Looking Toward Ground Hog Day, February 1, 2017

You are who you are - not your parents.

~Leslie Burke

William Elmer Shepard (1862-1915). Tomorrow, February 2, will mark the anniversary of the birth of my Great Grandfather William Elmer Shepard. William Elmer is one of the most compelling and fascinating persons in our Shepard family tree. He was born in 1862, the same year his father died in the Civil War. When a teenager he became estranged from his mother and step-father, and set out on his own. He is also the person whose only brother chose to spell his last name "Shepherd". 

As a young vagabond in the early 1880s, William Elmer settled in Madison County, Illinois, where he met and married Elvira Owens. With her he made his own family, happier than any family he ever had. They and their 2 children William and Sadie ended up moving to Oklahoma where they lived the rest of their lives. On this 155th anniversary of his birth we celebrate his life and honor his memory.

Sadie Shepard Pruett (1892-1980). Last Friday marked the 125th anniversary of the birth of Sadie Shepard Pruett, daughter of the aforementioned William Elmer Shepard. Sadie was the sister of my grandfather William Shepard.

Sadie and William were the only two children of William Elmer Shepard and Elvira Owens Shepard of Madison County, Illinois. William was born in 1888 in the Mississippi River town of Alton, Illinois, while Sadie was born January 27, 1892 when the family lived a few miles south of Alton in the town of Venice, also in Madison County.

When Sadie was barely a teenager, this small Shepard family of four moved from Illinois to Beaver County in the panhandle of Oklahoma. A few years later young Sadie, who lived in the small farming community of Sophia, met a neighbor who lived in nearby Elmwood, a fellow named Levy Pruett who was 10 years her senior. Sadie and Levy were married in the town of Beaver, Oklahoma on June 22, 1910 and spent 58 years together. 

The first image shows a copy of Levy and Sadie's wedding license from 1910. You can click on the image to get a larger view of it.

Sadie and Levy had three daughters, Alberta, Gayle and Twila, who gave them four grandchildren, Norman, Steven, Shawna and Lisa, and then an assortment of Great Grandchildren. Lisa Allred Parks is the granddaughter who contacted me online a few months ago and began a conversation that has connected me to Sadie's descendants like never before. Today Levy and Sadie's descendants live primarily in Oklahoma and North Texas.

Sadie and Levy lived and farmed in Beaver County for many years, although the 1910 US Census indicates that she was a public school teacher at the time she and Levy were married. They made their life in the Oklahoma panhandle, in contrast to Sadie's brother William Shepard who settled in California in 1940. Sadie and Levy did travel to California a number of times to visit brother William and his family.


The second image is one I have shared before in this blog. It shows Sadie and Levy Pruett while on a visit to California in 1946. This picture was taken when the family took a day trip across the border to Tijuana, Mexico. In the very middle of this image, in the black dress, is Sadie Shepard Pruett. In back row in the middle is her husband Levy Pruett. On either side of Levy and directly in front of him are 3 other members of the Pruett family visiting from Oklahoma: Glen Barker, Gayle Pruett Barker, and Alberta Pruett Getz. The others pictured here are members of the Russell and Shepard families who were living in San Diego.

Sadie died 2 days after her 88th birthday, in Oklahoma where she had lived for 75 years, ever since she had moved from Illinois as a school girl in about 1905. She and Levy rest alongside other family and friends in Sophia Cemetery, the longtime burial ground in Beaver County located in the community where they spent most of their lives.

Happy Birthday Cindy Shepard. Tomorrow (Ground Hog Day!) is the birthday of Cindy Ann Shepard, the wife of my brother Gary Shepard. Cindy and Gary live in Oak Harbor, Washington and are among the caregivers for our 92 year old mother Maida Shepard of nearby Anacortes, Washington. 

Last week I visited with the family in Washington and took this picture which shows my brother Gary and his wife Cindy on the right, and me and my wife Cindy on the left. Best wishes to Cindy for a very happy birthday!
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Steve Shepard

Our Roots Remain as One, October 26, 2016

Family is like branches on a tree.

We all grow in different directions

yet our roots remain as one.

