The Human Soul Is Apt to Revive, March 31, 2016

The beautiful spring came;

and when Nature resumes her loveliness,

the human soul is apt to revive also.

~Harriet Ann Jacobs

Greetings to all of you from the beautiful Yucca Valley near Palm Springs, here in Southern California, home of Joshua Tree National Park where we and our family are enjoying spring break. Springtime in the desert is remarkably beautiful, with lots of color that will gone in just a fews months. It is a place and a time where "the human soul is apt to revive."

Our trip is something of a strange hybrid of comfortable Motel stays, and some not quite so comfortable nights in the tent sleeping on the ground. At the very least it will be a memorable event for the grandkids. It reminds me of times when our dad Eugene Shepard took us camping in the mountains or near the coast, simple family experiences forming memories that will last a lifetime.

This first picture (above), taken yesterday in Black Rock Canyon, shows Cindy with Preslea and William Shepard, on the crest of a hill, waving to their parents a few hundred yards below. 

Happy Birthday Joan! Today is the birthday of my cousin Joan Shepard, the 8th of the 12 Grandchildren of William and Bura Davis Shepard. Originally from San Diego, Joan and her wife Dee Shannon live in Dixon, California.

Joan: "Spring has arrived with sunshine and rain. We actually have green foliage and bright blossoms after a long  drought. Dee and I also have a sweet grandson who is nearly four months. Calvin lives a couple hours away with his parents. We don't see him as much as we would like because of our jobs. Dee and I both work in education; she's an academic adviser at UC Davis and I'm a high-school teacher in our small town. 

In addition to our grandson, we added another member to our family -- a rescue puppy! She's making great progress after a rough start in life. Havilah and Kevin, our Utah family, are working hard yet enjoying the beautiful countryside there. I can't wait to visit with them this summer. We all are wishing everyone well!"

Joan has always been an animal lover. This last picture was probably taken sometime in the 1960s and shows Joan sitting on some steps, more than likely in San Diego, enjoying the company of two friendly critters.

- - -
Steve Shepard

A Heritage of Great Diversity, March 26, 2016

We need to cherish and preserve

the ethnic and cultural diversity

that nourishes and strengthens

this community - and this nation.

~Cesar Chavez

Today is our Granddaughter Preslea's 6th Birthday. Born in San Francisco, she is in Kindergarten in San Diego and enjoying it thoroughly. She lives with her family in the San Carlos neighborhood of San Diego and loves swimming, drawing, monkey bars, school and church friends, Equestria Girls, and slurpies.

Preslea's heritage is an interesting one. She is, of course, one of the Great Great Grandchildren of both William and Bura Davis, as well as Leroy and Nola Shannon Gower, the two couples whose lives and descendants are the usual focus of this blog. 

But Preslea's ancestry also includes the Native American heritage of her Grandmother Cindy Shepard and her Great Grandmother Harris. (See picture of Preslea with her two American Great Grandmothers, Paula Hicks Harris and Maida Gower Shepard.) In particular Preslea's Native American heritage is the Chickasaw Indians of Oklahoma who before that were from Mississippi. Her 5X Great Grandmother was Lucy Hawkins Newberry who, born in Mississippi in 1824 was part of the historic "trail of tears" as a child that forced her people to settle in Oklahoma where she died in 1907.

Preslea's heritage also includes Cambodia, the home of her mother Chenda Sou Shepard who came to the U.S. in 2009. Preslea's Cambodian Grandfather was Sou Penh (1945-2014) whose father was Sou Shen, an immigrant to Cambodia from China. In Cambodia her Sou Grandparents suffered through the "Killing Fields" of the ruthless Khmer Rouge Government in the late 20th century.

Preslea's family heritage is amazingly diverse, far beyond the majority of us whose ancestry has been rooted primarily in this county for the last several hundred years. Best wishes to Preslea for a very happy birthday! The following is a slide show that celebrates her 6th Birthday.




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Steve Shepard

"Days of Auld Lang Syne", December 31, 2015

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

and never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

and auld lang syne?

~Robert Burns

Best wishes to all of you for a wonderful new year! May 2016 bring much happiness, personal growth, and great joy.

