Prelude to a Kiss, January 20, 2016

If you hear a song in blue,

Like a flower crying for the dew,

That was my heart serenading you,

My prelude to a kiss.

~Craig Lucas

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! March 17, 2015

Always remember to forget

The things that made you sad.

But never forget to remember

The things that made you glad.

~old Irish blessing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for Family Past and Present! November 20, 2014

Let us be grateful

to the people who make us happy;

they are the charming gardeners

who make our souls blossom.

~Marcel Proust

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Revolutionary War:

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

War of 1812:

• *John Williams Sr. (1782-1813)

Civil War:

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

World War I:

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

World War II:

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

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

The Good News From a Tragic Tale, Sept 16, 2014

You are no longer strangers and aliens,

but members of the household of God.

~Paul (Eph. 2.19)

In this post I want to follow up on my last two posts and share the good news from the sordid, tragic tale of an unwanted stepchild and her thoughtless parents. The only child of my GG Grandmother Roena Norton (1840-?) was Finetta Dearien Shannon (1861-1960). As unfairly as Roena and Finetta were treated by their own family, there was redemption in this unfortunate story.

Roena and Finetta, Part III. Roena's daughter Finetta was born March 14, 1861. In her infancy she suffered the loss of her young mother, probably at the hands of Finetta's father Augustus Dearien. Finetta was raised in the home of her father and her grandmother Elizabeth, in Sylmore Township, 10 miles west of Mountain View, Arkansas. This family appears in both the 1870 and 1880 US Census for Sylamore. The Census records also show the two biological children of Augustus and Elizabeth: David Dearien, born 1849, and Mary E. Dearien, born 1854.

In both Census records there are strong indications that the Deariens did not want to acknowledge their offspring Finetta as part of their family. Truth be told, Augustus and Elizabeth must have been in a quandry as to what to say about young Finetta, who was the daughter of Augustus' stepchild Roena Norton. In the 1870 Census 8 year old Finetta is listed as a Dearien, but her actual first name Finetta is not listed. Instead she is reported to have the first name Mitchell, which, interestingly, was Finetta's grandmother's maiden name. It is hard to decipher what was going on here. Were the Census takers simply mistaken, getting vague or misleading information from the family? One can certainly imagine the Deariens not being very forthcoming about this child of an abusive, incestuous stepfather.

10 years later, in 1880, the Deariens have to deal with those pesky Census takers again. This time the Deariens do report Finetta's actual first name, but they say that her last name is Mitchell. (This illustrates the problem with lying and deceiving -- it is hard to keep the story straight.) And, as I mentioned in my previous post, the Deariens don't claim the now 19 year old Finetta as their own, but report that she is just a "boarder" in their house, suggesting that she is not a member of their family.

Finetta received a bum deal in many ways in her early life. Fathered by her mother's stepfather, her mother was cruelly taken from her and disappeared when Finetta was just a baby. Then her parents refuse to claim her, giving her a various assortment of names and descriptions in a pathetic attempt to distance themselves from her. Today there are some legal protections for children treated so poorly, but in the hill country of mid-19th century Arkansas, children were often at the mercy of parents like the Deariens.

The Dramatic Change of 1881. After being treated so badly by her father and grandmother, who dealt with their own guilt and shame by refusing to claim her as their own, things changed dramatically for Finetta in 1881. At 19 years old Finetta and a 21 year old neighbor named Samuel Pickens Shannon claim each other. On January 14 they were united in marriage in Timbo, Arkansas. Finally she is free from a family that doesn't want her, and has a family where she belongs, a family of her own making, a family that she and Sam lovingly create.

Between 1882 and 1903 Sam and Finetta brought 9 children into the world, establishing a large household that reflected their honest, caring approach to life. My grandmother Nola Agnes Shannon (1903-2004) was the last of those 9 children. (See second picture, from around 1930, of young Nola Shannon Gower on the left next to mother Finetta and 2 other daughters).