The Shepard-Davis-Pruett Clan. In my last post I mentioned that I had recently connected online with a second cousin of mine, Lisa Allred Parks who lives in Haltom City, Texas. She emailed me a picture of my Shepard grandparents (and a host of other kinfolk), one than I had never seen before and am very grateful to have. Here's the picture (you can enlarge it by clicking on it):

Shepard-Davis-Pruett Clan, 1945, Oklahoma

I have a similar picture that has been in my archives for many years, that was taken at the same location, probably at the same time, but includes only a few of the people pictured here (you can see that picture below). 

On the back of Lisa's copy of this first picture it says it was taken in the summer of 1945 in Beaver County, Oklahoma, at the home of Perry Jenkins (the husband of Esther Davis Jenkins, sister of my grandmother Bura Davis Shepard).

This particular image illustrates better than any other picture I have ever seen, the relationship that existed between the extended family of my Grandfather William Shepard (pictured here on the far left in the back, only his head is visible), and the family of my Grandmother Bura Davis Shepard (pictured on the far left side in the white dress). 

William Shepard's family was fairly small in number. His immediate family consisted of his wife and 4 children, a son-in-law and 2 grandchildren, all of whom were living in San Diego in 1945. He had just one sibling Sadie Shepard Pruett (possibly the one pictured next to William in the back, with only her head visible). Sadie, with husband Levy Pruett (pictured far right in the back), had 3 daughters. All 3 daughters - Alberta, Gayle and Twila - are pictured here with the husbands of Alberta and Gayle. Twila is the mother of Lisa Allred Parks, who graciously sent me this picture.

My Grandmother Bura Davis Shepard had 6 siblings, all of whom were married with kids at this time, which meant a much larger extended family. Among Bura's siblings in the first picture are Marjorie Davis Millikan (in the very center, white dress with brooch) and Esther Davis Jenkins to the left of Marjorie. William and Bura's daughter Thelma is in front, the third in the line of 4 young girls. The elderly lady on the right is Thelma's grandmother, Callie Spear Davis, mother of the Davis children in the first picture.

I am not able to identify all the folks in the first picture above (if you can, please let me know), yet they are all happy participants in this Shepard-Davis-Pruett clan gathering 71 years ago, on the dusty plains of the Oklahoma panhandle. It's a reminder of a different era when our families were expanding, some moving westward to the coast, all developing their own identity and growing their own family circles. Despite the many years that have passed, we are still united by that bond of connection to common ancestors, most of whom are gone now, but all of whom are respectfully remembered.

Happy Birthday Mandi! Today is the 24th birthday of Mandi Aquiningoc of Granbury, Texas. Mandi is the Granddaughter of my brother Gary Shepard and Jackie Perry, and is the daughter of Kerri Aquiningoc. Mandi was born and lived in San Diego but has been in Texas now for over 15 years.

This third picture shows Mandi on the right with her daughter, 3 year old Kambree. Also pictured is Mandi's cousin Kyle Sauvage.

Mandi: Hi uncle Steve! It's always good to hear from you. Kambree and I are doing great. She has definitely grown a lot since the last time we saw you and Great Grammie a few years ago. She turned 3 back in June and is growing way too fast. She is also learning so much in school already. Right now we're learning how to write her name and I have been working my tail off. At one point I was working 2 jobs. I became a bartender at a place called Fuzzys Taco, also working at UPS. But I did manage to save a lot of money working 2 jobs. My sister and I still live together, but my goal is to eventually find a place for myself and Kambree. I believe I'm almost to that point. I love hearing from you guys and I sure wish we can all see y'all again sometime soon. We love and miss y'all!

Birthday Wishes to Pam! This coming Sunday, October 30 is the birthday of Pam Engan Shepard, wife of my brother Russ Shepard and part of our family who lives in Anacortes, Washington. Pam is the mother of Linda and Steven Shepard. Happy birthday and best wishes to Pam as she celebrates yet another birthday!

This last picture was taken last month and shows Pam slicing apples in the kitchen of her mother-in-law Maida Shepard of Anacortes, Washington. Partially pictured with Pam is their son Steven Shepard.
- - -
Steve Shepard

Remembering Sadie Shepard Pruett, January 29, 2016

Tradition means giving votes 

to the most obscure of all classes

-- our ancestors.

It is the democracy of the dead.

