A Recent Birth, an Old Old Wedding, December 12, 2016

A dysfunctional family is any family

with more than one person in it.

~Mary Karr

Happy Birthday Mason Shepard! Greetings to all of you today as Christmas draws nearer. And happy Birthday today to Mason Shepard of Bothell, Washington. Mason is the younger son of my nephew Patrick and his wife Nicole Shepard. He is one of the 4 grandchildren of my brother Darrell Shepard and his wife Mary.

The picture on the right was taken earlier today and shows a happy 2 year old Mason suspended between his parents Nicole and Patrick. Best wishes to the entire family on this occasion of Mason's birthday!

Nicole: Before kids, people always said "they grow up so fast, enjoy everyday". It really is true!! I can't believe Mason is 2 years old today!! Happy Birthday buddy, we love you!!

Remembering a 358th Anniversary. Today is also a day that marks one of the oldest wedding anniversaries I can find anywhere in our family tree. It concerns the 12X Great Grandparents of the aforementioned Mason Shepard. On Dec 12, 1658 -- 358 years ago today --  Laurens Van Buskirk and Jannetje Jans were married in New Amsterdam (New York).

Laurens and Jannetje lived so long ago, they were buried in a cemetery that no longer exists, the old Van Buskirk Cemetery of Bayonne, in Hudson County, New Jersey. Though that cemetery no longer physically exists, it does have an online presence. Select this link to FindAGrave.com to get information about Laurens and Jannetje Van Buskirk and the cemetery where they were buried.

The information at FindAGrave.com tells us that Laurens Van Buskirk was born in Holstein, Denmark in 1655. His name first appears in records of New Amsterdam, June 19, 1656 in a deed for a lot of land on Broad Street. In July 1658 Laurens was sent by the Orphans Master at New Amsterdam to South River (Delaware) to assist Jannetje, the widow of Christian Barentsen Van Horn. Four and a half months later Laurens and Jannetje married on December 12, 1658 according to the marriage registry of the Dutch Reformed Church in New Amsterdam (New York). (Source: Immigration Library, Scandinavian Immigrants of New York.)

Laurens and Jannetje's 5X Great Granddaughter was Jane Buskirk Davis, who, with husband Alexander Davis, were the first among our ancestors to migrate from Eastern Ohio and settle in Spencer, Indiana in the 1850s. Many of those ancestors then moved on to Oklahoma in the early 20th century, and some eventually made it to San Diego in 1940.

Here is a lineage that shows our family line from our son Nathan Shepard to Laurens Van Buskirk and his wife Jannetje Jans Van Buskirk.

• Nathan Shepard (b. 1977)
• Steve Shepard (b. 1948) - wife Cindy Harris (b. 1948)
• Eugene Shepard (1921-2003) - wife Maida Gower (b. 1924)
• Bura Davis (1896-1986) - husband William Shepard (1888-1876)
• James Brooks Davis (1870-1928) - wife Carolyn Spear (1865-1951)
• Charles Edward Davis (1849-1926) - wife Malinda Wright (1846-1920)
• Jane Buskirk (1823-1895) - husband Alexander Davis (1819-1866)
• William S. Buskirk (1804-1873) - wife Mary (Buskirk) (1809-1886)
• George Van Buskirk (1767-1825) - wife Mary Rulon (1767-1828)
• John Van Burkirk (1743-1829) - wife Mary Blackmore (1742-1823)
• George Van Buskirk (1721-1800) - wife Sarah Ashton (1720-1779)
• Johannes Van Buskirk (1694-1747) - wife Marytie Hooglandt (1696-1738)
• Thomas Van Buskirk (1668-1748) - wife Margrete Brickers (1668-1719)
• Laurens Van Buskirk (1630-1694) - wife Jannetje Jans (1629-1694)

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Steve Shepard

Happy Mother's Day!, May 8, 2016

Mother is the name for God

on the lips and hearts of little children.

~William Makepeace Thackeray

Tomorrow is Mother's Day, an occasion to honor all mothers in our family: young, old, those who have gone before us, and those many of us never even knew.

Maida Gower Shepard. I start with my own mom, Maida Shepard for whom I am eternally grateful. At 91 years old, she is a bright and shining star in our family. She will celebrate Mother's Day this weekend with her family in Anacortes, Washington where she lives. 70 years ago this week she enjoyed her first Mother's Day here in San Diego with her husband Eugene and her first son Gary who was just a few weeks old at the time.

Mandi Aquiningoc. The youngest mom in our family is 23 year old Mandi Aquiningoc of Granbury, Texas. She is the proud mama of Kambree Kay Bowman, who is just a few weeks short of 3 years old.

This first picture is a composite of my mom Maida Shepard on the left and her Great Granddaughter Mandi Aquiningoc with her daughter Kambree on the right. Maida's picture was taken by her grandson Patrick when she was spending the day at his Care Facility earlier this week in Edmonds, Washington. Mandi and Kambree's image is from a picture taken earlier this year in Texas.

Thelma Shepard Boyd. One of the senior moms among us is Thelma Shepard Boyd of Blue Springs, Missouri. Originally from Two Buttes, Colorado she was among the first ones in our family to live in San Diego where she grew up. She is the youngest and last remaining child of my grandparents William and Bura Davis Shepard. She is the mother of 2, the Grandmother of 6, and the Great Grandmother of 7. The second picture shows my aunt Thelma with her late husband Terry Boyd, and their two children Kim and Darren. This particular picture is an old one, taken in 1973.

