Happy Saint Patrick's Day! March 17, 2015

Always remember to forget

The things that made you sad.

But never forget to remember

The things that made you glad.

~old Irish blessing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.
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Steve Shepard

Memorial Day, May 26, 2014

Oh, tell me not that they are dead

that airy army of invisible heroes.

They hover as a cloud of witnesses

above this Nation.

~Henry Ward Beecher, 1863

Today we celebrate Memorial Day and remember those who have died in the service of our country. I would like to mention in this blog post 4 people -- that I have found so far in our family tree -- who died fighting in our nation's wars. One in the war of 1812, two in the Civil War, and one in World War I. We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to them as we honor them on this Memorial Day.

John Williams Sr. (1782-1813) was a 31 year old husband and father of 4 when he died, most likely in the War of 1812. Born in Virginia he had been in Kentucky just long enough to marry Lydia Warford and have 4 children with her when his life ended in the service of the nation. John left a modest estate that enabled his widow Lydia and her children to move to Spencer, Indiana where they

settled and where his GG Granddaughter Bura Davis (my Grandmother) was born.

David Reid Shannon (1821-1864), my GG Grandfather, was in his 40s living in Louisiana with his wife and 7 children when he was called to serve in the Confederate Army late in the war. After not hearing a word from him for a year, his wife Peggy finally got the news indirectly that David had died and was buried with other Civil War soldiers in Chalmette National Cemetery in New Orleans. His needy widow and 7 children were rescued by Peggy's father and brothers who moved them to Stone County, Arkansas. Select this link to visit his grave online.

William Shepard (1835-1862) of Wabash, Indiana was a young Union soldier of just 26 when he was injured at Bowling Green, Kentucky in what may have been the very first battle of his Indiana Regiment.

He languished in a hospital for 5 months before he died in July, 1862 in Evansville, Indiana, leaving a young wife and an infant son (my Great Grandfather). After a very difficult couple of years for the two of them, his widow remarried and settled into a new life. Select this link to visit his grave online.

Lloyd W. Gower (1896-1918) of Newnata, Arkansas, brother of my Grandfather Leroy Gower, was a single man of 22 when he was killed in 1918 in Cheppy, Lorraine, France during World War I. He is buried in Cooper Hill Cemetery near his home outside Mountain View, Arkansas (see picture of his grave) and is memorialized on a plaque in Mountain View's town square. Select this link to visit his grave online.

These four -- John, David, William and Lloyd -- are among that great "cloud of witnesses", in the words of Henry Ward Beecher, that hover above our nation. And not only our nation, but on this Memorial Day, in a special way, they also also hover over us, their descendants, their families, who owe them much more than we can ever repay.

That Was Then, This Is Now. Today, May 26 also happens to be the 21st birthday of Brandyn Boyd, grandson of Thelma Shepard Boyd of Blue Springs, Missouri. Brandyn, the son of Darren Boyd and Victoria Boyd, is a graduate of Santana High School in Santee and lives in San Diego.

He is one of the Great Grandchildren of William and Bura Davis Shepard.

This coming Wednesday, May 28 is the birthday of Ruthie Styer Russell of Red Rock, Nevada. She is the daughter-in-law of my late cousin Rex Russell, whose birthday was also on May 28. Rex was the first grandchild of William and Bura Shepard, and the son of Bill and Pauline Shepard Russell. The picture above shows Rex Russell and daughter-in-law Ruthie in a picture taken a few years ago in San Diego, with the bay and the Coronado Bridge in the background. Happy Birthday to Ruthie!

This coming Thursday, May 29, is the birthday of my cousin Michael Harrell, who lives with his wife Carole in Zionsville, Indiana. Mike is one of the grandchildren of Leroy and Nola Shannon Gower and the son of Vicki Gower Johnston of Oak Harbor, Washington. 

Mike and Carole lived in California for many years but now live in Indiana and have settled right in to Hoosier life. They are shown here at an NFL playoff game earlier this year in Indianapolis wearing Andrew Luck jerseys. Best wishes to Mike for a very happy birthday.
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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.
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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