope I can make it back there sometime when it is open and this time I can take my daughters to see it too.

The plaque on the cabin says:

In 1847 Hector C. Haight settled in North Cottonwood, now Farminton, followed by others and a ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in 1849, Joseph L. Robinson, bishop. In 1861 this cabin, built for Charles W. Penrose by his friends, was typical of the homes of the day. It was moved log by log to the courthouse grounds, rebuilt and dedicated 1926 as a Daughters of Utah Pioneers relic hall. Returned to it's original site in 1856.

Margaret Steed Hees, historian for the Helen Mar Miller Camp, Daughters of Utah Pioneers wrote the following history about this little pioneer cabin:

"Friends and neighbors of Charles W. Penrose built this cabin for him. In those days the east winds blew fiercely, and one night one of those winds blew in the door and windows. Mrs. Penrose was in bed with a young baby and to keep them from freezing to death, it was necessary for Brother Penrose to work feverishly to nail up quilts to these openings. Soo after this, Brother Penrose left for a mission to England and while there he wrote the beautiful song 'Blow Gently Ye Wild Winds, My Loved Ones Are There. . .' . This marker was dedicated October 5, 1968." (From: Our Pioneer Heritage, DUP, Salt Lake City, UT, 1977, vol. 20, pg. 434)

I found the following undated article sometime around 1998.



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

Clarence Chapman Caman

I know very little about my great-grandfather Clarence Chapman Caman, other than what I have been able to pick up here and there. There is a great deal of documentation about his father and grandfather, and I was able to talk to my Gpa, his son, but as far as anything about Clarence, it seems that not a lot was recorded.



Clarence Chapman Caman - no dates on either photo


Clarence Chapman Caman - 1974

Clarence Chapman Caman was born on 26 November 1892 in Welllington, Sumner, Kansas to William and Nellie Caman. I have no information about him as a youth, although his parents were very musical and held prominent positions in the community. Clarence had an older sister, Hazel, and two siblings that passed away in infancy. In the 1909 City Directory for Beatrice, Nebraska, Clarence is listed as a student, and in the 1911-1912 City Directory, he is listed as a chaffeur. On the 1910 Census his occupation is chaffeur for an auto factory.



Clarence Caman - circa 1911

Clarence was a Sergeant in the US Army in World War I. According to my Gpa Caman, he was in, or associated with, the Foreign Legion.


Clarence Caman (right) and his friends in the Foreign Legion

On the Marriage Certificate for Clarence and his wife Annie, it notes that this is the groom's second marriage. Until recently I didn't have any idea who his first wife was. Today I came across the marriage record for Clarence and Bethel Hawkins on 16 Feb 1916, in Mason City, Cerro Gordo, Iowa. I have not found any records as to what happened to their marriage, if she died or if they were divorced, but on 26 November 1917, a year and a half later, Clarence married Annie Sammon, in Des Moines, Polk, Iowa.



Clarence and Annie had a son, Donald in 1920. At the time they were still living in Beatrice, Gage, Nebraska, where Clarence's parents lived.


Donald, Annie and Clarence Caman - circa 1920-21


Four Generations representing the Tribe of Caman - Clarence Chapman Caman, Donald William Caman, Augustus William Caman, William Harrison Caman - July 1920 - Beatrice, Nebraska

In an interview with my Gpa Don Caman in 1998, he stated, "Clarence Caman came to Ocean Park, California to get a job. Once he had found one he sent for his wife and son. They came to California in 1922 when Don was 2 years old. They lived in Hollywood Hills for a while and then moved to Glendale, California."

Clarence is listed in the Los Angeles City Directories from 1927 to 1938 (these are the only ones I have access to online) and his professions was listed alternately as a switchman SCTCo and electrician. Their home was at 4505 Fountain. (According to Google Maps, there is still a house at that address)


Clarence Chapman Caman - no date on photo

I have a vague recollection of meeting my great-grandfather, Clarence Chapman Caman, when I was about five years old. We have a photo of us with him in his apartment in Riverside, California. (This photo is significant to me, as it is the only photo ever taken of my whole family together while my parents were still married.)


Kathryn (Marshall) Berkowitz, Jeremy Marshall, Clarence Chapman Caman (age 82), Lora Marshall Nehring, Don (Caman) Marshall, Jordan Marshall - summer 1974 - Riverside, California

Clarence died on 22 December 1976, shortly after his 84th birthday. He is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park - Hollywood Hills, next to his wife, Annie.


