100 - Lorena F. McClary - Reeds, MO USA
N 37° 07.541 W 094° 12.114
15S E 393233 N 4109490
Headstone of centenarian Lorena Fern McClary in Jasper Cemetery, in the county of the same name in Missouri
Waymark Code: WMQ3N7
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 12/13/2015
Views: 1
Lorena Fern McClary was born on
8 September 1906 and passed away on 29 January 2007 in
Carthage, Missouri.
Prior to 1856 the name Lorena did not exist. Reverend Henry Webster wrote a poem about his love, but did not want to use her name in the lyrics. So he took the name Lenore from Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven (also fictional) and adapted it to Lorena. Henry's friend Joseph Webster (not directly related to Henry, and also known for the beautiful hymn tune for In the Sweet Bye and Bye) wrote the haunting music for Lorena, which became a favorite song of both sides during the U. S. Civil War.
Being an aficionado of Civil War music, which I love to play on the piano, harmonica and hammered dulcimer, I always wondered if any real person was named after that song. And here is an answer in centenarian Lorena McClary. Too bad I did not get to meet her. She was married to Ralph F. McClary (1907-1997), next to whom she is buried.