Celebrating Irish, March 13, 2018

St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time
a day to begin transforming
winter's dreams into summer's magic.
~Adrienne Cook

Celebrating Our Irish Heritage! Happy Saint Patrick's Day this coming Saturday! I have not mentioned for some time in this blog two of our most prominent Irish ancestors, 18th Century Immigrants Thomas and Eigness Shannon. They are my 6X Great Grandparents via my grandmother Nola Shannon Gower (1903-2004). The following is a summary of their descendants' migration across our country since they arrived nearly 300 years ago.

Leroy and Nola Shannon Gower, San Diego, 1972

Pennsylvania. Thomas and his wife Eigness sailed across the Atlantic from Derry, Ireland to Pennsylvania about 1725, and eventually settled in Sadsbury, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania about 60 miles west of Philadelphia. State records show that in 1734 Thomas Shannon purchased 200 acres of land in Lancaster County on which he and his family got their start in America.

Virginia. He and Eigness had 5 children. Their first, Samuel Shannon (1727-1811), was born about 1727 in Pennsylvania, and is the one from whom we are descended. Samuel and his wife Jean Reid Shannon (1725-1806) migrated 400 miles westward in 1772 and settled in the frontier town of Poplar Hill, Virginia. They eventually made their way farther west to the area south of Nashville, Tennessee. 

Tennessee. Samuel and Jean's first child was David Shannon (1756-1823). He was born in Virginia but settled in Tennessee with his parents. In Tennessee David married a girl from North Carolina named Jane McKnight (1759-1830), whose ancestors had also migrated from northern Ireland in the early 1700s. (Our Irish blood thickens.) Life in Tennessee after the Revolutionary War was good for David and Jane McKnight Shannon who brought into the world a total of 11 children. 

Mississippi. The first of David and Jane Shannon's 11 children was David McKnight Shannon (1790-1860). He married Anna Pickens (1785-1867), who herself had several ancestors who were Irish immigrants. (Our Irish blood thickens even more.) David and Anna then migrated a couple of hundred miles southwest where they settled in Itawamba County, Mississippi.

Samuel Pickens Shannon and Finetta Dearien Shannon,
Arkansas, 1920s

Louisiana and Arkansas. The first of David and Anna Shannon's 10 children was David Reid Shannon (1821-1864), who married Peggy Gray (1829-1899). David and Peggy migrated to Southern Louisiana where they had 9 children. The Civil War took the life of 42 year old father David, leaving a distraught and poverty stricken widow Peggy Shannon. Her father and brothers rescued her and the children from their desperate plight in Louisiana and moved them to Stone County, Arkansas in 1867. (Read more about that touching story here.)

Oklahoma and California. The 7th child of that rescued brood was my Great Grandfather, 8 year old Samuel Pickens Shannon (1859-1930). Some 14 years after relocating to Arkansas he in turn rescued a young girl from a different kind of tragic life when he married Finetta Dearien (1861-1960). Read about their story here. The two of them bore 9 children in Arkansas, the last one being my grandmother Nola Agnes Shannon, who after marrying fellow Arkansan Leroy Gower, migrated to Oklahoma and then on to San Diego.

Russ and Steven Paul Shepard, 2012
Anacortes, Washington

So there you have it: the 3 century trail of our Shannon Irish ancestors across our country from Southeast Pennsylvania all the way to California. It is one part of our great Irish heritage to remember and to celebrate this Saint Patrick's Day!

Happy Birthday to Russ and Steve. Birthday wishes today to my brother Russell Shepard and his son Steven Paul Shepard, who were both born on March 13. There is a certain symmetry about this birthday for the two of them: Russ at 56 years old is exactly, to the day, twice as old as Steve at 28 years old. Russ is a native of San Diego while Steven has lived his entire life in Anacortes, Washington. Steven and Russ (and Russ' wife Pam) live at the Shepard home on Wildwood Lane in Anacortes. They are part of the care-giving team for our mother Maida Shepard who at 93 needs plenty of loving care and attention.

Linda and Jerry Clark, Cindy and Steve Shepard
San Diego, August 1970

Best Wishes To Jerry Clark. Happy Birthday tomorrow to my brother-by-another-mother Jerry Clark who lives with his wife Cathrina in Lubbock, Texas. Originally from Albuquerque, Jerry has lived in Lubbock nearly his entire adult life. He has been a part of our family ever since he and my late sister Linda were married back in August, 1970 in San Diego.

Happy Birthday Kerri. Earlier this month, on March 3, a very special birthday was had by my eldest niece Kerri Shepard Aquiningoc of Weatherford, Texas. Born in Walled Lake, Michigan 50 years ago (can that be right?), Kerri was raised in San Diego. She is the first born daughter of my brother Gary Shepard and Jackie Perry.
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Steve Shepard

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!, March 17, 2017

May you have the hindsight to know where you've been,

The foresight to know where you are going,

And the insight to know when you have gone too far.

~Old Irish Blessing

Happy Saint Patrick's Day Today! Best wishes to those of you of Irish descent, which includes most who are in our family tree. The Irishness of us Shepards and Gowers is one of the best things about us!