~Gilbert Keith Chesterton

This week celebrates the birthday of my Great Aunt, Sadie Shepard Pruett, the only sister of my Grandfather William Shepard. She lived from January 27, 1892 until January 29, 1980.

My Granddad William Shepard was 3 years older than his sister Sadie, both of whom were born in Madison County, Illinois, just across the river from Saint Louis, Missouri. They were teenagers when their parents William Elmer Shepard and Elvira Owens Shepard, moved the family in 1905 to Beaver County, Oklahoma.

The United States Census of 1910 shows that, in the small farming community of Logan, Beaver County, Oklahoma, the William Elmer Shepard family was a close neighbor of the Charles Edward Davis family. One of the Davis granddaughters was Bura Davis, who in 1915 became the bride of Sadie's brother William Shepard. That union created a bond between the Davis and Shepard families that continues to this day.

(Side Note: on this day 167 years ago -- January 29, 1849 -- the aforementioned neighbor of the Shepards', Charles Edward Davis, was born. He was the grandfather of my grandmother Bura Davis Shepard.) 

I never knew my great aunt Sadie Shepard Pruett despite the fact that our lives overlapped by several decades. She visited her brother William Shepard and his family in San Diego in the 1940s, this second remarkable family picture having been taken on one such visit. It shows Sadie (in the dark dress in the middle) and husband Levy (middle of the top row) with other Shepard and Russell family members while visiting the border town of Tijuana in 1946. 

Though she visited family in California, Sadie never lived any farther west than rural Beaver County. In 1910, at just 18 years old, she gave up her teaching job in the local public school to marry Levy Pruett who was 12 years older than her. They had 3 daughters: Alberta, Gayle and Twila. The first picture (above) shows the beautiful young mother and wife Sadie at 23 years old with her first two daughters Alberta and Gayle. This lovely picture may actually have been taken on the occasion of the marriage of her brother William Shepard to Bura Davis.

Sadie is buried alongside her husband Levy Pruett in the Sophia Cemetery near Elmwood, Oklahoma. That cemetery is just around the corner from the South Flat Church of Christ, a congregation which was dear to the hearts of many of our Shepard and Davis family members in the early years of the 20th century.


Unfortunately there has been very little communication over the years between the descendants of Sadie Shepard Pruett and her brother William Shepard. Today, many of the Shepards live on the West Coast, while many of Sadie's descendants live in and around Oklahoma. Perhaps that lack of interaction will change as generations go by and as the internet makes possible greater communication between distant relatives.

Seeking Valentine's Day Pictures. As I mentioned last week, I am putting together a family photo presentation for Valentine's Day. If you have a "kissing picture" including family members, you are welcome to send it to me for inclusion in this fun photo slide show.
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Steve Shepard

Other Shepard Kin, January 27, 2012

I don't know who my grandfather was;
I am much more concerned to know
what his grandson will be.
~Abraham Lincoln

Hello Family and Friends,

Today is the 120th anniversary of the birthday of my great aunt Sadie Shepard Pruett who was born January 27, 1892. She was born in Alton, Illinois just like her older brother and only sibling (my grandfather) William Shepard, who was 4 years her senior. She and William were just teens when their parents left Illinois and settled in Beaver County, Oklahoma in the first decade of the 20th century. Interestingly, also like her brother William, she died within days of her 88th birthday. Sadie died in 1980, William in 1976.

The late 19th century was a time when large families were common. A family from that time period with just two children is an interesting anomaly. My grandmother Bura Davis, for example, (born 1896) was one of 7 children. My grandmother Nola Shannon (born 1902) was one of 9 children. And my grandfather Leroy Gower (born 1899) was one of 7 children. It was unusual then for Sadie Shepard to be one of only 2 children, she and her brother William.

Like most of our ancestors, William's parents William Elmer Shepard and Elvira Owens were country folk for whom one more child meant one more worker on the family farm. But every couple is different, with unique physical and emotional needs and limitations.

To be fair, there seems to have been two other siblings of William and Sadie Shepard who died in infancy: a boy they named Elmer and a girl they named Eva. Losing a child can be a devastating experience, but losing two children can make a couple hesitant to have any more.

Sadie later married Levy Pruett and had 3 daughters, Alberta, Gayle and Twila. The first picture I am including shows Sadie at 23 years old with her first two daughters Gayle and Alberta. This lovely picture was taken in June, 1915 when her brother William Shepard and his fiance Bura Davis were married.

