Thou hast given so much to me, give one thing more, a grateful heart.
Not thankful when it pleaseth me, as if thy blessing had spare days,
but such a heart whose pulse may be thy praise.
~George Herbert
This Friday is the birthday of my great grandmother Callie Spear Davis (1865-1951). She and great grandfather James Brooks Davis were both native Indianans who were raised near Spencer, Indiana but who migrated in 1913 to Beaver County, Oklahoma.
Their family included Callie's special needs brother Clayton, as well as their 7 children, the oldest of whom was my grandmother Bura Davis. A number of other Davis family members had already moved from Indiana to Oklahoma, so they were reuniting with a whole clan of Davises who were new settlers to the Sooner state.
Callie, who was born at the tail end of the Civil War, was 47 when she moved to Oklahoma, and lived the rest of her life there. Her life spanned quite an era in American life, from the Civil War to the Oklahoma expansion to the entire first half of the twentieth century. She died in 1951 and is buried in Sophia Cemetery in Beaver County alongside her husband James.
The first picture taken in 1922 in Beaver County, Oklahoma, shows Callie Spear Davis on the right at 56 years old. Sitting on the running board of their old family car, Callie is with her husband James and the first 5 of their 31 grandchildren: Eugene Shepard (left), Pauline Shepard (top), Elmer Shepard (middle), Geneva Kilpatrick (lower middle), and Bernard Kilpatrick (lower right).
This Friday is also the birthday of Kim Boyd Clark and her grandson Damian Ortiz. Damian is the son of Jeremy and Desiree Ortiz, also of Blue Springs, while Kim is the daughter of Thelma Shepard Boyd and the wife of Jeff Clark. Kim is also one of the great grandchildren of Callie Spear Davis.
Kim, writing from Blue Springs, says: A lot of excitement happening here. Damian and I will have our birthday dinner at .......not yet decided. Jeremy and Desiree bought a beautiful 4 bedroom house about 15 min away from us and will be moving on Thanksgiving day. We will have Thanksgiving dinner at my moms. Amanda has a wonderful boyfriend that we all really like and I think will be married pretty soon. Scott has a very sweet girlfriend that will be coming with him for Christmas. I am enjoying my hobby of auctions and estate sales and resales in my booth at the Brass Armadillo antique mall. Damian is so busy with school and sports. He is playing basketball right now.
Best wishes to Kim and Damian for a very happy birthday.
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Steve Shepard
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