Jim Panttaja’s Genealogy Research

There are a couple of services that let you publish ‘books’. The one that I have the most experience with is Lulu. With this service, I can take a book that I have created using Family Tree Maker, upload it to Lulu.com, and then order printed copies of the book to share with my relatives. I could also choose to allow others to order copies directly either in printed form, or download a PDF file.

The process if fairly simple, and the books are quite inexpensive. I often print copies for myself that are spiral bound. The binding let’s me easily review them, mark them up, or use them for reference on a trip to the library. I often end up giving them away when I visit relatives. For smaller family groups, I have had them printed in booklet form (a staple in the middle like a magazine. I just order the latest revision that I have created of my personal genealogy (356 pages) in ‘perfect bound’, which is sort of like a paperback book.

The perfect bound is about $12/copy for 356 pages.

I usually request one first - take a look at it, make sure that the pages are right (odd numbered pages on the left), and proof it one more time. Then I order several (might be Christmas presents - or maybe some copies for my local library).

One trick you will have to overcome is to make sure that the fonts are all embedded in the .pdf file. I accomplish this by opening the PDF file on my Mac using PDFPen (which also let’s me do some simple editing - Family Tree Maker sneaks in a blank page for me at page 3 on all of my documents. I haven’t figured out how to tweak Family Tree Maker to not do that - so I just remove the page using PDFPen). Having opened the file, I ‘print to PDF’. That gets the fonts embedded, and I am good to go. On a PC, I had to use to accomplish the embedding.

Here is the cover of my book on John Miller Camron.

I have written on another blog about problem solving techniques. There are a variety of approaches - and they are all useful in genealogy as well. The problem today is related to Benjamin F. Jennings - and the problem solving technique is to make sure that you don’t look for what is missing where the light is better…

[The cartoons were done for us several years ago by Marc Schmid. His website is www.cartooncity.net ]

Benjamin F. Jennings was the first husband of Matilda Jane Heller. Matilda Jane later married Joseph Sparks, and then John Hawthorne Cameron. John Hawthorne Cameron is my connection. John Hawthorne was the nephew of John Miller Camron. John Miller Camron is my Great-great-great grandfather.

The following book: Bergevin, Charlotte, Daisy Sundberg, Evelyn Berg, Camerons, Westward They Came, (1983), contains information about Benjamin F. Jennings and Matilda Jane Heller. Benjamin was Matilda Jane Heller’s first husband. They were married 22 April 1852 in Fulton County, Illinois. She married her second husband in 1865, so I looked for them in the 1860 census - in Illinois.

There is a Benjamin F. Jennings in Pope County, Illinois. His wife is Matilda J. This is sounding really good. But she was born in Illinois, and the Matilda Jane I am looking for was born in Illinois. This is not enough to make me give up yet (the light is pretty good here). And the book Camerons, Westward They Came lists children for Benjamin and Matilda named Philip, John, Mattie and Fannie. So close - but not a match with the children listed in the census record: George, Elvira, Mahala and Angeline.

So I still haven’t found this Jennings family in the 1860 census. I have found Matilda J. Cameron (after her marriage to John Hawthorne Cameron) as head of household in the 1900 and 1910 census (John Hawthorne Cameron died in 1900).

But a reminder that you have to not just look where the light is good. It was compelling to think that there might only be one Benjamin F. Jennings/Matilda Jennings couple - in Illinois - of about the right age - in 1860. But in this case that that would be wrong.

In my experience, genealogy research includes a lot of digging, a few ‘challenges’, and a few ‘goldmines’. The challenges include my ancestor Noah Scudder - after many years of research, I can’t satisfactorily identify his parents. More on Noah another day. John Miller Camron is in the goldmine category.

John Miller Camron had as a boarder, Abraham Lincoln, so he is mentioned in some of the biographies of Lincoln - and one book even includes a photograph of him. He was a 49er, first coming to California in 1849, so he is mentioned in some of the early California records. But most importantly, there was a pamphlet written in 1962 by one of his great-granddaughters, Alice Purvine Murphy, about John, and his descendants.

She includes a history of John, including his trip to California in 1849. She also includes birth, death and marriage information for all of the descendants that she could identify. What a treasure trove.

I have recently corresponded with Mrs. Murphy’s daughter Margaret Turner. Her note read in part “Mother had only a pencil and paper to keep track of all this information and my cousin Helen to help type it. Computers are wonderful”. I have also corresponded with Helen Purvine Kolb who typed it. She remembers the effort - and is pleased that others are still benefiting from that effort.

