New Birth, Old Ancestors, October 14, 2015

A new baby is like the beginning of all things -- 

wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities.

~Eda J. Le Shan

Greetings to all of you from the good ole U.S. of A. where Cindy and I have returned after our extended travels to Northern Ireland and Scotland on what was, at least partly, a genealogical journey to the homeland of many of our ancestors. Not being able to stay put, today we happen to be in Tucson, Arizona where we are visiting with some friends for a few days.

Insights From A Genealogical Trek. I learned a number of things about family history from our most recent trip to Europe. First, that there is not really a lot to discover about our ancestors from visiting the actual places from whence they came. This is especially true when we are talking about ancestors of many years ago, like our most recent European ancestors who came to this country about 200 years ago. Almost all of what I know about the Irish and Scottish immigrants in our family tree I learned by sitting at my computer in San Diego. The online world has opened up genealogical research to a degree never before experienced. While we were in Northern Ireland, I did visit the very impressive Public Records Office in Northern Ireland (PRONI), which is a major repository of historical records. It was an impressive place and I wish I had spent more time there. But the fact remains that much of what is available there in person is also available online. 

However, there is no doubt that visiting the actual places, in person, that our ancestors came from has merit that cannot be denied. There is a sense of personal connection with the towns and streets and local people and historical sights that has real value though it may be very subjective. When in Northern Ireland, for example, we walked the streets of the little town of Antrim, where ancestor William Gray (1771-1865) was born and raised in the late 18th century. 

Among the local places we visited in Antrim was the Antrim Round Tower, an impressive structure that was there when our Gray forebearers lived there over 200 years ago. The first picture I am including shows the Antrim Round Tower with Cindy in the foreground. When William Gray was a child in the town of Antrim, this tower was already 700 years old! Even at that time it was a relic of the past, just as it is today.

When we visited Antrim we walked about a mile from the train station to the Round Tower which today has a beautiful grassy field all around it, which functions as a public park for families with kids and dogs, and for passing tourists like us. The Tower was built just about 1,000 years ago as a bell tower for protection from raiders and is known locally as "the Steeple". It is 93 feet high and 50 feet in circumference at the bottom. It was just as much an attraction in William Gray's time 200 years ago as it is today.

New Shepard Baby! Congratulations to  Jessica Bell and my nephew Christopher Shepard on the birth of Finley Grace Shepard early Sunday morning, just 3 days ago. Finley is the most recent birth in our family, and the newest descendant of my grandparents William and Bura Davis Shepard AND Leroy and Nola Shannon Gower.

Finley's birth is also the 4th grandchild born to my brother Darrell Shepard and his wife Mary in the last 2 years! "When it rains, it pours", as they say. Best wishes to Jessica and Chris and both their families. By the way... Finley being a good Irish name (as is Kellan, another recent birth in our family) just goes to show you that our Irish heritage continues to have its influence on us today!

Thanks to Grandpa Darrell for this picture of Finley, taken at just a few hours old.
- - -
Steve Shepard

Wee Descendants, September 22, 2015

Having somewhere to go is home.

Having someone to love is family.

Having both is a blessing.

~Irish Proverb

Hello to everyone from Northern Ireland where Cindy and I are traveling today and for the next couple of weeks. We are presently in the city of Londonderry, a major port of Northern Ireland.

This first picture shows Cindy and me in front of The Gregory Bed and Breakfast in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where we stayed until this morning when we came to Londonderry.

Between Londonderry and Belfast is the wee town of Antrim, where Cindy and I and our traveling companion Linda, spent Sunday afternoon just two days ago. Antrim was the ancestral home of William Gray who came to America as a young man in the late 1700s. 

William Gray and his American wife Polly had a granddaughter named Peggy Gray who married David Reid Shannon and settled in Louisiana. Confederate Soldier David died in 1864 in the American Civil War leaving Peggy Gray Shannon with 7 children. One of those children was Samuel Pickens Shannon, who later would move to Stone County, Arkansas, marry Finetta Dearien and become the father of my grandmother Nola Shannon Gower. (How's that for 200+ years of family history in a nutshell?)

I thought about GGGG Grandpa William Gray as we walked the country roads around Antrim and strolled through the little town that has grown up a bit over the last 245 years since he was born there. I marvel at the courage it must have taken for him to leave his home, sail a small crowded ship across the dangerous Atlantic, and settle in a whole new world. His new homeland was a place of opportunity that we, his descendants all these years later, are privileged to call home.

Two of the wee descendants of William and Polly Gray are birthday kids Karver Bearden and Tori Cotten.

Karver Ryan Bearden. Today, September 22, is the very first birthday of Karver Ryan Bearden, the baby boy of Colton Bearden and my grand niece Lyndsey Aquiningoc of Granbury, Texas. Karver's proud Grandmother is Kerri Shepard Aquiningoc. He is the Great Grandson of my brother Gary Shepard and one of the Great Great Grandchildren of my mom Maida Gower Shepard. 


