The Saga of Dolores (Cameron) Owens Venable Who Jilted Mr. Clifton At The Altar

Found in the New York Tribune from the "Chronicling of America" set of newspapers:

The New York Tribune:
22 June 1910
[Text Version of Newspaper Article]

WED SURGEON'S FIANCE
Girl Changed Her Mind After
Coming Here.
[By Telegraph to The Tribune.]
Cincinnati, June 21. — Miss Dolores
Cameron, twenty years old, daughter
of the late Walter Cameron, a Cincin-
nati attorney, is now Mrs. Mareium
Owens, wife of a New York college man,
whose father is reputed to be a million-
aire. They were married in New York
on June 14. The news did not reach here,
however, until today, which was the
day on which she was to have been
married to Assistant Surgeon Alfred Lee
Clifton, United States navy, attached to
the battleship Michigan.
When Miss Cameron reached New
York she changed her mind, and Owens,
who was to have been a guest at the
Clifton ceremony, took Clifton's place
as bridegroom.
When Miss Cameron was sixteen years
old Owens proposed to her, but because
she was so young she did not accept
him, according to her mother, who is
Mrs. Ward Baldwin, wife of a prominent
civil engineer of this city. They did not
meet again until Miss Cameron went to
New York to marry Clifton, who was
formerly examining surgeon at the
naval recruiting station in Cincinnati.
Several months ago he was assigned to
active duty in the Atlantic fleet. He was
about to start on a two years' cruise,
and he wrote to his fiancee suggesting
that they marry before he started on his
long voyage. Accompanied by her
mother, Miss Cameron went to New
York. The marriage was to have taken
place at the Hotel Astor.
What caused Miss Cameron to change
her mind so suddenly is not known.
"She found out things that she did not
know before," her mother says. The
wedding took place on the approximate
day and at the approximate hour which
were to have seen the marriage of Clifton
and Miss Cameron.
Owens's parents are in Europe, and
do not yet know of their son's marriage.
Owens and his bride are on a wedding
trip. Clifton is on the high seas.
Miss Cameron's father was killed in
the Thoma Hotel fire, in this city, several
weeks ago.

Dolores, her parents, Walter & Eva, and her brother J[oseph] Gay Cameron, were in Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio, in 1900.

Walter Cameron, age 4, was in Cincinnati with parents Joseph, a dentist, and Mary in 1860. The Joseph Cameron family listed here in 1870.

Eva (Simkinson) Cameron Baldwin died 8 October 1912, in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was born 19 December 1866 and was the daughter of Henry Simkinson, who was born in England, and Martha Kelley, who was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ward Baldwin, Eva's 2nd husband, died 15 Nov 1920.

Dolores Cameron died as Dolores Venable, wife of Emerson Venable, on 13 March 1930, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her daughter, Evelyn Venable, was an actress whose bio is found here and obituary here. The widower, Emerson Venable, and daughter Evelyn were in Cincinnati for the 1930 census.

Dr. Alfred Lee Clifton married Gladys Burgess, a Smith College graduate, on 22 June 1912. The Clifton's and their two daughters, Margaret & Mary, were living at the U.S. Navy Yard in York Co., Maine, in 1930.

I couldn't find any additional information on Mareium Owens, with whom Dolores Cameron eloped.

I was inspired to search the newspapers by the genealogical find in the "Chronicling of America" site detailed here in the Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog by Brenda Joyce Jerome.

Obituary of Mary McCrea

From the Flint Journal, printed 10 April 1928:


McCrea--Mary McCrea, 39 years old, died yesterday at 674 Neff-rd, Grosse Pointe, of tuberculosis, following an illness of three years. She was born in Roscommon-co, Mich., the daughter of James B. and Isabelle [Cameron] McCrea. She was a member of the Presbyterian church in Superior, Wis. She leaves her father, of Flint; two brothers, James E. McCrea, of Johnson City, Pa., and Duncan C. McCrea, of Detroit; four sisters, Adelia and Jessie, of Grosse Pointe; Mrs. Beltz, of Chicago, and Mrs. L. A. Monroe, of Superior, Wis.

She (Mary McCrea) was buried in Gracelawn Cemetery, Flint, Genesee Co., Michigan, with my great-grandmother, Anna Cameron (who was Mary's aunt). Anna did not want to return to rural Arenac County, MI, where she was born and where she married Donald Cameron, even to be buried there with him (Donald). Actually Anna was buried with Mary, since Mary died first.