Clarence Chapman Caman - Interment Space: 3, Lot or Block: 3163, Section: Eternal Love

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

Happy Pioneer Day!!

Today Latter-Day Saints around the world commemorate the day that the pioneers first entered the Salt Lake Valley on 24 July 1847.

There are many of our ancestors who spent weeks and months of unimaginable hardship crossing the empty plains of the West to reach their new home. They left behind homes, lands, family and friends. and lost possessions, body parts and family members along the way. It was a brutally difficult trip for many of them. Their determination, endurance and fortitude is an inspiration for us all.

Some of the Pioneers we honor today are: John Menzies Macfarlane, Ann Chatterley Macfarlane, John Chatterley, Nancy Morton Chatterley, Charles William Penrose, Louise Elizabeth Lusty Penrose, Hector McQuarrie, Agnes Gray McQuarrie, Allen McQuarrie, and Agnes Mathieson McQuarrie. (If I am forgetting any names - and I have just listed direct line ancestry - please feel free to add to the comments.)

Yesterday our Stake had it's Pioneer Day celebration with a breakfast, lots of games and activities for the kids and snow cones, cotton candy and face painting. You know, just like the pioneers! : )


Pioneer Day California style - everyone is crowded in the shade to stay out of the heat! : )


Katrina gets her face painted


Rebecca paints a wooden box

Pioneer Day has always been very special to me, as I have direct connection to those who came across the plains. I appreciate their sacrifices that are still very much a part of my life today.

Hector McQuarrie

The McQuarrie name goes back to Scotland and genealogical research has been done back to the eighth century!

The McQuarrie clan tartan

Hector McQuarrie was born on 2 October 1834, in Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire, Scotland.

Hector McQuarrie

From a biography by his son John Gray McQuarrie: "In 1850, members of the McQuarrie family were still tenant farmers at Kilmacolme in the highlands of Scotland. About this time a family council was held. There were then eight in the family -- too many for the small acreage to support.

"Allan McQuarrie, the father had his leg amputated perhaps three years before, had only a "peg leg." His sons were: Robert, the eldest, about eighteen; Hector, sixteen; Neal, fourteen; John, twelve; Agnes, ten; and Mary, eight.

"It was necessary for at least one of the boys to leave the home to go out on his own. Although Hector had never been more than twenty miles from his country home, he recognized that his father's handicap placed Robert as the responsible head of the family. He concluded that he was the logical one to leave, Beyond what he could carry in a knapsack, the family had nothing to divide -- not even a donkey to carry his bedroll.

"It required courage, principle, and sacrifice for a country boy of sixteen to cut himself loose from all his boyhood moorings, not knowing where or when he could find new attachments.

"When he reached Glasgow, his only resource was brawn and muscle. He bound himself as an apprentice in a blacksmith shop. His wages at first would be a mere pittance. But when he became a journeyman he would have a trade -- an opportunity to manage his own business. His decision was wise. His future experience prove that…on the last frontier, he would never be without gainful employment.

"In 1854, my father [Hector] heard the gospel message from Elder Baxter. Soon after this association commenced, he applied for baptism. He invited Elder Baxter to accompany him to his Highland home that [his family], too, might hear the warning message. This proved good news to the family…who were also baptized.

"The spirit of gathering took hold of the family. Again it was Hector that was the one to blaze the trail to find "The Place" to make the beginning of a new home."

Hector left Scotland with Robert Wright Baxter, who wrote about their trip to America: "On February 13, 1855 I started with my wife Jane and four children and Brother Hector McQuarrie for Zion. We sailed from Greenock to Liverpool. April 2 we arrived in Philadelphia. Our fare was $18.00 adult tickets and $12.00 fro children. We went on the steamship "Mongal" to St. Louis arriving May 13. The cholera was very bad four died in one family. I helped dig many graves.

"On July 3, we started in the Richard Ballantyne Company to cross the plaines to Zion. Sister Margaret Thomson fell out of the wagon, her legs were run over, but she soon got well. We had two yoke of cattle, one yoke of cows, 10 sacks of flour and 10 people, bedding, cooking utensils, etc., in each wagon. In my wagon was me, my wife, four children, Brother Hector McQuarrie, Arnold Goodluff, Sister Diamond, and Margaret Thomson.

