Catskill Family

About the Book

The ocean passage in 1822 of the ship Camillus was a challenge for the fifty-one passengers in steerage. Among the passengers was the Scott Sawyer family, which included his pregnant wife, Catherine, and their three young children. As they neared the wharf in New York, they welcomed their fourth child, Camilla. For twenty years, the family grew in the Catskill country near Bovina, New York. This is where Scott’s son, Robert, learned to farm and realized the American dream of owning his own land and supporting his own growing family. He also became involved in the Anti-Rent War in 1845. After moving his family to Illinois and then to Iowa, he met an untimely death. His strong wife, Louisa, raised their ten children to become successful and prosperous citizens. This is an American saga.

About the Author

Tom’s interest in genealogy began in 1976. In 1984, on his first trip to Delaware County, New York, he started to truly understand the beginning of the Sawyer family experience in America. This book is a culmination of over thirty-five years of research on the family history. The author is a graduate of Iowa State University, and his career spanned forty years in agricultural business. He is now retired and lives in Clear Lake, Iowa.