My aunt Thelma also receives special birthday wishes. Next Saturday she reaches that magic milestone of 80. One of her San Diego Granddaughters, Courtney Boyd, has a birthday the same day and will turn 26.

Mary Terry Buskirk. I want to share with you one other deserving mother in our family tree, who most of you probably do not know. But she is a mother of note among our ancestors. Her name is Mary Terry Buskirk. She was originally from Dover, England not far from London but migrated to the United States as a young girl and settled in Monroe County, Ohio. The details of her journey and the route she took to Ohio are unknown to us. We simply know that she and her family were living in Southeast Ohio when she was a teenager. At 14 or 15 years old, young Mary married a neighbor of hers who was at least 12 years her senior, a man by the name of John Foggin Burkirk. Between 1823 and 1843 Mary gave birth to 9 children. It is hard to imagine the difficulty of being not only a new young immigrant but also a young mother on the American frontier in the early 19th century.

She and John's first child was Jane Burkirk who later married a local Ohioan by the name of Alexander Davis. The two of them became the first of our Davis relatives to leave Ohio and settle near Spencer, Indiana about 1850. Indiana is where the Davises lived for several generations before moving on to Oklahoma after the turn of the 20th century and eventually on to California in the 1940s.

Here is Mary and John and some of their descendants:

• Mary Terry Buskirk (1807-1886) and husband John Foggin Buskirk (1795-1873)
• daughter Jane Burkirk Davis (1823-1895) and husband Alexander Davis (1819-1866)
• son Charles Edward Davis (1848-1926) and wife Melinda Wright Davis (1847-1920)
• son James Brooks Davis (1870-1928) and wife Caroline Spear Davis (1865-1951)
• daughter Bura Davis Shepard (1896-1986) and husband William Shepard (1888-1976)
• son Eugene Shepard (1921-2003) and wife Maida Gower Shepard (b. 1924)
• son Steve Shepard (b. 1948) and wife Cindy Harris Shepard (b.1948)

Though a number of her children were part of America's westward movement, Mary Terry Buskirk lived out her days in Monroe County, Ohio. A number of the Terrys and Buskirks are buried in Rutter Cemetery which is down Sunfish Creek from the community of Adams where they lived. (See picture of Rutter Cemetery.) That cemetery is where I discovered a number of our Terry and Buskirk relatives last summer when Cindy and I visited there.

Though none of us ever knew Mary Terry Buskirk, we do know something of her life, and can be thankful for her being a hard working mother whose lot in life was difficult. From she and John we are descended and we gratefully acknowledge their hardships and remember her as a mother of note on this weekend of Mother's Day.

In the midst of all the Mother's Day Celebrations around our family this Sunday, best wishes to all the moms!
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Steve Shepard

A Faith That Lived In Grandmother, November 6, 2015

I am reminded of your sincere faith,

a faith that lived first in your grandmother.

~ The Apostle Paul

Bura Davis Shepard (1896-1986). This Sunday, November 8, is the anniversary of the birth of a person who has been gone for several decades now, but who was a dynamic force in our Shepard family for many years, my paternal grandmother Bura Davis Shepard. She was born 119 years ago this weekend outside Spencer, Indiana to Callie Spear Davis and her husband James Brooks Davis. She is the connection to our many Davis ancestors and relatives around the country, but especially in Oklahoma.

She was the standard bearer for our Shepard family's strong connection to the Church of Christ for nearly her entire life. She was part of a strong family tradition of Church of Christ people that can be traced to her Great Grandparents Alex and Jane Buskirk Davis who were from Eastern Ohio in the early years of the 19th century.

Her husband, my Granddad William Shepard, was also a long time member of the Church of Christ, but I always had the impression it was as a concession to her. Her commitment to the church was the dynamic force that moved through our family in a most powerful way.

Our Davis relatives today continue to be a source of kinship that has existed for generations. I was reunited recently with a long time family friend here in San Diego by the name of Richard Indermill. He is related by virtue of two of his uncles (Barney and William Kilpatrick), who married two of Bura Davis' sisters (Winona and Myra Davis). Even though these marriages occurred nearly 100 years ago, the bond that was created has importance even to this day.

I received word from my cousin Kim Boyd Clark recently that she discovered a relative in Missouri who she never even knew existed: Norma Lou Kilpatrick Allen of Springfield, Missouri, a long time reader of The Shepard's Crook. Turns out Norma Lou is a daughter of Barney Kilpatrick and Winona Davis Kilpatrick. Winona was the sister of Kim's Grandmother Bura Davis Shepard. (Winona is also the aunt of the aforementioned Richard Indermill.) Here is a picture that Kim sent me a few days ago, taken on the occasion of Kim and Norma Lou's happy meeting recently and the celebration of their kinship.

Many of us, Kim and myself included, can relate to the story of Timothy in the New Testament of the Bible. Timothy's life was influenced greatly by the faith of his grandmother. It was an impact that the Apostle Paul considered so important that he mentioned it in one of his letters that is now included among the books of the Bible. "I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you." (2 Timothy 1.5)

Surely all my Shepard cousins echo my sentiments that Grandmother Bura was a remarkable woman whose positive impact on our lives is felt still. God bless her memory as we remember this anniversary of her birth and as we celebrate her positive influence in our lives.

Happy Birthday today to Havilah Colgain Wardle! She is one of the Great Grandchildren of Bura and William Shepard, and is the daughter of my cousin Joan Shepard of Dixon, California. Havilah is married to Kevin Wardle and lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. Happy 33rd birthday today to Havilah! 

