On Mother Love

and the Krimminger, Love, and Cato families

            Much confusion over facts and family lore concerning the Krimminger, Love and Cato families makes research of those families almost impossible without discarding all information that is not unquestionably factual. But to do so would be to leave out those very details which make this family worth studying, and which may, in the end, give more light in finding the truth of it all. Here, an attempt will be made to separate fact from untruths, and also those details which may or my not be true, by looking at the story ‘Mother Love’ and using it as the guide and lens through which the facts may be determined.

            ‘Mother Love; A family History’ by Buena Crimminger Feeney is a 248 page book in its original type-written form which uses the genre of historical fiction to follow several generations of the Krimminger, Love, and Cato families to the time when they are all finally connected through the union of Robert Crimminger and Mary Jane Cato. It must be understood by readers that many of the names and details given in the story ‘Mother Love’ were changed by the author and others are just wrong.

            Mrs. Samuel Love, Katherine, as the book calls her, and about whom the book was named, was a Mrs. Margaret Love. Her name is given as such in several land transactions from Lancaster County. As the head of her household, in 1840, her name appears on the census as ‘Marjory Love.’ Another name which was changed was that of Mary Love Krimminger, wife of Frederick Krimminger Jr., who is portrayed by the character ‘Cynthia’ in Mother Love. Her headstone, which stands in the Krimminger Graveyard in Cabarrus Co., North Carolina, reads “In Memory of Mary/ Wife of Fredk. Krimminger/ Born Apr. 8, 1797/ Died Jan. 29, 1855/ Ag’d 57y’s 9m’s 21d’s.”

            Samuel Love was most likely the son of Robert and Violet Wilson Love. The names of three of his children are known: Joel, S. W., and Mary. As the story says, he was in the Revolutionary War. In his pension record, he states that he was living on Beaver Creek in the Kershaw District when he entered the war. He entered service in 1777, and served a total of about 27 months as a private. Samuel Love himself stated in the record from 1832 that he had no record of his birth. But later, the record gives his age as “73 or 74 years,” making his birth about 1758-1759. He also stated that he was born in Lancaster County. Also according to his own witness, he fought in the battle of Hanging Rock. According to Mr. Willie Crimminger, great-grandson of Mr. Love, he was killed in 1836 by a disgruntled slave. The details of the slave uprising in the book are most likely fictitious. Although Mr. Crimminger stated that he died in 1836, the following is scribbled, just barely legible, on the front of his pension record: “Died Apr 16 1835.”

            Frederick Krimminger Sr. was almost definitely from Germany. His mother’s name was Catharina. She was born about 1735 in “old country,” presumably Germany, and died in 1798 in Rowan Co., North Carolina. She was married first to Mr. Grimminger, father of Frederick Krimminger Sr. Some papers also mention another Krimminger, Stephen, possibly another son. Mr. Grimminger’s given name was probably Christopher. Catharina’s second marriage was to Kelion Earnhardt Sr. This was also his second marriage. Kelion Jr. was Catharina’s son. Catharina Earnhardt left a nun-cupative will dated Jan. 9, 1798, “leaving 40 pounds to Christopher and Frederick, sons of my son Frederick Krimminger, deceased, and the balance of property be sold to Kelion Earnhardt, Jr.”

            The details of the Grimminger family in Germany are most likely all fictitious, and the same with the details on the Liberty Bell. But, most of the information about Frederick’s service in the Revolutionary war is correct, except his actually organizing the company he was a captain of. His pension record states that he “volunteered and was chosen Captain of a Company which he commanded.” Frederick served in the militia, was captured, then served in the Continental Army. He fought at Camden, under Gen. Green at Guilford Courthouse, and was at Yorktown when Cornwallis surrendered. He was detached to accompany him to the ship which came to carry him off. Frederick Sr. married Catherine Lyerly in 1782 according to his son’s testimony in the pension record.

            Frederick Krimminger Jr. came to Heath Springs, SC, about 1815. Between then and 1817, he married Mary Love, daughter of Samuel and Margaret Love. Frederick bought 166 acres in Heath Springs which he later gave to the church to form the present Salem Cemetery. During the time Frederick was in Heath Springs running a business, there were consecutive years of crop failure, in the end forcing Frederick into bankruptcy. He lost everything to Jack Adams in Lancaster who held the mortgages. It appears that the land inherited by Margaret Love from her husband was also lost. After this tragedy, Frederick moved back to North Carolina, leaving his son Robert to care for his aging grandmother. According to Mr. Willie Crimminger, Frederick and Mary were Methodists, and attended the Hanging Rock Church.

