52 Ancestors: #39 - John FRAZIER

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued a challenge:  write one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor.  It can be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem – anything that focuses on one ancestor.

My 4X great grandfather John Frazier was born about 1770 somewhere in Virginia, most likely in a part of Orange County that later became Albemarle County or perhaps Greene.  Land records, birth records, and wills paint a picture of a family criss-crossing county lines, but I think of the Fraziers as Greene County people since the majority of this particular family lived there.

John is the oldest confirmed ancestor of a family that can claim a murderer, abusive husband, community nuisance, war deserter, philanderer, author, loving grandfather, and respected land-owners whose dedication to the land has been memorialized in a trail on the Skyline Drive. 

View of the Shenandoah Valley
from the Frazier Trail on the Skyline Drive, Virginia

An ongoing debate is whether John Frazier was the actual father of son Leland who at various times went by both Frazier and Shiflett.  Leland was born 7 years before John married Lucy Shiflett, leading to a logical argument that he could have been fathered by someone else, especially since he often used Shiflett as his last name.  Yet he also used Frazier with equal frequency. 

When the 1844 indenture between John Frazier and all his children surfaced, researchers thought the debate was over.  The use of the expression “for natural love and affection” in the document implied that John viewed Leland as a son, an equal with the other children, whether he was flesh and blood or not. 

Frazier cabin seen on the Frazier Trail
photo courtesy of Kevin Frazier

So for a couple years now, many Frazier researchers have accepted that Leland was, in fact, John Frazier’s son.  But a new possibility has been discovered in a DAR application.  Quite often the applications contain surprising information, like the names of siblings or children and their spouses.  An Albemarle County patriot named Isaac Hardin had a sister Lucinda who married William Scott and who also married somebody named Shiflett.  The dates are right for Leland to be the child of that marriage.

IF Lucinda “Lucy” Hardin is the same Lucy Shiflett who married John Frazier, the debate has a different conclusion.  Why?  Because Leland’s middle name HARDIN cannot be ignored.  Bestowing the mother’s maiden name as a middle name was a naming trend that often proves useful in family research and is especially illuminating in this one.   While it is most likely true that John Frazier was not Leland’s natural father, he was very much a father to Leland and gave him the same consideration as the legitimate heirs.   

THREE GENERATIONS:

John FRAZIER  ( 1770 – Bef 1850 Greene Co, VA ) & Lucy SHIFLETT  ( 1778 – Aft 1850 Greene Co, VA )  20 Jan 1811 Albemarle, VA

1. Leland Hardin FRAZIER ( 1805 – 1892 Greene Co, VA ) &  m1) Ann Smith MALLORY ( 1806 Orange Co, VA – 1833 Orange Co, VA )  17 May 1827 Orange Co, VA ; & m2) America MALLORY ( 1810 – 1854 Greene Co, VA )  13 Nov 1833 Albemarle, VA ; & m3) Artemissa SHIFLETT ( 1813 – Jun 1890 Greene Co, VA )  05 Nov 1855 Greene Co, VA

Leland and Ann had the following children:

• Dr. Joseph Hardin FRAZIER ( 23 Apr 1828 Orange Co, VA – 01 Jun 1892 Randolph Co, MO) &  Deniza Emmaline EPPERLY  ( 04 Jan 1847 Randolph Co, MO – 07 Dec 1918 )  14 Feb 1864 Randolph County, MO

Leland and America had the following children:

• Huley FRAZIER ( 1836 - )
• Lou FRAZIER ( 1838 - )
• Thomas J. FRAZIER ( 1840 – Abt 1918 ) & m1) Julia Ann FRAZIER ( 1845 Greene Co, VA – Bef 1900 Greene Co, VA ) 04 Jul 1864 Greene Co, VA ; & m2) JENNIE FRAZIER ( 1877 Greene Co, VA – 22 Jan 1961 ) 12 Jun 1900 Greene Co, VA ; & possibly m3) Elizabeth HERRIN
• Barbara FRAZIER ( 02 May 1843 – 03 Aug 1910 ) & Anfield SHIFLETT ( 07 May 1837 – 31 Aug 1906 )  09 Nov 1858 Greene Co, VA

Leland and Artemissa had the following children:

• Columbia FRAZIER ( 1857 - Nov 1884 )  & m1) C. S. SHIFLETT ; & m2) Elvis Sturdivant SHIFLETT (1862 Greene Co, VA – Bef 1900 Greene Co, VA )  07 Apr 1881 Greene Co, VA

