Happy Halloween! October 31, 2011

From ghosties and ghoulies

and long-leggedy beasties

and things that go bump in the night,

deliver us, O Lord.

~Ancient Scottish Prayer

Hello Family and Friends,

Greetings to all of you from Anacortes, Washington where Cindy and I find ourselves in the midst of some family birthday celebrations on this scariest of days.

Yesterday was the birthday of Pam Engan Shepard, who lives here in Anacortes. She is the wife of my brother Russell Shepard and the mother of Steven Paul Shepard and Linda Shepard. Happy Birthday, Pam!

The first picture shows Pam on the right with her mother-in-law Maida Shepard. This picture was taken at the Shepard family reunion this past summer.

Tomorrow is the birthday of my mother Maida Gower Shepard also of Anacortes. Yesterday all her children gathered at her home on Wildwood Lane and celebrated with her a few days early. She will turn a healthy and spry 87 years old tomorrow, November 1.

Maida has lived in Anacortes, Washington for the last 33 years, ever since she and husband Eugene moved here from San Diego in 1978. She lived in San Diego for 36 years, ever since her family moved there in 1942 from Okemah, Oklahoma. San Diego is where she met and married Eugene Shepard, and where they raised their 6 children. She was born in Mountain View, Arkansas, but spent her childhood in Oklahoma.

Maida has lived on Wildwood Lane since she and Eugene moved here back in 1978. She stays busy with her Church and is connected to all her family, especially son Russ and grandson Steven who live with her. She also loves to travel. Just today she told me, "Any mule train that comes along, I am ready to hop on it." It won't be on a mule train, but she will be leaving later this week to visit her son Darrell and family in Seattle. From there she will go on to visit her family in California, including her youngest  great grandchildren, Logan and Preslea Shepard.

The second picture shows Maida with her oldest son Gary Shepard. This picture was taken at her birthday celebration yesterday. Happy Birthday to mom!

Else- where around our family. The third picture I am including today shows two of Maida Shepard's other  great grand children. On the right are Nate and Kyle Sauvage of Weather- ford, Texas, with their father James, carving a pumpkin and getting ready for Halloween. This picture was taken by their mother Kelly Shepard Sauvage.

Happy Halloween to everyone!

- - -

Steve  

Davis Descendants Now and Then, October 25, 2011

It is a desirable thing

to be well-descended,

but the glory belongs

to our ancestors.
-Plutarch

Hello Family and Friends,

Greetings to all of you from San Diego where fall has finally decided to arrive with cool nights and overcast skies.

Update on New Headstone Project. Second cousin Jerry Davis contacted me this past week and was excited to tell me that we are getting close to the total we need to purchase a new headstone for our ancestors Alexander and Elizabeth Davis. 12 different descendants of theirs have so far contributed toward the effort, leaving us only $164 short. Please let Jerry (jerthebear@sbcglobal.net) or me know if you can help us complete this project. We are hoping to raise the necessary amount soon.

As I have mentioned before, the new headstone is to replace the broken and unreadable stones that now exist for Alexander Davis (1819-1866) and his daughter Elizabeth Davis Carter (1844-1867) in Spencer, Indiana. Elizabeth died the year after her father, at just 24 years old, and is buried next to him.

Alexander and his wife Jane Buskirk Davis (who is buried in Helena, Oklahoma) were important pioneer ancestors of ours who migrated westward from Ohio to Indiana in the early 19th century and began a period of several generations when our family lived in the area around Spencer, Indiana. They are also the very first ones among our ancestors to belong to the Campbell/Stone religious movement (The Church of Christ, Christian Church, Disciples of Christ).

Very few of our relatives still live in Spencer today, but it remains a special place in the history of our family. Especially important is the New Union Cemetery northwest of town, where Alexander and Elizabeth, and a number of other ancestors, are buried. Next to the cemetery is a grassy area where the old New Union Church of Christ stood for nearly 100 years until 1957. We are indebted to these folks for their pioneering spirit, their enduring faith and their love of family. Their legacy continues through us and is present in many ways in their descendants who remember them even today.