This second picture (above) which was taken recently, shows the happy birthday boy Karver.

Victoria Cotten. Tomorrow is the 8th birthday of Victoria Cotten, the older daughter of Heather and Sean Cotten, and one of the GG Grandchildren of Leroy and Nola Shannon Gower. Tori and her family live in Austin, Texas. Her Grandmother is my cousin Paula Tuzzolino of Oak Harbor, Washington, and her Great Grandmother is Vicki Gower Johnston of Oak Harbor.

This third picture shows Tori with her dad Sean in a picture taken very recently.

Happy Birthday and best wishes to both these Irish descended young'ns and their families on these special occasions!
- - -
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)

- - -
Steve Shepard

Tomorrow Is Valentine's Day! February 13, 2015

Don't talk to me about Valentines Day.

At my age an affair of the heart is a bypass!

~Joan Rivers  

Happy Birthday Gloria! Happy Birthday to my cousin Gloria Harrell Watson of Knoxville, Tennessee on this Friday the 13th! Gloria's mother Vicki Gower Johnston lives in Oak Harbor, Washington. 

All of my cousins, including Gloria, spent most of their growing up years in San Diego, and now live in diverse locations throughout the western United States. Gloria left San Diego some 40 years ago and, being in Tennessee, has not had much contact with her cousins over the years. I did receive an email from her recently in which she said she is doing well. She had a couple of stents placed in her heart last fall and is still in Cardio Rehab. Best wishes to Gloria for a continuing recovery and for a wonderful birthday!

Happy Valentines Day! Following is an updated musical photo presentation for Valentine's Day tomorrow. It shows various members of our larger family, smooching, snuggling or otherwise showing their affection for one another. May it be a way of helping you celebrate Valentine's Day!



          

"Show Me The Love." Valentines Day is a perfect opportunity to recognize people in our family tree who have shown love in their lives to other people. As I think about the people I have discovered from our past, one person comes to mind who showed outstanding love in his life. Unfortunately we don't know a whole lot about many of our family members of generations past. But we do know a significant amount about this particular fellow. 

His name was Richard Gray and he is my GGG Grandfather. Here's my lineage to him: me / Maida Gower Shepard (b. 1924) / Nola Shannon Gower (1903-2004) / Samuel Pickens Shannon (1858-1930) / Peggy Ann Gray Shannon (1829-1899) / Richard Gray (1803-1882). 

Richard Gray was born in South Carolina to an Irish father and an American mother. After moving to Mississippi he married Polly Gilmore and with her had at least 4 children, including the woman whose GG grandson I would one day become, Peggy Ann Gray. 

About the time the Civil War started, the Gray family began moving westward from Mississippi, most of them to Stone County, Arkansas. Daughter Peggy Ann Gray Shannon and her husband David Reid Shannon, however, moved to Louisiana, where David died in 1864 serving in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Peggy and her 7 children were left to fend for themselves under dire circumstances. 

Word got back to Peggy's 62 year old father Richard in Arkansas of her plight, and his heart was touched. He accepted the difficult task of traveling 400 dusty miles -- probably in a wagon -- from Mountain View, Arkansas to Sugartown, Louisiana to gather up Peggy and her children and move them to Arkansas. What else but a father's love for his only daughter could make a man do what he did? 

Moving Peggy Ann Shannon and her 7 children from Southern Louisiana to Northern Arkansas in the aftermath of the Civil War was no easy task. It was a slow, difficult journey that must have taken weeks. The South had been decimated in the war, people were desperate, poverty was rampant and travel had great risks. To undertake this journey required a heart full of love, a pocket full of greenbacks, and lots of help. The help Richard received from his sons -- Peggy's brothers -- James, Samuel and Lawson, who made the journey with him to rescue their family. 

As a result of Richard's venture of love, the family was reunited and they lived out their lives on homesteaded property west of Mountain View, Arkansas. Richard died in 1882 at 79 years old, and is the first burial in Gray's Cemetery near Timbo, Arkansas. Richard Gray gets my vote for the "Show Me The Love" award.
- - -
Steve Shepard

Being Family Is an Instinct, Dec 19, 2014

My mother used to tell me that 

when push comes to shove, 

you always know who to turn to. 

That being a family

isn't a social construct 

but an instinct.

~Jodi Picoult

In my last post I mentioned the birth of our newest family member Mason Michael Shepard, son of my nephew Patrick and his wife Nicole Shepard of Bothell, Washington. In this first week of his life, little Mason has gotten to meet many of his family, including his Great Grandmother Maida Gower Shepard of Anacortes, Washington. Below are two pictures of Maida with newborn Mason. Thanks to Mason's aunt Rachel Shepard for these pictures!

