A Scholar/Athlete and his GGGGgram, June 25, 2010

To enjoy good health,

to bring true happiness to one's family,

to bring peace to all,

one must first discipline and control 

one's own mind. 
~Buddha 

 

Hello Shepard Family and Friends,

Greetings to all of you on this first Friday of summer. Cindy and I are on our way to San Francisco where we will spend the weekend with Nathan and Chenda, and of course, little Preslea.

Scholar/Athlete: Tomorrow is the birthday of Kyle Sauvage of Weatherford, Texas. Kyle is the younger son of James and Kelly (Shepard) Sauvage, and one of Will and Bura Shepard's GGgrandchildren. The first picture shows the athlete Kyle with his dad James, and then the scholar Kyle with his cousin Mandi. (He graduated from Kindergarten earlier this month.)

Mom Kelly wrote me to say that "Kyle has been very busy lately. He made the All Star team for t-ball. Kyle is the star first baseman, which is funny because Adrian Gonzalez on the Padres is his favorite player. It’s hard to believe he’s only 5 and is this good already. He is consistently hitting line drive doubles to the outfield. He is also enjoying his time at summer camp. They go swimming twice a week and have a field trip every week. Last week they went to the Fort Worth Zoo. He’s such a fun and happy child to be around. He has been begging me to go to a Texas Ranger's game. His favorite team is the Padres, but I have explained to him it’s a little too far to drive!" 

Margaret Williams Spear. I am a real lover of old family pictures. I like new family pictures too, but there is something special about old ones. They give us insights into family of long ago that cannot be had any other way. One of the most remarkable old family pictures I have obtained in recent months I gratefully received from cousin Becky Davis of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. It is a picture of Becky's Ggrandmother Margaret (Maggie) Williams Spear (1845-1904). 

Maggie was born 165 years ago this month in Spencer, Indiana and lived her entire life within a few miles of that small town southwest of Indianapolis. This was during the period when most of our Davis/Williams relatives lived in Owen County, where Spencer is located. Soon after Maggie's death in 1904 many of her family, including daughter Callie and son-in-law James Brooks Davis, moved to Oklahoma, and some of their family even farther west after that.

Maggie is Kyle Sauvage's grandfather's grandmother's grandmother, which is to say, 6 generations removed from Kyle. Here is a 160 year lineage from Kyle to Maggie:

• Kyle Sauvage (b. 2004)
• Kelly Shepard Sauvage (b. 1973)
• Gary Shepard (b. 1946)
• Eugene Shepard (1921-2003)
• Bura Davis Shepard (1896-1986)
• Callie Spear Davis (1865-1951)
• Maggie Williams Spear (1845-1904)

I have more to say about Maggie and her picture, but I will save that for next time.  For now, Happy 6th Birthday to Kyle! And thanks to Becky for sending me Maggie's picture.
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Steve