Happy Anniversary Darrell and Mary. Happy 33rd Wedding Anniversary today, December 31, to my brother Darrell Shepard and his wife Mary Medina Shepard of Bothell, Washington. They were married in Abilene, Texas while students at Abilene Christian University. In the last third of a century their family has grown to a clan of 12 including three children and 4 grandchildren, all of whom live near them in the Seattle area. Happy Anniversary to Darrell and Mary, and best wishes for many more years to come!

This first picture shows Darrell and Mary with me on the right, in late 1983, just before they celebrated their first wedding anniversary. It was taken in Abilene, Texas where they were living at the time.

Remembering James and Callie Davis. Tomorrow is the wedding anniversary of my great grandparents James Brooks Davis and his wife Callie Spear Davis. They were married in Owen County, Indiana on New Year's Day, 120 years ago. Their decision to marry on the first day of the new year was understandable. A new year, a new marriage, a new beginning; it all fit together. For farming families it was also a slow time of the year work-wise. And if the weather was not too bad, family and friends from all around would be available to celebrate with them.

Their new year's day marriage so impressed their youngest daughter Marjorie Davis Millikan that she too decided to marry on that day. And not once, but twice! First in 1931 to John Millikan, the father of her children, and then 50 years later to Clyde Williams in 1981.

This second picture was taken in 1908, just a few months after their youngest child, Marjorie Davis, was born in Spencer, Indiana, and just a few years before the family moved to Beaver County, Oklahoma. This picture shows parents James and Callie Davis with baby Marjorie.

Happy Birthday Chenda! New Year's Day is also the birthday of our daughter-in-law Chenda Sou Shepard. She was born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on the first day of 1980. She lives in San Diego with husband Nathan Shepard and their three children Preslea, Logan and William.

This third picture was taken just last week on Christmas Day in San Diego at the home of Cindy's mom Paula Harris. Chenda is on the left holding their youngest child William Shepard. Next to Chenda in the back are Logan with Nathan, Cindy, her mom Paula and me on the far right. In front are Cindy's aunt Juanita Eeds with Preslea in front of her.
- - -
Steve Shepard

Treasuring the Small Things, December 12, 2015

The one who treasures the small things in life 

has found the path to true happiness.

~Kim Clark's Motto

Advent and Christmas is a time with special meaning for children. When I saw this holiday picture I could not pass up the opportunity to share it here in The Shepard's Crook. 

Taken earlier this month, this picture shows Santa and the four grandchildren of my brother Darrell Shepard and his wife Mary of Bothell, Washington. From left to right in the picture are Kellan Shepard (parents Rachel and Brian), Finley Shepard (parents Christopher and Jessica), and brothers Logan and Mason Shepard.

Happy First Birthday to Mason Shepard! Mason, the little one on the far right in the picture above with Santa, celebrates his first birthday today! With his big brother Logan, they are the sons of Patrick and Nicole Shepard of Bothell, Washington. 

This second image is of one-year-old Mason in a picture taken about a week ago. Thanks to Nicole for sharing this picture and for the update below.

Nicole: Mason is doing great! Can't believe he is one year old already! He is a very happy boy! Just about walking; and taking 10-15 steps at a time. He is VERY busy and into everything! Keeps us hopping! He is so much fun though. We are having a big "winter ONEderland" themed birthday party for him this weekend (today!).  It's going to be fun!

The Birth of Calvin Drinks. Congratulations to my cousin Joan Shepard and her wife Dee Shannon of Dixon, California who on Thursday celebrated the birth of their first grandchild, Calvin Robert Drinks. Calvin is the first child of Ryan and Robyn Drinks of Chico, California. Best wishes to baby Calvin, his parents, and his whole family who are thrilled to welcome this first member of the next generation in their family. This picture shows Calvin being held by his proud daddy Ryan at just a few hours old.

In Memory of Duen Ouk (1942-2015). It is surprising how often our joys and sorrows, the births and deaths, the happiness and the tears, seem to go hand in hand. It is with sadness that I report the death of the mother of our daughter-in-law Chenda Sou Shepard. Chenda, who has been in the U.S. now for almost 7 years, lives with husband Nathan and their 3 children here in San Diego. Last week on December 4, her mom Duen Ouk passed away in the family home village of Kampong Speu, Cambodia, after a long illness. 

