The Original Father of our Family, June 26, 2014

Before I got married

I had six theories about raising children;

now, I have six children

and no theories.

~John Wilmot

Today's blog post is a perfect example of how The Shepard's Crook seeks to be both genealogical and contemporary. It concerns three fellows who are directly related, but whose births span 5 centuries and 14 generations. One was born in the 17th century, one in the 19th century, and one in the 21st century. 

Leroy Gower (1899-1874). Yesterday, June 25, was the 115th annversary of the birthday of my maternal grandfather Leroy Gower. He was born in the last year of the 19th century in Mountain View, Arkansas, which is where he was raised and where he met and married Nola Shannon, his wife for 53 years. They lived for 17 years in Okemah, Oklahoma before moving to San Diego where they lived the largest part of their lives.

The first picture, taken in 1968 in front of their home on Lynne Street in San Diego, shows Grandpa Gower in the middle, proudly holding his first two Great Grandchildren, Sean Gower on the left and Kerri Shepard on the right. Leroy and Nola would eventually have 14 Great Grandchildren. Also in this picture are his wife Nola, upper left, his son Hendrix, upper right, and several other family members.

The Original Father of our Family. This being the month of Father's Day, I want to mention another outstanding father in our family tree: Abell Gower (1640-1689), the 7x Great Grandfather of Leroy Gower. 

Abell Gower was the son of English immigrant Abell Gower Sr. of Gloucester, England. He married Jane Hatcher, also a child of English immigrants, and with her he fathered several children. Abell and Jane were both born in 1640 in Henrico, Virginia, and are the first persons in our entire family tree born on American soil. 

Abell was a justice of Henrico County from 1669 until his death in 1689, and was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, the first legislative assembly of elected respresentatives in North America. He also may have served as a naval officer and eventually lost his life in a skirmish with Native Americans.

In 1640 when Abell was born, most of North America was unexplored and the American Revolution was still over 100 years away. George Washington would not even be born until the next century, and the entire population of Colonial America was estimated to be only 26,600. Native Americans outnumbered colonialists in the new world by perhaps 100 to 1. 

Abell Gower was the first of what is now 15 consecutive generations of family members to be born in America. Conceivably we might someday discover another ancestor who was born before Abell Gower in America, but until then he deserves the title of "The Original Father of our Family" in North America.

Happy Birthday, Kyle. Today, June 26, is the 10th birthday of Kyle Christian Sauvage of Weatherford Texas. Kyle is one of Leroy Gower's 13 Great Great Grandchildren and the son of James and Kelly Shepard Sauvage. He is also the grandson of Jackie Perry and my brother Gary Shepard.

Mom Kelly: Kyle will be 10 years old this week. Crazy how fast time flies. Kyle is keeping busy playing on a little league baseball team and also a select team. He made the all star team again this year. His team has made it to the championship game in all four tournaments they have been in and have finished 1st place in two of them. He has proven to be a really good pitcher. He stays so calm and relaxed while I'm a nervous wreck when he's pitching. His dream is still to play for the Padres! His other hobbies include basketball, football and any other sport involving a ball. He definitely keeps me busy.
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Steve Shepard

A Remarkable Father Story, June 20, 2014

The heart of a father

is the masterpiece of nature. 

~Antoine François Prévost

Happy Anniversary to Chenda and Nathan Shepard on their 5th wedding anniversary tomorrow. They were married at the Point Loma tide pools here in San Diego on the day of the Summer Solstice in 2009. The last 5 years have brought lots of changes to them and their family: Chenda has made great strides in adjusting to life in America, 3 children have been born to them, Nate has changed jobs within the company he works for, and they have moved to San Diego from the San Francisco Bay Area.

Congratu- lations to Nathan and Chenda on 5 years together! The first picture was taken earlier today and shows Nathan and Chenda at their home in San Diego.