John and his wife had 10 children. The following provides the basic information on this first generation of John’s descendants.

JOHN MILLER CAMRON (THOMAS, THOMAS) was born 12 Aug 1790 in Elbert County, Georgia, and died 21 Feb 1878 in Sebastopol, Sonoma, California. He married (1) NANCY (POLLY OR MARY) ORENDORF 26 Jan 1812 in Enfield Twp.,Henderson, Kentucky, daughter of CHRISTOPHER OHRENDORF and ELIZABETH PHILIPS. She was born 13 Jan 1794 in Wilkes County, Georgia, and died 25 Mar 1875 in Sebastopol, Sonoma, California. He married (2) SARAH ANN ROGERS 12 Aug 1876. She was born 11 Apr 1811 in Alexandria, Virginia, and died 06 May 1887 in Oakland, Alameda, California.

Notes for JOHN MILLER CAMRON:
John Camron left Oskaloosa, Mahaska, Iowa on May 1, 1849 with a 40 wagon train, Camron arrived at Lassen’s ranch on the Sacramento River with 4 wagons on the last day of October, 1849.

More About JOHN MILLER CAMRON:
Burial: Sebastopol, Sonoma, California

More About NANCY (POLLY OR MARY) ORENDORF:
Burial: Sebastopol, Sonoma, California

More About SARAH ANN ROGERS:
Burial: Sebastopol, Sonoma, California

Children of JOHN CAMRON and NANCY ORENDORF are:
i. ELIZABETH PRESTON4 CAMRON, b. 13 Jan 1813, Hopkinsville, Christian, Kentucky; d. 03 Apr 1896, Sebastopol, Sonoma, California; m. BAXTER BELL BERRY, 02 Oct 1832, New Salem, Sangamon, Illinois; b. 25 Oct 1807, Near Nashville, Franklin, Tennesseee; d. 02 Dec 1891, Sebastopol, Sonoma, California.

More About ELIZABETH PRESTON CAMRON:
Burial: 05 Apr 1896, Sebastopol, Sonoma, California

Notes for BAXTER BELL BERRY:
Left Oskaloosa, Mahaska, Iowa, 26 April, 1852 with Charles Pruvine, Silas Martin for California. Served in the Black Hawk War in Captain Adam Smith’s company, 2nd regiment of Mounted Volunteers of the State of Illinois, commanded by Colonel James D. Henry, 4 June 1831 - 2 July 1831. Private When discharged, commanded by Brig. Genl. Joseph Duncan.

More About BAXTER BELL BERRY:
Burial: 03 Dec 1891, Sebastopol, Sonoma, California

ii. THOMAS PORTER CAMRON, b. 24 Feb 1814, Hopkinsville, Christian, Kentucky; d. 15 Apr 1854, San Pablo Bay, California; m. (1) ZILLA EMERY, 19 Apr 1837, ,Fulton, Illinois; b. 1816, Ohio; d. 1845, Oskaloosa, Mahaska, Iowa; m. (2) CYNTHIA Y. HILLS, 27 Feb 1847, Oskaloosa, Mahaska, Iowa; d. 1861, California.

More About THOMAS PORTER CAMRON:
Burial: Cypress Hill Cemetery, Petaluma, Sonoma, California

iii. VIENNA MITCHELL CAMRON, b. 30 Dec 1815, White County, Illinois; d. 11 Apr 1906, Burnett, Los Angeles, California; m. (1) WILLIAM PROSISE, May 1835, Fulton County, Illinois; b. Kentucky; d. 12 Feb 1846, Mahaska County, Iowa; m. (2) HENRY LYSTER, 18 Dec 1848, Oskaloosa, Mahaska, Iowa; b. 21 Mar 1806, ,Shelby, Kentucky; d. 31 Jan 1889, Burnett, near Long Beach, Los Angeles, California.

More About VIENNA MITCHELL CAMRON:
Burial: Signal Hill Cemetery, Long Beach, Los Angeles, California

More About HENRY LYSTER:
Burial: Signal Hill Cemetery, Long Beach, Los Angeles, California

iv. NANCY MILLER CAMRON, b. 16 Jan 1818, White County, Illinois; d. 27 Jan 1890, Two Rock, Sonoma, California; m. SILAS MERCER MARTIN, 30 Oct 1838, Birmingham, Van Buren County, Iowa; b. 12 Jan 1816, Muhlenburg, Kentucky; d. 26 Feb 1894, Two Rock, Sonoma, California.