2. Nancy Elizabeth FRAZIER (14 Feb 1811 Albemarle Co, VA – 22 Jan 1895 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Burton SHIFLETT ( 1814 Orange County, VA – 22 Oct 1860 Greene Co, VA)  01 Dec 1834 Albemarle, VA

• Ola SHIFLETT ( 1835 –  Before 1850 )
• Jacob Haskell SHIFLETT (About 1836 – Before 08 Oct 1871 ) & Lucretia JOLLETT ( 18 Sep 1838 Rockingham Co, VA – 31 Dec 1911 Rockingham Co,VA )  05 Aug 1858 Page Co, VA
• John Conway SHIFLETT ( 02 Jun 1840 Greene Co, VA – 09 Feb 1917 Albemarle Co, VA ) & m1) Lucretia SHIFLETT  (1846 Greene Co, VA – Before Jul 1880 Greene Co, VA )  07 Dec 1863 Greene Co, VA  ; & m2) Nancy  J. SHIFLETT ( May 1848 - ) ; & m3) Mary D. SHIFLETT ( 1849 – 1924 ) 28 Jul 1880 Greene Co, VA 
• Lucy Ann SHIFLETT ( 1843 Greene Co, VA - 1884 Greene Co, VA ) & James Franklin JOLLETT ( 17 Nov 1836 Rockingham Co, VA – 03 Jun 1930 Augusta Co, VA )  12 Nov 1859 Greene Co, VA
• Francis M. SHIFLETT ( 1844 Greene Co, VA - )
• Jeremiah SHIFLETT ( 1847 Greene Co, VA - )
• Nancy Frances SHIFLETT ( 1849 Greene Co, VA – 1926 Fairfax, VA ) & William Gordon MORRIS JR.  (1851 Greene Co, VA – Before 1900 Greene Co, VA ) 20 Sep 1872 Greene Co, VA
• Susan Clementine SHIFLETT ( 22 Jun 1851 Greene Co, VA – 29 Dec 1928 Greene Co, VA )  & George Austin MORRIS  (06 Apr 1848 Greene Co, VA – 14 Nov 1934 Greene Co, VA )  12 Dec 1870 Greene Co, VA
• Victoria SHIFLETT ( Mar 1854 Greene Co, VA – Before 1930 ) & Ambrose VERNON 26 Dec 1875 Greene Co, VA
• George W. SHIFLETT ( 20 Apr 1856 Greene Co, VA - )
• Unnamed male SHIFLETT ( 1857 Greene Co, VA – 10 Mar 1857 Greene Co, VA )

3. Keziah FRAZIER ( 1812 Albemarle Co, VA – 08 Oct 1855 Greene Co, VA ) & Lively MORRIS (1812 – Abt 1890 Greene Co, VA )  27 Nov 1838 Greene County, VA

• Leland Y. MORRIS ( 1840 – )
• Susan MORRIS ( May 1842 Greene Co, VA – 21 Aug 1916 Elkton, Rockingham Co, VA ) & Charles W. HERRING ( 1839 – Aft 1910 Greene Co, VA )  14 Mar 1867 Greene Co, VA
• Noah Jackson MORRIS ( 12 Aug 1842 Greene Co, VA – 14 Jan 1928 Greene Co, VA ) & Rachel MORRIS (09 May 1845 Greene Co, VA – Nov 1932 Greene Co,  VA )  25 Jan 1866 Greene Co, VA
• Durrett MORRIS ( 1844 – 1898 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Sarah CRAWFORD  ( 1851 Rockingham Co, VA – 1926 )  07 Feb 1867 Rockingham Co, VA
• Mary Ann “Polly” MORRIS ( 1847 Greene Co, VA – 1945 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Valentine ROACH  ( 1841 Rockingham Co, VA – Aft 1920 Greene Co, VA )  04 Nov 1865 in Greene County, VA
• George Fountain MORRIS ( Oct 1848 Greene Co, VA - ) & m1) Kitty Margarette SHIFLETT ( 1850 Greene Co, VA – Nov 1892 Greene Co, VA )  28 Dec 1869 Greene Co, VA ; & m2) Drucilla FRAZIER  ( 1850 – ) 15 May 1894 Rockingham Co, VA
• Nancy Frances MORRIS ( May 1852 Greene Co, VA – 07 Oct 1935 Greene Co, VA ) & m1) John Elzie SHIFFLET  ( 16 Mar 1849 Greene Co, VA – 21 Mar 1922 Albemarle Co, VA ) 20 Jan 1870 Greene Co, VA ; & m2) Austin Jackson FRAZIER ( Jun 1855 Albemarle Co, VA – Dec 1921 Greene Co, VA )  02 Mar 1876 Greene Co, VA
• Sarah Elizabaeth MORRIS ( 1853 Greene Co, VA – Aft 1930 Greene Co, VA ) & George Nathaniel MORRIS  (Aug 1850 Greene Co, VA – 1918 Greene Co, VA )  28 Sep 1871 Greene Co, VA
• Kesiah Jane MORRIS  (1854 Greene Co, VA – 07 Dec 1915 Greene Co, VA ) & Henry C. KEYTON / KEATON ( 1853 Albemarle Co, VA – Abt 1898 )  29 Dec 1874 Greene, VA

