My trip to Florida provided me with a veritable goldmine of information on Henry. Much of what I learned was found in a book my great-aunt Helen Rambow, Henry's second daughter, wrote in 1984, entitled "More Off Center". When presented with conflicting genealogical data, I mostly have to defer to her, since she was actually there, even though I did find a few definite inaccuracies.
One of the questions I had was whether Henry, who was, indeed, called "Harry" by family and friends, had enlisted in the Army or was drafted. I suspected from his letters that he had enlisted, even though he was a family man with four children. That question was laid to rest in Helen's book. She writes, "Our doctor-father went to France to head a Base Hospital during World War I, finding four exemptions poor excuse to ignore his duty to his country. I recall his terse postal card message to my Mother, re-read and cherished through the years as his answer to his country's call. 'This is not the time for personal plans of happiness. Until the world comes to its senses, we have no right to have our own dreams come true.'" We have been unable to find a draft record for Henry. Based on the above, and things he says in his letters, I now believe he enlisted.
I also have more definitive information on Henry's birth family, as well. The family we found living in Bay City in 1880 was definitely his, as was the family in 1870. My aunt believed that all of the children were born in Canada, but we now know that not to be the case. By comparing her recollections and research with what we've found, this is what we know with reasonable certainty:
Henry's grandfather, Murdock MacLennan, emigrated to Canada in the early 1800s from Tain, Scotland with his two brothers, Andrew Jr. and Donald. Later, their parents, Andrew Sr. and Margaret, along with their sister Jessica, emigrated as well. We don't know Henry's grandmother's name, but his father, John James (not Thomas John or T.J.), was born in London, Ontario on April 9, 1840. Henry's mother was Marion Hornby, born in Montreal, Quebec in 1841.
John James and Marion emigrated to Bay City, MI with their two children, James Murdock and William Nelthorpe MacLennan, and John's brother, Andrew Jr., sometime after 1863 and before 1870. Sister Alice Marion came along on August 22 of 1870, followed by another sister (not a brother, as one census indicated), Frances Rayne on January 7, 1874. Finally, Henry, the baby, came along in 1875, and the family was complete. Here is a picture of his sister Frances, taken around the turn of the century:
We also know that both of Henry's parents had died by the time he was nineteen. He used his inheritance of $4,000 to attend medical school. The relative worth of the inheritance in 1900 is over $100,000 in today's dollars, so they weren't poor. Especially considering that medical school tuition at that time was about $200/year. It seems the lumber mercantile business that John James engaged in was quite profitable. Each of his children inherited the same amount, according to family oral history.
I also learned that Henry did move to Bay Mills, MI after medical school and prior to marrying Camilla in 1901. Bay Mills is up near present-day Sault St. Marie, in Chippewa county. My grandmother, May Marion, was born there in 1903. Sometime between then and 1906, when Helen was born, they moved to Battle Creek, MI. Below is a picture of my grandmother with Camilla's father, John Wesley Knaggs, husband of suffragette May Stocking Knaggs.
And on that, I will close this entry, lest we all get terribly confused.
One of the questions I had was whether Henry, who was, indeed, called "Harry" by family and friends, had enlisted in the Army or was drafted. I suspected from his letters that he had enlisted, even though he was a family man with four children. That question was laid to rest in Helen's book. She writes, "Our doctor-father went to France to head a Base Hospital during World War I, finding four exemptions poor excuse to ignore his duty to his country. I recall his terse postal card message to my Mother, re-read and cherished through the years as his answer to his country's call. 'This is not the time for personal plans of happiness. Until the world comes to its senses, we have no right to have our own dreams come true.'" We have been unable to find a draft record for Henry. Based on the above, and things he says in his letters, I now believe he enlisted.
I also have more definitive information on Henry's birth family, as well. The family we found living in Bay City in 1880 was definitely his, as was the family in 1870. My aunt believed that all of the children were born in Canada, but we now know that not to be the case. By comparing her recollections and research with what we've found, this is what we know with reasonable certainty:
Henry's grandfather, Murdock MacLennan, emigrated to Canada in the early 1800s from Tain, Scotland with his two brothers, Andrew Jr. and Donald. Later, their parents, Andrew Sr. and Margaret, along with their sister Jessica, emigrated as well. We don't know Henry's grandmother's name, but his father, John James (not Thomas John or T.J.), was born in London, Ontario on April 9, 1840. Henry's mother was Marion Hornby, born in Montreal, Quebec in 1841.
John James and Marion emigrated to Bay City, MI with their two children, James Murdock and William Nelthorpe MacLennan, and John's brother, Andrew Jr., sometime after 1863 and before 1870. Sister Alice Marion came along on August 22 of 1870, followed by another sister (not a brother, as one census indicated), Frances Rayne on January 7, 1874. Finally, Henry, the baby, came along in 1875, and the family was complete. Here is a picture of his sister Frances, taken around the turn of the century:
We also know that both of Henry's parents had died by the time he was nineteen. He used his inheritance of $4,000 to attend medical school. The relative worth of the inheritance in 1900 is over $100,000 in today's dollars, so they weren't poor. Especially considering that medical school tuition at that time was about $200/year. It seems the lumber mercantile business that John James engaged in was quite profitable. Each of his children inherited the same amount, according to family oral history.
I also learned that Henry did move to Bay Mills, MI after medical school and prior to marrying Camilla in 1901. Bay Mills is up near present-day Sault St. Marie, in Chippewa county. My grandmother, May Marion, was born there in 1903. Sometime between then and 1906, when Helen was born, they moved to Battle Creek, MI. Below is a picture of my grandmother with Camilla's father, John Wesley Knaggs, husband of suffragette May Stocking Knaggs.
And on that, I will close this entry, lest we all get terribly confused.
No comments:
Post a Comment