Chenda went to Cambodia just a few weeks ago to visit her family and spend time with her ailing mother. Chenda's father died just last year, so this is a double loss in a relatively short period of time. 

This picture from 2008 shows both Chenda's parents, Duen Ouk and Penh Sou, at their home in Kampong Speu. Native Cambodians, they spent almost 35 years together, through some incredibly difficult times, among which were the desperate years of the Khmer Rouge and "the killing fields". Their family legacy includes several sons and daughters, and numerous grandchildren in Cambodia, Australia, and the United States. Among their grandchildren are our grandchildren Preslea, Logan and William Shepard. Our prayers and best wishes go out to Chenda and her whole family.
- - -
Steve Shepard

A Nightmare On My Street, October 30, 2015

'Tis now the very witching time of night,

When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out

Contagion to this world.

~William Shakespeare

Hello on this weekend of Halloween from Anacortes, Washington where Cindy and I and Grandsons William and Logan are visiting with family and celebrating some special events.

Birthday Wishes to Pam! Happy Birthday today to Pam Engan Shepard, wife of my brother Russell Shepard. Pam and Russ are the parents of Steven Paul and Linda Shepard. Pam has lived in Anacortes, Washington all her life and works there today at the Cap Sante Inn.

This first picture shows Pam and Russ this past summer at our family reunion in Bothell, Washington. Best wishes to Pam for a very Happy Birthday!

Nightmare on My Street. The following is a musical slide show capturing many halloween moments in the life of our larger family over the years. All of the folks you will see in this slide show are from our varied and diverse family. Can you identify them all? It's not as easy as you might think.




Some of the above images are classics from many years ago (one is from 60+ years ago!) while others are very recent and still others are just a few years old. These Halloween revelers are from places as diverse as California and Texas, Washington and Kansas, Pennsylvania and Missouri, and Oklahoma and Illinois. As varied as the locations are, there is one thing all these creepy critters have in common: the spirit of Halloween!

Birthday Wishes to Maida! Happy Birthday this Sunday, November 1, to my mom Maida Shepard, who will be 91 years young! She was born in Arkansas, but lived for most of her growing up years in Okemah, Oklahoma. The last 72 years of her life have been divided equally between San Diego, California (where she and husband Eugene raised their 6 children) and Anacortes, Washington (where she now lives with daughter Barb and grandson Steven).

This picture shows Maida with her 5 children: Russell, Barbara, Darrell, Gary and me. This picture was taken this past August in Bothell, Washington.
-- -
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 Father's Day, June 20, 2015

My father gave me the greatest gift

anyone could give another person.

He believed in me.

~Jim Valvano

Tomorrow, June 21, is the anniversary of our son and daughter-in-law, Nathan and Chenda Sou Shepard, who were married on June 21, 2009. On that day 6 years ago Father's Day, their anniversary, and the Summer Solstice all occurred on June 21, a rare occurrance that happens again this year. Nate and Chenda live in San Diego with their 3 children Preslea, Logan and William. Happy Anniversary to Nate and Chenda!

This first picture shows Nate and Chenda at their home on Dicenza Way here in San Diego. 

Tomorrow is also the day we honor all father's in our midst. And we remember those fathers who have gone before us. I want to mention two in particular: my grandfather Leroy Gower and my brother in law Joe Paul Harris. Though they have been gone for many years, these two are remembered warmly by those who knew them as father and grandfather.

Leroy Gower (1899-1974) was a turn of the century baby, born June 25, 1899. Originally from a small farming family, he was born 116 years ago near Mountain View, Arkansas. He and his wife-to-be Nola Shannon were from the same small farming community west of Mountain View and probably knew each other as children. When they married in Arkansas she was a teenager and he was just 22 years old. 

After just a few married years -- and the birth of their first two children -- he and Nola moved westward and settled in Okemah, Oklahoma. After 17 years there they moved on to San Diego where they lived most of the rest of their lives. Leroy (and Nola) had the rich opportunity to live in fairly close proximity to their 3 children and their 12 grandchildren in San Diego as they watched them grow to adulthood. 