Last month in celebration of Mother's Day I mentioned several "remarkable Mothers" who can be found in the branches of our family tree. It is only fair that I reciprocate in regard to Fathers. So in the next few weeks I will bring to your attention several outstanding Fathers and share a little of their life stories.

An Outstanding Father. One of the most incredible stories concerns the father of the aforementioned Chenda Sou Shepard, our daughter-in-law, and one of the newer members of our family. His name is Sou Penh, and he is the other grandfather, the Cambodian grandfather, of Chenda and Nathan's children. He is in his late 60s and lives today in Kampong Speu, Cambodia, Chenda's home village, which is about an hour's drive from the capital city of Phnom Penh. He is not in good health, but considering the life he has lived and the family struggles he has endured, it is no wonder.

Sou Penh was a young adult when the notorious Khmer Rouge came to power in Cambodia in the 1970s, and suffered greatly, along with the entire population, during their rule. Social engineering was their aim which led to forced relocations, torture, murder and genocide. Over 2 million Cambodians died during their reign of terror. It was the subject of the 1984 award winning motion picture The Killing Fields. Even though Chenda was born at the very end of the reign of the Khmer Rouge, her father's life and the life of his family was very difficult.

Penh had been a general in the Army of the Cambodian king, which meant that when the Khmer Rouge came to power, he was a wanted man and feared for his life. As a result, his first wife (Chenda's mother) disappeared when Chenda was but 10 months old and was never seen or heard from again. This single father took his family, changed their name, and was on the run from the authorities for a period of time. All this occurred with a badly damaged foot that never healed properly and makes walking difficult even today. His second wife, with whom he has several children, was the result of an arranged marriage by the government.

Chenda's father kept the family together as best he could and saw his 6 children reach adulthood, albeit with emotional and physical scars that will never fully heal. This father's amazing story is filled with sadness, injury and tragedy, but also survival. He and much of his family live today in relative stability in what remains one of the poorest and most impoverished countries in the world.

The second picture, which shows Nathan with Chenda's father, was taken at the family home in Kampong Speu, Cambodia in the spring of 2009 just a few weeks before Chenda came to America. Chenda has not seen her father in the 5 years since she arrived here in California. The reports she receives from home indicate that he had what appears to have been a serious stroke a year or two ago. (The language difference makes understanding his precise medical condition difficult.) We cannot help but appreciate this truly remarkable father and marvel at his strength and fortitude.

Although he and I are separated by thousands of miles, to say nothing of the language and cultural differences, we are both grandfathers of the same 3 wonderful grandchildren. I will ever be grateful to this outstanding father and all he has done for his own family.
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Steve Shepard

A Celebration of Fathers! June 13, 2014

My father would lift me high

And dance with my mother and me

and then spin me around till I fell asleep.

Then up the stairs he would carry me

and I knew for sure I was loved.

~Luther Vandross

Happy Birthday Scott! Today is the 29th Birthday of Scott Ortiz, the son of Kim Boyd Clark and her late husband Gabe Ortiz. Mom Kim tells me that Scott works for Anderson Electric in El Cajon, near San Diego, and lives in Chula Vista with a group called Stranger Band. Scott is originally from Gallup, New Mexico, and was raised in New Mexico and San Diego. 

Today's blog post is even more image intensive than usual, with the many pictures I am including telling our family story much better than words ever could. Thanks to mom Kim for this first recent picture, which shows Scott with his girl friend Christa. 

Sunday is Father's Day! To help offset the gloom and doom that some feel on Friday the 13th, the following Celebration of Fathers is offered. It is a collection of pictures of Dad's and their children and grandchildren that span over 100 years of our family's life. The oldest picture is from 1908 and the most recent picture from just days ago. Thank God for the memory of good fathers, and for the blessing of present day dads who give so much for their kids!

  

Five Years in America. It was 5 years ago today that our daughter-in-law Chenda Sou arrived in the U.S. from her native Cambodia. She and our son Nathan had met there in one of Southeast Asia's poorest countries almost 2 years earlier but it took that long for the immigration process to be completed.