Happy Birthday Mandi! One of their many descendants is Mandi Aquiningoc of Granbury, Texas. Tomorrow is Mandi's 19th birthday. She is also a descendant of Leroy and Nola (Shannon) Gower. For the first half of Mandi's life she lived in San Diego, where she was born in 1992. The last 10 years or so she has lived in Texas. The first picture shows Mandi (on the right) with her older sister Lyndsey and her cousin Kyle Sauvage. The picture below shows Mandy with her dog Bubbers.

Mandi: "Hi uncle Steve, it's so good to hear from you:) I'm doing great! I finally got a job at panda express here in Granbury and its amazing. I love the job I love the people and I think I'm gonna fit right in:) My sister and I moved in with our grandparents in Granbury which was the best thing for us to do. Life's great uncle Steve, and I'm proud to say that! Hopefully me and my sister can make it out there sometime and visit with the rest of our family."

Here is Mandi's lineage from Alexander and Jane Davis:

• Alexander Davis (1819-66) who married Jane Buskirk (1823-95), the parents of...
• Charles Davis (1849-1926) who married Melinda Wright (1846-1920), the parents of...
• James Brooks Davis (1870-1928) who married Caroline Spear (1865-1951), the parents of...
• Bura Davis (1896-1986) who married William Shepard (1888-1976), the parents of...
• Eugene Shepard (1921-2003) who married Maida Gower (1924), the parents of...
• Gary Shepard (1946) who married Jackie Enderle (1947), the parents of...
• Kerri Shepard (1968) who married Manuel Aquiningoc (1961-1992), the parents of...
• Mandi Aquiningoc (1992)

- - -

Steve

Birthdays and New Birth, October 18, 2011

God gave us our relatives; 

thank God we can choose our friends.

~Ethel Watts Mumford

Hello Family and Friends,

Greeting to all of you wherever you may be, on this fine October day in San Diego.

Today is the 14th birthday of Korilyn Boyd. She is the 20th of the 21 Ggrandchildren of Will and Bura Davis Shepard. Kori is the daughter of my cousin Darren and Vicki Boyd of San Diego, and the granddaughter of Terry and Thelma Shepard Boyd of Gallup, New Mexico.

The first picture shows Korilyn (on the left) with a friend. Happy Birthday to Korilyn!

Today is also the birthday of my aunt Vicki Gower Johnston. The daughter of Leroy and Nola Shannon Gower, she was born in Okemah, Oklahoma. Vicki lived in San Diego for many years before moving to Oak Harbor, Washington 35 years ago. She lives there today with her husband Duke Johnston. Vicki has four children, Paula Tuzzolino of Sun Lakes, Arizona, Gloria Watson of Knoxville, Tennessee, Michael Harrell of Mountain View, California and David Harrell of Oak Harbor.

The second picture shows Vicki on the left with her sister Maida Gower Shepard on the right.

Vicki has one grand daughter, Heather Cotton, who lives in San Antonio, Texas with her husband Sean.

The good news in Vicki's family these days is that her grand daughter Heather recently gave birth to her and Sean's second child, and Vicki's second Great Grandchild. Alexandria Danielle Cotton was born just 3 weeks ago on September 29 in San Antonio, Texas. Heather's first child is 3 year old Victoria (named after her Great Grandmother). Congratulations to the happy parents, to grandmother Paula, and to Great Grandmother Vicki.

The third picture shows newborn Alexandria Cotton ("Lexi") at one week old. Paula tells me that mother and baby are doing fine. Paula has been in San Antonio for the last month helping with the arrival of her new grandbaby. Congratulations to Heather and Sean and best wishes to their whole family on the birth of Lexi.
- - -
Steve

Harried Guys and Wandering Women, October 11, 2011

The family is the fundamental unit of society

as well as the root of culture.