Fall means many things to many people. To Havilah it means grape stomping, as can be seen in this picture of Havilah taken last month.

Happy Birthday, Shaun. This Sunday, November 8, is also the birthday of Shaun Gower, the older son of my cousin Hershell Gower. Sean is the first of the Great Grandchildren of Leroy and Nola Shannon Gower. Born in England while his father Hershell was in the service, Sean and his wife Tracy live today in Escondido, California. 

Along with his brother Lloyd Gower, Sean has lived in the San Diego area nearly his entire life, as long as almost any of our Gower family members. This final picture shows Sean and his wife Tracy on the occasion of their wedding this past summer in Del Mar, California.
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Steve Shepard

Our Religious Roots in Ohio, July 25, 2015

We are often haunted

by relationships from the past.

As we work them through,

they go from haunting us

to becoming simply part of our history.

~Norman Doidge

Happy Birthday Logan! Yesterday was the second birthday of Logan Joseph Shepard of Bothell, Washington. Happy Birthday and best wishes to Logan and his parents Patrick and Nicole Shepard, his brother Mason, and his entire family! Thanks to Nicole for posting this picture of handsome Logan on Facebook yesterday.

Logan

Logan and his family will be hosting this summer's family reunion at his home on Saturday, August 22, 2015 in Bothell, Washington. Make your plans to join us!

Our Family's Religious Roots. I would like to follow up on my last post and discuss one aspect of our genealogical trek to Monroe County, Ohio last week. When my GGG Grandparents Alexander and Jane Davis settled in Indiana in 1852 they were among the first members of a new church start in Owen County called the New Union Church of Christ, a congregation of the Restoration Movement, also known as the Stone-Campbell movement. It is an historical connection that I have written about in this blog before and one that we can be proud of.

That movement had its beginnings in the early 19th century in the area around Monroe County, Ohio where both Alexander and Jane were born. Did they bring their affiliation with the Stone-Campbell movement with them when they and their young family traveled those 350+ dusty miles in horse drawn wagons and settled in Indiana? It is one of the questions I had in mind when we visited Monroe County last week.

Many of our Shepard, Davis and other family members -- including Cindy and me -- continue that affiliation with present day congregations of the Stone-Campbell tradition. Many of you who read this blog are connected to a congregation that traces its roots to the Stone-Campbell movement: congregations of the Churches of Christ, or the Christian Church or the Disciples of Christ.

There are church records in Spencer, Indiana that show our family's membership in the New Union Church of Christ (also known as a Christian Church in some records) as far back as the 1860s. Unfortunately I could not find such clear evidence of Alexander and Jane Davis' participation prior to that time in a church in Monroe County, Ohio where they made their home until 1852.

Sunfish Creek, Ohio

What I did find was very interesting however. The Davises lived in an area of Monroe County called Adams Township, which includes lovely Sunfish Creek (see picture). Amazingly, the population of Adams Township today is not too different from what it was 200 years ago when our ancestors settled there. Last week Cindy and I drove slowly on the dusty gravel road that winds along beautiful Sunfish Creek and through the verdant forests of these Ohio backwoods. As we did so it felt like stepping back in time. 

Along Sunfish Creek many settlers, including Alexander Davis' family and Jane Buskirk Davis' family, made their homes. A history of the area reports that 3 of the first 5 churches to be organized in Adams Township were congregations of the Stone-Campbell Movement. It was a time when this particular religious movement was spreading like wildfire across the American frontier, and was one of the fastest growing religious movements in our country. The very first Church of any kind built in Adams Township was a "Cambellite" congregation (as they were sometimes called) in the town of Cameron in 1825. Today, congregations of the Stone-Campbell tradition are still among the most numerous in all of Monroe County. 

In 1845, when Alexander and Jane Davis still lived in Ohio, a new Church was begun in the Monroe County Seat of Woodsville, just a few miles from the Sunfish Creek area. At the founding service of that congregation Alexander Campbell himself (considered the founder of the Restoration Movement) attended and delivered the inaugural sermon. Campbell's home, the historic Campbell Mansion (which you can still visit today) was in Bethany, West Virginia, only 50 miles away.

The search will continue for more specifics of our family roots in Monroe County, Ohio. But it seems clear at this point that our Davis ancestors may have actually been members of the Stone-Campbell movement back into their Ohio days of the early 19th century. If not actual members, they were certainly very familiar with it. They were familiar enough to make it their choice in Indiana, a choice that has continued for many of their descendants for some 7 generations now.
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Steve Shepard

Our Roots in Monroe County, Ohio, July 21, 2015

A person represents each of several of his ancestors, 

and they constitute the variety of notes 

for that new piece of music 

which his life is. 

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Greetings to all of you from Columbus, Ohio where Cindy and I find ourselves on this beautiful July day. We are here in Columbus to attend the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). This has given us a chance to travel to Monroe County in Eastern Ohio, where we have some important family roots.

In the early 19th century my GGG Grandparents Alexander Davis (1819-1866) and Jane Buskirk (1823-1895) were born in Monroe County. In the 1840s they married here, bought some property, started a farm and began a family. What we have been looking for, in our few days here in Ohio, was some kind of historical evidence of their lives here. We found some records of property purchase by Alexander and then some property sales ($20 for a number of acres!), as well as some graves of family members.

