52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Ancestor #10

Catherine Maria Van Camp (1856-1929)

Catherine MariaVan Camp, was born in Mountain, Dundas, Ontario, Canada on 24 September 1856 and died in Spokane, Spokane, Washington on 8 June, 1929. She was the daughter of Reuben Elijah and Charity (Winegard) Van Camp. She married Abraham Wynne in Merrickville, Grenville, Ontario, Canada on 16 January 1877. Abraham was born on 16 October 1849 in Montague, Lanark, Ontario and died in St. Thomas, Pembina, North Dakota on 1 October 1928.

Catherine grew up in Dundas County¹ in a little community know as Van Camp Mills². Sometime before 1871 the family moved to Grenville County³ to the community of Oxford. At the age of 18 she began teaching in the local schools. She got a job in Merrickville where she met Abraham Wynne. After her marriage she moved to Renfrew, Ontario⁴ where her husband was farming. All of her children were born here.

In 1886 the family decided to follow her father and move to North Dakota. They went by train and settled close to the Red River in St. Thomas. Abraham purchased 320 acres of farm land and a lot in town where he placed his residence⁵. Here is where they remained for the rest of their lives. When World War I came along, Catherine volunteered as knitting supervisor for the local Red Cross. The women and children of St. Thomas knitted wool socks for the servicemen.

After the death of her husband, she decided to go to Spokane to spend the winter with her daughter Belle who was an English teacher in the Spokane High School. She became ill and died in June 1929. She is buried in St. Thomas City Cemetery with her husband.

Children of Abraham and Catherine Maria (Van Camp) Wynne:

1. Helena Gertrude.Wynne, b. 8 Nov 1878 in Renfrew, Renfrew, Ontario, d. 11 Dec 1952 in Park River, Walsh, North Dakota, m. on 27 Feb 1900 Daniel Webster Baldwin, b. 7 Dec 1877 in Mountain, Dundas, Ontario and d. 23 Aug 1961 in Langdon, Cavalier, North Dakota.
2. Janet Isabelle Wynne, b. Sep 1882 in Renfrew, d. 10 Mar 1957 in Spokane. She never married
3. Edward Gordon Wynne, b. 30 Apr 1884 in Renfrew, d. 5 Apr 1968 in Spokane, m. on 8 Nov 1908 in St. Thomas , Jeannie May McKibbon, b. 3 Mar 1886 in Woodlands, Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada and d. 31 Jul 1950 in Spokane.

1 1861 Census of Canada, Mountain, Dundas County, Canada West, District 7, page 10, line 33, Reuben Van Camp; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 1 Oct 2014), citing Library and Archives Canada microfilm, roll C-1014.

2 Document celebrating the life of Catherine M. Wynne written by her daughter Helena and found in among my parents papers after their deaths. I have this document and am willing to share it with other researchers.

3 1871 Census of Canada, Leeds and Grenville North, Ontario, population schedule, Oxford, district 7, division 01, subdistrict e, page 3, family 11, Reuben Vancamp; digital image, Ancestry.com  (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 30 Dec 2015), citing Library and Archives Canada microfilm, roll C-10005.

4 1881 Canadian census, Admaston, South Renfrew County, Ontario, Schedule 1, District 113, sub-district C, , page 45, Ebram Van Camp, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 20 Nov 2014) citing Library and Archives Canada, roll   C_13234.

5 1900 US Census, Pembina, North Dakota, population schedule, St. Thomas, Enumeration District (E.D.) 119, Sheet 5B, dwelling 84, family 87, Abraham Wynne: digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 18 Nov 2015), citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623, roll 1230.