It is a perpetual source of encouragement,

assurance and emotional refueling.

~Marianne Neifert

Hello Family and Friends,

Greetings to all of you on this warm fall day in San Diego. Cindy and I are in the middle of a wonderful 10 day experience as full time grandparents, precipitated by the recovery of our daughter-in-law Chenda from her recent surgery. She is doing well and will soon return to her duties as full time mom and wife.

Yesterday was such a beautiful day we went to the San Diego Zoo and enjoyed ourselves with Preslea and Logan and some friends and fellow grand parents and their young ones. The first picture was taken near the end of that memorable adventure. It shows a rather harried Logan and me on the left with a smiling and composed Cindy and Preslea on the right.

Oklahoma Update. I received word just the other day from Dane Shepard of Newcastle, Oklahoma, updating me on the status of his father Elmer Shepard. (The picture below shows Elmer Shepard with his sister Pauline Shepard Russell. It was also taken here in San Diego, not far from where the first picture was taken, but 65 years ago, when the Will and Bura Davis Shepard family was living in San Diego.)

Dane: Greetings and I hope you're enjoying the fall season. We are finally receiving some much needed rain after a dry and warm September. There's been no cool or cold weather so far.

Regarding Elmer, he seems to be consistently calmer and a bit more active than last month. When I am with him, he has a good appetite, consuming his meal plus the ice cream I bring. He sleeps a lot but gets up on his own and sometimes falls. So far nothing serious has happened. His short term memory is indeed very short but he retains a lot of the past. He remembered a lot about Edwin Kilpatrick of recent family emails.

He is in a memory care unit where many of the residents have Alzheimer related issues. He gets visits from wandering women who want to make his bed or do something to the room. One of the male residents, Neal, has given some comic relief to the situation. Last month, at the supper table, for some reason he mentioned that he would be glad when Christmas was over. I asked him how old he was and he said that he didn't remember as it was a long time ago (he is younger than Dad).

As time slips by it is interesting (if not sobering) as to one's view of their role and family position. You see yourself gradually but surely taking the place of those who are going or who have gone ahead.  Having children at an older age has tempered that reality somewhat for me but I am quickly reminded being with Dad. Lord willing, the years ahead hold the promise of fulfillment and even more service and productivity. Indeed, "we walk by faith and not by sight." Most lovingly, Dane.

Thanks to Dane for these words and best wishes to him and Elmer and their family.

- - -

Steve

Because Two People Fell In Love, October 4, 2011

Family:

all because
two people

fell in love.

~author unknown

Hello Family and Friends,

Greetings to all of you from Alameda, California, our home away from home. Cindy and I are enjoying ourselves with Nathan and Chenda and being grandparents of two little ones. Ostensibly we are here helping Chenda who had a nephrectomy just two weeks ago but is doing very well.

I received word recently from my brother Gary's wife, Cindy Dillon Shepard, that her daughter Michele McGauran was promoted to Chief Petty Officer in the Navy just a couple of weeks ago. Gary and Cindy were present to witness the ceremony at Lemoore Naval Air Station in Lemoore, California where Michele is presently stationed. Below is a picture of Cindy's daughter Michele that was taken by the proud mom at the ceremony last month. Congratulations to Michele!

Gary and Cindy live in Oak Harbor, Washington, which is, of course, a long way from Lemoore, California, but is just down the road a bit and across the bridge from Anacortes, Washington where our mother Maida Shepard lives. Below is Gary and Cindy in a picture that was taken this past summer at the Shepard family reunion in Anacortes. (Thanks to Jerry Clark for taking this picture.)

Gary is the oldest of the 5 children of Maida Gower Shepard and the late Eugene Shepard. Below is a picture that was taken last fall and shows us 5 siblings. From right to left are Gary, me, Darrell, Barbara and Russell. Even though we were all born and raised in San Diego, I am the only one of the bunch who lives in California today. The others all live in Western Washington.