I knew Nola for the last 56 years of her life. The way she spoke of her family of origin suggests that they were decent, loving people. They had their tough times, of course. Nola was always clear about that. But if my grandmother's comments were any indication, Sam and Finetta produced a family of love and respect. It was a far cry from the dysfunction of the home of Augustus and Elizabeth Dearien.

How did Finetta respond to the gross mistreatment of her and her mother Roena by their own family? In the best way she knew how. By creating a warm, loving, respectful family of her own, a family based on trust and honesty, not abuse and deception. For Finetta, there could be no greater act of redemption.

Elizabeth Mitchell Dearien, Finetta's grandmother who raised her, died October 3, 1881, 9 months after Sam and Finetta were married. See first picture (above) of the grave of A. M. (Augustus Marvin) Dearien and L.L. (Liza Lucinda) Dearien in Blue Mountain Cemetery, Timbo, Arkansas.

Elizabeth (Liza) did not live long enough to see the birth of Mary Ann Shannon, the firstborn child of Sam and Finetta in February, 1882. Augustus did however. He lived until 1900, and saw all but one of the 9 children of Sam and Finetta come into the world (see third picture from 1946 of Finetta Dearien Shannon, right, with oldest daughter Mary Ann Shannon Everidge, and grandson Earnest Everidge). The creation of a large, wholesome family was the best response that could be made to the cruel treatment of the Deariens. Surely the blood of Roena cries from the earth uttering sounds of satisfaction.
- - -
Steve Shepard

Family Keeps You Going, March 30, 2014

Trials keep you strong,
sorrow keeps you human,
failures keep you humble,
but family keeps you going.

Happy Birthday, Joan! Tomorrow is the birthday of my cousin Joan Shepard, mother of Havilah Wardle, daughter of Elmer and Beryl Shepard and granddaughter of William and Bura Davis Shepard. Joan was born and raised in the San Diego area but lives today in Davis, California. She is the third one in our family who was born in early 1954 and therefore is celebrating an important milestone birthday.

Joan: The years continue to bring blessings. The older I become the more I appreciate all our progenitors and our children--the love and gratitude flows both ways. I still have great health, which is probably a legacy from Bura and William. I remember Granddad Shepard climbing a large, old walnut tree to trim branches when he was in his 80's. We came home that day to find him over 30 feet in the air with a saw in his hand. That's a goal to consider!

A highlight of my year was visiting Havilah and Kevin in South Texas, their current home. It's a delight to be with them and sightsee.  I always learn exponentially when with them. They help me advance into the 21st century, this time with my Christmas gift, a Nook. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to podcasts with them and brought home some favorites for my tablet, "Stuff You Missed in History Class," for example. Being with them is a joy beyond compare no matter what we do. Blessings to everyone... Joan

The first picture (above) shows Joan while she was visiting in Texas last summer. The second picture (below) is an old family photo taken in 1975 in Mira Mesa, just north of San Diego, California at the home of my brother Gary and Jackie Shepard (pictured on the right). Joan is in the middle standing next to our grandparents Bura and William Shepard. Others pictured here are Darrell Shepard (standing to Joan's right), Barbara Shepard holding Kelly Shepard, Darren Boyd, Dane Shepard, Kerri Shepard, Jason Shepard and Kim Boyd. On the ground is Russ Shepard.

Woman of Note: Anna Pickens Shannon. On this last post of March, 2014 (National Women's History Month) I want to highlight one more woman in our family tree: Anna Pickens Shannon.

My GGG grandmother Anna Pickens was born in Abbeville, South Carolina on March 24, 1785 (229 years ago this month!). She was the great granddaughter of French-Irish immigrants William Henry Pickens and his wife Margaret Pike who came to America in 1722 from Limerick, Ireland.