This next picture, taken just a few days ago, shows our daughter-in-law Chenda with her and Nathan's youngest child William in front of their home in the San Carlos community of San Diego. 

Today Chenda and Nathan live in San Diego with their 3 children Preslea, Logan and William. Chenda has made great strides in the last 5 years but continues her adjustment to life in America and her journey toward citizenship. 

Kambree Turns One! Happy Birthday tomorrow, June 14, to Mandi Aquiningoc's baby Kambree Kay of Weatherford, Texas, one of the youngest members of our extended family. 

Kambree lives with her mom Mandi and her father Stephen Bowman in Mineral Wells, Texas, not far from her Grandmother Kerri Shepard Aquiningoc. Kambree is the Great Granddaughter of my brother Gary Shepard, and the first Great Great Granddaughter of Maida Gower Shepard.

This last picture shows Kambree in patriotic stars and stripes, getting ready for the upcoming Independence Day Celebration. Happy Birthday to Kambree and best wishes to Mandi and Stephen!

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Steve Shepard

The Nuts Make the Tree Worth Shaking, June 6, 2014

Some family trees have beautiful leaves,

while others just a bunch of nuts.

Remember, it is the nuts

that make the tree worth shaking.

My grandfather William Shepard was the child of a woman from Illinois by the name of Elvira Owens. I do not write about our Owen heritage as much as other family lines in this blog. Nevertheless Elvira's family is an important part of our family history and worthy of celebrating. She is on my radar screen today because next Wednesday marks the wedding anniversary of her parents Payton and Mary Owens.

My GG Grandparents Payton Owens and Mary Wheeler were married June 11, 1846 in rural Washington County, Illinois, about 50 miles Southeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Payton, born in 1826 in Davidson County, Tennessee came to Western Illinois with his family as a child. Mary Wheeler was born in 1825 in Wood River, Illinois, just across the river from St. Louis, and lived her entire life in Western Illinois. She was 20 and he was just 19 when they were married in the town of Nashville, the Washington, Illinois County Seat, in the late spring of 1846.

By the time the Civil War started 15 years later in April, 1861, Mary and Payton had 6 children. Records show that he did not register for the Civil War draft until the summer of 1863. At that time he was 36 years old, he and Mary owned and farmed hundreds of acres of land, and they had a large family, all of which demanded their attention. I have found no record that Payton ever served in the military. After the Civil War, Mary and Payton had 3 more children, one of whom was Elvira Owens. 

The first picture shows Payton Owens, probably about 1860. I have shared this picture with you before when I was under the impression it was a picture of Payton's father Edmond Owens. But on the back of the original photo it states that it is Payton Owens.

In the 1880s when Elvira's family had moved to Madison County, Illinois, she met a wanderer who had come over from Indiana by the name of William Elmer Shepard. They eventually married and started their own family. In 1906, they moved away from Illinois in 1906 to Beaver County, Oklahoma with their children William and Sadie, and a whole new chapter of our family history began. Some of our Owens kinfolk still live in Western Illinois, a place that continues to be significant in our family history.

History Repeats Itself. Here's an interesting quirk of history: Mary and Payton Owens' wedding date of June 11, 1846 is exactly 100 years before the day that one of their Great Grandsons married his bride. On June 11, 1946, after the conclusion of World War II, my late aunt and uncle, Elmer Shepard and Beryl Swinney, were married in San Diego, California.

The second picture shows Elmer Shepard and Beryl Swinney in January, 1946 just months before they were married in June. Standing on the right is Elmer's brother Eugene Shepard with his wife Maida Gower Shepard (my parents). It is a little hard to tell but Maida is 10 months pregnant with their first child Gary.

Happy Birthday Emma! One of Payton and Mary Owens' GGGG Grandchildren is Emma Beverly Jean Wilk, who celebrates her 9th birthday today. She is the daughter of Shannon Wilk of Atchison, Kansas. The third picture shows Emma with "Papa Frank", who for 28 years was the partner of Shannon's dad Phil.