Happy Birthday to Kaylan! Birthday wishes go out this Sunday, March 19, to Kaylan Shepard who turns 18 this month! Her picture is on the right. With her auburn hair, green coat and beautiful smile, she looks very Irish and could be our family's poster person for Saint Patrick's Day! 

Kaylan is the daughter of my cousin Dane Shepard and his wife Cindy of Blanchard, Oklahoma. Born in California in 1999, Kaylan has spent most of her life in Oklahoma. She is the last of the 21 Great Grandchildren of William and Bura Davis Shepard.

Finetta Dearien Shannon. One of the most important family strains of Irish descendants in our family tree is the lineage belonging to my Grandmother Nola Shannon Gower (1903-2004). I have written about Grandma Gower's celtic ancestry numerous times in this blog, including here, here and here.

Grandma Gower's mother Finetta Dearien Shannon was a native Arkansan who experienced a difficult past that has been remembered through the years and is still remembered today because it was so troubling. In view of the conflict we have been having in our family these days, it might be helpful to take a detailed look at this part of our family history. 

My Great Grandmother Finetta Dearien Shannon (1861-1960) was born 156 years ago this week. She was the child of Augustus Marvin Dearien and Mr. Dearien's own step-daughter, a teenager named Roena Norton. Finetta's father Augustus Dearien compounded his grave error by causing the disappearance of his step-daughter Roena after she had given birth to his child. 

Sam Shannon and Finetta Dearien Shannon

We don't know exactly what became of Roena. Not long after Finetta was born, Roena simply disappeared, never to be heard from again. One family legend has it that her step-father caused her death in some famous local caves, probably the nearby Blanchard Springs Caverns. Another legend says that she was simply taken away never to return. In recent years I have tried to locate Roena in the genealogical records available to me from the mid 19th century, but to no avail. 

Roena's daughter Finetta was raised by her Grandmother Elizabeth Mitchell Dearien and her unscrupulous father Augustus Dearien. It was an unpleasant situation that caused a great amount of contention, heartache and conflict and was one of the most embarrassing domestic developments ever in our family. 

The US Census records for the period from 1830 to 1880 tell an interesting story about Finetta and her incestuous father Augustus Dearien.

The 1830 US Census shows the family of 16 year old Augustus Dearien living in Virginia, in a household that reported owning 4 slaves. It may have been in that household that the teenager Augustus Dearien learned that some people were not to be valued, but were simply to serve the needs of the head of the household.

The 1860 US Census (taken 9 months before Finetta was born) lists Augustus and Elizabeth Dearien and their family living in Richwoods Township, Stone County, Arkansas. The child Roena J. is listed as being 20 years old (which may have been inaccurate). The Census was taken in September, 1860, just about the time Roena became pregnant with Finetta.

snippet from the 1870 U.S. Census

The 1870 US Census (a snippet from which is seen above) indicates that the Deariens were living in Sylamore Township in Stone County, Arkansas at the time. One of the children of this family is named "Mitchell Dearien" and was 8 years old, which would have been Finetta's age. This may be a reference to Finetta. The other family members are listed with their ages. Could it be the family gave 8 year old Finetta the name "Mitchell"? Mitchell was Finetta's Grandmother's maiden name, and was the last name given to Finetta in the 1880 Census, 10 years later (see next paragraph). 

snippet from the 1880 U.S. Census

The 1880 US Census (a snippet from which is seen above) shows the Deariens still living in Sylamore Township in Stone County, Arkansas. This listing only shows father Augustus M., mother Lucinda, and one child, 18 year old "Vinettie Mitchel." Vinettie is surely a reference to Finetta, whose grandmother's maiden name was Mitchell. The information given to the Census taker was that this 18 year old was not one of the children but was simply a "boarder." Finetta is not even afforded the privilege of being a member of the family!

It is a sordid and tragic story that comes together when looking at the history of Finetta and her incestuous father. It was a situation that made for conflict, unhappiness and embarrassment, much of which has continued through the years. But the good news is that the ill-born Finetta went on to make a good life for herself with husband Sam Shannon, in the very community where she was born and raised. The last of the 9 children born to Finetta and Sam was my grandmother Nola Shannon Gower. 

This historical survey in the last few posts of conflicts in our family has been interesting to say the least. Whether it helps in dealing with our present squabble remains to be seen. If nothing else it reminds us that we are all too human and susceptible to dissension. The fact of the matter is that conflicts sometime come our way, the important thing is how we choose to deal with them.
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Steve Shepard

Happy Siblings Day! April 10, 2016

Friends are the siblings

God never gave us.

~Mencius

Today is National Siblings Day, a fairly new holiday that celebrates brothers and sisters. It is not one of the more popular holidays on the calendar but it is one that has special relevance to families, and therefore to family blogs like this one.

On this special day I must offer my deepest gratitude for my 4 Washington siblings: Gary, Darrell, Barb and Russ. They all live near our mother Maida Shepard in Anacortes, Washington and are helping to care for her as her needs grow greater the more she moves into her 90s. Kudos to them for their love and dedication to our mom. 