"On September 26, 1855, we arrived in Salt Lake City. The grasshoppers had eaten the crops. I worked for Golding and Raleigh making shoes. They paid for shoes and leather, but we couldn't eat leather. For 13 weeks we never tasted bread. We lived on roots. At one time we paid $2.50 a bushel for weeds and roots."

From the diary of his brother Robert, "In February 1855, my brother Hector immigrated from Scotland to Salt Lake City. In April 1857, we immigrated to America with mother, father, 2 brothers and 2 sisters We left our home and sailed from Greenock to Liverpool per Steamship Vanguard. Besides father's family, we took with us Hamilton Garrnk and Agnes Gray, who after our arrival in Salt Lake City became the wife of my brother, Hector."

"My father made a wise choice when he settled in Ogden. He secured a full acre of ground which proved to be the most favored homestead in the city. He opened a blacksmith shop. He built a log house which provided a shelter for the balance of the family, which came in 1857." (from the biography by his son John Gray McQuarrie)

Hector married Agnes Gray on 29 November 1857 in Ogden, Utah. They had five children: Robert, Agnes, Hector, Matthew, and John.

Agnes Gray McQuarrie

"He was a blacksmith with nothing but his shop and tools and his homelot, with a one-room sandstone house, unfinished attic, and later a lean-to kitchen. The walls were of one inch boards.

"The boys and girls I associated with had store clothes, shipped from the States, I was still wearing coarse jeans from the Washington factory; also homemade shoes and hats. We still had rag carpets and homemade furniture. My father was the typical village blacksmith with his sinewy arms and black hands. His clothes were coarse. He wore a long leather apron stained with coal smoke and pitted by the hot sparks which flew from the anvil.

"Among his associates my father was honored because of his loyalty, industry, and, especially, for his much-needed skill.

"In 1861 Brigham Young and the Twelve decided to build a Temple in the St. George Valley. My father, being a skilled mechanic, was called.

"At the time my father had a wife and two children: Robert, age three, and Agnes, age one. He owned little other than his shop and an interest in the home lot. These possessions were sold for sufficient to buy a roomy wagon, a yoke of oxen, and a year's supply of necessary food and clothing. He then set out on a trip of 400 miles, which, considering the difficult roads, required greater effort than the thousand miles he walked across the plains.

"The journey south proved too difficult for little Agnes. She died at Indian Creek, six miles north of Beaver. [Hector] walked in to Beaver, secured a pine board, made a rough box large enough to contain the child's body. She is buried there in what has become an unmarked grave." (from the biography by his son John Gray McQuarrie)

Hector also helped many other members of his family and his wife's family come to and settle in America.

"When the foundation of the Temple was being laid, [Hector] was needed more in the quarry to sharpen drills, picks, and crowbars than in his town blacksmith shop. So he moved his bellows, anvil, and vice and set them up between the large black rocks on the ridge just west of town.

"When the Temple reached a stage in its construction where lumber was needed, it was necessary to build a road through Black Rock Canyon. My father and his tools followed the road construction.

"With the completion of the road and the establishment of the lumber mill, my father moved to Mt. Trumble. He repaired the mill, the logging carts, made chains and ox shoes, kept freight wagons in repair, etc. He could make bolts, hinges, etc. - out of old iron spikes for building. In fact, he was the most necessary general utility man in keeping the lumber rolling.

"As a result of hard work; poor water; exposure to storms, heat, and cold; and often poor food, he was forced to retire when he was nearing age sixty." (from the biography by his son John Gray McQuarrie)

It is mentioned in a "Report on Genealogy and Temple Work" by J.G. McQuarrie that "Hector…worked in the in the St. George Temple from the time he was 60 years of age until he was 80 (years of age)."

Hector's wife, Agnes died in 1900 and was buried in the St. George Cemetery.

Hector McQuarrie moved to Salt Lake City in 1919. There is no mention in any of my records as to why, or if he was living with any relatives. The 1920 Census has him listed individually.

Hector McQuarrie died 16 November 1920 in Salt Lake City, but was buried in St. George next to his wife.




I am always amazed at the stories of my family who immigrated to America and all the incredible hardships that they went through. I enjoy being able to hop into our air-conditioned van each Sunday to drive 50 miles to my husband's parent's house in the mountains. 150 years ago this would not be a weekly journey. It would be a difficult, several day journey.

Direct line ancestry: Hector McQuarrie --> Robert Gray McQuarrie --> Ruth McQuarrie Penrose --> Lu Penrose Bond --> Kathryn Bond Berkowitz --> Lora Marshall Nehring

Explanation about the parenthases

Some of you may have noticed that when I write my dad's name in the direct line ancestry I always write it: Donald William (Caman) Marshall. I thought I would take a moment to explain why Caman is in parenthesis for those of you who are not familiar with that bit of family history.