The second picture shows my grandfather William Shepard (bottom right) with his wife Bura Davis next to him. At the bottom left is his sister Sadie whose husband Levy Pruett is in the middle of the top row. Also in the picture are two Pruett daughters, Gayle (bottom row) and Twila (upper right), and Gayle's husband Glenn Barker (upper left). As you can see on the far right, this picture was taken in 1946 in Tijuana when the Pruett family came to San Diego to visit the Shepards.

Sad to say, I have not had much contact with the descendants of Sadie Shepard Pruett. 20 years ago when my dad and I visited Oklahoma we visited his aunt Sadie's daughter Alberta Pruett Getz and her husband Pat, but I have not maintained contact with them over the years.

I did have a phone conversation earlier this week with Alberta's son Norman Getz, who still lives near Elmwood in Beaver County, Ok. He mentioned that his parents Alberta and Pat are now gone, and that few members of the Pruett family remain.

Sadie and William Shepard's mother Elvira Owens was from the Owens family of Madison County, Illlinois. I recently connected online with a 3rd cousin, Richard Olen Young II, who is also descended from that same Owens family and lives today in Maine. I look forward to that connection and learning more about family members of today and of long ago.

- - -
Steve

Shepard Family Update, Sept. 18, 2009

Family life is a bit like a runny peach pie - 

not perfect but who's complaining?  

~Robert Brault

Hello Shepard Family and Friends,

Kalimera! ("Good morning!") once again from Greece, this time from the beautiful Island of Santorini, a lovely paradise in the historic Aegean Sea. Even though things here are a little pricey -- $10 for a basket of chips at the local Mexican restaurant! -- we are enjoying ourselves very much. (What's a Mexican restaurant doing out in the Mediterranean anyway!?) And the currency is Euros, so it feels a little unreal to begin with.

Today is the 130th anniversary of the birthday of Levy Pruett (1879-1968), who many of you may never have even heard of. He was Grandad Will Shepard's brother-in-law, having married Grandad's only sibling, Sadie J. Shepard (1892-1980), in the summer of 1910 in Beaver County, Oklahoma. Whereas Bura (Davis) Shepard's family was quite large -- she had 6 siblings -- Will Shepard had only one sister. What this means is that the families of Will Shepard and his sister Sadie Shepard comprise the only descendants of their father William Elmer Shepard (1862-1915), AND their grandfather "Wabash" William Sheppard (1835-1862).

The first picture I am including shows Sadie and Levy Pruett (on the right) with Will and Bura Shepard when the Pruetts came to San Diego from Oklahoma for a visit in 1946.

Levy (pronounced "LEH-vee", NOT "Levi", like the jeans) and Sadie (Shepard) Pruett eventually had 3 daughters  -- Alberta (Pruett) Getz, Gayle Pruett and Twila (Pruett) Allred. There are quite a number of Shepard descendants from this part of our family living today, many of whose names we know, but so far we have been unable to locate any of them. None of them, of course, have the last name Shepard, but instead have last names like Allred, Getz, Pruett, and Kornegay. Hopefully something will turn up eventually and we can be in contact once again. If any of you who are reading this happen know any of Levy and Sadie's descendants, please send me an email with their contact information.

How well do you know your family? When visiting family in Washington State earlier this summer, we had some fun trying to see if we could each come up with the full names of our GREAT grandmothers. Do you know the names of your Ggrandmothers, including their middle names and maiden names? Take a moment right now and see if you can name them.

Ggrandmothers are interesting relatives. (So are Ggrandfathers, of course, but for a moment let's just think about GgrandMOTHERS.) Everyone has 4, each of whom has contributed to the gene pool to make us who we are. Most of us probably never met any of them, although a few of us are fortunate enough to say we have known them well. Even though we may never have met our Ggrandmothers, we probably are closely related to people who did know them very well. So more than likely we each have had some very good second hand information about them. Because our Ggrandmothers used their married names most of their lives, their maiden names often get forgotten. (Hence security questions like: "Mother's maiden name?")

I am curious: how long did it take you to come up with the names of your 4 Ggrandmothers? Did you have to look them up? Or can you even find their names? Or were you able to rattle them off with ease?