Shannon: "We are doing good. Emma is having a party on Sunday, she is getting excited. Still can't believe she is nine!! Couldn't wait for her to walk, now I am telling her to slow down. Couldn't wait for her to start talking, now I wish she would sshhhh! Can't help loving the kid. Hope all is well with you."

Happy Birthday to Emma! Here is her lineage to Mary and Payton Owens:

• Payton Owens (1826-1872) - wife Mary Wheeler (1825-1871)
• Elvira Owens (1865-1931) - husband William Elmer Shepard (1862-1915)
• William Shepard (1888-1976) - wife Bura Davis (1896-1986)
• Pauline Shepard (1916-2000) - husband Bill Russell (1908-1997)
• Beverly Russell (1939-1974) - husband Phil Wilk (1935-2007)
• Shannon Wilk (b. 1973)
• Emma Beverly Jean Wilk (b. 2005)

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Steve Shepard

James Brooks Davis and Descendants, June 1, 2014

I note the obvious differences

between each sort and type,

but we are more alike, my friends,

than we are unalike.

~Maya Angelou

The Birthday of James Brooks Davis. Tomorrow is the anniversary of the birth of my Great Grandfather James Brooks Davis, who was born outside Spencer, Indiana on June 2, 1870 -- 144 years ago.

James' grandparents, Alex and Jane Davis, had migrated from Ohio to Owen County, Indiana about 1850 and were the first of our Davis ancestors to settle there. James' father Charles, a young child when his family left Ohio, met a young Indiana native as a teenager by the name of Malinda Wright, and eventually married her in Owen County in 1869. The following spring, baby James Brooks arrived and became the first Davis child to be born a Hoosier.

James was raised near Spencer, Indiana and at 25 years old married another native Indianan, Callie Spear, on New Year's Day 1896. In the first 12 years of their life together they had 7 children, their oldest being my grandmother Bura Davis. Their other children were Lawrence, Myra, Winona, Jesse, Esther and Marjorie. The first picture from 1908 shows James surrounded by 4 of their daughters, including their youngest, Marjorie, in his lap.

In March, 1913, James and Callie uprooted their family of 9 -- all of whom had lived their entire lives in Owen County, Indiana -- and moved them all to "the land of opportunity", the panhandle of Oklahoma. At the time their children ranged in age from 4 to 16 years old. They settled in Beaver County and joined the ranks of hard working farming families on the Oklahoma frontier.

A few of the descendants of James and Callie still live in Beaver County today. Over the last century since the family settled in Oklahoma, however, most of them have moved away and today live elsewhere in Oklahoma or in places like Washington, California, Missouri and Texas. In Sophia Cemetery in Beaver County James Brooks Davis is laid to rest alongside his wife Callie. Select this link to visit their grave online.

The Anniversary of William and Bura Davis Shepard. 100 years ago this year -- shortly after moving from Indiana -- James and Callie's oldest daughter Bura got to know another recent immigrant to Oklahoma by the name of William Shepard. The following spring Will and Bura decided to marry. Because of the high regard in which she held her father, James' 45th birthday, June 2, 1915, seemed the best day to tie the knot. So on Wednesday, June 2, after a very rainy spring in the panhandle, 18 year old Bura and 26 year old William got into his new Model T Ford, braved the mud mired roads and ventured out to the country home of their Church of Christ preacher and the deed was done. 

It's been 99 years since Will and Bura were married, but their love and devotion remains a great influence on those of us who knew them. The top couple in the tryptich on the right is William and Bura in San Diego in 1975, the year they celebrated 60 years of marriage. William died the following year, and Bura 10 years after that.

The Anniversary of Gary and Cindy Shepard. One of the Great Grandchildren of James Brooks Davis, my brother Gary Shepard, also chose June 2 as the wedding day for him and his bride Cindy. On Saturday, June 2, 1979 -- 35 year ago tomorrow -- Gary married Cindy Ann Dillon at the home of me and my wife Cindy in Los Alamitos, California, in a small beautiful ceremony attended by a few friends. Happy Anniversary and best wishes to Gary and Cindy! The middle couple on the right is Gary and Cindy on their wedding day in 1979.