4. Michael P. “Miley” FRAZIER  ( Feb 1814 – Before 1910 Albemarle Co, VA ) & Virenda Jane SHIFLETT ( 1821 Orange County, VA – Bef.  1900 Greene Co, VA )  14 Jul 1844 Greene Co, VA

• Julia Ann FRAZIER ( 1845 Greene Co, VA – Bef. 1900 Greene Co, VA) & Thomas J. FRAZIER (1840 – 1918) 04 Jul 1864 Greene Co, VA
• John T. FRAZIER ( 1847 Greene Co, VA – 1860 )
• Henry Timber FRAZIER ( 12 Aug 1849 Greene Co, VA - 12 Feb 1931 Greene Co, VA ) & Eliza Susan LAWSON ( Oct 1857 Rockingham Co, VA - )  03 Jan 1874 Rockingham Co, VA
• Jacob Emanuel FRAZIER ( 1851 – 1920 ) & Frances Jane MORRIS ( - Bef. 1920 ) 26 Dec 1883 Greene Co, VA
• Austin Jackson FRAZIER ( Jun 1855 Albemarle Co, VA - Dec 1921 Greene Co, VA ) & Nancy Frances MORRIS ( May 1852 Greene Co, VA - )  02 Mar 1876 Greene Co, VA
• J. M. FRAZIER ( 1859 Albemarle Co, VA - )
• Polly Jane FRAZIER ( 1862 Greene Co, VA -  09 Apr 1936 Greene Co, VA ) & Elvis Sturdivant SHIFLETT ( 1862 Greene Co, VA  – Bef. 1900 Greene Co, VA )  07 Jun 1885 Greene Co, VA
• George Dallas FRAZIER ( May 1866 Greene Co, VA - 13 Sep 1949 ) & Pauline Ann “Polly” MORRIS ( 1862 Greene Co, VA – After 1930 )  21 Oct 1886 Greene Co, VA

5. John Harris FRAZIER ( 1815 Virginia – Aft 1880 ) & Mary J. MORRIS ( 1817 – Bef 1860 ) 05 Apr 1836 Albemarle Co, VA

• William Andrew FRAZIER ( 02 Apr 1838 Rockingham Co, VA – 30 Dec 1891 Harrison, OH ) & Esther SNYDER (23 Oct 1840 Ohio – 17 Feb 1885 Harrison, OH )  24 Mar 1858 Scioto, OH
• John Elvis FRAZIER ( 15 Apr 1839 Rockingham Co, VA – 06 Nov 1924 Crawford, Kansas) &  Mary Ann Catherine MITCHEM (20 Nov 1840 Pike, Fulton, OH – 04 Feb 1917 Cherokee, OK )  07 Feb 1859 Jeffersonville, Fayette, OH
• Jacob FRAZIER ( 1841 Rockingham Co, VA – )
• Alfred FRAZIER ( 1843 Rockingham Co, VA – )
• Mary FRAZIER ( 1845 Rockingham Co, VA – )
• Leannah FRAZIER ( 1847 Rockingham Co, VA – )

6. William Thomas FRAZIER ( 1817 Madison Co, VA – 16 Dec 1860 Page Co, VA ) & Ardena MORRIS ( 1817 Orange Co, VA – Aft 1880 Page Co, VA ) 01 Jan 1841 Greene Co, VA