The above picture of Leroy was taken in 1973 -- just a year before he died -- on the occasion of an unknown funeral at the Little Chapel of the Roses in Glen Abbey Cemetery in Chula Vista, California. Do any of you know who the funeral was for? It was a service attended by several Gower and Shepard family members. Leroy looks to be holding his great granddaughter Kelly Shepard.

Joe Paul Harris (1950-2009). On this weekend of Father's Day, I am also remembering Joe Paul Harris, my wife Cindy's brother, who was a midcentury baby, born June 23, 1950, 65 years ago this coming Tuesday. He died in the spring of 2009 in Naknek, Alaska where he had lived the last 20 years of his life. He and his wife Jane raised their 3 children in San Diego. This picture of Joe Paul shows him with his father Joe Harris and his first born child, Cadence Harris Martin, in 1975. 

Also On This Weekend.  In celebration of the above mentioned men, and all the fathers in our extended family, I offer the following updated Father's Day presentation with music by Michael Buble, which honors fathers in our family through the years.

  

- - - 
Steve Shepard

Springing Into Spring, March 23, 2015

The most beautiful things in life

are not things at all,

but moments in time —

moments that we know will flow on.

~Patricia Adams Farmer

Greetings to all of you as spring begins and winter has passed.

Happy Anniversary! Happy 15th Wedding Anniversary this past weekend to my cousin Michael Harrell and his wife Carole of Zionsville, Indiana. (Yes, Virginia, there really is a Zionsville!) Mike is the older son of Vicki Gower Johnston of Oak Harbor, Washington. Best wishes to Mike and Carole for many more happy years together!

Happy Birthday today to my brother Gary Shepard, the first born of our parents Maida Gower Shepard and our late father Eugene Shepard. Gary was born in San Diego way back before I was born. Okay... just two years before I was born. We were among the very first in our family in what has become known as the "baby boom" generation. Gary was raised in San Diego and lived virtually his entire life in our fair community until he retired 12 years ago and moved to Oak Harbor, Washington. 

He and his wife Cindy live in Oak Harbor today, not far from our mom Maida Shepard and other family members in Anacortes, Washington. Happy Birthday to Gary on this last birthday that begins with a "6". The first picture shows Gary with his wife Cindy and our mother Maida. This picture was taken last summer in Anacortes, Washington by Steven Paul Shepard.

Happy Birthday Preslea! This coming Thursday is the 5th Birthday of our oldest grandchild Preslea Maida Shepard who lives just a stone's throw down the hill from us here in the San Carlos community of San Diego. She lives with her mom and dad, Nathan and Chenda Shepard, as well as her brothers Logan and William, plus an assortment of Koi and gold fish.

The following photo presentation celebrates Preslea's 5th year and the many activities and special moments in her young life: at home, at church, on vacation, and with friends and family. Best wishes to Preslea for a wonderful birthday!



          

- - -
Steve Shepard 

Warm Love and Great Hopes, March 13, 2015

We're all ghosts.

We all carry, inside us,

people who came before us.

~Liam Callanan

Merry Milestones. Happy Birthday today to my brother Russ Shepard and his son Steven Paul Shepard. Steven has lived his whole life in Anacortes, Washington, while Russ has lived there for 37 years now, ever since the Shepards moved to Washington in 1978. Even though it is Friday the 13th, best wishes to both of them as together they celebrate their birthdays, very possibly at Grammie Maida Shepard's home in Anacortes!

The first picture, taken just yesterday, shows father Russ on the right and son Steven on the left. Thanks to sister Linda Shepard for taking the picture.

Happy Birthday tomorrow, March 14, to my brother-by-another-mother Jerry Clark. Jerry lives today with his wife Cathrina Helms Clark in Lubbock, Texas where he has worked for Taylor Publishing Company for many years. Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico Jerry attended Lubbock Christian University in the late 1960s, which is when he met and married my sister Linda Shepard (1950-1971) also a student at LCU.

That's when Jerry became a member of our family, and has remained a part of us ever since. The second picture shows Jerry and Cathrina Clark with Jerry's brother Terry Clark and his wife Susan.

A 100th Wedding Anniversary. Later this spring, in early June, we will have opportunity to remember the 100th wedding anniversary of my grandparents William and Bura Davis Shepard. It will be a very special occasion marking a significant milestone in our history.