Above on the right is a picture of the grave of Jane Buskirk Davis' Grandparents Samuel and Charity Foggin Buskirk, who also lived here in Monroe County. They migrated to this part of Ohio from Pennsylvania. He died in 1841, she in 1847. They are buried in Rutter Cemetery along Sunfish Creek, just a few miles up the creek from the town of Clarington on the Ohio River. Sam and Charity's headstone is barely readable at over 150 years old, but is one more piece of evidence clearly showing our family's roots in Monroe County, Ohio.

When Alex and Jane Davis settled in Indiana in the 1850s they were among the first members of a new church start in Owen County called the New Union Church of Christ, which was part of the Restoration Movement, also called the Stone-Campbell movement. That movement had its beginning in the area not far from Monroe County, Ohio. Did Alex and Jane bring their connection to the Stone-Campbell movement with them when they settled in Indiana? In my next blog post I will share some thoughts and findings relating to our family's connections to the Restoration Movement in Ohio in the early 1800s.

The following is a 10 generation lineage from Samuel Buskirk and Charity Foggin Buskirk down to the present.

• Samuel Blackmore Buskirk (1765-1847) who married Charity Ann Foggin (1762-1841)
• John Foggin Buskirk (1795-1873) who married Mary Terry (1807-1886)
• Jane Buskirk (1823-1895) who married Alexander Davis (1819-1866)
• Charles E. Davis (1849-1926) who married Malinda Wright (1847-1920)
• James Brooks Davis (1870-1928) who married Callie Spear (1865-1951)
• Bura Davis (1896-1986) who married William Shepard (1888-1976)
• Eugene Shepard (1921-2003) who married Maida Gower (b. 1924)
• Steven Shepard (b. 1948) who married Cindy Harris (b. 1948)
• Nathan Shepard (b. 1977) who married Chenda Sou (b. 1980)
• William Quincy Shepard (b. 2012)

Feeling the need to move westward, Alexander and Jane Davis, about 1851, packed up their two kids, Sarah and Charles, and moved to Spencer, Indiana, where their family continued to grow and where they remained settled for several generations. Indeed some of their descendants live in Spencer, Indiana even today. 


Part of that family growth was their Great Granddaughter (my Grandmother) Bura Davis Shepard, who was born in Spencer in 1896.

Victoria Cotton. Happy birthday this week to two of our extended family members. First, birthday wishes go out to Victoria (Tori) Cotton, who turns 8 this Thursday, July 23. She is the daughter of Sean and Heather Robson Cotton of Austin, Texas. Tori is the granddaughter of my cousin Paula Tuzzolini and is also the Great Granddaughter of my aunt (and her namesake) Victoria Gower Johnston of Oak Harbor, Washington. My aunt Vicki just said goodbye to her husband Duke Johnston, whose memorial service was in Oak Harbor this past week. 

Heather: Tori is a very special little girl and I am grateful that God chose us to be her parents! She is turning 8. She's a great big sister and a wonderful artist! The second picture shows Tori (on the right) with her sister Lexi.

Shannon Wilk. And best wishes to Shannon Wilk who will have a birthday on Friday of this week. Shannon is one of the Great Granddaughters of William and Bura Davis Shepard. Shannon lives in Atchison, Kansas with her daughter Emma Beverly Jean Wilk.

This final picture shows Shannon Wilk and was taken earlier this year. Happy Birthday Shannon!
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Steve Shepard

Each Family's Story, October 10, 2014

In each family a story is playing itself out,

and each family's story

embodies its hope and despair.

~Auguste Napier

Greetings to all of you once again from the beautiful South American country of Peru! Today we are in the ancient Inca town of Ollantaytambo in southern Peru, as we draw ever nearer to Machu Picchu, one of the great wonders of the world.

The first picture shows Cindy and me a few days ago when we visited the sacred Saqsaywaman ("sexy woman" is a close pronunciation) Incan Ruins and "The Temple of the Sun", above the city of Cusco, Peru.

Our Hoosier Roots. 145 years ago two of the most important people in our Davis heritage were married. On October 10, 1869 Charles Edward Davis and Malinda Wright tied the knot in Owen County, Indiana. Charles and Malinda were the grandparents of my paternal grandmother Bura Davis Shepard. 

Charles was one of the last of our Davis ancestors to be born in Ohio. Born in 1849, his parents Alexander and Jane Buskirk Davis, when they were about 30 years old, moved their small family from Adams in Monroe County, Ohio to Spencer, Indiana in the early 1850s. Before the Davises got there, the family of Malinda Wright had already settled in Indiana, which is where Malinda was born. Charles and Malinda met in the 1860s and were married in the fall of 1869.

Much of what we know about Charles and Malinda Davis in the 19th Century is because of the records of their church, the New Union Church of Christ near Spencer, Indiana. They and many of their relatives were active participants and founders of that congregation out on Rattlesnake Creek. Among the most important records is the baptism record of their granddaughter (my grandmother) Bura Emerald Davis in 1906.

Unfortunately I do not have a picture of Great Great Grandmother Malinda Wright Davis. The only picture I have of Charles Edward Davis is this second picture. It was probably taken sometime in the 1920s, after Malinda had died. It shows the widower Charles Edward Davis late in his life with a cane and a white beard. On the left is Charles and Malinda's firstborn James Brooks Davis, and on the right is another one of their 7 children, John Emery Davis.