My dad was originally born Donald William Caman, Jr., the son of Donald Caman and Wilburta Love. He was born at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina while his dad was training for his deployment to the European Theater in WWII.


Willie Love and Don Caman - circa 1939


Willie and Don - 1943

While Don was in France, he met a girl named Eliane (pronounced ee-lee-on) and fell in love with her and when he returned home he told WIllie he didn't want to be married to her anymore, so they were divorced.

I had a conversation with my Gpa Caman in October 1998, a few years before he died, and I asked him to tell me about what happened.

"Don was eighteen months old when I went to Europe. All three of us were living in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and when I got orders for the division to go overseas [Willie] came out to [California], and I don't remember, did she live with her mother and dad, or my mother and dad? Although I know that when Willie went to work that my mother and dad babysat for Don. They were more close to Don, even so than I was. Anyway, and of course, when I divorced Willie, you know that I divorced Willie, Willie didn't divorce me, and I told Don some time ago that if there is any blame to be placed, the blame is for me, not for Willie. I'm the villain in this case. My mother and father were really, really, really upset. They got over it."

I asked him how he met Eliane.

"About two weeks after the war ended, I was laying on my bunk - we were in Geislingen, Germany, starting the occupation, and about mid-morning a runner came down and said that the Old Man wants to see you. So I went up to see the Old Man, and he said, here are your orders. The Old Man and I did not get along. The Old Man is the Commanding Officer. Prior to this time I had been the, for about three of four months, I was the Commanding Officer temporarily. Of course, I was hoping to get to be the Commanding Officer and get promoted to Captain. When these guy came in, and there was no love lost on my part. And it turned out he wasn't really that great a commander. But anyway, so when he had an opportunity to get rid of me, I got the orders to go to Marseille. I thought I was on my way to the Pacific, but when I got there, there were forty-two first and second lieutenants, forty of them got assigned as hotel officers, mess officers, transportation officers, on the Riviera, and Cannes, and Nice. Two of us got assigned to build a base headquarters and I was stationed in Marseilles, and the other fellow was stationed in the staging area out in Marles (?), so in Marseilles I was put up in a crummy little hotel on the Canner Villa and I was in a section with a warrant officer who had been with the Delta Base section since Africa and Italy and all of that, so he knew everybody in the Delta Base headquarters, including the billeting officer, so he got himself and I and another lieutenant an apartment on Cessan Rue Paradie. Well, we had the apartment on what we call the second floor, Europeans callout the first floor, and Eliane and her sister Colette and Nanan, the mother, loved in the apartment above us. So, that's how I met her, and one thing led to another."



On the 29th of March, 1947 Willie Caman married Richard Marshall. She had Don and he had a son, Darryl.


Don Caman and Darryl Marshall - 1946

I have been told that at that time it was more "presentable" if you didn't have a family with a lot of last names, so Richard adopted Don and he became Donald William Marshall. And, a few years later, they had a daughter, Lindi.

In an interview with Richard Marshall in June 1999, I asked him how old [my] dad was when he and Willie were married and he adopted him.

"About two. From the time he was born, until the time we moved to Fresno, he was three years old when we moved to Fresno. That time your grandmother worked all during the war and lived with her mother. We were getting reestablished in several ways. First of all, I was an integral part of opening a new business, and my first priorities were getting that business running, being somewhat of a workaholic, and wages were not all that great. About $200 a month. I wasn't able to bring too much with him. Willie had absolutely nothing. I had to put the down payment on the house. It was my ambition back then to give him the best home that I could have, that I could afford, and live in the best neighborhood that I could afford. See to it that they went to summer camps and stuff."



So my dad is a Caman and a Marshall, hence the parentheses. There are interesting twists in every family story. To me it means that I have more family history to do! Woohoo! : )

Bennett Franklin Michael

We have a strong history of military service in our family. One of the most detailed accounts of service in the Civil War comes from the obituary of my 3rd great-grandfather Bennett Michael.

This is the transcript of the obituary for Bennett Franklin Michael from 1923. I have added in photos, etc., where appropriate.