Anna was the child of Andrew and Mary Gillespie Pickens and was born just 2 years after the American Revolution. It was not only a time of fighting the British, but also of dealing with warring American Indians. Her father Andrew Pickens served honorably in the Revolution, while her father's first cousin (also named Andrew Pickens) was a decorated General in the war. Anna Pickens' family has a prominent place in the history of South Carolina, not only because of Abbeville where many kinfolks settled, but also because of the namesake town of Pickens, 60 miles north of Abbeville.

Anna's grandmother was also named Anna Pickens, because her maternal grandfather was a first cousin of her father. This phenomenon of marrying relatives, though not too good for the long range health of the family tree, was fairly common at this particular time in American history.

As a young woman her family migrated a few hundred miles west to the area south of Nashville, Tennessee where she met her husband-to-be, David Shannon. They were married in 1808 and helped populate the American frontier by having a family of 9 children. Sometime after the children were born her family migrated southward to the area near Tupelo in northeastern Mississippi, where she lived the last years of her life. She and husband David are buried in Keyes Cemetery near Tupelo (see photo of Keyes Cemetery by Jonathan Phillips). 

Just as the American Revolution greatly affected Anna's early life, so the Civil War affected her later life. She outlived her son David Reid Shannon, who died in the War between the States as a young family man in Louisiana in 1864. One of Anna and David's grandchildren was my great grandfather Samuel Pickens Shannon (Nola Shannon Gower's father), who was named after his grandmother Anna Pickens Shannon.

You have to give it to Anna: she endured the aftermath of the American Revolution as a child, then moved as a youngster from South Carolina to Tennessee, where she married and bore 9 children on the American frontier, and finally relocated to Mississippi, where she was a Civil War Gold Star Mother for her last years. Even though her life was not too different from many frontier women, her sacrifices were great and her place of honor in our family tree is well deserved. She is remembered with gratitude on this Women's History Month.
- - -
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

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

A Limerick Limerick, May 1, 2013

An Irishman's heart is nothing but his imagination.

~George Bernard Shaw

Hello to all of you from Limerick, the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, where Cindy and I and our traveling companions are spending a few days. This was one of the cities from which some of our Irish ancestors sailed to America.

The first picture was taken yesterday from our hotel, situated over the Shannon River which you see here in the morning light. Over the Shannon Bridge moves the modest rush hour traffic as it continues through the Shannonbridge Roundabout on the right. What you can't see is Shannon Street just beyond the buildings on the right. I am guessing that Grandma Nola Shannon Gower would have been impressed.

Her Shannon ancestors were among those who came from Ireland. Dexal Shannon's family history book says that 4 Shannon brothers, sons of Robert Shannon, (including Thomas Shannon, Grandma's 4X Great Grandfather) came to America from Munster, Ireland (where Limerick is located). If they did, they would have sailed away from the docks that were once situated alongside the Shannon River in this first picture. Other genealogical sources say that the Robert Shannon family was from the north of Ireland, having immigrated first from Scotland and then to America, presumably from a northern Irish port. 

There is strong evidence, however, that Grandma Gower's Pickens ancestors did sail to America from Limerick. Willie and Marge Pike Pickens (who were also Grandma Gower's 4X Great Grandparents) and their 6 children made the dangerous voyage which began at the docks on the Shannon River very near where Cindy is standing in the picture below. They crossed the Atlantic in the early 1700s and settled in north Philadelphia. We don't know what motivated them to immigrate, although we do know that Willie Pickens was from France and had probably not been in Ireland very long. There may well have been economic considerations, or perhaps he was simply a wanderer who needed one more adventure.

Marge Pike, on the other hand, may have had strong family ties in the Limerick area. One of the sources I have read here in the Limerick Library says that Pike (also spelled Pyke) was a common Anglo-Irish name in this particular part of the country. 

Being here in Limerick is like stepping back in time, even though there are constant reminders that in the 300 years since the Pickenses left Ireland this land has changed tremendously. 