More About NANCY MILLER CAMRON:
Burial: Two Rock, Sonoma, California

More About SILAS MERCER MARTIN:
Burial: Two Rock, Sonoma, California

v. MARY JANE CAMRON, b. 31 Jan 1820, Sangamon County, Illinois; d. 28 Jan 1898, Petaluma, Sonoma, California; m. CHARLES PURVINE, 16 Jan 1839, Birmingham, Van Buren, Iowa; b. 14 Sep 1815, Chattanooga, Hamilton, Tennessee; d. 08 Sep 1869, Petaluma, Sonoma, California.

More About MARY JANE CAMRON:
Burial: Two Rock, Sonoma, California

More About CHARLES PURVINE:
Burial: Two Rock, Sonoma, California

vi. MARTHA (MARTY) M. CAMRON, b. 06 Jul 1822, Springfield, Sangamon, Illinois; d. 27 Mar 1905, Ocean Park, California; m. (1) JOHN B. THOMSON; m. (2) DR. BENJAMIN BLACKMAN BONHAM, Feb 1839, Fairfield, Jefferson, Iowa; b. 01 Jan 1814, Maryville, Blount, Tennessee; d. 28 Jan 1884, ,Los Angeles, California; m. (3) REV. NOAH MCCUISTION, 25 Mar 1891; b. 04 Oct 1822, Tennessee; d. 10 Jun 1903.

More About REV. NOAH MCCUISTION:
Burial: Fair Haven Cemetery, Santa Ana, Orange, California

vii. SARAH N. CAMRON, b. 31 May 1824, Sangamon County, Illinois; d. 07 May 1854, Green Valley, Sonoma, California; m. REV. ANDREW MCNAMAR, 30 Oct 1846, ,Mahaska, Iowa; b. 20 Jun 1819, ,,New York; d. 25 Jul 1891, Willits, Mendocino, California.

More About SARAH N. CAMRON:
Burial: Spring Hill Cemetery, Sebastopol, Sonoma, California

More About REV. ANDREW MCNAMAR:
Burial: Willits, Mendocino, California

viii. SOLENA CAMRON, b. 1827, Sangamon Valley, New Salem, Illinois; d. 1848, Oskaloosa, ,Mahaska, Iowa; m. SAMUEL T. MCMURRAY, 17 Jun 1846, Mahaska, Iowa.

More About SOLENA CAMRON:
Burial: ,,Iowa

ix. SORENA CAMRON, b. 1827, Sangamon Valley, New Salem, Illinois; d. 29 May 1915, San Francisco, San Francisco, California; m. REV. BAXTER NEWTON BONHAM, 20 Jan 1846, ,Jefferson, Iowa; b. 06 Oct 1819, ,Blount, Tennessee; d. 15 Feb 1889, Santa Clara, Santa Clara, California.

More About SORENA CAMRON:
Burial: Sebastopol, Sonoma, California

More About REV. BAXTER NEWTON BONHAM:
Burial: Sebastopol, Sonoma, California

x. ELIZA ARMINDA CAMRON, b. 13 Feb 1832, Petersburg, Maywood County, Illinois; d. 03 May 1916, Long Beach, Los Angeles, California; m. (1) CAPT. HIRAM FOGG, 01 May 1850, Sacremento, Sacremento, California; b. 1816, ,,Massachusetts; d. 18 Feb 1861, Martinez, Contra Costa, California; m. (2) GEORGE BRUNSON, 31 May 1862; m. (3) HUGH MUNDELL, 14 Jun 1864, Austin, Nevada; b. 21 Jun 1823, Salem, Hamilton, Ohio; d. 13 May 1900, Long Beach, Los Angeles, California.

More About ELIZA ARMINDA CAMRON:
Burial: Signal Hill Cemetery, Long Beach, Los Angeles, California

xi. CAROLINE THIELIA CAMRON, b. 05 Jan 1834, Bernadotte, Fulton, Illinois; d. 14 Jan 1922, Martinez, Contra Costa, California; m. THOMAS ALLEN (JUDGE) BROWN, 20 May 1851, Martinez, Contra Costa, California; b. 16 Oct 1823, Greene County, Illinois; d. 05 Aug 1889, Martinez, Contra Costa, California.