The Homesman. Cindy and I recently viewed the film "The Homesman," starring Tommy Lee Jones and Hillary Swank, which is about the difficulty of life on the American frontier. In particular it the story of 3 women who were simply unable to keep it together mentally as mothers and wives on the lonely, dusty plains of the Nebraska Territory. This is not a "feel good" movie. The ability of Tommy Lee Jones to dance a jig is somewhat amusing, and brought to mind a few times my Grandfather Shepard attempted a soft shoe routine in the style of turn of the century America. But in large part the film is starkly realistic. It is an eye opener in regard to the toll that was exacted on the mental health of families who participated in the westward movement to settle America. Interestingly the country churches that figure into the story receive positive treatment for the way they responded to the plight of women with mental health issues.   

While watching it I was reminded of some of our ancestors' stories of incredible hardships as they made their way westward across the American continent. I could not help but think of my 4X Great Grandmother Lydia Williams (her lineage: Lydia Warford Williams / John Pouty Williams / Margaret Williams Spear / Callie Spear Davis / Bura Davis Shepard / Eugene Shepard / Steve Shepard).

I have written about Lydia before in this blog. In 1813 when a young mother of 4 children (3, 5, 7 and 9 years old), her husband died, probably in the War of 1812 while they were living in a small town in Western Kentucky. Lydia sold their home and the 5 of them moved to the new state of Indiana where they settled. One can only imagine how difficult it was for the widow Lydia amidst the Indians, the wilderness, and the raw frontier they had to negotiate to make a life for themselves in the area around Spencer, Indiana.

While watching "The Homesman" I was also reminded of my Great Great Grandmother Peggy Shannon (her lineage: Peggy Gray Shannon / Samuel Pickens Shannon / Nola Shannon Gower / Maida Gower Shepard / Steve Shepard). I have also written before about Peggy and her husband David Shannon. They lived near New Orleans, Louisiana when husband David was called to serve in the Civil War in 1864. After not hearing a word about him for a year, she made inquiries and discovered that he had died 7 months earlier. Suddenly she was alone with 7 children (from 2 to 16 years old), far from any family, trying to make ends meet on a small country farm in rural Louisiana. Fortunately her brothers and father heard of her desperate plight and took her to live with them in Arkansas. We don't know the depth of the anguish and despair she must have felt, but we know that with help she survived. And her story is now a part of our family's historical drama.

These and other family stories came to my mind because of the film "The Homesman". Somehow amidst all the adversity, they survived and are part of the our rich family heritage. A reminder of the challenges they faced makes us appreciate more the lives we live and the debt of gratitude we owe those who have gone before.
- - -
Steve Shepard

Remarkable Mothers, May 5, 2014

Heaven is under our feet

as well as over our heads.

~Henry David Thoreau

Happy Anniversary! This Wednesday, May 7, is the first wedding anniversary for Lloyd Gower and his wife Tammy Turman Gower who live in San Marcos, Ca, north of San Diego. The first picture shows Lloyd and Tammy Gower. Happy Anniversary to them!

Remarkable Mothers in our Family. This coming Sunday is Mother's Day making this an appropriate time to remember remarkable mothers in the history of our family. I am thinking in particular about women who outlived their husbands, sometimes by many years. 

Nola Shannon Gower. In my last post I mentioned my grandmother Nola Shannon Gower who died 11 years ago and outlived her husband Leroy Gower by 30 years. Fortunately their children were grown when Leroy died (their youngest child Vicki was 41 at the time), therefore Nola's mothering skills were not missed as much as they might have been had she died at a young age.

Nola was just one in a line of women who outlived their husbands by many years. Nola's mother Finetta Dearien Shannon outlived her husband Sam Shannon also by 30 years. He died in 1930; she in 1960 when she was 99! (The picture below shows Finetta and husband Sam in the 1920s.) Nola's paternal grandmother, however, is one of the most remarkable mothers to be found in our entire family tree.

Peggy Gray Shannon was a Civil War widow who outlived her husband David Reid Shannon by 35 years. (Read more about their story here.) David died in the war at 42 years old when his wife Peggy was just 35 and the mother of 7 children between the ages of 2 and 16! (One of those 7 children was my G Grandfather Sam Shannon, shown in the picture below.)

How does a woman and her children survive something like that? They were simple, poor farming folk in the small town of Sugartown, Lousiana, which was already suffering the hardships of Civil War. When the conflict ended they were on the losing side, meaning government assistance of any kind was virtually nonexistent. Salvation for her and her children came in the form of Peggy's father Richard Gray and her brothers Jim, Sam and Lawson, who made the difficult trek to Louisiana from Stone County, Arkansas and took Peggy and her fatherless children back home with them. They made their home in Stone County where Peggy completed raising her 7 children.