Charles and his family were trailblazers in many ways. Simply getting from Eastern Ohio to Southern Indiana in the 1850s (with a couple of children!) took great stamina and fortitude. Indiana was still frontier to a great extent in these pre-Civil War years, and establishing a place to live took hard work. By the end of the 19th Century many of our Davis ancestors began to move westward to Oklahoma. The 1910 US Census shows Charles and Malinda living in Logan, in Beaver County, Oklahoma. They are both laid to rest in Beaver County.

Because of Charles and Malinda, we have deep roots in Ohio, Indiana and Okla- homa that will always be reminders of the kind of people we have come from. 21st Century America is, of course, far removed from life in the 19th Century mid-west, but we will always be connected to these pioneers and have a strong bond with them.

Scary Days Ahead. Halloween is just a few weeks away, and again this year I plan to put together a slide show of family halloween pictures. If you have a recent or old halloween picture, of a youngster or an oldster, that you would like for me to include, please send it my way.
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Steve Shepard

Many Leaves, One Tree, May 14, 2014

Ronin: "Many leaves, one tree."

M.K.: "What does that mean?"
Ronin: "We are all individuals

but we're all connected.

It's what we live by."

~from the film "Epic"

This week is a time to celebrate the truth that we are many leaves but one tree. In the next few days the San Diego contingency of our family celebrates several birthdays, yet those are not all the celebrations for family members around the country this week.

Today is the rare occasion when three birthdays in our family appear on the calendar: Thelma Boyd, her granddaughter Courtney Boyd, and Christopher Shepard.

My aunt Thelma lives in Blue Springs, Missouri and is the youngest (and last remaining) child of my late grandparents Will and Bura Davis Shepard. The first picture shows Thelma with her daughter Kim Boyd Clark.

Thelma's granddaughter, 24 year old Courtney Boyd was also born on May 14, but she was raised here in Southern California. Courtney tells me that she and her daughter Carsyn and boyfriend Cody still live in the east county of San Diego. "I just finished school this past February to be a medical assistant, so I'm just busy job hunting and being a mommy. [Our daughter] Carsyn is doing well, walking and talking more everyday. She is 16 months now... so big." Courtney is the daughter of Darren Boyd of Coronado, California whose birthday will be on Friday of this week. Happy Birthday to Thelma, Courtney and Darren!

Today is also the birthday of my nephew Christopher Shepard of Seattle, Washington. Chris -- 30 years old today! -- is the older son of my brother Darrell and his wife Mary Shepard. Chris and his girlfriend Jessica Bell just competed a trip to Hawaii. This second picture shows the two of them on a beach in Kauai.

Happy Birthday, Logan! Tomorrow is the birthday of our older grandson Logan Alexander Shepard of San Diego. At just 3 years old he is the older of the two Logan Shepards in our family, the other one being his second cousin Logan Joseph Shepard, the son of Patrick and Nicole Shepard of Bothell, Washington.

Logan Alexander Shepard is the middle child of the three children of Nathan and Chenda Shepard, who moved to San Diego just a few months ago. Logan's namesake in our family tree is Alexander Davis, his 5X Great Grandfather via my grandmother Bura Davis Shepard. Here is a lineage from Logan Alexander Shepard to Alexander Davis.

• Logan Alexander Shepard (b. 2011)
• Nathan Shepard (b. 1977) - wife Chenda Sou
• Steve Shepard (b. 1948) - wife Cindy Harris
• Eugene Shepard (1921-2003) - wife Maida Gower
• Bura Davis Shepard (1896-1986) - husband William Shepard
• James Brooks Davis (1870-1928) - wife Carolyn Spear
• Charles Edward Davis (1849-1926) - wife Malinda Wright
• Alexander Davis (1819-1866) - wife Jane Buskirk

 The following photo presentation celebrates Logan's 3rd birthday tomorrow.

  

- - -
Steve Shepard

The Echo of Wedding Bells, April 21, 2014

If we have no peace

it is because we have forgotten

that we belong to each other.

~Mother Theresa

Happy Easter Monday on this day after all the many celebrations around our larger family yesterday. The first picture is one I could not resist. It shows a slightly uneasy Kambree Bowman, daughter of Mandi Aquiningoc and granddaughter of my niece Kerri Shepard Aquiningoc, sitting on the lap of a rather unsettling Easter Bunny.

Happy Birthday Dominic and Isaac. This Wednesday, April 23 is the 2nd birthday of twins Dominic and Isaac Ortiz of Blue Springs, Missouri. They are the two youngest children of Jeremy and Desiree Ortiz, the grandchildren of Kim Boyd Clark, and the great grandchildren of Thelma Shepard Boyd. Thanks to mom Desiree for this second picture of Dominic and Isaac.

Desiree: Yes the boys are going to be 2 on the 23rd. I just can't believe it. Time goes by so fast when you have little ones. The last two years have been so much fun watching the two grow :) They are such sweet little guys and so smart.

They are finally starting to look like toddlers. They have looked like babies for so long that it's sad to see them grow out of that stage! We will celebrate their special day with the family at our home with a "Monster University" theme and a BBQ. It should make for a fun day!

Happy Birthday Susan and Amanda. This Friday, April 25 is the 34th birthday of another set of twins: Susan Clark Cox (of Lubbock, Texas) and Amanda Clark Farrell (of Bedford, Texas), the twin daughters of Jerry Clark and Jane Clark Brock of Lubbock, Texas. Best wishes to Susan and Amanda for a wonderful birthday.

The Echo of Wedding Bells. 250 years ago this month, in April, 1764, my 6X Great grandparents Mary Blackmore and John Van Buskirk were married in Washington County, Maryland. John's family had migrated to America from Holland in the mid 1600s (15 generations ago!), settling first in the New Jersey area, then Eastern Pennsylvania where John was born. Mary was originally from Maryland, near Hagerstown, which is where they married in 1764. 

