The following was hand-written on the back of a photo of a drawing of Godfrey and Caroline Materna, Carl Lathrop's maternal grandparents.
Godfrey Materna - Born near Frankfurt, Germany in 1846.
Caroline "Stroyeck" Materna - Born near Gildenburg, Germany in 1849.
They had 2 living children, William and John, when they came to the U.S. about 1882. They settled near Decatur IL. Other children born here were, Anna, August, Augusta, Edward and Henry.
William died and is buried in Decatur. About 1900 they moved with the family to "Onion Hill," 5 mi. west of Dundas IL. About 1900 they bought 120 acres in Lawrence Co. IL and farmed here until 1906 when he sold out and moved to Morton Ark. Anna, now married, remained in IL. After 11 years they traded Ark. land for improved properties in Memphis, Tenn. Although John, August, and Augusta were now married all moved to Memphis. Edward and Henry married here. All except Anna lived here the rest of their lives.
Godfrey died in 1921, and Caroline died in 1935 and are buried in Elmwood Cemetery.