Not My Camerons In Lapeer Co., MI

Susan Cameron died 12 December 1899 in Lapeer County, Michigan, and was buried in the Farmer's Creek Cemetery in that county. She was born in 1842 in Blenheim, Ontario, Canada, to Robert & Jane (Graham) Middleton. Her father was born in England and her mother in Ontario, Canada. The informant for her death record was Robert Cameron of Metamora, Lapeer Co., Michigan.

Hugh Cameron, son of Colin & Ann Cameron, died in Lapeer County on 1 October 1898 and is buried in Farmer's Creek Cemetery, as was his wife Susan.

A daughter of Hugh & Susan (Middleton) Cameron, Jane B. Stechow, died in Lapeer County on 4 February 1907. The informant, August Stechow, indicated that she was buried in Farmer's Creek Cemetery, as was her mother. Jane was born 10 July 1871 in Ontario, Canada.

Property owned by Mrs. Robert Cameron as listed on the Hadley Twp., Lapeer Co., Michigan, can be seen on the plat map (ca 1921) here (Section 13). In 1899 the heirs of Hugh & Susan Cameron deeded their share of Hugh & Susan's Hadley Twp. property to their brother, Robert Cameron.

Lapeer Co., MI, Deeds
Liber "97", Page 388
23 Dec 1899
Louisa Cady, et al
To
Robert Cameron

Louisa Cady, Annie Moses, Jane Stechow, Mary Martin, Agnes Cameron, John H. Cameron, Eva Dana & Alex Cameron, 8 of 10 heirs of Hugh & Susan Cameron, deceased....& Robert Cameron, of Hadley, one of the heirs of Hugh & Susan Cameron, deceased

Don't know why the property is listed in the name of Mrs. Robert Cameron on the plat map; Robert & Nellie (Reed) Cameron were both living in Hadley Twp. in the 1920 census with their daughter-in-law Merle (who was the widow of Nellie's son by her first marriage, Harvey Kramer). There was only one Cameron in the 1920 census in Hadley Twp., Lapeer Co., Michigan and that was Robert Cameron.

Chock Full of Cameron Information

A site with plenty of good CAMERON information can be found here (some information is specific to the writer's family) including a link to the Clan Cameron Association here.

Miscellaneous Camerons In Canadian Border Crossings - Hat Tip To The Olive Tree Genealogy Blog

The tip from the Olive Tree Genealogy Blog Form 30 Border Crossings, 1919-1924, At Library & Archives of Canada, was very helpful. I followed the directions and looked for "Cameron" in the Microform Digitization here. To find what the files held for the "CAMERON" surname, I needed the "T-15264" file online and there were 5,000 cards in that file. The cards are in alphabetical order, but unindexed. An index at Ancestry.com was mentioned at the Olive Tree, but I don't have paid access.

Number 1316 indicated the start of the Cameron surname. It was an index card with no personal information included. #1317 was the first "Cameron" card with any real information.

Below is some of the information I've extracted this morning:

#1317
Looks Like Reverse Side of A Card
Father
5'6"
Signature: Al (or Alex) Cameron
18 March 1924
Dan and Alex Cameron - Twins

#1318 Cameron, Alex, 28, Farmer
Residence: Somerville, Mass
Birthplace: Ft. Tupper, N.S.
Destined To Father
Duncan Cameron, Ft. Tupper, N.S.
Left Canada: Niagara Falls, 10 Nov 1922, to work


#1320 Cameron, Alex C., Age 26, Married
Last Permanent Residence: Berridge, Minn
b. Minn Occupation: Compass man
RR Ticket: International Falls, MN To Fort Francis, Ontario
Destined To: Atikokans, Ontario
Father: Angus Cameron
56 Fremont/Livernois/? Street, Detroit
Wife Will Register Later
#1319 - With #1320?