The Anniversary of Jeremy and Desiree Ortiz. Today, June 1, is the anniversary of Jeremy and Desiree Ortiz of Blue Springs, Missouri. Jeremy is one of the Great Great Grandchildren of James and Callie Davis and the oldest grandchild of Thelma Shepard Boyd. He is the first born of Kim Boyd Clark. Jeremy and Desiree were married when they were living here in San Diego 12 years and 5 children ago. The bottom couple on the right is Desiree and Jeremy. Best wishes and happy anniversary to them!

Father's Day is in two weeks. If you have a picture of your father or grandfather that you would like me to include in my upcoming Father's Day photo presentation, please send it my way.
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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

An Informal Wartime Wedding, May 19, 2014

The purpose of memory

is not simply to preserve the past,

it is to protect the future.

~Barack Obama

69 years ago this coming Saturday -- on May 24, 1945 -- my parents, Maida Gower and Eugene Shepard, were married here in San Diego. Their union brought together in marriage the Gowers and the Shepards for the first time and has resulted in a clan that today includes at least 36 people and is growing. (At least 2 more births in this clan are expected this year!) It was the first California wedding for a member of either the Gowers or the Shepards.

Few pictures exist of Gene and Maida from the time of their wedding, and none of the wedding itself. The two I am including shows them about 1945, the first one includes Gene's brother Elmer Shepard on the right.

At the time they married, Gene's parents had recently moved to San Diego with their 4 children and their first 2 grandchildren. Maida's parents had also recently relocated in San Diego with their 3 children.

He was in the Navy at the time and stationed at Los Alamitos Naval Air Station in Orange County. She was just a couple years out of High School when she and Gene were married at the El Cajon Blvd Church of Christ during the final stages of World War II. They were married on a Thursday evening in a quiet, private ceremony at the home of the minister who lived behind the church. Whatever time they had to honeymoon was squeezed into the few days of leave that Gene had from his Navy assignment 100 miles up the highway.

He put lots of miles on his new '41 Ford going back and forth from San Diego to Los Alamitos, as he and Maida dated. His commute continued for several months even after they married. Those were the days of the scenic and slow Pacific Coast Highway that went through all the coast towns, long before the wide and spacious Interstate 5 that today carries probably 10 times the amount of traffic along that same popular corridor.

In the first year after their wedding, the war ended, Gene moved to San Diego full-time, they had their first child Gary (#1 of 6), his civilian career at the Naval Supply Depot began, and they set up their first home together in San Diego. It was an amazing time of new beginnings not only for our nation and our world, but for this new family. Many years have passed since that informal wartime wedding in the preacher's home, but it remains a seminal event that many of us look back on with interest, gratitude and deep appreciation.

Happy Birthday, Jason! Yesterday was the 42nd birthday of my nephew Jason Shepard of Fort Worth, Texas. Born in San Diego to my brother Gary and his first wife Jackie Enderle, Jason is the first Grandson of Gene and Maida Shepard.  

Happy Birthday, Ashlyn! Today is the birthday of Ashlyn Ortiz of Blue Springs, Missouri, one of the Great Great Grandchildren of William and Bura Davis Shepard. Ashlyn is the daughter of Jeremy and Desiree Ortiz. 

Desiree: "Here is a picture of Ashlyn at her birthday party with her cakes. She is celebrating her 9th birthday with a sleep over at our home. We have 9 girls sleeping over! I guess 9 is the magic number, lol. Ashlyn has really grown to be such a sweet loving little girl and makes everyday a happy day for everyone around her. We are so proud of the young girl she has become."
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Steve Shepard

Many Leaves, One Tree, May 14, 2014

Ronin: "Many leaves, one tree."