One of Limerick's claims to fame is the fact that it is often said to be the origin of the familiar (often bawdy) poem style called a limerick. With that in mind, here then is a (not so bawdy) limerick about Limerick.

Here's an ancestral tale that's terrific,
'Bout an Ireland town, name of Limerick,
where our kin sailed away,
in the "new world" to stay,
on a trip that was ever so epic.

Looking back o'er those 300 years,
at their faith and their pain and their tears,
the eight of them showed
in the courage that flowed,
that they merit each one of our cheers.

If we will remember the strain
of those eight family members who gained
their American dreams
from their hopes and their schemes,
then their efforts will not be in vain.

This, then, is their story so fine,
that I've taken great care to outline,
how from Limerick town,
they risked being drowned,
and fashioned a future divine.

- - -
Steve Shepard

A Tangle of Pickenses, April 21, 2013

Don't stop thinking about tomorrow...

Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone.

~Fleetwood Mac

Hello Family and Friends,

Greetings once again to all of you from the Cruise Ship Legend as we continue our way across the Atlantic. Our time on board this ship is nearly complete as we are just a few days from our final cruise destination of Barcelona, Spain.

Good Things Come in Twos. This week in our family we celebrate two different sets of twins. This Tuesday, April 23, Dominic and Isaac Ortiz turn one year old. They are the sons of Jeremy and Desiree Ortiz of Blue Springs, Missouri and the grandsons of Kim Boyd Clark. Thanks to mom Desiree for this first picture which shows the twin smiles of healthy brothers Dominic and Isaac. Happy Birthday to them!

This Thursday, April 25, twins Susan Clark Cox and Amanda Clark Farrell turn a magical 33. They are the daughters of Jerry Clark and Jane Clark Brock of Lubbock, Texas. Happy Birthday Susan and Amanda!

A Tangle of Pickenses. In my last post I mentioned John and Eleanor (Baskin) Pickens, whose son John Pickens II (1730-1795) was an accomplished captain in the American Revolutionary War. Another son of John and Eleanor was Andrew Pickens, the GG grandfather of Nola Shannon Gower, my grandmother, and therefore the one from whom we are directly descended.

John Pickens' BROTHER Andrew Pickens (1699-1756) (not to be confused with his SON also named Andrew Pickens (1730-1795)) had a son of his own, also named Andrew Pickens (1739-1817). You may have to read the previous sentence a few times to get the gist of it. It is a very confusing family situation because John Pickens' son, his brother, and his brother's son all had the same name -- Andrew Pickens.

In our family today my brother Russ has a son with my name -- Steven Shepard -- and it can sometimes be confusing. In generations to come, our descendants may have a tough time keeping us straight. But the Andrew Pickens family phenomenon of the 18th century is a real puzzler with 3 men in close genealogical proximity having the same exact name. Throw in a few other men in our tree with similar names (Andrew Pickens Shannon -1809-1857, and Robert Andrew Pickens - 1644-1699), and you get a tangle of Pickenses that takes a keen eye to keep straight!


Part of the reason I even mention all this is because the Andrew Pickens whose dates are 1739-1817 was a General in the American Revolution and was something of a war hero (just like his cousin John Pickens II, mentioned above). General Andrew Pickens made quite a mark in South Carolina, where that part of our family settled after leaving Pennsylvania. In northwest South Carolina there is a town of "Pickens" and a county of "Pickens" named for him. He was born in Pennsylvania where his immigrant parents Andrew and Nancy Pickens settled after coming over from Ireland.

The second picture is from a portrait of General Andrew Pickens of South Carolina. (If only General Pickens had seen the twins in the picture above, he might have cracked a bit of a smile!) Andrew married a woman named Rebecca Calhoun, who was quite an impressive woman in her own right. The following is from "The Early Families of the South Carolina Low County" and documents the remarkable story of Andrew and Rebecca.