A 155th Wedding Anniversary. Wednesday of this week marked the 155th anniversary of the wedding of Granddad Shepard's grandparents, William Shepard and Mary Sprague. The story of my Shepard Great Great Grandparents is as heartbreaking as it is important in our family history. Here is a lineage from our Civil War soldier-ancestor William Shepard to his namesake, my grandson William Shepard. 

• William C. Shepard (1835-1862) who married Mary Ellen Sprague
• William Elmer Shepard (1862-1915) who married Elvira Owens
• William Shepard (1888-1976) who married Bura Davis
• Eugene William Shepard (1921-2003) who married Maida Gower
• Steven Shepard (b. 1948) who married Cindy Harris
• Nathan William Shepard (b. 1977) who married Chenda Sou
• William Quincy Shepard (b. 2012)

The third picture shows two of the William Shepards listed above, the one on the left my grandfather William Shepard (1888-1976) and on the right my grandson William Quincy Shepard (b. 2012).

Here is a timeline of the important events of the early 1860s, when William and Mary Shepard were married:

• March 11, 1860: Marriage records for Indiana show that on this day William C. Shepherd (note the spelling of his last name) and Mary E. Sprague were married in Montgomery County, Indiana, 50 miles northwest of Indianapolis. 
• June 1, 1860: U.S. Census records show William and Mary living in Ladoga, Montgomery County, Indiana. (Those Census records show their last name spelled Shepheard.) 
• June 22, 1860: U.S. Census records shows William Sheppard (note yet a different spelling) living some 100 miles away in Wabash County, Indiana in the home of a farming family.
• December, 1860: In late 1860 or early 1861, William and Mary's first child, Frank, was born.
• February 2, 1962: Their second son, William Elmer Shepard, was born in Wabash County, Indiana.
• July 22, 1862: William Shepard dies after being injured in the Civil War.
• November 12, 1865: Mary E. Sprague Shepard marries William Ragsdale and lives the rest of her life as Mary Ragsdale.

William and Mary had what turned out to be a war time romance, with all the drama and tragedy that often attends young people married in war time. Married as the Civil War was ramping up, they had their first child within a year. Another one was on the way when William was drafted into military duty in September, 1861. He died in the summer of 1862, leaving his wife Mary with two young boys, Frank (18 months old) and William Elmer (5 months old). William and Mary were only married 18 months when he left for the war, never to return. What we know about his stint in the military is a story unto itself and you can read about it here.

New Information About Our Shepard Ancestors. For several years I thought that William and Mary's son (Great Grandfather William Elmer Shepard, 1862-1915) was an only child, but I uncovered new information in recent weeks showing that there was another son, Frank J. Shepherd, born to them in late 1860 or early 1861.

Here's how I found out about the TWO sons of William and Mary Sprague Shepard: After Great Great Grandfather William Shepard died in the Civil War, Great Great Grandmother Mary E. Sprague Shepard went back home to Montgomery County, Indiana. 3 years later she married an older widower named William Ragsdale, who had several children already. Together they had several more children and went on to create a blended family. As a result, 19 year old Mary Sprague, who became Mary Shepard for 5 years, became Mary Ragsdale for the last 54 years of her life. Over time, her short but exciting war time marriage to the ill fated soldier William Shepard faded into the background.

An 1880 U.S. Census record, pictured above, lists the family of William and Mary Ragsdale with the 8 children in their household. The two oldest of those 8 children are listed as "step-sons", and are the children of Mary Shepard Ragsdale and her first husband William Shepard. The older child is Frank J. Shepherd, born in 1860 or 1861, and the younger one is William Shepherd, born in 1862. (You may have to click on the picture to see the document better, although at 135 years old it is understandably hard to read!)

Another recent discovery. I have wondered many times over the years why Mary Sprague Shepard Ragsdale never filed for a widow's pension. Who would be more deserving than a 22 year old widow left with two very young boys? As it turns out she did file for a widow's pension. 