Mason and Logan on Easter Sunday

Junior Siblings. On this Siblings Day we celebrate the junior siblings among us, who have a combined age of just 3: Mason Shepard (1 year old) and his brother Logan J. Shepard (2 years old) of Bothell, Washington. They are the sons of Nicole and Patrick Shepard, and 2 of the grandchildren of my brother Darrell and his wife Mary Shepard. This first picture shows Mason and Logan enjoying a happy moment on Easter Sunday.

Senior Siblings. The senior siblings among us are my mother Maida Gower Shepard of Anacortes, Washington and her sister Vicki Gower Johnston of Chandler, Arizona. Their combined ages are 173 years. There are no other siblings in our midst, who I know of, whose combined ages come even close to that number. We honor them for their longevity and for their special place in our hearts. Do any of you know of siblings in our extended families whose combined ages total more than 173? If so, please let me know.

Maida and Vicki in Chandler, Arizona

This second picture shows Maida (on the left) and Vicki when they were reminiscing recently over a family photo album, enjoying a very special visit with one another. This picture was taken last month when my mom Maida came to San Diego and we made a trip to Arizona to see her sister. Vicki lives in a beautiful home in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, very near her daughter Paula and husband Frank Tuzzolino. 

Family History Trivia Question. Here is a family history trivia question appropriate for Siblings Day: Has there ever been two siblings in our family whose ages at any particular moment in history have totaled more than 173 years? Thing about it. The answer is below. 

Happy Birthday to my niece Rachel Shepard this coming Thursday, April 14. Rachel is the aunt of the above mentioned junior siblings, Mason and Logan Shepard. Rachel and her son Kellan live in Bothell, Washington. Best wishes to Rachel for a wonderful 29th birthday.

Rachel and Kellan Shepard

This third picture shows Rachel with son Kellan. This was taken in front of a Halloween scarecrow when their family was out pumpkin hunting this past October.


Jerry and Cathrina, Celebrating 10 Years! This past Friday Jerry and Cathrina Clark of Lubbock, Texas celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary. Jerry is also one of my siblings, something of a "secret sibling". No, I did not say "pseudo sibling". That would suggest he has not really been incorporated into our family. The fact is that he became one of us back in 1970 when he married my late sister Linda, and we have refused over the years to let him go! Congratulations to my brother-by-another-mother Jerry and his wife Cathrina on 10 years of marriage, and best wishes for many more years together. 

Back to the trivia question... There have been a number of individuals in our family who lived a long time: Elmer Shepard, William Shepard, Marjorie Davis, Nola Shannon Gower, and Finetta Dearien to name just a few. But to find siblings whose combined ages totaled more than 173 you have to go back to my Grandmother Bura Davis Shepard (1896-1986). In 1986, the last year of Bura's life, she was 89 years old and, at that time, her younger brother Lawrence Davis was 88 years old. Their combined ages that year were 177, four years more than the combined ages of Maida and Vicki today.

In 1999, however, the last year of uncle Lawrence Davis' life, he was 101 years old, and his younger sister Marjorie Davis Millikan Williams was 91 years old. That year the combined ages of siblings Lawrence and Marjorie was an astounding 192 years, a total that has never been matched in our family history. In the year 2026 -- God willing! -- Maida and Vicki will break that record.

This is a bit of trivia to be sure, but it points to something quite significant. In our family there are instances of significant longevity. We and our ancestors seem to age pretty well. There are, of course, some in our family who died way too young. But looking at the big picture, we have a large number of relatives who lived long lives. Why do you think that is so?
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Steve Shepard

Prelude to a Kiss, January 20, 2016

If you hear a song in blue,

Like a flower crying for the dew,

That was my heart serenading you,

My prelude to a kiss.

~Craig Lucas

Valentine's Day is Coming Soon. In a few short weeks we will celebrate Valentine's Day. I plan to compile a musical photo presentation to celebrate love in our family. I invite you to send me a photo of members of your family kissing, to be included in that presentation. 

It could be a dad's peck on a baby's cheek, a warm smooch on an unsuspecting ear, a familial peck on a grandparent's forehead, a warm kiss in a loving embrace, an old photo, a recent snapshot, etc. I think you get the idea. The possibilities are endless. Are you up to the task? Pucker up and give it your best shot. Have some fun. Be creative and send me your photo in an email before Valentine's Day.

Birthday Wishes to Dane and Nathan! Tomorrow, January 21, is the birthday of my cousin Dane Shepard and his son Nathan Ross Shepard who were born on the same day of the year. One would think that would be a highly unusual occurrence, since the odds of it happening are 1 in 365. It happened to Dane and Nathan, when the latter was born in 1996. Oddly enough it also happened to my brother Russ when his son Steven was born on Russ' birthday in 1990: twice in the Shepard family in 6 years! What are the odds of that happening?

Dane lives in New Castle, Oklahoma with his wife Cindy and daughter Kaylan, while their son Nathan will celebrate his 20th birthday tomorrow while in college in Florida. This first picture shows Dane and wife Cindy in a recent photo that Dane graciously sent me recently.