Davis Headstone Project. I talked to my second cousin Jerry Davis of Grand Prairie, Texas recently about our campaign to raise money for a new headstone for our common ancestors Alexander and Elizabeth Davis. They reside in the old New Union Cemetery (I love that oxymoron!) in Spencer, Indiana. (Click here for the details.) Jerry tells me that we are well over half way toward our goal of raising $958 for the new headstone. He has spread the word beyond the readership of this blog to a number of other Davis descendants who are interested in participating. Some of you have also expressed an interest in contributing. 

We are hoping to complete this project in the next few months. So if you would like to participate, please send a check to either Jerry (2637 Remington Drive, Grand Prairie, Texas 75052) or to me (918 Camino de la Reina #55, San Diego, Ca 92108). If you have any questions, Jerry or I would be glad to answer them.

- - -

Steve

Leroy and Nola Gower's Anniversary, September 27, 2011

In time of test,

family is best.

~Burmese proverb

Hello Family and Friends,

It was 90 years ago today that my grandparents Leroy and Nola Shannon Gower were married in Mountain View, Arkansas. I mentioned in my last post that I do not ever remember them celebrating a wedding anniversary. I do know, however, that they had a special celebration on their 50th anniversary.

It took place on September 27, 1971. A number of pictures were taken that day as the family gathered to honor them at the home of Eugene and Maida Gower Shepard on Armstrong Street in San Diego. The first picture is one of the pictures from that celebration. It shows a smiling Leroy and Nola with their anniversary cake in front of them. 

The second picture (below) is also from that day in 1971 and shows Leroy and Nola on the right with their daughter Maida and her husband Eugene in the middle. In front of Eugene is their youngest son Russ; in front of Maida is Leroy and Nola's Ggranddaughter Kerri. On the left is Kerri's parents, my brother Gary with his first wife Jackie.

Of the 40 descendants of Leroy and Nola, 21 have been born since 1971. Their youngest Ggrandchild at the time, Tim Gower, missed being born on their anniversary by just 11 days.

Their anniversary September 27th was one of the first happy moments in our family's life after the tragic death just 2 months earlier of their oldest granddaughter, my 20 year old sister Linda. My other sister, 12 year old Barbara, was seriously injured in the same accident, requiring a lengthy recovery. It was a very stressful time for the whole family. 

Just a few weeks before their anniversary, Cindy and I had moved from San Diego to Berkeley, California. I had just begun seminary, and Cindy had just begun her career with Wells Fargo Bank, which was why we were unable to attend their celebration. It was one of their last anniversary celebrations; Leroy died in December, 1974. I will always be grateful for these two who were such an important part of our family.

Happy Birthday to Cathrina! Thursday, September 29, is the birthday of Cathrina Helms Clark, wife of Jerry Clark of Lubbock, Texas. The third picture shows Jerry and Cathrina in a picture taken this summer at the Italian ruins of Ostia Antica. Happy Birthday Cathrina!

- - -
Steve

Remembering A 90th Anniversary, September 22, 2011

The more you celebrate your life.

the more there is in life to celebrate.

~Oprah Winfrey

Hello Family and Friends,

This coming Tuesday, September 27, marks the 90th anniversary of the wedding of my late grandparents Leroy and Nola Shannon Gower. It is an occasion to remember and to honor these two whose lives had a great impact on those of us who are descendants of theirs.

Leroy and Nola were both born in Mountain View, Arkansas at the turn of the 20th century - Leroy in 1899, and Nola in 1902. They were raised there in farming families of very modest means and then married in 1921, perhaps in the Baptist Church to which their families belonged. The first picture shows Leroy and Nola in a picture that may have been taken on their wedding day.

Mountain View was where they bore their first two children, Hendrix and Maida. Maida remembers her folks saying that in 1925, on her first birthday, the four of them left Mountain View and began their 300 mile journey by wagon from Northern Arkansas to Okemah in Eastern Oklahoma.