They had only been married a few years, and were living north of Washington, DC, when the Revolutionary War began in 1776. Do the math: they were young marrieds, had children when the war heated up, and John was at an age to be a prime candidate for service in the Revolution. In addition they lived near the heart of the conflict. It was not the most opportune time to raise a family, but that is what came their way. 

One can only wonder what sacrifices this couple had to make. What courage did they have to muster to contribute to the cause of freedom from British oppression? How was their family life and their personal lives disrupted? What we do know for sure is that it was ancestors like Mary and John that made American history and contributed to the formation of our nation.

Jane Buskirk, a great granddaughter of John and Mary, married into the line of our Davis ancestors when she and Alexander Davis were married in Ohio about 1840. Around 1800 Jane's family had dropped the "Van" from their last name. In 1849 Jane and Alexander migrated with their kids to Spencer, Indiana where our ancestors settled for several generations before moving to Oklahoma in 1913 and then on to San Diego in 1940.

I mention the young Revolutionary era couple John and Mary Van Buskirk not only because this month marks their 250th wedding anniversary, but also because they illustrate how deeply rooted our ancestors are in American history. We carry within us the genes of folks who sacrificed tremendously in the birth of our nations, folks who experienced first hand what it was like to struggle for the right to be free. Within us are the secret memories of what it was like to be a family in critical historical times. It is that sense of history that enables us today to give our best to living as responsible citizens, honoring our past while embracing our future.

Here is a lineage that shows our family line to John and Mary Blackmore Van Buskirk, then on to the original Van Buskirks who immigrated from Holland:

• Logan Shepard (b. 2011)
• Nathan Shepard (b. 1977) - wife Chenda Sou (b. 1980)
• Steve Shepard (b. 1948) - wife Cindy Harris (b. 1948)
• Eugene Shepard (1921-2003) - wife Maida Gower (b. 1924)
• Bura Davis (1896-1986) - husband William Shepard (1888-1876)
• James Brooks Davis (1870-1928) - wife Carolyn Spear (1865-1951)
• Charles Edward Davis (1849-1926) - wife Malinda Wright (1846-1920)
• Jane Buskirk (1823-1895) - husband Alexander Davis (1819-1866)
• William S. Buskirk (1804-1873) - wife Mary (Buskirk) (1809-1886)
• George Van Buskirk (1767-1825) - wife Mary Rulon (1767-1828)
• John Van Burkirk (1743-1829) - wife Mary Blackmore (1742-1823)
• George Van Buskirk (1721-1800) - wife Sarah Ashton (1720-1779)
• Johannes Van Buskirk (1694-1747) - wife Marytie Hooglandt (1696-1738)
• Thomas Van Buskirk (1668-1748) - wife Margrete Brickers (1668-1719)
• Laurens Van Buskirk (1630-1694) - wife Jannetje Jans (1629-1694): immigrants from Holland

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Steve Shepard

Happy Valentine's Day Tomorrow! February 13, 2014

A family can develop

only with a loving woman

at its center.

~Karl Schlegel

Gloria Watson. Today is the birthday of my cousin Gloria Watson of Knoxville, Tennessee. Gloria was born and raised in San Diego, even though she was a military brat for some of her growing up years and lived in Japan and elsewhere for various periods of time. Gloria is one of the four children of my aunt Vicki Gower Johnston and one of the 12 grandchildren of Leroy and Nola Shannon Gower. Happy Birthday to Gloria! The first picture shows Gloria with her grandmother Nola Shannon Gower, taken back in the 1990s in Tennessee.

Happy Valentines Day Tomorrow! Best wishes to all of you for a great day of celebrating family love. Our family tree is filled with young (and old) lovers whose love is worth remembering and honoring. Two memorable Valentines of note in our tree are my GGGgrandparents, Alexander Davis and Jane Buskirk Davis.

Valentines of Note. Alexander and Jane were both originally from Ohio where they fell in love and married in 1843 in Monroe County. At the time he was just 24 and she was only 20. Over the next 24 years their love resulted in the births of 10 children. After their first 4, they took a 3 year break from having kids and, like countless other Americans, heard the call to move westward. They became the first in that part of our family to settle near Spencer, Indiana. With primitive roads, covered wagons and thick wilderness, it was a very difficult move for this family with 4 young ones, traveling these 400 miles from Eastern Ohio to Indiana. 

Some 15 years later, after 6 more children were born to them, their love -- and their baby making --- was cut short. During Jane's last pregnancy, Alexander died at just 48 years old. Suddenly she was a young widow with 8 children, most of whom were still at home, and one more on the way! But her love was strong and she finished raising their children in Indiana by herself. 

At 70 years old, Jane left Indiana with their youngest son, 26 year old William Alexander Davis, and "ran for land" in the Cherokee Strip of Oklahoma in 1893. They staked a claim and settled in what eventually became Helena, in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma. Jane died just two years later in 1895, surely with warm memories of her beloved valentine Alexander still in her heart. 

One has to admire the courage and determination of this remarkable woman to carry on and make the most of things after the love of her life was taken from her in an early death. Alexander and Jane are Valentines to be remembered and honored for their strong love and devotion that endured so much.