Dane: Yes, it's that time of year again for Nathan and me. We have had a very eventful year which has kept us busier than ever. Turning 65 is a milestone. You definitely know you are a senior citizen when you join Medicare and are eligible for senior discounts when you fly. I haven't slowed down at all and I'm grateful for the continued health to keep up with Nathan and Kaylan, and the rest of our extended family here. Cindy and I certainly enjoy the progress they are making.

Nathan continues to do well getting his business degree with an emphasis in behavioral science. He is in his third year at Florida College and plans to remain in Florida to attend USF for graduate work. He has managed to balance being in two performing groups, working part time, and dating while keeping up with his studies. Thanks for your continued work with an ever expanding family legacy. "Roots and wings" go well together. ...Gratefully, Dane

Nathan: Hey there! Thank you for the birthday wishes! It has been a little while since the family reunion in OK! I hope you are doing well! I will actually be at school in Florida for my birthday however my parents will be coming down the following week. I would like to give a warm hello to all the Shepard family and best hopes for a good year!

Happy Anniversary Havilah and Kevin. This Saturday, Jan 23, 2016, is the 6th wedding anniversary of Havilah and Kevin Wardle. Havilah is the daughter of my cousin Joan Shepard of Dixon, California and Art Colgain of Salt Lake City, Utah. She is also the niece of the aforementioned Dane and Cindy Shepard. Best wishes to Havilah and Kevin for a wonderful anniversary celebration.

Happy 90th Birthday Bernice Johnson Beckham! Also, best wishes go out today to Bernice Johnson Beckham of Mountain View, Arkansas who turns 90 years old today. Bernice is the first cousin of my mother Maida Gower Shepard. 

Bernice and Maida are among the last surviving grandchildren of my Great Grandparents Samuel Pickens Shannon and his wife Finetta Clementine Dearien. Bernice, who has lived her whole life in Mountain View, Stone County, Arkansas, is an important connection to that part of our Shannon and Gower families that have roots in the hills of Northern Arkansas that go back almost 200 years.
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Steve Shepard

A Relentless Hope, January 13, 2016

Success is to be measured

not so much by the position one has reached in life

as by the obstacles which have been overcome.

~Booker T. Washington

Happy Anniversary to Jeff and Kim Clark! This coming Monday, January 18 is the 9th wedding anniversary of Kim Boyd Ortiz-Clark and Jeff Clark. Kim is a cousin of mine and one of the Grandchildren of William and Bura Shepard. 

Kim and husband Jeff were married in La Jolla, California in 2007 but have lived their entire married life in Blue Springs, Missouri. Best wishes to Kim and Jeff for a wonderful anniversary!

Remembering Samuel and Finetta Shannon. On this day in 1881, two of my Great Grandparents were married in Stone County, Arkansas. They are one more couple in our family tree who chose to marry in the dead of winter. It was undoubtedly cold in the hills of Northern Arkansas on that Thursday, January 13, when my Great Grandfather Samuel Pickens Shannon and Great Grandmother Finetta Clementine Dearien tied the knot. At the time their families were living in the small farming communities of  Sylamore and Timbo, 13 miles west of Mountain View, Arkansas.

I never knew either one of them personally. Sam died before I was born. And although Finetta lived until 1960, I lived in California and never had the opportunity to meet her. But we do know quite a bit about the lives of both of them. The historical record is kind to us in this regard. Both Finetta and Sam had amazing, yet tragic childhoods in their own ways.

Tragic Childhoods. Sam was the 7th of the 9 children of David and Peggy Shannon. Of those 9 children, 2 died in their first year. The other 7 lived in rural Louisiana during the Civil War. Their father died in that conflict when Sam was just 5 years old, leaving mother Peggy and her 7 children in poverty in the post war South, a terrible fate in itself. Fortunately Peggy's brothers from Stone County, Arkansas came to the rescue and moved Peggy and her fatherless children, to live near them in Northern Arkansas. Though Sam's mother was a young Civil War widow, at least he had the stability of a larger family that cared for him, his mother, and his siblings.

Finetta's childhood was also very difficult, but for different reasons. Born in Stone County, Arkansas she was the child of an abusive stepfather Gus Dearien who had molested his own stepdaughter, Finetta's mother Roena Norton. In those days Finetta was considered "illegitimate", which carried a burdensome stigma. She was raised in the hills south of Mountain View, Arkansas by her biological father and her Grandmother Liza Mitchell Dearien.

A Relentless Hope for the Future. So on that Thursday, 135 years ago, when Finetta and Sam married, they came together with lots of painful history, but a relentless hope for the future that led them to a wonderful life with one another. They bore 9 children, the last of whom was my Grandmother Nola Shannon Gower. I remember Grandma Gower talking about the home in which she was raised: a place where hard work was valued, where dirt floors were common, where the most was made of the simplest things, where family life was respected, where long dusty walks to church and community was normal, and where allegiance to the local Baptist Church was important.

It may have been in that little Baptist Church in their local community that their wedding occurred. Samuel was 22 and Finetta was 19 when they said their vows and began a journey of love that would last 49 years. Sam died at 72 in 1930, while Finetta lived till 1960 when she died just 3 months short of her 100th birthday. They are buried next to each other in Gray Cemetery, a humble, at times hidden, family burial site off Happy Hallow Road within walking distance of Timbo.