#1322 Alex D. Cameron, 35, mechanic
b. Cleveland, Ohio
To reside for summer Windsor? riverfront

#1323 Child w/parents Nettie & Marshall
#1324 Cameron, Alvin child
Last Permanent Address: Abercrombie, ND
Born: ND
Barney (father?)
w/parents to LeDuc, Alta

#1325 Signed Angus Cameron, Sept. 10, 1919
#1326 Angus Cameron, 37, woodsman
b. Bay City, Michigan, 18 Apr 1882
Last Permanent Address: Glenfield, N. Dak.
Has lived in Canada: Feonie?, BC
Address: Dorr, B.C.

#1327: Signature: Anna Cameron, Aug 6, 1919
#1328: Anna Cameron, Nurse
b. Scotland
LPA: Morris Plains, NJ
Ever Lived In Canada: Yes - Montreal
Destined: Aunt, Mrs. William Thompson, Vancouver, BC
RR: NY to Victoria

#1329: Anne Sanford? Cameron - husband Canadian born
#1330 Mrs. Anne Cameron, Age 30, Married
Last Permanent Address: New York City
Born: Knoxville, TN
Object To Come To Canada: Join Husband
Destined: Toronto - husband
Dr. George M. Cameron, 2 Beaumont Road
Railroad Ticket
On Next (reverse side) Card: John Cameron, Father, New Haven, PEI
Signed: Anne Cameron

#1332: Cameron, Annie, Cambridge, Mass, Age 25
Occup: Rubber Factory
Birthplace: New Haven, PEI
Destined: Father, John Cameron, New Haven, PEI

#1333- Annie Cameron w/daughter Mary
#1334: Mrs. Annie Cameron, age 57
Address: Boston, Mass
Birthplace: Stewiscke?, NS
Why Left Canada: On Visit
Destined: Own Home, Stewiscke?, NS

#1336: Annie Cameron, 25, single
347 West 122nd Street, NY, NY
BP: Sydney, NS, Canada
Father: A.J. Cameron, Sydney, NS

#1337: Child w/Mother
Father: Geo B. Cameron, Whitetail, Montana
#1338: Archie Cameron, age 6, Whitetail, Montana, b. US
Destination: Uncle, E.S. Elves, Cayley, Alberta


#1339: Aunt, Mrs. Geo. H. Caswell
7947? Colorado St., Mattafan?, Mass
Beatrice E. Cameron
Accompanying husband James and daughter Jennie
#1340: Mrs. Beatrice Cameron
Lowell, Mass
b. Boston, Mass
Destined: Husband James S? Cameron, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

#1341: Signed: Carl Frank Cameron
Father: William Joseph Cameron
Michigan
Ethel, 28, wife, b. MI
Clydane?, 6, daughter, b. Kansas
#1342: Carl Frank Cameron
Niles, Michigan
b. Genesee? Idaho
Wife: Ethel Rhoda ___
Ever Lived In Canada: Yes, Toronto
Destined To: Grand Prairie, Alberta
Locate on Land

#1344 Catherine Cameron, Age 56
Port: McAdam, N.B., 6 Nov 1919
Birthplace: Antigonish, N.S.
Last Permanent Address: Salem, MA
Brother's Home
One Son: Stewart McKay

#1346 Mrs. Catherine Cameron
Lowell, Mass
BP: St Mary's, Pictou, NS
Destined: Brother's Home
Thomas Breen/Breon
St. Mary's, Pictou, NS

#1347: Signature: Catherine Cameron
Mrs. Mae Phillips, (Sister) Detroit
Mary Cameron, 35, b. Toronto, daughter
#1348: Mrs. Catherine Cameron
1183 15th Street, Detroit
b. Scotland
Canadian Citizenship
Destined: To reside with husband
David Cameron, 47 Savoy St. Toronto

#1350 Cecil Cameron
b. Jamacia
Landed in New York, 1906
Last Permanent address: Pittsburgh, PA
Port of Windsor -4 June 1919 - destined for London, Ontario, Looking For Work