BENNETT F. MICHAEL - A CIVIL WAR VETERAN
____________________________________________

Oldest Mason In Kansas Buried Today With
Order In Charge, Was Ninety-Four Years Old.
____________________________________________

Bennett F. Michael, aged 94 years, civil war veteran and oldest Mason in the state of Kansas, died at his home 923 North Blaine Street, Sunday night of diseases incident with old age, was buried this afternoon. Funeral services took place at the First Methodist Church, Rev. Joseph E. Coe officiating. Interment took place in Prairie Lawn.



headstones of Bennett Franklin Michael and Frances Ann Lee Michael at the Prairie Lawn Cemetery in Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas

Mr. Michael was the oldest known Mason in Kansas, having been initiated into Temperance Lodge No. 73 A. F. & A. M. Sidney, Ohio, Jan. 5, 1852. He has been a member of the lodge for a little over 71 years.



copies of Bennett Franklin Michael's membership cards from the corresponding Mason Lodges. Note the top card says his initiation was in 1853.

Mr. Michael was a devout church worker having been a member of the Methodist Church the greater part of his life.

Mr. Michael enlisted in the Union army 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")

The regiment of which Mr. Michael was a member was organized in August, 186, rendezvousing at Kankakee, where a regimental organization was effected on the 22nd of that month. Soon after its muster into COlumbus, Ky., where it arrived service the command was ordered to August 29, where it remained per - until October 4, when it moved to forming drill, fatigue and picket duty Boliver, Tenn., by rail, encamping near that city until November 3 when with other troops, moved to La Grange, Tenn. It remained here until November 28, when it moved with General Grant on his campaign along the Mississippi Central Railroad, being at that time attache dot the 4th Division, 13th Army Corps, but was afterward transferred to the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, 17th Corps, Army of Tennessee, and during its service took part in the engagement of Holly Springs, Miss. After this engagement he was taken along with other troops on the steamer, "Fort Wayne" from Memphis, down the Mississippi River, where they were fired upon by guerrillas from the Arkansas shore wounding a number and disabling the vessel.

Later the regiment took part in engagements as follows: Siege of Vicksburg, Jackson, Yazoo Expedition, including Benton, Vaugh, Deatonville, and Yazoo City; between Jackson and Clinton, Miss., losing 102 men in killed and wounded; siege of Mobile, Ala., and capture of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely, where the 76 participated in the final assault, capturing the entire garrison, and was the first regiment to plant its colors on the enemy's works; not to count a number of minor engagements and skirmishes.

Bennett F. Michael 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.

He was wounded at Vicksburg, Miss., by gun shot int he 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 born in Montgomery County, Ohio, on December 22, 1829. In 1857 he was unite din marriage to Frances A. Lee, to which union was born seven children, four of whom are living; A. L. Michael of Mexica, Tex., B. F. Michael of Wichita, Mrs. Ida Bennett of Indianapolis, Ind., and Mrs. W. H. Caman of Beatrice, Neb.

During his life he has held public office as sheriff.

During the Civil War the Michael family contributed their all to the cause, two brothers besides the late B. F. Michael enlisting. One, John, was killed while serving in the 25th Illinois Infantry.

(The obituary's text seems a bit choppy in places, but you get the idea.)

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

Ann Chatterley Macfarlane - Indian Persistence

Several weeks ago I taught a lesson to the young women at church about Heritage. I made a display to go along with the lesson about what my heritage is. My heritage, what has been handed down to me and I hope to pass on to my descendants, is family history. I brought the display home and hung it up in my workroom, right behind the computer, so that I can see it every day.


These are the women who inspire me! - 1st column: Annie Marie Sammon Caman, Sabra Adeline Dennis, Beatrice Ann Betts, Charlotte Ann Macfarlane McQuarrie. 2nd column: Kathryn Bond Berkowitz, Louise Elizabeth Lusty Penrose, Ruth McQuarrie Penrose, Florence Faye Alkire Love. 3rd column: Lu Penrose Bond, Joella Shewalter Cameron Love, Anna White Durrett Bond, Miriam Elizabeth Griffiths Bond Haddow. 4th column: Ann Chatterley Macfarlane, WIlburta June Love Linenbach, Florence Faye Alkire, Agnes Gray McQuarrie.

Among those women is my great-great-great grandmother, Ann Chatterley Macfarlane. She was an inspiring woman! There are many wonderful stories told of her, and each one impresses me with her dedication and her strength. I hope that I could be as up to the challenge as she was!!

I am going to share one of her stories today. The story of Indian Persistence.