From painful, humble beginnings, they lived a resilient life, overcoming great odds and leaving a wonderful family legacy. On this anniversary of their wedding, may God bless the memory of Sam and Finetta Shannon and their place in the history of our family.
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Steve Shepard

A New Book, A Beautiful One! September 9, 2015

No, this is not the beginning

of a new chapter in my life;

this is the beginning of a new book!

Look, it is the first page!

And it is a beautiful one!

~ C. Joybell C.

Happy Birthday this coming Saturday, Sept 12, to my niece Kelly Shepard Sauvage. She, husband James, and sons Nate and Kyle live in Weatherford, Texas. She is the youngest child of my brother Gary Shepard and Jackie Perry. Born and raised in San Diego, Kelly has lived in Texas for nearly 15 years now.

Speaking of 15 years, last month James and Kelly celebrated 15 years of marriage. Congratu- lations on this special anniversary to the two of them, and best wishes to Kelly for a very happy birthday! This first picture shows James and Kelly when they were on a family vacation last month in Destin, Florida.

Kelly: Things are all good here. School started a couple weeks ago so it's been a little hectic. Nate is in his first year of junior high and Kyle is in his last year of elementary school. I'm still working at the high school and its been super busy. Kyle's baseball season is getting underway so it's about to get even more busy. Between my two boys and I always doing something, and James working out of town for two weeks at a time, we stay pretty busy. I love it though. Hope everyone is good on your end. Thanks for thinking of me and I hope you have a great birthday too.

67 and Counting. September 9 is the day I was born in 1948 here in San Diego. Today, my wife Cindy and I live in San Diego, where we were both raised, where we graduated High School, and where we were married. We lived in Northern California for many years until we retired 7 years ago and returned to our home town. We live not far from our son Nathan, his wife Chenda and their 3 children in the San Carlos Community of San Diego.

A Scholar's Career Begins.This second picture, taken earlier this summer at our home in San Diego, shows me with our oldest grandchild Preslea. The biggest news in our part of the family these days is that yesterday Preslea started school. It was her first day of Kindergarten!

Never-Before-Seen Picture. This being my birthday it seems appropriate to continue my summer theme of sharing never-before-seen pictures, but in this case with a picture that includes me. I have never shown the following picture before in this blog, for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that I very little history with most of the people pictured here. 

I do know that it was taken just about 60 years ago, in the mid-1950s, in Fresno, California. And I do know that it includes me in the lower right (the little guy in the striped shirt, with his hands on his hips and a scowl on his face). It also includes three of the most influential male figures in my life at the time: my older brother Gary (barely visible behind me), my father Eugene Shepard (standing behind us with arms crossed) and my Grandfather Leroy Gower (to the right of my father, in glasses).

This picture was taken when we were visiting my mother's cousin Imogene Hutson Self and her husband Olen Self who are pictured on the left (Olen is in the back on the left, in the white shirt; Imogene is to the right of him and only partially visible.). My mom tells me that another cousin of hers in this picture is Pearl Hutson Pfost, the tall woman on the far left.

These folks, like my parents and both sets of my grandparents, were transplanted Okies who came to California in the 1940s. The people pictured here are descended from my Great Grandparents, Samuel Pickens Shannon and his wife Finetta Dearien Shannon, of Mountain View, Arkansas. 
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Steve Shepard

Something of a Genealogical Quagmire, September 2, 2015

Children are the bridge to heaven.

~ancient Persian Proverb

New Birth. Congratulations to Chris and Amanda Clark Farrell on the birth of Easton Farrell, born August 20th in Frisco, Texas. Congratulations to the first time parents, and to grandparents Jerry Clark and Jane Clark Brock of Lubbock, Texas. It is a happy time for Chris and Amanda's entire family! 

This beautiful picture of Easton with his mom and dad was posted on Facebook recently (photo credit to Natalie Roberson). Many of you have seen it, but I include it here with best wishes to Chris and Amanda!

An Anniversary from LONG Ago. Today, September 2, 2015 is the wedding anniversary of my 6X Great Grandparents Matthew Gillespie and Lucy Pickens. This couple lived so long ago in our family history you may not even recognize their names. Here are some interesting notes about this young couple.

We are related to Lucy and Matthew through Grandmother Nola Shannon Gower, in particular her father Samuel Pickens Shannon. He was given the middle name Pickens because his grandmother's maiden name was Anna Pickens. Giving a child a middle name that is the last name of a Grandmother was not uncommon years ago, and even is done occasionally today.

Lucy Pickens and Matthew Gillespie were both born in Ireland at the turn of the 18th century. We even know that Matthew's birth town was Limerick, Ireland. But they did not marry, and may not have even known each other, until they came across the Atlantic, where their families settled just north of Philadelphia. 

Something of a Genealogical Quagmire. In the new world they were part of a large clan of Irish immigrants who tended to marry within the clan. Lucy and Matthew Gillespie's son, Matthew Gillespie Jr., married back into his mother's Pickens family (probably a cousin). Then their granddaughter, Mary Q. Gillespie, also married back into the Pickens family. So if you look at our family tree you see Pickenses all over the place because of the intermarrying. It is something of a genealogical quagmire, which may be a little easier to understand by looking at the lineage at the bottom of this post.