#1351: Signed Chester Cameron
Louis Cameron, Father
#1352: Chester Cameron
Address: Brainard, MN
b. Seward, Neb, USA
Destined: International Paper Co., Kenora, Ontario

#1354 Christina Cameron, age 44, Nurse
B. New Brunswick
Address: 50 W. 110 Street, NY, NY
Destined: Mother, Mrs. Cameron, Bainstown?, NB

#1355 Signed: Christena Cameron
Archibald Cameron, Inverness, NS
#1356: Christena Cameron, Age 19
Address: 305 California, Ave. San Francisco, California
BP: Margree Harbour, NS
Why left Canada: To go to school
Destined: To Father
Archibald Cameron, Inverness, NS

#1357 Signed: Claire Cameron
Brother: Edward Hoxie, Grant Smith Co., Henry Bldg., Seattle, Wash.
Frances Gameril, 15, daughter
D.W., 37, husband

#1358: Clair L. Cameron
Address: Liberty Ct. Appts, Seattle?, WA
b. Toledo, Ohio
To Join Husband: Donald W. Cameron
Kirkland Lake, Ontario
Has lived in Alice Arms, BC

#1360 Claud M. Cameron

#1362: Cleophas Cameron, 21

#1363: Parents Carl Frank (age 33) & Ethel Rhoda Cameron (28)
#1364: Clydene Cameron
Niles, MI
b. Columbus, Kansas
Grand Prairie, Alberta

#1500
John Cameron
b. Scotland
Entered: Halifax in 1911
Left Windsor, Ontario in Feb 1920
Parents: Mr. & Mrs. John Cameron of Hespela, Ontario
Address: Santa Cruz, California

Was Catherine Cameron a Prettyman?

The late Mrs. Catherine Cameron, who died November 16, 1917, at Eloise Hospital, Wayne County, Michigan, was said to be buried in Marion County, Ohio. The informant on her death record was Dr. Howell at Eloise. If her husband would have been the informant, it would have helped the research immensely.

Catherine's parents were listed as Henry Pudeman and Mrs. Briggs. She was born March 30, 1883. Searching for Pudeman didn't locate any additional information about Catherine; was her maiden name Prettyman? There were several Prettymans in the Marion Co., Ohio, area.

It seems as though Catherine may have been Catherine (Prettyman) Cameron. I first found a death record with parents PRETTYMAN and BRIGGS in Marion County, Ohio.

Nancy J Severns
Death date: 29 Jul 1935
Death place: Marion, Marion, Ohio
Birth date: 30 Jan 1881
Birthplace: Larue, Ohio
Age at death: 54 years 5 months 29 days
Street address: 336 Uncapher Ave
Burial date: 31 Jul 1935
Burial place: Forest Glen
Spouse's name: William O Severns
Father's name: Cord Prettyman
Father's birthplace: Larue, Ohio
Mother's name: Anna Briggs
Mother's birthplace: Larue, Ohio
Collection: Ohio Deaths 1908-1953

A WorldConnect database listed a "Kate Prettyman," born ca 1882 in Marion Co., Ohio, as the daughter of Cord Hill Prettyman and Anna Briggs. A match may have been made.

Catherine was not one of "my" Camerons. However, Marion County, Ohio, is one of my areas of research since that's where Jim's Dad was born.

Camerons of Walworth Co., Wisconsin

From my notes taken in 2001 for Walworth Co., Wisconsin, probate files housed at Whitewater, WI (this is NOT my Duncan Cameron, nor am I related to any of these Camerons - my Richmonds lived in Walworth Co.):

Probate File #4290
Duncan Cameron, Town of Troy
Died: 18 May 1902
Will dated 8 November 1899
Chicago, IL
Cameron, Susan L., widow
Cameron, James A. son
Cameron, John D*., son Center Ave & 120th St, Chicago, IL
Reeves, Mrs. Mary**, daughter, of Eagle, Wisconsin

*This is a photo of John D. Cameron's gravestone (files of Little Prairie, Walworth Co., WI).