If ever there was a woman whose mothering skills were desperately needed and whose parenting abilities were tested beyond measure, it was my GG grandmother Peggy Gray Shannon. This 35 year old young widow lived 35 more years and died in 1899 in Stone County, Arkansas. On this week leading up to Mother's Day, I can find no woman in all my family tree whose life as a mother deserves more praise and admiration than her. She outlived her husband by 35 long years -- a remarkable fact in itself --  but it only begins to tell the story of her life journey as a mother.

Mary Sprague Shepard Ragsdale. In terms of outliving one's husband, however, none can compare with another Civil War widow in our family, Mary Sprague Shepard (1840-1919), another GG grandmother of mine. She outlived her husband William Shepard by 57 years! He was 26 when he died in Indiana in the Civil War; she was a young 22 year old mother of one infant son. Fortunately she married a second time to a William Ragsdale and had several more children by him (and then outlived her second husband by 32 years!). (See picture of her grave in Indianapolis.)

This coming weekend will be a time to honor and appreciate the mothers in our midst. But we would do well to remember the legacy of remarkable mothers in our family history, women who lived through unimaginably difficult times. Their stories help us to appreciate even more those women who today give of themselves to the joys and responsibilities of being parents.
- - -
Steve Shepard

Happiness is Being Irish! March 17, 2014

Family: we may not have it all together...

but together we have it all.

~old Irish saying

Kaylan Shepard. Happy 15th Birthday this coming Wednesday to Kaylan Shepard, daughter of Dane and Cindy Shepard of Newcastle, Oklahoma. Kaylan is the youngest of the 21 great grandchildren of William and Bura Davis Shepard. 

On this day of Saint Patrick, it is worth mentioning that her paternal grandparents were Elmer and Beryl Swinney Shepard, the latter having as Irish a name as you'll find anywhere in our family tree. Best wishes to Kaylan for a wonderful birthday!

Dane: "Kaylan is finishing up her freshman year in high school. She loves music, art, and bowling. In a state tournament, she placed 8th in the girl's scratch division. She keeps us young with her interests and activities. She will be getting her driver's permit in the fall at age 15.5 and I think she will do well! We are grateful for continuing health and being able to enjoy and help family and friends."

Since March is National Women's History Month, and since today is Saint Patrick's Day, it is only fitting that I mention one of the many Irish immigrants in our family tree. And we do have many. At last count, I have identified 30 different individuals (representing 8 different family units) who came across the Atlantic from Ireland to America. My 9th great grandmother Mary Maxwell, her husband and 6 children, were among them.

Mary Maxwell Alexander. What little we know of the life of Mary Maxwell Alexander tells a tale of courage, love and adventure. She was born in 1634 in the north of Ireland in the small town of Raphoe, in County Donegal. Mary was the only daughter of Scottish parents John Maxwell and Lucy Douglas, who were part of the immigration of folks from Scotland to Northern Ireland in the 17th century, many of whom eventually continued on to America.

Mary was a girl of just 16 when she married James Alexander, also from Raphoe. While still living in Ireland Mary and James had six children. When their youngest, Jane Alexander, was just 13, Mary and husband James decided to join the thousands of others Scots-Irish and immigrate to America. They boarded one of the many small sailing vessels, probably in nearby Derry, Ireland and set sail for America, an extended and dangerous journey.

They immigrated long before the massive immigrations of the 18th and 19th centuries. In the 17th century, when Mary and her family left their homeland, poverty as well as religious persecution of Protestants prompted many to make the journey to the new world. Many felt like they were on a religious pilgrimage when they traveled to America, much like the Israelites when they left Egypt for their "promised land." Since Mary and James were devout Presbyterians, this may have been their situation. Even so it took great courage and strength of spirit to uproot one's family and sail across the Atlantic.

The records of The Early Settlers to Maryland (1968), show that in 1678, Mary and her family arrived in Maryland, where they settled for the rest of Mary and James' lives. In Mary's case that was not very long, since she died just 2 years after arriving. Her death may have been a result of the transatlantic journey or the difficulty of adjusting to the new world. Mary is buried today in Cecil County, Maryland, northeast of Baltimore.

Their youngest daughter Jane Alexander married into another Irish immigrant family in Maryland, the McKnitts, who eventually changed their name to McKnight. A daughter of that family line, Jane McKnight, married into the Shannon family, which four generations later resulted in the birth of my grandmother Nola Shannon Gower.

We do not know all the hardships and difficulties that Mary and her family encountered in their life's journey. We do know she lived in a difficult time, and had to make some courageous choices. But she and husband James did what was best for their family. They made the journey to America, and began a new life here that has resulted in a great family of descendants who can be proud of her as an ancestor. On this National Women's History month, she stands out for me as a woman who deserves our appreciation for being a person of courage, faith and hope.