M.K.: "What does that mean?"
Ronin: "We are all individuals

but we're all connected.

It's what we live by."

~from the film "Epic"

This week is a time to celebrate the truth that we are many leaves but one tree. In the next few days the San Diego contingency of our family celebrates several birthdays, yet those are not all the celebrations for family members around the country this week.

Today is the rare occasion when three birthdays in our family appear on the calendar: Thelma Boyd, her granddaughter Courtney Boyd, and Christopher Shepard.

My aunt Thelma lives in Blue Springs, Missouri and is the youngest (and last remaining) child of my late grandparents Will and Bura Davis Shepard. The first picture shows Thelma with her daughter Kim Boyd Clark.

Thelma's granddaughter, 24 year old Courtney Boyd was also born on May 14, but she was raised here in Southern California. Courtney tells me that she and her daughter Carsyn and boyfriend Cody still live in the east county of San Diego. "I just finished school this past February to be a medical assistant, so I'm just busy job hunting and being a mommy. [Our daughter] Carsyn is doing well, walking and talking more everyday. She is 16 months now... so big." Courtney is the daughter of Darren Boyd of Coronado, California whose birthday will be on Friday of this week. Happy Birthday to Thelma, Courtney and Darren!

Today is also the birthday of my nephew Christopher Shepard of Seattle, Washington. Chris -- 30 years old today! -- is the older son of my brother Darrell and his wife Mary Shepard. Chris and his girlfriend Jessica Bell just competed a trip to Hawaii. This second picture shows the two of them on a beach in Kauai.

Happy Birthday, Logan! Tomorrow is the birthday of our older grandson Logan Alexander Shepard of San Diego. At just 3 years old he is the older of the two Logan Shepards in our family, the other one being his second cousin Logan Joseph Shepard, the son of Patrick and Nicole Shepard of Bothell, Washington.

Logan Alexander Shepard is the middle child of the three children of Nathan and Chenda Shepard, who moved to San Diego just a few months ago. Logan's namesake in our family tree is Alexander Davis, his 5X Great Grandfather via my grandmother Bura Davis Shepard. Here is a lineage from Logan Alexander Shepard to Alexander Davis.

• Logan Alexander Shepard (b. 2011)
• Nathan Shepard (b. 1977) - wife Chenda Sou
• Steve Shepard (b. 1948) - wife Cindy Harris
• Eugene Shepard (1921-2003) - wife Maida Gower
• Bura Davis Shepard (1896-1986) - husband William Shepard
• James Brooks Davis (1870-1928) - wife Carolyn Spear
• Charles Edward Davis (1849-1926) - wife Malinda Wright
• Alexander Davis (1819-1866) - wife Jane Buskirk

 The following photo presentation celebrates Logan's 3rd birthday tomorrow.

  

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Steve Shepard

Happy Mother's Day Tomorrow, May 10, 2014

I remember my mother's prayers;

they have always followed me.

They have clung to me all my life.

~Abraham Lincoln

Happy Mother's Day tomorrow to all moms in our midst! May it be a special occasion to remember the importance of moms who have passed away as well as a time to honor those who are with us.

Special Mother's Day and Birthday wishes this weekend go to Cindy Saunders Shepard of New Castle, Oklahoma, and to Nicole Haw Shepard of Bothell, Washington. Tomorrow both of them are celebrating their birthday AND Mother's Day at the same time. The first picture shows Cindy with her children Nathan and Kaylan. Cindy's husband is my cousin Dane Shepard.

Nicole and husband Patrick Shepard, who live in Bothell, Washington, are the parents of little Logan Joseph Shepard, who was born last July. Unless someone else wants to claim the honor, I think Nicole is also the most recent mother in our entire family! The second picture shows Nicole with little Logan.