I recently uncovered a record in the "U.S. Civil War and Later Wars Index to Remarried Widow Pensions Applications 1860-1934." It shows that "Mary E. Ragsdale", the remarried widow of Civil War soldier "William C. Sheppard" of the Indiana Cavalry, filed for a pension on June 10, 1901. By that time the soldier William had been dead nearly 40 years, and her second husband William Ragsdale had been dead 14 years. Mary was 61 years old and would live another 18 years. 

Civil War pensions were given out for many years, well into the 20th century. And the rules for dispensing them kept changing. Widows who remarried (like our Mary Shepard Ragsdale) were ineligible at first. But in 1901 (the year Mary filed for a pension) the rules were changed and a Civil War widow became eligible for a pension even if she remarried, as long as she was a widow again. That was exactly the situation with Mary and explains why she waited until 1901 to apply. Did she ever actually receive a pension? I will let you know when I find the answer to that question.

Didn't These People Know How To Spell? As indicated above, there were various spellings for the last names of William and Mary and their sons William and Frank: Shepheard, Shepherd, Shephard, Sheppard, and Shepard. Some historical records indicate that many of these folks could neither read nor write, making variant spellings understandable. Even so, the other information about them indicates they are our ancestors. It was not until after the Civil War, that "Shepard" became the common spelling for members of our family.

May Their Memory Live Forever. So this week we celebrate the 155th anniversary of the wedding of our ancestors William Shepard and Mary Sprague in 1860. But we do so realizing that theirs was a short lived marriage filled with warm love and joyful births, great hopes and terrible tragedy -- a story mutiplied half a million times during the conflict of the 1860s.

Though Mary moved on with her life as Mrs. Ragdale, surely the soldier, father and husband William Shepard retained a special place in her heart for the rest of her long life. In a similar way we, their descendants, remember their great sacrifice and honor their love for one another and their place in our family history and our nation's history. May the memory of William and Mary Shepard live among us forever.
- - -
Steve Shepard

A Family Is What You Make It, January 7, 2015

A family is what you make it.

It is made strong,

not by the number of heads

counted at the dinner table,

but by the rituals

you help family members create,

and by the memories you share.

~Marge Kennedy

This week three birthdays occur in our larger family, all of which are for people who are descended from William and Bura Davis Shepard, or have married into that family.

Happy Birthday Carsyn Slaughter! Monday of this week, January 5, was the second birthday of Carsyn Slaughter, the great granddaughter of Thelma Shepard Boyd. Carsyn is the daughter of Courtney Boyd and Cody Slaughter of San Diego, and the granddaughter of Darren Boyd of Coronado, California.

The first picture shows little Carsyn being held by her mother Courtney Boyd, with her great grandmother Thelma on the left and aunt Kim Boyd Clark on the right. This picture was taken last month when Thelma's family was all together in San Diego for Christmas.

Happy Birthday Cindy Shepard! Today, January 7, is the birthday of my wife Cindy Harris Shepard, with whom I have the great privilege of living, here in San Diego. Cindy was born in the San Joaquin Valley town of Visalia, California but came as a young child with her family to San Diego where she was raised.

This second picture is one of my favorites and shows Cindy as a child with her father Joe Harris (1922-1999). It was taken about 1950 when she was 2 or 3 years old, possibly in the San Joaquin Valley near where the Harrises lived.

Cindy and I actually met 50 years ago this year (no, that can't be right; I need a fact checker!). At the time we were in our senior year in High School -- hers was Hoover High and mine was Kearny High. We got acquainted through our involvement in our Church youth groups -- hers was the Allied Gardens Church of Christ, and mine was the Linda Vista Church of Christ. Our youth groups co-mingled often for outings, Bible studies, and numerous other activities. 

The result was a few marriages (like ours), and many friendships that have endured through the decades. Several of our friends from all those years ago are Facebook friends even today, including Mel Storm, Frank Hankins, Ron Storm, Connie Shaw Cleland, Linda Cranford Elliot, Jennifer Daniels McGoldrick, Tom Skinner, and Jane Saxton Harris.

These days Cindy enjoys the retired life and relishes being an active grandmother of 3 little ones. She also finds time to be of assistance to her mother and aunt, nonagenarians who live in Allied Gardens not far from where we live here in the San Carlos Community of San Diego.

This third picture shows Cindy with her granddaughter Preslea, who is the oldest of the three rug rats. This picture was taken a few months ago at the home of Preslea's parents Nathan and Chenda Sou Shepard.