"We have no photographs of Ann as a young girl, but from family comments and descriptions, she must have been attractive. Her hair and eyes were coal black, and didn't ever turn completely gray." - Anna Brooks Taylor

Ann was born in Manchester, England on 3 March 1837 to Joseph and Nancy Morton Chatterley. The family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and sailed to America to join the pioneer trek west to Utah. Joseph was an iron worker and his skills were needed in the Cedar City area.

From a biography by Ann's granddaughter, Ruth M. Penrose:

"When the Chatterley family arrived in Cedar City they found the Indians well established in the mountains and valleys roundabout. Ann, 15, wanted to learn more about them - even their language, which she soon did. The Indians admired her dark hair and eyes. One came to her father, Joseph Chatterley, and offered him 40 horses and 40 blankets for her - Joseph had no idea that the Indian was serious and thought no more of it; however, in about two weeks came this same Indian with 40 blankets and 40 horses and the tribesmen to help him. Joseph explained that white men did not sell their children - and for him to leave and take his tribe, blankets and horses. This caused much trouble - the Indians left in anger declaring to return and get her anyway.

"George A. Smith ordered Ann to remain inside the Fort until the affair quieted down regardless of the time it might take. Ann realized her own responsibility to keep the peace. After about three months and “lookouts” had reported no sign of trouble, Ann said as soon as it was really safe she wanted to learn to milk a cow. (Seems there was a space between the Fort and the enclosure where cattle were kept - this space between was for guards on duty at all times). One evening Ann was allowed to go to the corral with her brother at milking time. She watched how he did it - then he let her “strip” that cow while he went to milk another. She had started, but heard a slight rustling sound, looked up to see an Indian ready to grab her in a buffalo skin. She let out an awful scream and ran for the Fort. All were alerted and she was saved but did not recover from this fright for many a day, if ever. Every grandchild or great-grandchild over age 40 has heard this story - each one retells it - with his or her own degree of interpretation. This is my version. RMP"

The same story with different details is offered by Anna Brooks Taylor:

“The Indians were attracted to this little black-eyes, black hair girl and asked to buy her. Her father laughingly said, “She will cost 50 ponies and some blankets.” In only a few days the old chief appeared with the herd of ponies. When her father tried to explain, the Indian didn’t take kindly to the joke. During the next few weeks, she was guarded constantly. One night, as she carried a large bucket of milk to the fort, she spied a big Indian in the brush. She flew to the safety of the fort, but realizing he was gaining on her, she threw the bucket and the milk at him and fell through the door to safety.”

It is amazing what the pioneers went through as they crossed the plains and settled a new home in unfamiliar territory. It was a very different time!

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

Christoph Friedrich Camann

As with most of our ancestors who came to America, Christoph Camann was escaping religious persecution.

Christoph was born on 30 September 1807 in Brussow, Prussia. (Prussia is now Germany) He wanted to go to the university to study, but there was not enough money, so he took up the shoemaker trade. He is often referred to as a slippermaker. At exactly 31 years of age, he married Louise Fredericke Grobengiesser.


Louise Camann's headstone in the St. James Lutheran Church Cemetery in Bergholtz, Niagara County, New York

In 1838 he was imprisoned for his religious beliefs and all his rights and privileges of citizenship were withheld from him. The Union Church was the state religion, and Christoph had come to believe that the Evangelical Lutheran Church was the church he wanted to be affiliated with. From a biography of his life published by the Synod of the Prussian Emigrated Lutheran Church in 1857, it states: "He openly declared his break with the Union church and for this he suffered imprisonment. This happened even before he made his official assertion as a result of the legal investigation which followed secret surveillance and persecution by the state police who were carrying out their duties at the instigation of the pastors of the State Union church."

He spent nearly three years in prison before being released and all his citizenship restored.


Translation of a documents referring to Christoph's imprisonment and release.

In 1843 he and his family, along with the Lutheran congregation he belonged to, emigrated to America. My 3rd great-grandfather, Augustus was eight at the time. From a biography about Augustus William Caman, it states: "his family, along with 500 other "Old Lutheran" emigrated to America. The group bought land and established the town of Bergholtz just east of Niagara Falls, New York."

In 1845 he became a sexton and a schoolteacher, at a salary of $18/month. He taught for ten years before he got consumption (tuberculosis) and died within four weeks of time, on 27 October 1857. I am unaware at this time of where Christoph is buried.


Augustus Caman and Carl Gotthilf Camann (brothers), circa 1920.

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