Here's a challenge to all of you who are reading this: send me an email with the names of your 4 Ggrandmothers - or at least as much of their names as you can come up with. The first one who emails me the most complete information will be the winner, and will receive a special commendation.

There are a number of women in our larger family who have the distinct privilege of being Ggrandmothers. This second picture shows the two Ggrandmothers within our Shepard clan: Thelma (Shepard) Boyd and Maida Shepard. Thelma (on the left) is holding her youngest Ggrandchild (out of 3) Damian Ortiz, while Maida has on her lap her oldest Ggrandchild (out of 4, or is it 5?) Lyndsey Aquiningoc.

Antio gia tora ("So long for now") and have a great week! 
--
Steve

Shepard Family Update, August 21, 2009

.

I came up out of those chilly waters
a bearcat for the Lord,
and have remained that way ever since!
-Carrie Nation
(19th Century activist)

Hello Shepard Family and Friends,

Greetings from the cool, green mountains of the High Sierra in Northern California. Cindy and I are looking forward to a pleasant weekend here with Nathan and Chenda.

I begin on a somber note. Today would have been the 59th birthday of my younger sister Linda Shepard, who died in 1971. It has been 38 years since the car accident that took her life, but the impact of her 21 years remains indelible on those who knew her. The first picture I am including was taken in 1970 and was one of the last family pictures with all 6 children. It shows Eugene and Maida Shepard on the back left. Seated next to them are Gary, me and Linda. In front are Darrell, Russell and Barbara.

We all make mistakes. Last week I sent a family picture from the 1940s in which I identified the young man in the picture as Rex Russell. The other child in the picture -- Thelma (Shepard) Boyd -- emailed me to say that the boy in the photo was NOT Rex. Instead it was Norman Getz, who was Rex's second cousin, and about the same age. (One has to work very hard to put something past Thelma!)

More About the Davises. A couple of weeks ago I mentioned Lucy Davis, the daughter of Tom Davis, and cousin of Bura Davis, all of whom were members of the New Union Church of Christ, near Spencer, Indiana about 100 years ago. Lucy had been baptized in 1916 in frozen Rattlesnake Creek, where the ice had to be broken to get her in the water. When I first heard that story, I must admit I was a little skeptical. Not just because I tend to be skeptical, but because I know how family stories DO get exaggerated sometimes! However, I have since learned that years ago, being baptized in a frozen creek was not all that unusual. For some, it even became something of a badge of honor, a point of pride. The following true story illustrates this. (I heard this in Indianapolis last month, told by TCU Church historian Newell Williams. This is my recollection and not a direct quote.)

Carrie Nation (1846-1911) was a 19th century temperance crusader adamantly opposed to the evils of drinking alcohol. She was also a member of the Stone-Campbell Movement (the movement that gave birth to the Churches of Christ, the Christian Church and the Disciples of Christ). Carrie Nation was in the habit of storming into a bar, with hatchet in hand (see her picture, hatchet and all), and driving out the drinkers and tearing up the place -- the tables and chairs, the bar, even the picture of the half naked lady behind the bar -- all "in the name of the Lord". Later a reporter asked her about such extreme behavior. She proudly reported that when she came to the Lord and was baptized, it was on the coldest day of the year. They had to saw a hole in the ice to get her into the river for baptism. "I came up out of those chilly waters a bearcat for the Lord, and have remained that way ever since!"

Call me a sissy, but I'm proud of my immersion in the heated waters of the indoor baptistry of the Linda Vista Church of Christ in San Diego (50 years ago last month!). Even so, you have to admire the spunk of a young person like Carrie Nation or Lucy Davis, who responds to God's call and is baptized outdoors, in the Midwest, in winter. Bura Davis was much more sensible. She had the good sense to be baptized in August! (See picture at left of Rattlesnake Creek near the New Union Church of Christ, taken this summer. This is the creek where they did their baptisms.)

I'd like to think that cousin Lucy Davis' icy December baptism in Rattlesnake Creek was something that she, like Carrie Nation, was proud of all her life. But no matter how full of pride Lucy may have been in her private moments, she would never have acted in such a rash, albeit purposeful manner as Ms. Nation. Our family has always valued modesty and decency too much for that. Lucy may have thought highly of that crusader, and may have even felt a kinship in spirit, but I doubt she would have acted with such abandon.