The following is one line of descendancy, including 15 generations from Mary Maxwell's parents to my granddaughter Preslea Shepard. The third picture, taken last summer, shows Maida Gower Shepard and her great granddaughter Preslea Shepard, two of the people in the following lineage:

• John Maxwell (1605-1677) - wife Lucy Douglas (1602-1699)
• Mary Maxwell Alexander (1634-1680) - husband James Alexander (1634-1704)
• Jane Alexander McKnitt (1665-1691) - husband John McKnitt (1660-1714)
• John McKnitt (1687-1733) - wife Dorothy Wallace (1687-1747)
• John McKnight (1715-1771) - wife Catrine McKnight (1720 - )
• Robert McKnight (1732-1818) - wife Cathrine (1748-1805)
• Jane McKnight Shannon (1759-1830) - husband David Shannon (1756-1823)
• David McKnight Shannon (1790-1860) - wife Anna Pickens (1785-1867)
• David Reid Shannon (1821-1864) - wife Peggy Gray (1829-1899)
• Samuel Pickens Shannon (1858-1930) - wife Finetta Dearien (1861-1960)
• Nola Shannon Gower (1903-2004) - husband Leroy Gower (1899-1974)
• Maida Gower Shepard (b. 1924) - husband Eugene Shepard (1921-2003)
• Steven Shepard (b. 1948) - wife Cindy Harris Shepard (b. 1948)
• Nathan Shepard (b. 1977) - wife Chenda Sou Shepard (b. 1980)
• Preslea Maida Shepard (b. 2010)

- - -
Steve Shepard

Find-A-Grave.com, November 13, 2013

There is no cure for birth and death

save to enjoy the interval. 

~George Santayana

Hello and greetings to all of you from warm and pleasant San Diego. I would like to share with you today about a wonderful online resource for family researchers, called Find-A-Grave. Even though I have been aware of it for a few years, I have just begun to understand how truly valuable it is.

At Findagrave.com one can find information on over 100 million people who are buried in cemeteries around the U.S., and around the world. Anyone can add a record for their own ancestors who may not yet be found in their growing database.

I have mentioned Find-A-Grave before in this blog when it was a resource for information on ancestors of ours. For example, several months ago I wrote about some of the earliest ancestors we are aware of in the line of my grandmother Nola Shannon Gower. Grandma Gower's 6X great grandparents are 17th century Irish immigrants John and Elizabeth McKnight, who are buried in Manokin Cemetery in Princess Anne, Maryland (See picture). Pictures and other invaluable information about these progenitors of ours can be found on findagrave.com at this link.

After the visit I made this past September to my Shannon great grandparents' graves in tiny Gray Cemetery outside Mountain View, Arkansas, I discovered first hand what a remarkable resource it can be, and how easily it can be used. Gray Cemetery is a very small burial ground on private property and is of great value to the descendants of the 30 or so Gray and Shannon folks who are buried there. But for most people there is not much of importance there, hence it has never been listed on Findagrave.com.

But after visiting Arkansas in September and finally locating Gray Cemetery (you can read that story here), I decided to add this cemetery to Findagrave and include the four people I knew who are buried there. Shortly thereafter some other folks came forward with info about other family members in Gray Cemetery and they added that information. You can now go to the Gray Cemetery page and see information about 8 persons who are buried there, including pictures. 

You can also use the links listed with the people there to go to the memorial page for their family members. For example, on the Gray Cemetery page, you can select "view all interments" and select Great Grandmother Finetta Dearien Shannon to view her memorial page, with pictures and information. On her page you can select the link for Grandmother Nola Shannon Gower, and be taken to her memorial page, which shows you her picture and grave in San Diego at Greenwood Cemetery, which gives you links to other family members.

Here are just a sampling of some of the many memorial pages of family members in Find-A-Grave, with links, pictures and other family data:

• Civil War Soldier William Shepard in Evansville, Indiana
• Civil War Soldier David Reid Shannon in New Orleans, Louisiana
• WWI Soldier Lloyd W. Gower, in Mountain View, Arkansas
• Bura Davis Shepard and William Shepard, in Greenwood, San Diego
• Eugene Shepard, in Greenwood, San Diego
• Linda Shepard Clark, also in Greenwood, San Diego
• Beverly Russell Wilk, also in Greenwood, San Diego
• James Brooks Davis and Callie Spear Davis, in Sophia Cemetery, Oklahoma

By the way, if you click on one of the last two links above, you will see that the picture of my Davis Great Grandparents was put on Find-A-Grave by Nancy Bushong, a second cousin on the Davis side of our family.

Find-A-Grave is a great source for finding where people are buried, getting information about ancestors of long ago, and adding information that you might have, for others to see. All in all it is a boon to family researchers and will become and even greater resource in the future, as people become more aware of it and add to it. 