A Celebration of Family Love

Jane and Alexander Davis belong in the photo collection above, but unfortunately no picture of them exists. This Valentine's Day presentation -- version 2014 -- with music by Sarah Brightman, includes old and new images of family members and friends smooching or otherwise cuddling up to each other. May it contribute to your Valentine's Day celebration.

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Steve Shepard

100 Years Ago This Spring, June 5, 2013

History does not repeat itself;

at best it sometimes rhymes.

~Mark Twain

Hello family and friends, and greeting to all of you from Northern California on this warm day in late spring as the promise of summer is everywhere to be seen.

James Brooks and Caroline Spear Davis, my great grandparents, were a special couple who deserve to be remembered and celebrated. It was 100 years ago this spring that they migrated from Indiana to Oklahoma in a move that began a whole new chapter in the life of their family. Today the descendants of James and Callie number in the hundreds and are scattered throughout the Western U.S.

In early 1913 when James and Callie packed up and moved westward, they did so with all 7 of their children and Callie's mentally handicapped brother, Clayton Spear.

The second picture, taken in Indiana in 1908 -- 5 years before their move -- is a remarkable old family photo of James and Callie and their 7 children. The children are Winona (far left), Marjorie (in her father's lap), Myra and Bura (in the back), Esther (sitting down in front), Jesse (in the very middle) and Lawrence (on the right).

They were not the first in their larger family to move westward to Oklahoma. Before the turn of the 20th century, James' widowed grandmother Jane Buskirk Davis had made the move, as did James' parents Charles and Melinda Davis in the early 20th century. Eventually 5 of James' 6 siblings relocated to the Sooner state. The lone exception was brother Tom Davis who lived all his life in Owen County, Indiana, where some of his descendants still live today.

Marjorie Davis Millikan (1907-2008), the youngest of James and Callie's children, wrote the following about her family's move. 

In March, 1913 the Davis family of nine boarded a train at Spencer, Owen County, Indiana and arrived in Forgan, Beaver County, Oklahoma on March 8. The trip was 800 or 900 miles, and crossed the Mississippi River at St. Louis.

Callie’s brother, Emery Clayton Spear came with them and lived with Callie and Jim most of his life. After Jim’s death, no one in her family offered to care for him since he was unable to care for himself. Callie’s son Lawrence Davis being the eldest son made the decision to admit him to the mental hospital in Fort Supply, Oklahoma. Lawrence was always troubled by his decision, weighing heavily on his heart all his life. Clayton died in 1944 at the age of 74. 

Sometime back my second cousin Jerry Davis emailed me to say that his grandparents John and Vera Davis (James' brother) "moved to Beaver County in June 1912 in two wagons and it took two weeks. They moved in with (their parents) Charles and Malinda Davis in a two room house and lived there for a period of time, but were asked to move out since John's older brother Jim was coming with his family, which included seven children."

All 10 members of James and Callie's household moved into a 2 room house with his parents? Talk about cozy! If nothing else it shows how difficult it was for these migrant ancestors of ours. The effort it took to follow their bliss and move westward and "start from scratch" was tremendous, and deserving of our gratitude and admiration.

What motivated them to move? To be with family was certainly one thing. The possibility of land ownership in the Oklahoma panhandle must have been another. Basically James and Callie were driven by the promise of a better life for them and their loved ones. For these reasons and many others, 100 years later we remember with thanksgiving their sacrifice and strength of spirit. It was courageous people like them who make us who we are today.

James and Callie were both born in Spencer, Indiana in the years following the Civil War, but are laid to rest today beneath a beautiful headstone in Sophia Cemetery in Beaver County, Oklahoma.

Looking at the big family picture over the last 2 centuries, James' grandparents Alexander and Jane Davis had migrated 300 miles to Owen County, Indiana from South East Ohio in the mid 19th century, then James and Callie migrated 900 miles to Beaver County, Oklahoma in the early 20th century. The completion of the migration across the U.S. occurred when their oldest daughter Bura and husband William Shepard moved 1,200 miles to San Diego in 1940. 

That Was Then, This is Now.  Happy Birthday to Emma Wilk tomorrow on the occasion of her 8th birthday. She is one of the GGG grandchildren of James and Callie Davis. In her family line are Bura Davis Shepard, Pauline Shepard Russell, and Beverly Russell Wilk. Emma lives with her mom Shannon Wilk in Atchison, Kansas. Best wishes to both of them, but especially to Emma for a wonderful birthday!
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Steve Shepard

Thanks To A Fantastic Family, November 6, 2011

We are linked by blood;
and blood is simply
memory without language.
~Joyce Carol Oates

Hello Family and Friends,

Greeting to all of you from San Diego, California where Cindy and I have returned after a trip to Anacortes, Washington to be with family to celebrate my mom's birthday.

Happy Birthday tomorrow to Havilah Colgain Wardle of West Valley, Utah. She is a Ggrandchild of Will and Bura Davis Shepard and the granddaughter of Elmer Shepard, the senior member of our Shepard clan. The first picture shows Havilah with her husband Kevin.

Havilah: "I've had an incredible year since my last birthday! Every year gets better and better, which makes me especially excited on my birthday to celebrate and be thankful for my life! Kevin and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary in January, and have been working together all year on our house and property. We doubled the size of our garden, upped the number of fruit trees in our yard to 19, added a crested duck to our family, and remodeled our kitchen. (I celebrated the removal of my tonsils in June by lying on the couch, drugged, watching Kevin knock out the wall between our kitchen and living room.) 