J. Duncan Cameron, John's son, who was also buried at Little Prairie (d. 1922), attended the University of Michigan. He married Frances Kinzel; the Michigan marriage record verified that he was the son of John D. & Nellie (Galloway) Cameron.

**Mary Cameron m. Charles Reeves on 15 Apr 1891 in Waukesha, WI

In the 1900 IL Census, John D. Cameron (b. Sept 1866 in NY), Nellie Cameron (b. June 1872 in Kansas) and John D. Cameron, Jr. (b. Jan 1898) were living in Chicago. The Camerons had been married 7 years. John D. Cameron was a clerk in a Plow Manufacturing Company (per the gravestone John D. Cameron worked for the International Harvester Co.).

In 1930 John D. Cameron (buyer of farm equipment) was divorced and living with his brother and sister-in-law, James A. & Laura Cameron, in Chicago, Illinois. There was a Nellie Cameron, born in Kansas, and living in Chicago in the 1930 census who was listed as "widowed."

Chicago Tribune (IL) - September 23, 1946 (online)

--John D. Cameron, Sept. 21, 1946, of 1324 E. 72d place, beloved uncle of Howard D. Reeves and Harry Cameron. Services at chapel, 6328 Cottage Grove avenue, Monday, 7:30 p.m., under auspices of Woodlawn commander, No. 76 K. T. Interment Little Prairie , Wis., Tuesday.

John D. Cameron's sister (listed in the probate info above) was Mary Reeves and the John D. Cameron buried at Little Prairie had a nephew, Howard D. Reeves.

Even though these people are not "my" Camerons, there was a bonus Michigan connection to their story.

Duncan Cameron McCrea's $100,000.00 Estate

Who was Ida Coombe, Ex-Prosecutor McCrea's niece, who inherited his $100,000.00 estate in 1951? I knew that McCrea was my grandmother's cousin; I even knew three of his sisters (Adelia, Ellen and Jessie) quite well. Duncan Cameron McCrea was only known to me by reputation, since he died a year before I was born.

From the Herald Press, St. Joseph, MI, June 8, 1951

HOUSEWIFE TO RECEIVE 100,000 ESTATE OF EX-PROSECUTOR MCCREA

Detroit—June---A Pontiac housewife was disclosed today to be principal beneficiary of this probate of more than $100,000.00 left by former Prosecutor Duncan McCrea, who died May 25^th.

She is Mrs. Iva M. Coombe, of Pontiac, wife of Raymond Coombe, who is a general foreman at General Motors plant in Pontiac. She was a niece of McCrea.

Donald Munro, Ontonagon prosecutor and a nephew of McCrea*, said no positive revelations had been found thus far as the large upper penninsula lumber holdings which the former prosecutor was said to have held.

Munro, special administrator of the estate, said records of the lumber holdings may be in Mio the little community to which the former prosecutor had planned to retire.

*Donald L. Munro, b. ca 1918, was the son of Lionel & Sarah (McCrea) Munro. Sarah was Duncan McCrea's sister.

In the 1910 Census taken in Roscommon Co., Michigan, Duncan McCrea was the head of household and there was a cousin, Maggie Cameron, living with him. Who was Maggie? Was she related somehow to Ida Coombe?

1910 MI Census - Roscommon Co., Higgins Twp., Roscommon Village

MCCREA, Duncan C., head, m/w, 25, single, MI Can Can, Foreman, Lumber Camp
, Adelia, sister, f/w/30, MI Teacher
, Ellen, sister, 27, Teacher
, Mary, sister, 21, Teacher
, Jessie, sister, 19, Teacher
CAMERON, Maggie, cousin, 19, single, Teacher MI MI Can

I still haven't identified "Maggie Cameron," who most certainly is one of "my" Camerons.