Oklahoma was where their third child Victoria (nee Melva) was born and where they lived for 17 years. In 1942 they followed the lead of many other Okies and moved to California. They settled in San Diego where Leroy and Hendrix found work with the Railway Express. San Diego is where Leroy and Nola spent almost all the rest of their lives, in their home on Lynne Street. San Diego is also where they are laid to rest in Greenwood Cemetery. The final few years of Nola's life (she lived to 102!) were spent in Western Washington where her daughters Maida Shepard and Vicki Johnston still live today.

Their 3 children gave them 12 grand children: Hershell and Jimmie by Hendrix; Gary, me, Linda, Darrell, Barbara and Russ by Maida; and Paula, Gloria, Michael and David by Vicki. Their descendants today also include 14 Ggrandchildren and 11 GGgrandchildren. Of their 40 descendants, born in the last 90 years, just one of their children, Hendrix, and one of their grandchildren, Linda, have passed away. The rest are scattered around the U.S., mainly in Western Washington and California, but also Arizona and Tennessee.

I honestly never remember my grandparents ever celebrating a wedding anniversary. They were of very humble and modest beginnings and were not given to celebrations like anniversaries. I was only 26 years old when my grandfather Leroy passed away in 1974 (30 years before Nola). So I did not have many occasions to be around them when their anniversaries occurred. I do know that their 50th anniversary in 1971 was a special occasion, at a very memorable time in our family's history. In my next post I will share some specifics of that event. 

The second picture from 1962 was taken at the Gower home on Lynne Street in San Diego and shows Leroy and Nola Gower on the left. Maida and Eugene Shepard are on the right with their children Russell, Darrell and Barbara. On the left in front is Starlene Bass Gower, wife of Hendrix Gower.

Cheryl Gower. I mentioned two weeks ago that Cheryl Gower, wife of Jimmie Gower of Fort Mojave, Arizona, had surgery. She wrote me recently to say that she is now home and recovering very well. Continuing best wishes to her!

Headstone Replacement. We continue to receive donations in hopes of replacing the headstones for Alexander Davis (1819-66) and his daughter Elizabeth (1844-67), in Spencer, Indiana. Select this link for all the details. Please contact me by email or contact Jerry Davis if you are able to contribute. Thanks so much.

- - -

Steve

"Seizing the Treasure", September 16, 2011

Take time to remember,

for the heart holds many treasures,

golden moments that will always be a part of us.

(from Seizing the Treasure)

Hello Family and Friends,

I have written before in this blog about the long time family connection between the Shepard, Davis and Kilpatrick families. Two of my great aunts, Winona Davis and Myra Davis, married Kilpatrick brothers in Oklahoma back in 1918 and 1924, and began a serious intertwining of our families. It continued when members of those families moved and settled a few years later in Two Buttes, Colorado, and then when some of them even later moved to the West Coast and maintained ties. Over the years the connections between the Kilpatricks, Davises and Shepards have been as convoluted as they have been warm and memorable!

Marjorie Vaughn-Eldred, a reader of this blog who lives in Buckley, Washington, is a member of the Kilpatrick family with whom our family has been in cahoots for several generations now. Marjorie's mother was Marion Kilpatrick, a sister of Bill and Barney Kilpatick, the two fellows who long ago married the Davis girls, who were sisters of my grandmother Bura Davis Shepard. In other words Marjorie is a first cousin of a first cousin of my father Eugene Shepard. See what I mean by convoluted?

A New History Book. Just this year, Marjorie published a family history titled Seizing the Treasure: Nuggets of Vaughn-Kilpatrick Story. This very personal book is a 350 page collection of family stories that take place over the last 100 years. It tells the stories of Marjorie, her parents and grandparents, as well as her siblings, her children and other family. It covers the Kilpatrick family and their moves from Beaver County, Oklahoma to Two Buttes, Colorado, to California, Oregon and Washington. If those moves sound familiar, it's because some of the Shepards and Davises made very similar moves at various times in the 20th century.