Young Matthew and Lucy married at just 22 and 20 years old. Immigration records show that Matthew arrived from Ireland in 1722 -- the same year they married -- so he was fresh off the boat when he married fellow immigrant Lucy. It is very possible that both their families came over together in the same ship. In a new land, beginning a new family, facing new challenges; it must have been a very exciting, if not bewildering time for Matthew and Lucy to start a new life together. 

They were married in Abington, Pennsylvania, in the Abington Presbyterian Church, a congregation near Philadelphia that still exists today (here's their website). They were one of the earliest marriages of this congregation, whose history dates from 1716. The following is an excerpt from the records of the Abington Church, of Matthew and Lucy's marriage on September 2, 1722. Their last names are spelled a little differently, but after nearly 300 years, a little little discrepancy is understandable!

Matthew and Lucy were only married 8 years when Matthew died at just 28 years old. Lucy then outlived him by over 30 years, living to be 60 years old, which was very old by 18th century standards. In the 8 years of their marriage they had 3 sons and a daughter, son Matthew Jr. being the one from whom we are descended. Two years after Matthew died, Lucy remarried a man named John Kerr, and lived the rest of her life with him.

Here then is an 11 generation lineage which shows how we are descended from 6X Great Grandparents Matthew and Lucy Gillespie, whose wedding, long, long ago, we remember today.

• Matthew Gillespie (1700-1728) who married Lucy Pickens (1702-1762)
• son Matthew Gillespie Jr. (1726-1793) who married Anna Pickens (1726-1775)
• daughter Mary Q. Gillespie (1756-1789) who married Andrew Pickens (1753-1844)
• daughter Anna Pickens (1785-1867) who married David McKnight Shannon (1790-1860)
• son David Reid Shannon (1821-1864) who married Peggy Gray (1829-1899)
• son Samuel Pickens Shannon (1858-1930) who married Finetta Dearien (1861-1960)
• daughter Nola Shannon (1903-2004) who married Leroy Gower (1899-1974)
• daughter Maida Gower (b. 1924) who married Eugene Shepard (1921-2003)
• son Steve Shepard (b. 1948) who married Cindy Harris (b. 1948)
• son Nathan Shepard (b. 1977) who married Chenda Sou (b. 1980)
• daughter Preslea Maida Shepard (b. 2010)

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Steve Shepard

Living Well Is the Best Revenge, May 5, 2015

Living well is the best revenge.

~George Herbert

Shepard Family Reunion 2015. A family reunion is being planned for this summer on Saturday, August 22 at the home of Patrick and Nicole Shepard in the Seattle suburb of Bothell, Washington. All family and friends are invited to attend. More details will be forthcoming as the date draws near.

One Remarkable Mother. During this week leading up to Mother's Day I would like to feature a person in our family's past whose was a remarkable mother. She was not remarkable because of her grace or beauty, her charm or her ability to embody the best qualities of motherhood as we understand it today. I don't know her well enough to say any of those things about her with any certainty. I consider her a remarkable woman because of what we DO know about her, which is significant, even though she lived her entire life in the 19th century.

Her name was Elizabeth (Liza) Lucinda Mitchell, and she was the Great Grandmother of my Grandmother Nola Shannon Gower. Here is her lineage:

• Elizabeth (Liza) Lucinda Mitchell (1817-1881), who married Andy Norton (1820-?) then Gus Dearien (1817-1900)
• Roena Norton (1841-?) 
• Finetta Dearien Shannon (1861-1960), who married Samuel Pickens Shannon (1858-1930)
• Nola Shannon Gower (1903-2004), who married Leroy Gower (1899-1974)
• Maida Gower Shepard (b. 1924), who married Eugene Shepard (1921-2003)
• Steve Shepard (b. 1948), who married Cynthia Harris (b. 1948)
• Nathan Shepard (b. 1977), who married Chenda Sou (b. 1980)
• Preslea Shepard (b. 2010)

Elizabeth Mitchell was born in South Carolina in 1817 to Henry and Abba Mitchell, but as a young woman moved westward with her family. They lived for short periods of time in Georgia and then Tennessee before settling in Stone County, Arkansas where she lived most of the rest of her life. Stone County is where both my Gower grandparents were born and raised.

About 1840 Elizabeth married a man named Andy Norton near Mountain View, Arkansas, and by him had one daughter, Roena Norton. That marriage ended after just a few years and she then married a man named Gus Dearien and with him had two other children, David and Mary. One of the uglier events of our family history occurred when Elizabeth's second husband Gus Dearien had a child by his stepdaughter Roena Norton. He then added insult to injury by causing Roena's disappearance, but kept the child Finetta, and raised her in their home. I have written about that previously in this family blog and do not need to dwell on it here. This post is more about Elizabeth Mitchell Dearien, mother of Rowena and grandmother of Finetta Clementine Dearien. (See picture above of Finetta and her daughter Nola.)

