George Grant¹² Carman (George¹², Jacob¹⁰, Henry⁹, John⁸, John⁷, Adam^6, John^5, John^4, John^3, John^2, John¹) was born 15 October 1925 in Baldwin, Nassau County, New York; died 16 December 1986 i Baldwin, Nassau County, New York; and is buried in Rockville Cemetery, Lynbrook, Nassau County, New York.  He married 12 October 1947 at Rosedale, Queens County, New York to Florence Jean Redfern, born 13 August 1926 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan; died 29 June 1995 in Baldwin, Nassau County, New York; and is buried with her husband at Rockville Cemetery, Lynbrook, Nassau County, New York; daughter of Charles Edward and Lillian May (Abrams) Redfern.

Dad was the last of the "old school" Long Island fishermen.  He never finished school, in fact was thrown out in the sixth grade when the teacher tried to use a rubber hose on him - he took it from him and used it on the teacher (that same teacher later became Superintendent of Baldwin Schools when I attended school there, embezzled the School District's funds and skipped the country).  Dad then went to work with his father on the fishing boats that left out of Baldwin Harbor. He filed for his social security card when he was 17 and working at the Baldwin Bowling Alley where mom used to say he was banned from bowling himself because he threw the ball to hard and broke the pins, something that is hard to imagine as being a true story.  But now it was 1942 and World War II had started and dad joined the Navy and served aboard the Destroyer Escort USS Moore.  After the war he returned to the fishing boats and that of Long Island Clam Digger.  Dad also belonged to the Baldwin Fire Department, and prior to his retirement after twenty years, served as Captain of Hose Company No. 2.

Although dad always used the name George Grant Carman, Jr., technically he was not as his father had a middle initial of "B".  Henry Clayton Carman did name one of his son's George G. Carman so it is possible that this uncle was the source of the name, and as no one ever figured out what the "B" stood for in grandpop's name it is altogether possible it was a typo and he was meant to be a George G. also - which would have made my life simpler as I was always led to believe I was George Grant Carman, III until I got my military security clearance and found out that  was not the name on my birth certificate. And although mom claimed it was just coincidence, all three of us kids had middle names of Civil War Generals.

George Grant Carman, Jr and Florence Jean Redfern

That mom was born in Michigan is a bit misleading,  Her mother was actually born on Long Island and is part of the large number of Abrams there. But grandmother was a wild woman it seems and had three children by three different husbands. Mom's father appears to have been in the Canadian Army from what we can find, and the marriage certificate was issued in Ontario, Canada.  Detroit is just across the river from Ontario. When Charles Redfern left the picture (reasons unknown), Grandmother and mom came back to Long Island, principally Rosedale, which was where mom married dad and where I spent my first year of life before they moved into a house in Baldwin.

Mom and me catching some rays out in the playground

Children of George and Florence (Redfern) Carman:

09/24/2006