Marjorie's book is one more work that will take its place alongside other writings that chronicle the life of our larger family. The strength of her book is the family recollections that recount stories while not being quite so concerned with exact dates and other details. Her work is "an anthology of family tales [that] joins several genres: non-fiction, creative non-fiction, essay, letters, and a bit of poetry." It is a valuable piece of our family history that is worth reading, and for which we can be grateful. 

Marjorie told me just yesterday: "People can email me at cemeingv@q.com and request a book or go to Amazon.com and buy a copy there for $16.95. If they buy two copies (buddy system) they can save the postage. The book plus mailing expense is about $20 if they order one copy from me."

Remembering Edwin Kilpatrick. Reading Marjorie's stories prompted me to remember a first cousin of Marjorie, Edwin Kilpatrick, who is mentioned in her book. Edwin was one of the great influences in my life and illustrates the important relationships between our families over the years. 

Many of you remember that Edwin was the minister of my family's church, the Linda Vista Church of Christ, in San Diego in the 1960s. He took a special interest in our church youth group and led us on many wonderful adventures, not the least of which were trips to Yosemite, including my first excursion to the top of Half Dome. (See second picture of Edwin on a youth backpack in Little Yosemite Valley.) He was one of the key factors in my decision to go into the ministry, which resulted in 40 years of full time ministry. He also married Cindy and me 44 years ago, and was a dear friend of ours until his untimely death from cancer just 11 years later. It was my honor to preside at his funeral service in 1979 in Roseville, California.

The third picture, from 1972, shows Edwin Kilpatrick, his wife Ruby and 4 of their children in the right half of the picture. In the left half of the picture are my parents Eugene and Maida Shepard with my sister Barbara and my brother Russ. My wife Cindy is on the far left. (Click on the picture for a larger view.)

Thanks to Marjorie for her new book, and for this reminder of the strong and lasting relationship our families have shared.

Taking My Turn, September 9, 2011

Family...
remains the measure of our stability
because it measures our sense of loyalty.
~Haniel Long

Hello Family and Friends,

Taking My Turn. Today I take my turn in doing something that there is no avoiding, something that everyone of us must do, something that no person in this life can escape. Ever. Today I get to celebrate yet another birthday. I will do it for the 63rd time.

I guess it is only fair. I have reminded many of you, innumerable times in the posts of this blog, that the years of your life are slipping away. And if that wasn't enough, I included pictures to prove the point. The reminders have come whether you liked them or not -- and I suspect in some cases it was "not". But I have had to be fair. The Shepard's Crook does not discriminate. I would hope that my constant birthday reminders are a measure of my stability and my sense of loyalty to our family (see the Haniel Long quote above).

So today, 9-9-11, I take my turn. I suppose someone else should be giving this unflattering reminder that I am a year older and what a wonderful thing it is. (Yeah, right.) But did any of you step forward and volunteer? Of course not. So it is my duty. Happy Birthday to me.


On the upside, I am genuinely grateful to be around to celebrate yet another birthday. And I sincerely appreciate the well wishes that many of you have expressed in phone calls and emails and Facebook posts. I appreciate them all.

Having a birthday is yet another opportunity for me to boast shamelessly of the wonderful family Cindy and I are blessed to be a part of, including our son Nathan, his wife Chenda, and their two children, Preslea and Logan. The first picture above, taken by Cindy last week in Alameda, California, shows me and the youngest member of our family, our grandson Logan.

Happy Birthday Kelly! Monday is the birthday of my niece Kelly Shepard Sauvage. She lives with husband James and sons Nate and Kyle in Weatherford, Texas. Kelly was born and raised in San Diego, and has remained a California girl at heart even though she has lived in the lone star state for over 10 years now. The second picture I am including shows Kelly with their two sons. Best wishes for a very happy birthday to Kelly this coming Monday!