Living well is the best revenge. Despite the dysfunction of the Dearien family, Elizabeth seems to have made a decent life for herself and her children. Her first child Finetta actually created a wonderful family of her own when she married Samuel Pickens Shannon. With him she bore 9 children, the last one being my Grandmother Nola Shannon Gower. Elizabeth and Finetta each had plenty of justification for being bitter and resentful of Gus' unscrupulous actions. Instead Elizabeth illustrates the truth of the saying of George Herbert, "Living well is the best revenge." 

She had all the reason in the world to get back at her husband. Instead she made the best of what came her way. She was a remarkable woman of extraordinary fortitude who endured to the end, and made of her life and her family the best she could under the circumstances. Obviously the sparsely populated hills of Northern Arkansas in the mid 19th century (during and after the Civil War) was no place for a woman to expect much justice from the domestic wrongdoing she had experienced.

So she continued her life with Mr. Dearien for 40 years and died at 64 in Timbo, near Mountain View, Arkansas in the fall of 1881. She is buried in Blue Mountain Cemetery in Timbo alongside her husband. Here is a link to her her online grave page. The picture above on the left is the headstone for L.L. Dearien (Liza Lucinda) and her husband A. M. Dearien (Augustus Marvin) in Blue Mountain Cemetery.

The story of Elizabeth Mitchell Dearien is a sobering reminder of how Mother's Day must be more than a sentimental celebration of charming women. It is also a remembrance of women who had a difficult time in life but endured remarkably despite the injustices that came their way. As we approach Mother's Day 2015, I suggest to you that Elizabeth Lucinda Mitchell Dearien is one such person, a remarkable mother who deserves remembering and celebrating.

William and Bura Shepard's 100th Anniversary. New this week on William and Bura Shepard's anniversary page is a musical-photo presentation of William Shepard and Bura Davis Shepard with family and friends over the years. Select this link to visit their Anniversary Page and view the new photo presentation. 
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Steve Shepard

"Yesterday's Gone," April 28, 2015

We walked together hand in hand

'Cross miles and miles of golden sand

But now it's over and done

'Cause that was yesterday

and yesterday's gone.

~Chad and Jeremy

(listen to the song)

Beverly and Eugene. Yesterday was the anniversary of the birth of my cousin Beverly Russell Wilk (1939-1974). Had she not died of a brain aneurysm in 1974, she would be 76 years old. Today would have been the 94th birthday of my father Eugene Shepard (1921-2003). He passed away 12 years ago in Anacortes, Washington at 82 years old.

In the early 1940s, when Beverly was a young child, she was the darling of our family. She was just a year old when William and Bura Shepard moved their family to San Diego in 1940. She and her older brother Rex were the only Shepard Grandchildren during that exciting, stressful time of getting adjusted to life in Southern California after living the country life in Colorado and Oklahoma. There was, however, another child in the family at that time, Thelma Shepard. She was Will and Bura's late-in-life daughter, who was Beverly's aunt, even though only 3 years older than Beverly.

We have numerous family pictures showing Beverly as a child, looking for all the world like Shirley Temple who at the time was America's darling little girl and child movie star. Born in 1939, Beverly was the only Granddaughter in our family until my sister Linda was born in 1950.

The first picture shows Beverly in the early 1940s at about 2 years old. With her is my father Eugene Shepard, her uncle. This is a classic image that captures the spirit of the times and of our Shepard family. They look to be on the front porch of the Russell home on Ohio Street in San Diego. He is about 21 years old, cigarette in hand, tall, dark and handsome. He has no smile on his face for these were serious times -- World War II was ready to explode and he was either in the military or ready to enlist. Bev is dressed in the white of innocence, cute bow in her hair, in a pretty, short dress with a soft, naive look on her face. 

Nola Shannon Gower. Today is also the anniversary of the birth of my maternal Grandmother Nola Shannon Gower (1903-2004). She was born exactly 18 years before my father Eugene Shepard, who was her son-in-law for almost 60 years. 

Nola was born in the hills of Northern Arkansas where at 18 she married Leroy Gower and where they had their first two children, Hendrix and Maida. They then moved westward, first to Oklahoma where youngest child Vicki was born, and then to San Diego where they lived most of the rest of their lives.

This second image is a collection of pictures showing Nola Shannon Gower over the years. Upper left shows her in about 1910 as a young girl with her sister in Mountain View, Arkansas. The other pictures show her at various points in her life: with her mother (about 1935) probably in Oklahoma, with her first Granddaughter (1950) in San Diego, with one of her Great Grandchildren (1977) in Sylmar, California, at a family reunion (1992) in San Diego, and finally with her daughter Vicki in 2003 in Anacortes, Washington on the occasion of her 100th birthday celebration.

Centennial Anniversary. As I mentioned in my last post, this spring marks the 100th Wedding Anniversary of William and Bura Davis Shepard on June 2, 2015. I have a page set up which you can visit to celebrate this centennial event. In the next several weeks leading up to their anniversary I will add additional information and links to the page to make it even more informative and interesting. Visit the page now and be sure check back in coming weeks. 
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Steve Shepard

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! March 17, 2015

Always remember to forget

The things that made you sad.

But never forget to remember

The things that made you glad.

~old Irish blessing

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! The first picture I am including was posted earlier today on Facebook by Rachel Shepard, the mother of this little fellow with the very Irish name of Kellan Shepard. He is one of the very youngest descendants of the Irish immigrants mentioned below.

