Fred Clifford Ramey
Files
Title
Fred Clifford Ramey
Subject
Ramey, Fred Clifford (1924-1941)
Description
Photograph of Clifford Fred Ramey as a young child propped against pillows on a wicker chair.
Fred was from Woodstock, the son of Eugene and Margaret (Hoffman) Ramey. In 1930, the family lived on E. Foundry Street in Woodstock and Fred’s father was a truck driver.
Fred died, tragically, from an accidental drowning when he was only 16 years old. The Northern Virginia Daily published an account of the incident on the front page of its June 24, 1941, edition. It said that Fred “drowned early yesterday evening in the Shenandoah River near Narrow Passage about two miles south of town. . . The youth had gone for an outing with a group of local boy scouts and, unable to swim, apparently walked off a ledge on the river bottom stepping into a deep hole. Only several scouts were in the water when they heard the victim call for help, but others and Scout Master George L. Sheets, who was fishing from the bank, immediately plunged in and tried to rescue the boy who did not return to the surface after disappearing.“
The boy’s body was found within a few feet from where it had disappeared.
Fred was a member of the freshman class of the Woodstock High School at the time of his death. He had an older brother and two older sisters when he died.
Fred was from Woodstock, the son of Eugene and Margaret (Hoffman) Ramey. In 1930, the family lived on E. Foundry Street in Woodstock and Fred’s father was a truck driver.
Fred died, tragically, from an accidental drowning when he was only 16 years old. The Northern Virginia Daily published an account of the incident on the front page of its June 24, 1941, edition. It said that Fred “drowned early yesterday evening in the Shenandoah River near Narrow Passage about two miles south of town. . . The youth had gone for an outing with a group of local boy scouts and, unable to swim, apparently walked off a ledge on the river bottom stepping into a deep hole. Only several scouts were in the water when they heard the victim call for help, but others and Scout Master George L. Sheets, who was fishing from the bank, immediately plunged in and tried to rescue the boy who did not return to the surface after disappearing.“
The boy’s body was found within a few feet from where it had disappeared.
Fred was a member of the freshman class of the Woodstock High School at the time of his death. He had an older brother and two older sisters when he died.
Creator
Morrison Studio
Source
Morrison Studio Collection - Shenandoah County Historical Society
Publisher
Shenandoah County Library
Date
labeled "Dec 1924 on the box of plates.
Contributor
Identified in 2008 by Peggy (Sousa) Carpenter. Fred was her uncle and she had the same photograph at home.
Rights
IN COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE PERMITTED
Relation
Fred Clifford Ramey appears in Morrison Studio Collection numbers 006472 and 006538.
Identifier
006538
Original Format
Glass Negative
Collection
Citation
Morrison Studio, “Fred Clifford Ramey,” Shenandoah County Library Archives, accessed March 18, 2026, https://archives.countylib.org/items/show/39894.
Comments