Nicole: This weekend is my birthday and my first Mother's Day! We are doing very well! Logan is healthy and becoming such a happy little guy, it's so much fun! :) We are having a bday/Mother's Day BBQ at our house this weekend with all our family. On another note, we are expecting Baby #2 in December! We are very excited!! Another exciting year in the Shepard house! :)

On the other end of the spectrum, tomorrow is my mom Maida Shepard's 69th Mother's Day. Even though I have only been around for 66 of them, I am convinced that that is quite an accomplishment, worthy of our praise and gratitude. A lot of mothering (and grandmothering) has been done in those years!

The following is a family photo presentation that celebrates Mother's Day and honors all the moms in our family - the youngest, the oldest, some who are no longer with us, and all those in between!

 

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Steve Shepard

Remarkable Mothers, May 5, 2014

Heaven is under our feet

as well as over our heads.

~Henry David Thoreau

Happy Anniversary! This Wednesday, May 7, is the first wedding anniversary for Lloyd Gower and his wife Tammy Turman Gower who live in San Marcos, Ca, north of San Diego. The first picture shows Lloyd and Tammy Gower. Happy Anniversary to them!

Remarkable Mothers in our Family. This coming Sunday is Mother's Day making this an appropriate time to remember remarkable mothers in the history of our family. I am thinking in particular about women who outlived their husbands, sometimes by many years. 

Nola Shannon Gower. In my last post I mentioned my grandmother Nola Shannon Gower who died 11 years ago and outlived her husband Leroy Gower by 30 years. Fortunately their children were grown when Leroy died (their youngest child Vicki was 41 at the time), therefore Nola's mothering skills were not missed as much as they might have been had she died at a young age.

Nola was just one in a line of women who outlived their husbands by many years. Nola's mother Finetta Dearien Shannon outlived her husband Sam Shannon also by 30 years. He died in 1930; she in 1960 when she was 99! (The picture below shows Finetta and husband Sam in the 1920s.) Nola's paternal grandmother, however, is one of the most remarkable mothers to be found in our entire family tree.

Peggy Gray Shannon was a Civil War widow who outlived her husband David Reid Shannon by 35 years. (Read more about their story here.) David died in the war at 42 years old when his wife Peggy was just 35 and the mother of 7 children between the ages of 2 and 16! (One of those 7 children was my G Grandfather Sam Shannon, shown in the picture below.)

How does a woman and her children survive something like that? They were simple, poor farming folk in the small town of Sugartown, Lousiana, which was already suffering the hardships of Civil War. When the conflict ended they were on the losing side, meaning government assistance of any kind was virtually nonexistent. Salvation for her and her children came in the form of Peggy's father Richard Gray and her brothers Jim, Sam and Lawson, who made the difficult trek to Louisiana from Stone County, Arkansas and took Peggy and her fatherless children back home with them. They made their home in Stone County where Peggy completed raising her 7 children.

If ever there was a woman whose mothering skills were desperately needed and whose parenting abilities were tested beyond measure, it was my GG grandmother Peggy Gray Shannon. This 35 year old young widow lived 35 more years and died in 1899 in Stone County, Arkansas. On this week leading up to Mother's Day, I can find no woman in all my family tree whose life as a mother deserves more praise and admiration than her. She outlived her husband by 35 long years -- a remarkable fact in itself --  but it only begins to tell the story of her life journey as a mother.

Mary Sprague Shepard Ragsdale. In terms of outliving one's husband, however, none can compare with another Civil War widow in our family, Mary Sprague Shepard (1840-1919), another GG grandmother of mine. She outlived her husband William Shepard by 57 years! He was 26 when he died in Indiana in the Civil War; she was a young 22 year old mother of one infant son. Fortunately she married a second time to a William Ragsdale and had several more children by him (and then outlived her second husband by 32 years!). (See picture of her grave in Indianapolis.)

This coming weekend will be a time to honor and appreciate the mothers in our midst. But we would do well to remember the legacy of remarkable mothers in our family history, women who lived through unimaginably difficult times. Their stories help us to appreciate even more those women who today give of themselves to the joys and responsibilities of being parents.
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Steve Shepard