Mary McCrea's obituary provided several clues to me. I didn't know that her sister Ellen was married to a Mr. Beltz and that she lived in Chicago before she married a Mr. Audley. Nor did I know that Adelia & Jessie lived in Grosse Pointe (although I knew that they had lived in nearby Detroit). I also did not know that James E. McCrea lived in Pennsylvania, before he moved out west.

Obituary of Miss Jessie McCrea

From the Tampa Tribune, published Thursday, July 3, 1969:


MISS JESSIE MCCREA

REDINGTON BEACH - Miss Jessie Beryle McCrea, 77, of 17715 Gulf Blvd., died Monday. A native of Roscommon, Mich., she came here 11 years ago from Flint, Mich. She was a retired school teacher and social worker. Survivors include a sister, Mrs. Ellen Audley, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Jessie B. McCrea was the daughter (and youngest child) of James & Isabelle (CAMERON) McCrea. She was the granddaughter of Duncan & Ellen (Cameron) Cameron.

See blog articles about Jessie's family here. Jessie McCrea's place in the Edmunds family tree can be found here. She was enumerated with her widowed father and siblings in the 1900 census taken in Richfield Twp., Roscommon Co., Michigan.

In 1920 Jessie McCrea was a social worker and living with her sister, Delia, and others at 30 Kirby Street, Detroit, Wayne Co., Michigan.

In the 1930 census, Jessie B. McCrea was living in Houston, Harris Co., Texas:

1930 census TX Harris, Houston
McCrea (indexed as McGrea), Jessie B., 39, single, MI Can MI, social worker - orphanage - E/W William D. Davis, 64, m29, TN Ire US

Jessie McCrea was my grandmother's cousin who spent time with our family. She was tone deaf, but loved to sing and play the concertina. She and her sister, Delia, spent time at their cottage at Higgins Lake, Roscommon Co., Michigan.

Deaths In The Cameron Bible

Deaths listed in the Cameron family Bible (it's basically for the Richard & Nancy Cameron family who moved to Arenac Co., Michigan, from the Buckingham, Quebec, Canada, area):


Also see Births in the Bible for the same family as well as the Marriages.

Here are some of the death records I've extracted from Arenac County, Michigan.

Marriages In The Cameron Bible

These marriages in the Cameron Bible pertain to the same family as mentioned in this blog entry that featured the births in the same Bible:

Births In The Cameron Bible

Our CAMERON family Bible:

The births of my great-grandfather, Donald Cameron, and the ten other children of Richard & Nancy (Cameron) Cameron are found on this Bible record. Nancy and her sister Flora are listed next. It's possible that Jane (Cameron) McMillan's children were also listed.

This Cameron family was found in Buckingham, Quebec, Canada, in 1861; some of the children were born in Quebec and others were born across the river near Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

[See Arenac Co., Michigan, probate papers of Richard Cameron, for more information about some of the children found in the Bible records]

This WorldConnect site stated that Richard Cameron's father, Donald Cameron, died in Australia, whereas his mother, Mary (McMillan) Cameron, died in Buckingham, Quebec, Canada. That would be exciting news to me if Donald's death in Australia could be verified.

[Original Cameron Bible pages privately held by B. Barnum]

Obituary of Ellen (Johnston) Carpenter

Ellen Johnston married Loran D. Carpenter of the Carpenters of Atlas Twp., Genesee Co., Michigan on 20 October 1903, in Sterling, Arenac Co., MI:


CARPENTER-Ellen C. Carpenter, 129 E. Eddington, 69, died Saturday, June 19, 1954, at McClaren General Hospital. Services will be held at 10 A.M. Tuesday, June 22, at the Colonial Chapel, Riegle Funeral Home, and burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery. The body will be at the funeral home. The Rev. Frederick Vosburg will officiate. Mrs. Carpenter was a member of the Moose Auxiliary and BSM. She leaves her husband, Loren D. Carpenter, Plainfield, N.J., four sons, John, St. Clair; Archie, Detroit; L. D., Altadena, Cal., and Clyde, Flint; two brothers, Archie Johnston, Greencourt, Alb., and Donald Cameron, Flint; four sisters, Mrs. Blanche Stout, Mrs. Beatrice Powers and Mrs. Flora Bennett; Flint, and Mrs. Marion Schantz, Charlevoix: six grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.



Ellen was the daughter of John & Anna (Cameron) Johnston and the step-daughter of Donald Cameron. She (Ellen) had another sister, Belle (Johnston) Wodtke, who died in 1920.