Hello From Scotland! September 29, 2015

I am a Scot.

I do not need your approval.

Great things are in my immediate future.

Watch me do exactly what you said I could not.

~ Old Scottish saying

Greetings today from Edinburgh, Scotland where Cindy and I are continuing on vacation. The first picture was taken yesterday and shows Cindy and me in St George's Square here in Edinburgh. In the background is a statue of a Lion, which is a symbol of the country of Scotland, dating back to the time of Richard I, the Lion Heart.

Many of you know about the importance of Ireland in our family history, being the ancestral home of many of those in our family tree. But did you know that many of our Irish immigrant ancestors had parents or grandparents who were from Scotland?

Among our Scots-Irish ancestors is immigrant Thomas Shannon (1686-1737). His American descendant Dexal Shannon was the one who wrote the book "Shannon" which is the closest thing to a definitive history of that part of our family that we have. Thomas Shannon's grandfather John Shannon was originally from Scotland, born here in 1601. 

In another part of our family tree is Jane Alexander McNitt (1665-1691), who immigrated from Ireland to what is now America in 1678 as a wide-eyed 13 year old girl. Her grandfather Robert Alexander (1610-1704) was born in Stirling, Scotland, just 35 miles up the road from where we are today in Edinburgh.


These are only two of those in our family tree who trace their roots to Scotland, this interesting country where Cindy and I are visiting for the first time. 

Happy Birthday, Alexandria! Today, September 29, is the birthday of Alexandria Cotten, of San Antonio, Texas, one of the direct descendants of the aforementioned Scots Irish ancestors Thomas Shannon and Jane Alexander McNitt. Lexi is the younger daughter of Heather and Sean Cotten, and another one of the GG Grandchildren of Leroy and Nola Shannon Gower.

This second picture shows Lexi with her mother Heather Robson Cotten. Lexi's grandmother is my cousin Paula Tuzzolino and her Great Grandmother is Vicki Gower Johnston of Oak Harbor, Washington.

Happy Birthday Cathrina! Today we celebrate another Texas birthday. It is the birthday of Cathrina Helms Clark. She and husband Jerry Clark live today in Lubbock, Texas. On the right is a picture of Jerry and Cathrina with their dog while hiking in the mountains this past summer.

Happy Birthday Kellan! Happy Birthday this Thursday, October 1, to Kellan Christopher Shepard who will celebrate his first birthday! Best wishes to Kellan and his parents Rachel Shepard and Brian Miller, and his Grandparents Darrell and Mary Shepard, all of whom live in Bothell, Washington. 

This final picture, taken at our family reunion back in August, shows Kellan with mom and dad, Rachel and Brian. Kellan's Great Grandmother is my mom Maida Shepard of Anacortes, Washington.
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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)

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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.
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Steve Shepard

Happy Independence Day! July 3, 2013

My heritage has been my grounding,

and it has brought me peace.

~Maureen O'Hara

Happy Independence Day tomorrow!

July 4th is not only a day to celebrate the birth of our nation, it is also a time to celebrate our family heritage in America, a heritage that predates the United States. All four of my grandparents had ancestors who were around to witness the birth of our country in 1776. Here are just a few:

• Jane (McKnight) Shannon, born 1759 in Rockfish, Amherst, Virginia, was the GG grandmother of my grandmother Nola Shannon Gower. Jane was a young woman of 17 on Independence Day 1776.
• Matthew Gower, born 1762 in North Carolina, was the GGG grandfather of my grandpa Leroy Gower. Matthew was just 14 when our country was born.
• James Shepard, born in 1775 in Hagerstown, Maryland, was the GG grandfather of my granddad William Shepard. He was just a year old on the first Independence Day.
• Drusilla (Forrest) Davis, also born 1775, was from Anne Arundel County, Maryland (about 20 miles from DC) and was the GGG grandmother of my grandmother Bura Davis Shepard. She too was just a year old in 1776 and may have been able to see the first fireworks from Washington in the distance the night of that first July 4th. (Okay, she probably couldn't actually see them, but she was still pretty darn close!*) 

This is just a sampling of the many folks in our family tree who were around on Independence Day, 1776 when our nation was born. Our roots go very deep and are very broad in our country. In a few instances I can trace our descendants back much farther than 1776. For example, Jane McKnight (listed above), though born in 1769, was a 4th generation American, whose GG grandmother Jane Alexander McKnitt had immigrated to American from Ireland in the late 1600s. (Read more about her here and here.) Matthew Gower (also listed above) though born in in 1762, was a 5th generation American. His GG grandfather Abell Gower (the child of English immigrants) was born in Henrico (Richmond), Virginia in 1640 when American was little more than frontier wilderness. (Read more about him here and here.)

As you celebrate the holiday tomorrow, know that you are part of a long, long history of family members who not only looked back in gratitude to 1776. In some instances they anticipated Independence Day by several generations. Ours is truly an all-american family from way back.

Birthday wishes to Desiree! Happy Birthday this Saturday, July 6, to Desiree Ortiz of Blue Springs, Missouri. Desiree and husband Jeremy are the proud parents of 5 young children. Jeremy is one of the G Grandchildren of Will and Bura Davis Shepard.

Happy 11th Birthday this coming Sunday to Nathaniel Sauvage of Weatherford, Texas. Nate is the older brother of Kyle whose birthday was just 11 days ago. Best wishes to Nate for a wonderful birthday! The second picture shows Nate a few months ago with a medal he won at the end of his basketball season.

Elvira Owens Shepard (1865-1931). Two days ago, July 1, was the 148th anniversary of the birth of my G Grandmother Elvira Owens Shepard of Madison County, Illinois. Born in 1865 just as the Civil War was winding down, she and my great grandfather William Elmer Shepard were married in Madison County in 1886.

In about 1905 when their children Sadie and William were young, Elvira and husband William Elmer moved their family to Beaver County, Oklahoma. The second picture, taken in Beaver County in the early 1920s, shows a smiling Elvira with her daughter-in-law Bura Davis Shepard on the right.

William Elmer died in February 1915, just a few months before their son William Shepard and his bride Bura Davis (my grandparents) were married. Elvira outlived her husband by 16 years, and spent her last few years with second husband Cal Williams. She is buried in Sophia Cemetery in Beaver County.

G Grandmother Elvira Owens was originally from another all-american family, one rooted in Madison County, Illinois. Following the July 4 theme of this post, I can mention that her G Grandmother Sarah Rives Owens was born in 1769 in Bristol Parish, Prince George, Virginia. She was a young girl of just 7 years old on July 4, 1776.

*Footnote: For the sake of historical accuracy, I need to mention that there were almost certainly no fireworks in Washington or anywhere else, on July 4, 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was signed and our nation was born. The signing was not even in Washington, but in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Church bells rang out in Philly that day, but the work of independence had only begun with the signing of the Declaration. The real celebration would follow much later.
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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