Ida Coombe, was Ida Mahar, daughter of James & Myrtle (Whitney) Mahar. Myrtle was the sister of Nettie (Whitney) McCrea (1880 - 1949), Duncan Cameron McCrea's wife. Why did Ida inherit the bulk of the estate? Four of Duncan's siblings (the three sisters mentioned above as well as his brother James) were still living when he died (sisters Sarah and Mary predeceased him), so why wasn't one (or all) of them his heirs? My aunt thought that because of Duncan's notorious past, his money was tainted money, at least in the eyes of his sister Adelia, and she would have refused it if offered to her. Perhaps there was an estrangement that couldn't be breached.

Duncan McCrea was living with one of his Whitney brother-in-laws in Mio, Michigan, when he suffered his fatal heart attack, so perhaps it was fitting that his heir was from his wife's Whitney line rather than his McCrea/Cameron family.

Duncan Cameron McCrea, was the son of James B. & Isabelle (Cameron) McCrea; grandson of Duncan & Ellen (Cameron) Cameron.

Who Else Would Tell Her Story? Adelia McCrea - A Renown Mycologist

Adelia McCrea was a pioneer. Her humble beginnings were rooted in rural Roscommon County, Michigan, where she was born into a family of lumberjacks in 1880. She was a teacher in Sterling, Michigan, as a young girl. By the end of her career she had earned a PhD (as well as an undergraduate degree) from the University of Michigan in 1930 while working at Parke Davis. Her accomplishments may not seem unusual in 2009, but considering the 19th Amendment (right to vote) was ratified a mere 10 years before Adelia (a woman born in the 19th century) earned her PhD, I'm still amazed.

15 year old Adelia McCrea at her 1895 graduation

This article captured the essence of Adelia:

THE NEWS (DETROIT) Monday, November 29, 1943 [Excerpts]:

'Know More Than Men and Get Along,' Says Scientist "Dr. Adelia McCrea Finds Fungi Are Interesting" By Ethel Bogardus

To realize that fungi are fun and science stimulating--talk to Dr. Adelia McCrea, pioneer in her field. Retired, but certainly not vegetating, is the charming, alert woman whose sparkling brown eyes will never cease their quest for more fascinating lore in her chosen field. Dr. McCrea, who spent 21 years as the only woman research staff member for Parke Davis & Co., manufacturing chemists, is visiting her sister, Miss Jessie McCrea, of the Public Welfare Department. You may run in to her one day poking around mossy hillsides, or scanning the ocean beach for odd bits of sea life. You may not recognize the slender figure as a scientist famous, in her own field... .


Travel and photography, the two hobbies this feminine mycologist hoped to enjoy, are forbidden her by war conditions--but she's having fun just the same.

Dr. McCrea was teaching science at the close of World War I, and became much interested in the fungus diseases of many men returning from Europe. Parke Davis was looking for such a research expert--so Dr. McCrea went to work. Modestly, she won't tell which of the many remedies put out by that drug firm are the result of her careful study*.
*See a patent here

Adelia, who never married, enjoyed entertaining young and old alike. She and her sisters invited extended family members, including me, to visit the McCrea cottage at Higgins Lake. Though at the time I was puzzled as to why mushrooms were frequently on the menu. After discovering that Adelia was a mycologist it made perfect sense. She loved her fungi, at work and at home.

I was in awe of Adelia; she was a formidable presence and left an indelible impression upon me as a child. She sparked my (short-lived) interest in science. The choice of a chemistry set for my birthday was inspired by Miss Adelia McCrea. In my mind she also helped prolong the life of my beloved grandfather. When Grandpa winced and then took some of his heart medicine, my grandmother often commented that "'Delia invented the medicine that your Grandfather is taking."

She died on January 8, 1962, in Florida. Her obituary as found in the St. Petersburg Times: ADELIA MCCREA, SCIENTIST, DIES AT 81.

Adelia was the daughter of James B. & Isabelle (Cameron) McCrea. Her siblings included two brothers, James & Duncan, and four sisters, Sarah, Mary, Ellen and Jessie. My grandmother, Beatrice (Cameron) Powers was her cousin.