Do you have loved ones who have passed away that you can add to Find-A-Grave? It is easier than you might think.
- - -
Steve Shepard

The Arkansas Connection, September 5, 2013

Your past is just a story.

And once you realize this,

it has no power over you.

~Chuck Palahniuk

What a great experience the last few days have been in the town of Mountain View, Arkansas, where my Shannon and Gower ancestors had strong roots. For the first time my mom Maida and I attended the Shannon Family Reunion, held each year on Labor Day weekend in this historic town in Northern Arkansas. We stayed with mom's cousin Bernice Beckham, whose family graciously welcomed us. 

The first picture shows cousins Maida Shepard and Bernice Beckham side by side in Mountain View, the left half taken about 1940, the other half just last weekend.

1,700 miles separate Mountain View from San Diego, and in some ways it feels like a great distance, culturally, linguistically, and socially. But the feeling of family spirit this past week united each of us, whether Shannon kin from right here or from far away.

Mountain View, and Stone County in which it sits, is a beautiful place. I can understand why our Gower and Shannon ancestors settled here in the 19th century. Today the hills of Northern Arkansas are a wonderful vacation destination, and understandably so. Being here makes me appreciate even more the sacrifice and difficulty my grandparents experienced leaving here and settling first in Oklahoma and then in San Diego for the second half of their lives.

Shannon is the maiden name of my grandmother Nola Shannon Gower, who was born in Mountain View, and is where she met and married grandpa Leroy Gower in 1921. It is also where their first two children, Maida and Hank, were born in the early 1920s. Grandma Gower was not at the reunion, of course, having died in 2004. But I could feel her presence as I mingled among her many kinfolk.

Being in Mountain View gave us a chance to visit the final resting place of some of our ancestors, including my Shannon great grandparents Samuel Pickens Shannon (1859-1931) and his wife Finetta Dearien Shannon (1861-1960). Finding Gray Cemetery where they reside was an adventure in itself.

From Mountain View we headed west on AR 66 for a few miles and turned left at Happy Hallow Rd., which after just a few miles turned to dirt. After several more dusty miles we arrived at the Oyd Johnson farm and turned right on Bobcat Trail. In a phone call earlier that day, Mrs Johnson indicated it was the way to the cemetery. "If the sign is still there", she added.

As we slowly crept along Bobcat trail, we sought some sign, any sign, that a cemetery was nearby. But there was nothing. We did see an unlocked gate in the fence on the left so I got out of the car to investigate. Beyond the gate I saw some indication of faint tire tracks, but other than that there was nothing but bushes. 

After walking a ways I happen to notice a pile of stones just to my right. Kicking away some overgrown plants I drew closer and looked carefully at what appeared to be a grave surrounded by a small stone wall. To the left of that grave I noticed a flat headstone on the ground. I brushed away some leaves and uncovered a headstone that read "Finnetta Clemintine Shannon", with her dates on it. Her first and middle names were misspelled, but it was definitely her, my great grandmother. (see picture)

Next to her, beneath a badly weathered and barely readable headstone, was her husband of 50 years, the father of her 9 children, Samuel Pickens Shannon, my great grandpa. 

The joy of finding these two was tempered a bit by it being such an overgrown graveyard. They both deserve better. One could walk within a few feet of the place and not notice that they were there. As I carefully trudged around some more I counted 34 graves, only 4 of which had readable names on the grave markers. Many of them just had rocks for headstones. Nevertheless, to find Sam and Finetta was special. 

We drove the dusty road back to Mountain View with the sense that we had accomplished something important. The picture of our family's history was a little more complete.

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Steve Shepard

Howdy Y'All, August 29, 2013

We are not what has happened in our past, 

nor what we have done...

We are who we choose to become... TODAY!

~Timber Hawkeye 

(Buddhist Boot Camp)

Greetings to all of you from the home of my niece Kelly and her husband James Sauvage in Weatherford, Texas. My mother Maida Gower Shepard and I are here visiting family we don't get to see too often.

Happy Birthday Lyndsey. We are here in the Lone Star State on the birthday of Lyndsey Aquiningoc, older daughter of Kerri Shepard Aquiningoc, daughter of my brother Gary Shepard. Happy birthday to Lyndsey who turns 23 today! The first picture shows Lyndsey with her cousin Nate Sauvage at Lyndsey's birthday dinner earlier this evening.

Around the year 2000 this part of our family moved here from San Diego, and after a decade of life here, with 3 new births, they seem to be settling in quite nicely. Over 200 years ago our ancestors migrated from the East Coast to the West, ever moving westward and southward. Even though they settled for periods of time in places like Indiana and Oklahoma and Texas, the move westward continued for some of them until they reached San Diego in the mid 20th century.