Happy Birthday, Mary Shepard! This Saturday, January 10 is the birthday of Mary Medina Shepard, wife of my brother Darrell Shepard. She and Darrell live in Kirkland, Washington and are the parents of 3 grown kids and the grandparents of 3 little ones, all of whom live in the Seattle area. Mary is originally from Chicago but met Darrell at Abilene Christian in Abilene, Texas. They have lived in the Great Northwest now for most of their lives.

The fourth picture is one I snatched off of Facebook recently and shows proud mom and grandmother Mary on the right with daughter Rachel and Rachel's son Kellan Shepard, grandson #2 of Mary and Darrell.

Best wishes to these three for memorable and joyful birthdays!
- - -
Steve Shepard

Happy New Year! January 1, 2015

The littlest feet

make the biggest footprints

in our hearts.

Happy New Year to all of you and your loved ones! 2014 was an amazing year for us and for our entire family. Among the most important things that happened in our family in 2014 was the birth of 3 babies. Pictured below are Karver Bearden (parents Lyndsey Aquiningoc and Colton Bearden), Kellan Shepard (parents Rachel Shepard and Bryan Miller) and Mason Shepard (parents Pat and Nicole Shepard).

It's All About The Babies. In the last 5 years, 8 children have been born into the family of Maida and Eugene Shepard. That makes 8 births in 57 months, or about one birth every 7 months since 2010.

Consider that in that same period of time 3 other births occurred in my aunt Thelma Shepard Boyd's part of our family. That means that in the last 5 years, the descendants of William and Bura Davis Shepard have produced a total of 11 children, approximately one birth every 5 months. Clearly that is a rapid clip, and qualifies as a baby boom for our family. I do not know of another time when so many babies were born among us over such a short period of time. We celebrate these new members of our family and rejoice with the happy parents and grandparents. 

Here are the names, birthdates and hometowns of these 11 children:

Preslea Shepard (3/26/10) - San Diego
Logan A. Shepard (5/15/11) - San Diego
Isaac Ortiz (4/23/2012) - San Diego
Dominic Ortiz (4/23/2012) - San Diego
William Shepard (7/28/12) - San Diego
Carsyn Slaughter (1/5/13) - San Diego
Kambree Bowman (6/14/13) - Weatherford, Texas
Logan J. Shepard (7/21/13) - Bothell, Washington
Karver Bearden (9/23/14) - Weatherford, Texas
Kellan Shepard (10/01/14) - Kirkland, Washington
Mason Shepard (12/12/14) - Bothell, Washington

It is gratifying to know that the future of our family is assured and is in good hands.

Happy Birthday Chenda! 3 of the births mentioned above are children of our son Nathan and his wife Chenda Sou Shepard, whose 35th birthday is today! Best wishes and many happy returns of the day to Chenda, who lives with her family in San Diego. She stays busy with her 3 young ones and her job as child care attendant at our church. Chenda also loves gardening and tends a beautiful landscape around their house. The second picture, taken last month, shows Chenda with William, Preslea and Logan.

Happy 32nd to Darrell and Mary! Before leaving 2014 altogether, I want to wish happy anniversary to my brother Darrell and his wife Mary Medina Shepard of Kirkland, Washington. They were married in Abilene, Texas 32 years ago yesterday. Darrell and Mary are the proud grandparents (and I DO mean proud!) of three of the baby boomers mentioned above. Pictured below are Mary and Darrell with Darrell's mother Maida Shepard.

Mary gets the last word today with the following, which she posted on Facebook a few days ago: Wishing all of my family and friends and facebook peeps a very Happy New Year! This past year was a year of many changes and many blessings. I am thankful for all of the people in my life and thankful most of all for my 3 beautiful grandsons, Logan, Kellan and Mason. You boys give me the most joy of anything in this world! I am also thankful for my children who are doing so well and are all happy. My husband and I will celebrate 32 years of marriage on 12-31, and it has been a fun ride, bumpy at times, but mostly fun! I hope that each and every one of you that reads this knows how much you enrich my life and how much I love you and hope that you are doing well in your life! May 2015 bring many joys and much laughter and abundant love to you!
- - -
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