My mom Joan and I took a trip to Oklahoma to visit Granddad, and Dane, Cindy and family earlier in the year. [See picture of Havilah with grandfather Elmer and mother Joan.] In August, I attended a fantastic wedding celebration for Art (my dad) and Valery Colgain. My dad is extremely happy and loving life with his lovely wife! This year was my 10 year high school reunion. My best friends from high school and I created a fabulous impromptu reunion in Chico, CA, and I got to visit Mom on the same trip. =) I just received my business license for Tiki Dogs Grooming Salon, which I run out of our house. I'm proud to say I have some very loyal customers! I continue to paint, write, and cook for fun. 

As for my birthday celebration this year, Kevin took me to Topaz Mountain a few days ago to find my birthstone. Dad and Val are cooking dinner for us Saturday, and I've been told there may be a deep fried turkey. Can't wait! I've gotta say, these past 29 years have been fantastic, thanks to a fantastic family, and I look forward to the bright future I've been blessed with." 

The following is a lineage for Havilah that includes her Davis ancestors.

• George Davis (1799-1843), who married Rozilla Davis (1796-1880), the parents of...
• Alexander Davis (1819-66), who married Jane Buskirk (1823-95), the parents of...
• Charles Edward Davis (1849-1926), who married Malinda Elizabeth Wright (1846-1920), the parents of...
• James Brooks Davis (1870-1928), who married Caroline Matilda Spear (1865-1951), the parents of...
• Bura Emerald Davis (1896-1986), who married William Shepard (1888-1976), the parents of...
• Elmer James Shepard (1918), who married Beryl Swinney (1923-94), the parents of...
• Joan Elaine Shepard (1954), who married Art Colgain (1954), the parents of...
• Havilah Treaest Colgain, who married Kevin Wardle.

Also in the above lineage is Alexander Davis, the one for whom we are seeking to get a replacement headstone in Spencer, Indiana. Jerry Davis reports that we have received over $1000 in donations, enough to obtain the new headstone for Alexander and his daughter Elizabeth Davis. Thanks to all of you who have made a contribution to this effort! More details about this project will be forthcoming.
- - -
Steve

Davis Descendants Now and Then, October 25, 2011

It is a desirable thing

to be well-descended,

but the glory belongs

to our ancestors.
-Plutarch

Hello Family and Friends,

Greetings to all of you from San Diego where fall has finally decided to arrive with cool nights and overcast skies.

Update on New Headstone Project. Second cousin Jerry Davis contacted me this past week and was excited to tell me that we are getting close to the total we need to purchase a new headstone for our ancestors Alexander and Elizabeth Davis. 12 different descendants of theirs have so far contributed toward the effort, leaving us only $164 short. Please let Jerry (jerthebear@sbcglobal.net) or me know if you can help us complete this project. We are hoping to raise the necessary amount soon.

As I have mentioned before, the new headstone is to replace the broken and unreadable stones that now exist for Alexander Davis (1819-1866) and his daughter Elizabeth Davis Carter (1844-1867) in Spencer, Indiana. Elizabeth died the year after her father, at just 24 years old, and is buried next to him.

Alexander and his wife Jane Buskirk Davis (who is buried in Helena, Oklahoma) were important pioneer ancestors of ours who migrated westward from Ohio to Indiana in the early 19th century and began a period of several generations when our family lived in the area around Spencer, Indiana. They are also the very first ones among our ancestors to belong to the Campbell/Stone religious movement (The Church of Christ, Christian Church, Disciples of Christ).

Very few of our relatives still live in Spencer today, but it remains a special place in the history of our family. Especially important is the New Union Cemetery northwest of town, where Alexander and Elizabeth, and a number of other ancestors, are buried. Next to the cemetery is a grassy area where the old New Union Church of Christ stood for nearly 100 years until 1957. We are indebted to these folks for their pioneering spirit, their enduring faith and their love of family. Their legacy continues through us and is present in many ways in their descendants who remember them even today.

Happy Birthday Mandi! One of their many descendants is Mandi Aquiningoc of Granbury, Texas. Tomorrow is Mandi's 19th birthday. She is also a descendant of Leroy and Nola (Shannon) Gower. For the first half of Mandi's life she lived in San Diego, where she was born in 1992. The last 10 years or so she has lived in Texas. The first picture shows Mandi (on the right) with her older sister Lyndsey and her cousin Kyle Sauvage. The picture below shows Mandy with her dog Bubbers.

Mandi: "Hi uncle Steve, it's so good to hear from you:) I'm doing great! I finally got a job at panda express here in Granbury and its amazing. I love the job I love the people and I think I'm gonna fit right in:) My sister and I moved in with our grandparents in Granbury which was the best thing for us to do. Life's great uncle Steve, and I'm proud to say that! Hopefully me and my sister can make it out there sometime and visit with the rest of our family."

Here is Mandi's lineage from Alexander and Jane Davis:

• Alexander Davis (1819-66) who married Jane Buskirk (1823-95), the parents of...
• Charles Davis (1849-1926) who married Melinda Wright (1846-1920), the parents of...
• James Brooks Davis (1870-1928) who married Caroline Spear (1865-1951), the parents of...
• Bura Davis (1896-1986) who married William Shepard (1888-1976), the parents of...
• Eugene Shepard (1921-2003) who married Maida Gower (1924), the parents of...
• Gary Shepard (1946) who married Jackie Enderle (1947), the parents of...
• Kerri Shepard (1968) who married Manuel Aquiningoc (1961-1992), the parents of...
• Mandi Aquiningoc (1992)

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Steve