The Romance of General Andrew Pickens and Rebecca Calhoun. When the Pickens family moved from Pennsylvania to South Carolina, they settled in the small town of Abbeville. Later young Andrew had a prominent part in bringing about a permanent settlement with the Cherokee Indians. During the time of the Indian uprising, an event occurred destined to greatly effect his life. Among those who escaped the Indian massacre was Ezekiel Calhoun and his pretty young daughter Rebecca, just 15 years of age. During their three years there young Andrew and Rebecca became friends. There was nothing unusual about that and nothing was thought about it at this time as he was away the greater part of the time. The separation of the young couple was not for long. His friendship with Rebecca grew into love and they were married March 19, 1765, at the home of her father. They were married by Justice of the Peace William Calhoun. Both families were loyal church members, but ministers were few and hard to reach. Tradition says it was the largest wedding party ever assembled in upper South Carolina up to this time. The festivities lasted three days without interruption. The beauty of the bride was the theme of all talks and the wedding was long talked of as the most important event of the decade. Andrew bought 250 acres of land and they built a house which is described elsewhere. She was said to be one of the most gifted women of her time, and was an equal match for her famous husband.

Next time: More about Andrew Pickens and his cousins, and more about our travels around Europe.
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Steve Shepard

"She Is On Her Way", April 14, 2013

Another world is not only possible,

she is on her way.

On a quiet day

I can hear her breathing.

~Arundhati Roy

Hello Family and Friends,

Greetings to all of you once again from the Carnival Ship Legend as we continue our way across the Atlantic. We lumbered out of Florida on this monstrosity a week ago and now she is on her way to Spain where, in another week, our cruise will conclude.

This past Friday we stopped for a day at the Islands of Bermuda where Papa George was kind enough to take this picture of Cindy and me, which shows our ship in the background.

Happy Birthday Rachel! Today is the birthday of Rachel Jane Shepard, the daughter of my brother Darrell and his wife Mary. She is on her way to becoming 26. Rachel lives in Kirkland, Washington and is the Director of the Business Office at a Senior Living facility in the Seattle area.

The second picture, taken last fall, shows Rachel in the middle with Jessica Bell on the left and Nicole Haw Shepard on the right.

The Irish Count Grows. I keep finding Irish immigrants among our ancestors. In this post I will mention several more, including Eleanor Baskin and John Pickens. They are among the same cluster of immigrants I mentioned in my last couple of posts, all of whom are ancestors of my grandmother Nola Shannon Gower.

John Pickens (1710-1771) was one of the children of Willie and Marge Pickens, the couple I previewed recently. After settling in the area north of Philadelphia in the early 18th century, son John met and then married a young woman named Eleanor Baskin. She had come from Ireland with her own family in the early 1700s and may not have even known John Pickens or his family until they met in America. Three of John's brothers had married girls from the George Davis family, at least partly because they were all part of the same Church north of Philadelphia. John Pickens, however, chose a different family -- the Baskins -- from which to find his life partner.

Eleanor Baskin (1716-1781) came across the Atlantic with her parents William and Mary Baskin. They had come from Donegal, in the north of Ireland, a county from which several of our Irish ancestors originated. So Eleanor and her parents William and Mary are 3 more Irish folks in our family tree who placed their hopes in the promise of the new world and ventured across the Atlantic. Their spirit -- and the spirit of so many Irish immigrants to America -- was the same one felt by the contemporary writer Arundhati Roy in the quote at the top of this post. They were all people who knew that another world was not only possible, she is on her way.

John and Eleanor's son John Pickens II (1730-1795) was an accomplished captain in the American Revolutionary War. I will share more specific information about Captain Pickens as I discover it. Another son of theirs, Andrew Pickens, is the one from whom we are directly descended. Next time I will share more about Andrew Pickens, his son, also named Andrew Pickens, and his nephew, also named Andrew Pickens.
- - -
Steve Shepard