            Margaret “Mother” Love died between 1845 and 1850. Several years earlier, on January 5, 1843, a notice appeared in the Southern Patriot, stating that Margaret Love had filed a petition for bankruptcy. A hearing was to be held at court in Charleston on the sixteenth. On February 3, 1846, Robert married Mary Jane Cato, who, Mr. Willie Crimminger said, was first cousin to Mary Jane. The mothers of Robert and Mary Jane were two Love sisters, children of Samuel and Margaret.

            The given names of both Mary Jane’s parents are unknown, but stories and legends about them give us so much information about their lives, one may wonder why their names were forgotten. In the book “Mother Love,” the names George and Jane are put to these individuals. And although their real names are not known, it must be noted that a “Geo. Cato” was living in Lancaster Co., SC in 1830.

            Mary Jane Cato’s father, Mr. Cato, was from England according to the 1880 census. Mr. Willie Crimminger told of what his mother Mary Jane told him about her father. As a small boy, he was lured aboard a boat coming to the U. S. from England and wound up around the Camden District. When asked his name, he only replied: “Cat.” This was given him as a surname. He grew up with a Thompson family, who were saddle-makers, and became an apprentice to Mr. Thompson.

            There are several variations of this story, none better grounded in fact that another, although it should be noted that the version just given comes to us from Mary Jane herself through Mr. Willie Crimminger.

            Mr. Earle Reeves and Mrs. Ola Nettles provide the following version: The name Catoe is thought to have come from the word “cat” which was used by an orphan boy. The lad was taken aboard a ship by two drunken sailors in England. The ship landed in Charleston, SC. Later, he had the name changed to Catoe by petition to the Legislature. This basic account was used by the author of “Mother Love.”

            Another account is as follows: Mary Jane’s father was stolen in Holland by pirates when he was 12 years old, and brought to Charleston. He got away from them and came to Camden where a man by the name of Truesdale raised him. He changed his name from Cat to Cato.

            Whatever the truth, it appears he came to SC from another county by ship and grew up in the Camden area. After Mr. Cato married Ms. Love, and his wife was expecting, his friends teased him, asking “when is your wife going to have her kittens?” It was at this time that he changed his name from Cat or Catt to Cato or Catoe. The Catos had two children, Mary Jane, born February 14, 1824, and a son who drowned crossing a swollen stream on a foot log when a very small boy. The author of Mother Love took this story about the Cato child, and played it out through the fictitious character Robert Love, in the story, a son of Samuel and Katherine (Margaret) Love.

            Mrs. Cato’s life was taken by tuberculosis, at that time called consumption, and the family spent months traveling by covered wagon through North Carolina, Tennessee, and Missouri for the benefit of Mrs. Cato’s health. Willie Crimminger told of his mother’s describing their journey and of seeing the Mississippi River. After returning to the Camden area, Mrs. Cato died, and Mr. Cato moved to Tennessee, leaving Mary Jane behind. Eventually, Mary Jane lost contact with her father. So this man, whose (adopted) last name is all known of his actual person, comes into the stories from a hazy past, and then he is lost in Tennessee, leaving behind legend, mystery, and one child to communicate it to the following generations.

            Mary Jane lived with a Carpenter family for a time after her father left, then, according to one family member, stayed with Frederick and Mary Crimminger, which makes sense, assuming Mary Crimminger and Mrs. Cato were sisters.

            There is a deed in the clerks office whereby Joel and Abigail Love, S. W. And Sarah Love, Frederick and Mary Crimminger, and Mary Jane Cato sold to Evan Rollings 75 acres of land known as the “rase track”, April 1845. This could be what was referred to in the story as ‘The Orchards,’ where the Love plantation was.

            The story of Mother Love ends when Robert and Mary Jane marry. They died in the early 1900's and were both buried in the Salem Cemetery which Robert’s father had given the land for. Robert and Mary Jane had ten children from whom the Lancaster County Crimmingers are descended.

Jonathan E. Reeves

Sources: Mother Love, Census records, Rev. War Pension Records, Crimminger Family Tree and papers by Mrs. Nettles, Newspaper article by Earle Reeves and Ola Crimminger Nettles, Newspaper article, Southern Patriot, Jan. 5, 1843.