But now some of us have returned to the area of our 19th century roots here in north Texas and Oklahoma. Even though I sense that there is still some longing for life in Southern California, this move appears to be a permanent one for these family members. At least as permanent as any move can be in these day of easy travel and relocation.

A Great Great. One of the reasons we made this trip was so that my mom Maida could meet her first Great Great Granddaughter Kambree Kay Bowman, daughter of Mandi Aquiningoc and Steven Bowman. The second picture shows the new momma Mandi on the left next to Great Great Grandma Maida Shepard  holding baby Kambree, with grandmother Kerri Shepard Aquiningoc next to them and auntie Lyndsey on the right.

Here is a 12 generation lineage from Kambree to 18th century Irish immigrants Thomas and Eigness Shannon. 

• Kambree Kay Bowman (b. 2013)
• Mandi Aquiningoc (b. 1992) and Steven Bowman
• Kerri Shepard (b. 1968) and Manuel Aquiningoc (1961-1992)
• Gary Shepard (b. 1946) and Jackie Enderle (b. 1947)
• Maida Gower (b. 1924) and Eugene Shepard (1921-2003)
• Nola Shannon (1903-2004) and Leroy Gower (1899-1974)
• Samuel Pickens Shannon (1858-1930) and Finetta Dearien (1861-1960)
• David Reid Shannon (1821-1864) and Peggy Ann Gray (1829-1899)
• David McKnight Shannon (1790-1860) and Anna Pickens (1785-1867)
• David Shannon (1756-1823) and Jane McKnight (1759-1830)
• Samuel Shannon (1727-1811) and Jean Reid (1725-1806)
• Thomas Shannon (1686-1737) and Eigness Reid (1686-1737) - Irish Immigrants

On To Arkansas. There is a reason I traced Kambree's roots through her Shannon Irish heritage rather than some other part of her heritage (including her grandfather's Guamanian heritage). This weekend my mom and I will be attending the annual Shannon family reunion in beautiful Mountain View, Arkansas. My next post will include reflections on that event.

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Steve Shepard

Terry Boyd (1937-2013), March 26, 2013

If one could only teach the English how to talk,

and the Irish how to listen,

society here would be quite civilized.

~Oscar Wilde 

Hello Family and Friends,

Terry Boyd (1937-2013). First of all, I received word just last night that my uncle Terry Boyd passed away yesterday. He and wife Thelma Shepard Boyd had moved to Blue Springs, Missouri from Gallup, New Mexico just last summer. Our prayers and best wishes are with his wife Thelma, his children Kim and Darren and their whole family.

Happy 3rd Birthday today to our granddaughter Preslea Maida Shepard of Alameda, California. Preslea is the first of the 3 children of Nathan and Chenda Shepard, and the youngest Great granddaughter of Maida Gower Shepard of Anacortes, Washington, and Paula Harris of San Diego. 

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Click on the link above to see a photo presentation that celebrates Preslea's three years. If you have trouble with the link above, select this external link.

Happy First Anniversary this Thursday, March 28, to Pat and Nicole Shepard, of Bothell, Washington. They were married exactly a year ago in Cozumel, Mexico. Best wishes to the two of them for many happy years together. Pat and Nicole are expecting a baby girl this summer, their first child and the first grandchild of my brother Darrell and his wife Mary.

More Scots-Irish Immigrants. In my last post I mentioned John and Elizabeth McKnitt who came to Maryland in the 1650s from Raphoe, Ireland. In 1678 another group of Scots-Irish landed in this new world, an extended family with the last name Alexander, who also came from Raphoe, in the north of Ireland. This group included James and Mary (Maxwell) Alexander (see image of James Alexander) and their teenage daughter Jane Alexander.

There is some indication that James Alexander was a Presbyterian minister in the old country and may have been part of the religiously inspired immigration of Scots-Irish to our shores. This would have made James and Mary and family similar to the families of Thomas and Alexander Campbell, among the founders of the Stone-Campbell Movement in America (Churches of Christ/Disciples of Christ) that many of us are affiliated with today.

A few years after arriving in the new world, James and Mary's young daughter Jane Alexander (1665-1691) met and eventually married John McKnitt (Jr.) who was born in the new world to immigrant parents John and Elizabeth Wallace McKnitt. (Remember them? They were featured in my previous blog post).

The young couple John and Jane (Alexander) McKnitt (later their name became McKnight) also made their home in Somerset County, Maryland. Life was very difficult for those early colonial settlers, as is illustrated in the death of Jane McKnitt/McKnight before her 30th birthday. She is buried in Manokin Presbyterian Church Cemetery (see her burial  information here)

Widower John Jr., after the death of his young wife in 1691, and then his parents in 1708, evidently made his way a bit northward, for he is buried in Newark, Delaware and his grave can be visited at the Head of Christiana Church Cemetery. (See picture of the cemetery.)