Even though Lucy may not have thought of her baptism as making her a "bearcat for the Lord", she was a devout Christian. Five years after her baptism, she married Frank Wheeler, who had been a fellow teen with her in the New Union Church. He had actually begun preaching at age 16, the same year as Lucy's icy baptism at age 13. (Hmm. A connection perhaps?) Their dream of a life together was cut short, however, when Frank died after just two years of marriage at age 24 of Typhoid fever while preaching for the Linton (Indiana) Church of Christ. Two children were born to that short marriage: Lloyd Wheeler (who also became a Church of Christ preacher) and Ruth (Wheeler) Fortner, who Cindy and I had the pleasure of spending time with recently in Spencer, Indiana.

Happy Birthday, Amanda. This coming Tuesday is the Birthday of Amanda Ortiz, one of Will and Bura (Davis) Shepard's 20 Ggrandchildren. Amanda lives in Blue Springs, Missouri with Jeff and (her mother) Kim Clark. She was part of Thelma (Shepard) Boyd's family who attended the family reunion in Oklahoma last month. In the picture surrounding Amanda are Desiree Ortiz on the left, Cindy Shepard and Barbara Shepard in the back, and on the right are Kori Boyd (in purple) and Kim Clark. Amanda is holding her niece Ashlyn Ortiz.

Have a great week. And as these long, warm days of August continue, let the thought of an icy baptism keep you cool. And full of spunk!
--
Steve

Shepard Family Update, Aug 29

Hello Shepard Family Members and Friends,

Greetings on this Labor Day weekend! I hope all of you are able to be with some family or friends this weekend to celebrate the last holiday weekend of the summer season.

I am including two family pictures. The first is an old one (click on the picture to see a larger view) that Elmer and Thelma (two of the people in the picture) helped me to identify. This is what Thelma Boyd wrote:

"I just cracked up laughing when I saw this picture. I haven't seen that in forever. It was taken at Aunt Sadie's house in Elmwood, Oklahoma. I don't know the reason we were all there. The people: (from the left) Pat (Elmer) Getz and son Norman (the boy in front). Pat was married to my cousin, Alberta (Aunt Sadie Pruett's oldest daughter). Maybe Sadie is taking the picture. She's not in it. Then Glenn Barker (married to my cousin Gayle, younger daughter of aunt Sadie). Then Elmer with me (in front), Pauline holding Beverly, Eugene, Gayle with Rex (in front), Gram and Aunt Sadie (on the far right). Wasn't I cute? Just kidding, but I do think all of us little ones did look so cute. That made my day. Thank you!!!!!"

The heavy coats but bright sunshine suggest this picture was taken in the fall, maybe around Thanksgiving. Beverly, the baby in the middle, looks to be a few months old and was born in Two Buttes, Colorado in April, 1939. Will and Bura Shepard did not move their family to San Diego until September, 1940, so evidently the family was visiting in Elmwood, (Beaver County) Oklahoma. That's where Will Shepard's sister Sadie and her family lived, and where all of them had lived, until 1928.

Eugene and Elmer have "TB" on their shirts, which stands for Two Buttes, the tiny town in the Southeast corner of Colorado, where the family lived from 1928 to 1940. Eugene graduated from high school there in the spring of 1939 (just a few months before this picture was taken), and Elmer three years before that. Two Buttes was only about 150 miles from Beaver County, so it was not very far and the family went back for visits occasionally (when gas was only about 10 cents a gallon!).

The picture above is actually very good technically, compared to a lot of photos taken that long ago. It does a great job of capturing the mood and the feel of the people at that time. The family members have a tough look about them, even with their smiles. It definitely has the feel of a farming group that has seen some difficult times. It is a timely picture for this labor day weekend as it clearly shows that our family was a hard working bunch; even at family gatherings, overalls were common!

Happy 18th Birthday TODAY to Lyndsey Aquiningoc in Weatherford, Texas! She is the daughter of Kerri Aquiningoc,the granddaughter of Gary Shepard, and the oldest great granddaughter of Maida Shepard. The other picture I am sending shows Lyndsey with her mother Kerri and grandfather Gary, taken at the family reunion last month.
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Steve