My grandmother Nola Shannon Gower (1903-2004) was the most Irish person I have ever known in our family. There are numerous persons in her family tree -- probably more than she ever knew about -- who were Irish immigrants who came to America long before she was ever born. Even though she was very Irish and proud of that fact, I do not remember her ever being particularly interested in Saint Patrick's Day. As a country girl from small town Arkansas in the early 20th century, her people were hard working, pious Baptists, who never got very excited about things.

Saint Patrick himself was Catholic, and the celebrations of his day are often given to excessive drinking, two things not highly valued in the lives of most of our Arkansas ancestors.

Even so, today is a day to celebrate our Irish heritage. Numerous ancestors of ours took great risks by sailing across the Atlantic and journeying to America with high hopes for a better life. They are folks like Thomas and Eigness Shannon who came from Londonderry about 1700, and James Alexander and family who came from Raphoe in northern Ireland in the late 1600s; and folks like John and Lucy Maxwell also from northern Ireland in the mid 1600s; and Robert and Mary Alexander who came from Scotland also in the 17th century.

And then there was William Henry Pickens (1670-1735) originally from La Rochelle, France, who crossed over to Ireland and married an Irishwoman named Margaret Pike. Then, from the town of Limerick in central Ireland, with several children in tow, William and Margaret sailed to America and settled in Bucks County, Pennsylvania near Philadelphia. The second picture has appeared in this blog before, and shows a descendant of these Pickenses, Samuel Pickens Shannon with his wife Finetta Dearien Shannon, parents of my grandmother Nola Shanon Gower.

Happy 16th Birthday this Thursday to Kaylan Shepard of Newcastle, Oklahoma. Kaylan is the youngest of the 21 great grandchildren of William and Bura Davis Shepard, and their last descendant born in the 20th century. 

Kaylan: "I am enjoying my sophomore year of high school by playing volleyball and bowling. I also love the art class I'm taking! Thank you so much for thinking of me! Hope you and your family are doing well! Thanks again, and have a blessed day."

Best wishes to Kaylan and to her family! This picture shows Kaylan (on the left) with a friend of hers, taken last month.
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Steve Shepard

Thanks for Family Past and Present! November 20, 2014

Let us be grateful

to the people who make us happy;

they are the charming gardeners

who make our souls blossom.

~Marcel Proust

On this week before Thanksgiving, I find myself very grateful for the family that Cindy and I have, in a special way for our son Nathan, his wife Chenda, and their children Preslea, Logan and William. I am also grateful for my siblings and their families and for our wonderful mother Maida Shepard, whose 90th birthday we joyfully celebrated earlier this month.

I am also grateful for babies who were born into our family this year: Kellan Shepard, son of Rachel Shepard and Brian Miller of Kirkland, Washington; and Karver Bearden, son of Lyndsey Aquiningoc and Colton Bearden. The picture shows recent images of Kellan (left) and Karver.

Furthermore, I am grateful for people who married into our family this year, in particular Justin Davis of Blue Springs, Mo. (husband of Amanda Ortiz), and Dee Shannon of Dixon, California (wife of Joan Shepard).

My gratitude also extends to the life Sou Penh of Kampong Speu, Cambodia, who died this year. He was the father of our daughter in law Chenda Shepard. He was known to only a few of us, but will always have a place in the hearts of Chenda and those of us who had met him, and his grandchildren, who never had the privilege of meeting him.

One of the unexpected benefits of doing family research is discovering ancestors who sacrificed so much during their lives, often in ways that contributed to the quality of life that we live yet today.

I am thinking in particular about the growing list of soldier ancestors who served in the various wars of our country, from the Revolutionary War, to the Civil War and conflicts of the 20th Century.

The second picture shows Eugene Shepard and brother Elmer Shepard who served during World War II. With them in this picture are the only 3 children that were in the Shepard family in February, 1945 at the time of this picture: their sister Thelma Shepard, and their niece and nephew Beverly Russell and Rex Russell.

All the following soldiers I have written about in the posts of this blog over the last few years. They are all persons to whom we owe a great debt of gratitude, not only as Thanksgiving 2014 approaches, but always. Those with asterisks by their names died in the service of their country.

Revolutionary War:

• Marmaduke Davis (1760-1855) 
• Andrew Pickens (1739-1817)
• Robert McKnight (1732-1818)

War of 1812:

• *John Williams Sr. (1782-1813)

Civil War:

• *William Shepard (1835-1862)
• *David Reid Shannon (1821-1864)
• Jackson William Gower (1831-1902)
• Gus Dearien (1814-1900)

World War I:

• *Lloyd W. Gower (1896-1918)
• Benjamin Davis (1888-1963)

World War II:

• Elmer Shepard (1918-2012)
• Gene Shepard (1921-2003)
• Beryl Swinney Shepard (1923-1994)
• Paula Harris (b. 1923)
• Juanita Eeds (b. 1921)

For the dedication and sacrifice of the foregoing, our hearts are filled with gratitude. A prayer this coming week in thankfulness for their lives would be most appropriate.
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Steve Shepard