This then is a fourth set of immigrants in our family tree who came to our shores from Ireland -- the Spears, the Grays, the McKnitts and now the Alexanders. A few more sets of Irish immigrants remain to be shared. Unfortunately the Irish information about all these ancestors of ours is scant, but at least this brief overview of them gives us an idea of how deep and pervasive our Irish roots are.
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Steve Shepard

Spring Celebrations/Remembrances, March 19, 2013

There are two kinds of Irish families:

the hitting kind and kidding kind.

If you are fortunate

you are from the kidding kind.

P.J O'Rourke

Hello Family and Friends,

Happy Birthday today to Kaylan Shepard of Newcastle, Oklahoma. Kaylan is the daughter of Dane and Cindy Shepard and is the youngest of the 21 Ggrandchildren of Will and Bura Shepard. I received the following recently from her father Dane.

"Cindy and I are grateful for the blessings of the new year and being able to celebrate Kaylan's fourteenth birthday. We have enjoyed each stage of development that our kids have gone through and the revealing of their personality, character, and talents given them. Kaylan continues to be involved in the arts, both visual and performing. She is taking an art class and plays clarinet in the advanced home school band in Oklahoma City. She remains active in bowling and has a good chance of doing well in the sport according to her coach.  Kaylan is helpful, always says "thank you," and is fun to be around.

"I regretted to hear of the passing of Becky Davis. She was so positive, spiritual, kind, and serving. I'm glad Kaylan had the opportunity of meeting her. She will be well remembered for a life well spent in spite of dealing with physical issues and limitations. Thanks again for keeping us informed and connected.   ... Dane"

Speaking of Becky Davis, her brother Bud sent me a link to a wonderful tribute to Becky by her nephew Brent Taylor. It is called Becky Ran Home Today. 

Happy Birthday to my brother Gary Shepard this coming Saturday, March 23. Gary and his wife Cindy live in Oak Harbor. He is the oldest child of Maida Gower Shepard and her husband Eugene Shepard, who passed away 10 years ago this summer. Gary is the third grandchild of both Leroy and Nola Gower and Will and Bura Shepard.

The second picture, taken last summer, shows my brother Gary on the right with our younger brother Russell on the left.  

More Irish Ancestors. The next in our gallery of Irish immigrants is a couple by the name of John and Elizabeth (Wallace) McKnitt who came to America in the mid 1600s. This was nearly a century before the other Irish immigrants I mentioned in previous posts.

John (1630-1708) and Elizabeth (1632-1708) -- like our other Irish ancestors -- also came from the north of Ireland, but these two came from the small town of Raphoe, in County Donegal. John and Elizabeth were originally from Glasgow, Scotland, but had moved to Ireland as a young couple before making the big move to America in the 1650s.   

They settled in Somerset County, Maryland, not far from where they landed, and evidently lived the rest of their lives there. As with many immigrants from Europe, the McKnitts changed the spelling of their name. Over a couple of generations McKnitt gradually became McKnight, although in the process it had over a dozen variations (everything from McKnitt to MacNitt to MacNaught, etc.)

John and Elizabeth's graves are today in Manokin Presby- terian Church Cemetery in Princess Anne, Somerset County, Maryland. (See picture of the Church and adjoining cemetery.) 

To give you an indication of how long ago they came across "the pond", their GREAT grandson Robert McKnight (1732-1818) served in the American Revolutionary War. Robert McKnight's grandson was David Reid Shannon, who served in the American Civil War and was the grandfather of my grandmother Nola Shannon Gower.

Here then are the generations from immigrants John and Elizabeth McKnitt to the present:

• John McKnitt (1630-1708) - wife Elizabeth Wallace (1632-1708)
• John McKnitt (1660 - 1714) - wife Jane Alexander (1665-1691)
• John McKnitt (1687 - 1733) - wife Catrine (1720- )
• Robert McKnight (1732-1818) - wife Catherine (1748-1805)
• Jane McKnight (1759-1830) - husband David Shannon (1756-1823)
• David McKnight Shannon (1790-1860) - wife Ann Pickens (1785-1867)
• David Reid Shannon (1821-1864) - wife Peggy Ann Gray (1829-1899)
• Samuel Pickens Shannon (1858-1930) - wife Finetta Dearien (1861-1960)
• Nola Shannon Gower (1903-2004) - husband Leroy Gower (1899-1974)
• Maida Gower Shepard (b. 1924) - husband Eugene Shepard (1921-2003)
• Steve Shepard (b. 1948) - wife Cindy Harris (b. 1948)

This Summer: Shepard/Davis/Gower Family Reunion - Saturday, August 10, 2013, Anacortes, Washington.
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Steve Shepard