More About CAROLINE THIELIA CAMRON:
Burial: Alhambra Cemetery, Martinez, Contra Costa County, California

More About THOMAS ALLEN (JUDGE) BROWN:
Burial: Alhambra Cemetery, Martinez, Contra Costa County, California

xii. MARGARET ANGELINE CAMRON, b. 15 Jun 1836, Canton, Fulton, Illinois; d. 14 May 1928, Pomona, Los Angeles, California; m. JESSE CLARK THOMPSON, 10 Nov 1852, Green Valley, Sonoma, California; b. 17 Feb 1829, ,Greene, Missouri; d. 18 Mar 1908, California Hot Spr, Tulare County, California.

More About MARGARET ANGELINE CAMRON:
Burial: Garden Grove, Orange, California

More About JESSE CLARK THOMPSON:
Burial: Garden Grove, Orange, California

I am including below my current ’sources’ that contain information about John Miller Camron:

• 1852 California State Census, Schedule 1 - Population, (County of Sonoma, August 1983).
• Bergevin, Charlotte, “Research of Charlotte Bergevin, 1975-1984.”
• Bergevin, Charlotte, Daisy Sundberg, Evelyn Berg, Camerons, Westward They Came, (1983).
• Death Certificate for John M. Camron.
• Dodd, Jordan., Kentucky Marriages, 1802-1850, (ancestry.com), “Electronic.”
• Drake, Julia A., Flame O’ Dawn, (Vantage Press, 1959.).
• Drake, Julia A., Alfred Lueck and Emil Flender, The Christian Ohrndorf Family in Germany, (Anchor Publishing Co., San Angelo, Texas, 1968.).
• Hamilton & Ostendorf, Lincoln in Pictures, (University of Oklahoma Press, 1963).
• History of Contra Costa County, California, (Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA, 1926.).
• Howell, Esther Hyde , “The Story of John Miller Camron and Nancy Orendorff Camron,” 1962.
• “John M. Camron Cemetery Plot, Sebastopol, Sonoma, California.”
• Land Patent, (Bureau of Land Management, General Land Records Office, http://www.glorecords.blm.gov), “Electronic.”
• Lorant, Stefan , Lincoln His Life in Photographs, (Duell, Sloan and Pearce, New York, 1941).
• Lorant, Stefan , Lincoln, A Picture Story of His Life, (W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1969).
• Marko, Ruth Z., Transcribed, Federal Census, 1830, Sangamon County, Illinois, (Sangamon County Genealogical Society of Illinois).
• Marriage record of John Camron and Nancy Orinduff, (Kentucky marriages to 1850), “Electronic.”
• McClure, Evelyn S., Sebastopol’s Historic Cemetery, (Belle View Press, Sebastopol, Sonoma, California, 2000.).
• Murphy, Alice Purvine, The Rev. John M. Camron and Descendants 1790-1962, (1962).
• Native Daughters of the Golden West, Native Daughters of the Golden West Records, (http://cagenweb.com/cpl/ndgwmaster.htm).
• Native Daughters of the Golden West Index, (http://www.cagenweb.com/~cpl/ndgwmaster.htm), “Electronic.”
• Native Daughters of the Golden West Roster of CA Pioneers.
• Paull, Margaret Martin, The Valley of the Trail Between The Two Rocks.
• Pension Records, Baxter Bell Berry.
• Sandberg, Carl, Abraham Lincoln, The Prarie Years.
• Sebastopol Cemetery, 2/83, notes from visit to cemetery, Jim Panttaja.
• Sonoma County Deeds.
• Sonoma County Genealogical Society, Inc. Santa Rosa, Sonoma, California, Sonoma County, California Death Records, 1873-1905, Second Edition, (Heritage Books, Inc., Bowie, Maryland, 2001.), “Electronic.”
• Sonoma County Genealogical Society, Inc. Santa Rosa, Sonoma, California, 1999, Sonoma County Cemetery Records, (Heritage Books, Inc., Bowie, Maryland, 2001.), “Electronic.”
• Sonoma Searcher, Vol III, #3, April, 1976.
• Spears, Zarel C. and Robert S. Barton, Berry and Lincoln Frontier Merchants, The Store that “Winked Out”, (Stratford House, Inc., New York, 1947).
• Thomas, Benjamin P., Lincoln’s New Salem, (The Abraham Lincoln Association, Springfield, Sangamon, Illinois, 1934).
• “Vital Records from Cemeteries in California, Sonoma County Cemetery Records 1846-1921.”
• Walsh, John Evangelist, The Shadows Rise, Abraham Lincoln and the Ann Rutledge Legend, (University of Illinois Press, 1993).