Update on Davis Headstone Replacement. Jerry Davis and I have received word from several of you that you would be willing to help with the replacement of the headstone in Spencer, Indiana for ancestors Alexander Davis and his daughter Elizabeth, which I detailed in my last post. Thanks so much! If there are others who would like to help, please contact me by email or contact Jerry Davis with your interest. The cost will be $958 and I am pleased to report that we are well on our way toward reaching that goal. But we do need more help, so please give it some thought.

Cousin Cheryl Gower. I received word earlier this week from Cheryl Gower, the wife of my cousin Jimmie Gower of Ft Mojave, Arizona. Cheryl said that she will be in a Las Vegas hospital today having some serious surgery and would appreciate our thoughts and prayers.
- - -
Steve

New Headstone for Old Davises, September 3, 2011

Family...
All other pacts of love or fear
derive from it and are modeled upon it. 

~Haniel Long

Hello Family and Friends,

Greetings today from Alameda, California on this weekend of Labor Day.

In my last post I mentioned Alexander and Jane Davis, Ohio immigrants who were among our earliest Davis ancestors to settle in Indiana. I do not have a picture of Alexander and Jane, but I am including a picture that shows their son Charles Edward Davis (with the cane, second from right). Taken in the 1920s this picture also shows Alexander and Jane's Davis grandsons Zaley, Benjamin, Morton, James Brooks and, on the far right, John.

Alexander and Jane were among the very first members of the New Union Church of Christ, outside Spencer, Indiana. Alexander and their daughter Elizabeth Davis Carter are buried in the New Union Cemetery, next to where the old New Union Church once stood.

Old and Broken Headstones. If you visit the New Union Cemetery today, you can see the graves of Alexander and Elizabeth Davis -- if you know where to look. Theirs are among the oldest, most weathered headstones in the entire grave yard. When Cindy and I visited the cemetery in July we needed the help of local family member Ruth Fortner to locate them. The two broken headstones are flat, not upright like most of the others around them, and are so old that they are very difficult to read.

Jerry Davis of Grand Prairie, Texas, is a direct descendant of Alexander Davis -- as am I, and many of you. (At least 35 of you who are reading this are also direct descendants.) Jerry wrote me recently with an idea about Alexander Davis and his daughter Elizabeth. He is suggesting we replace both of their broken, nearly unreadable headstones, with a new one.

He has found out that it will cost $958 to obtain a new quality headstone that will honor the memory of these two and be a fitting tribute to them in this cemetery that holds so much history of our family. Jerry has said that he will make a substantial contribution himself toward the cost of this headstone. Cindy and I have agreed to do the same. Are there others among you who can contribute to this cause?

The Rest of the Story. By way of explanation I should mention that Jane Buskirk Davis, Alexander's wife and Elizabeth's mother, is not buried in Indiana. She was among our Davis kinfolk who left Indiana in the 1880s and migrated to Oklahoma. Jane, at 70 years old, with their youngest son William Alexander Davis, "ran for land" in the Cherokee Strip in 1893, staking a claim and settling in what eventually became Helena, in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma.

Jane died just two years later in 1895. Land had been donated for a cemetery but it had not yet been plotted. Even so, they allowed Jane's burial, and she became the first person buried in Good Hope Cemetery just south of Helena. Today she lays to rest there beside her son William Alexander and his wife Mary. (See the second picture of Jane's headstone.)

Jane's headstone in Oklahoma is in very good shape, as you can see from the picture. Back in Indiana, however, her husband's headstone and that of her daughter, are in very poor condition (see my last post for a picture of their headstones).

Can You Help? If you are able to contribute to the effort to buy a new headstone for Alexander Davis and his daughter Elizabeth Davis Carter in Spencer, Indiana, please contact me by email or contact Jerry Davis. We are hoping to get contributions from several of our family for $50 or $100 or whatever you can give. Please let us know if you can help, or if you have any questions. It's the least we can do for these wonderful ancestors to whom we owe so much.

---

Steve