• Elias FRAZIER ( 1841 Greene Co, VA – 1864 Page Co, VA )
• William S. “Todd” FRAZIER  ( 1843 Greene Co, VA – 1888 Page Co, VA ) & Mary Jane KITE ( Dec 1847 Page Co, Va – 05 Jul 1919 Page Co, VA )  26 Feb 1874 Page Co, VA
• Joseph H. FRAZIER ( Oct 1848 Page Co, VA – 26 Jun 1923 Page Co, VA )
• James  F. FRAZIER ( 1849 Page Co, VA – )
• Jeremiah FRAZIER ( Mar 1852 Page Co, VA – 21 Nov 1906 Page Co, VA ) & Sarah MCDANIEL (1851 – 15 Feb 1924 Page Co, VA )
• Francis Catherine “Fannie” FRAZIER ( 02 May 1857 Page Co, VA – 02 Jul 1912 Page Co, VA ) & William MCDANIEL ( 11 May 1847 – 21 Aug 1921 Page Co, VA )  06 Oct 1871 Rockingham Co, VA

7. Shadrack FRAZIER ( 1820 – Aft 1880 Page Co, VA ) & Naomi DEAN  (1828 – 24 Oct 1860 Page Co, VA ) 13 Sep 1847 Albemarle Co, VA

• John Mordichai FRAZIER ( 04 Aug 1848 – 08 Apr 1916 Rockingham Co, VA ) & m1) Sarah C. DOVEL (13 Jul 1861 Rockingham Co, VA – 09 Jun 1907 Rockingham Co, VA ) ; & m2) Annie BURKETT (15 Oct 1874 Rockingham Co, VA – 06 Jan 1948 in Harrisonburg, VA )  1913
• James K. Polk FRAZIER  (15 Nov 1849 Rockingham Co, VA – 10 Oct 1919 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Josephine Catora STOVER (01 Jun 1860 – 13 Jun 1931 Rockingham Co, VA ) 07 Feb 1878 Rockingham Co, VA
• William F. FRAZIER ( 1851 Rockingham Co, VA – 09 Aug 1885 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Drucelia MORRIS  ( 1847 Greene Co, VA –  )  05 Nov 1872 Greene Co, VA
• Sarah A. Miriam FRAZIER ( 1853 Rockingham Co, VA – ) & John F. SHIFLETT  (1831 Albemarle Co, VA – Bef 1900 )  26 Jul 1873 in Greene Co, VA
• Shadrach P. FRAZIER ( 1854 Page Co, VA – 1923 Page Co, VA )
• Nancy E. FRAZIER ( 1857 Page Co, VA – )

8. Merry/Murray Walker FRAZIER  ( 1822 Albemarle Co, VA – Aug 1887 Greene Co, VA ) & Mariah KEATON  ( 1836 Albemarle Co, VA – Aft 1900 Greene Co, VA )  13 Oct 1881 Greene Co, VA

• Delilah S. FRAZIER ( 1865 Greene Co, VA – Sep 1894 ) & John W. L. SHIFLETT  ( 1866 – )  09 Dec 1888 in Greene Co, VA
• Benjamin R. FRAZIER ( 1866 Greene Co, VA – ) & Cary F. SHIFLETT ( 1867 Greene Co, VA – )   16 Jun 1889 Greene Co, VA
• William H. FRAZIER ( 1868 Greene Co, VA – )
• Mariah FRAZIER ( 1869 Greene Co, VA – )
• Louisa J. FRAZIER ( 1871 Greene Co, VA – )
• James E. FRAZIER ( 1874 Greene Co, VA – ) & Mollie JOHNSON ( 1878 Greene Co, VA – ) 01 Aug 1895 Greene Co, VA
• Furry Lee FRAZIER ( 1876 Greene Co, VA – )
• Jennie FRAZIER ( 1877 Greene Co, VA – 22 Jan 1961 ) & Thomas J. FRAZIER  ( 1840 – Abt 1918 ) 12 Jun 1900 Greene Co, VA
• George M. FRAZIER ( 1878 Greene Co, VA – )
• Almira FRAZIER ( 1884 Greene Co, VA – )  & Andrew J. CRAWFORD 12 Feb 1902 Greene Co, VA

9. Susan Frances FRAZIER ( 1824 – 1880 in Page Co, VA ) & Pleasant MORRIS ( 1823 – 1865 Page Co, VA )  02 Dec 1845 Greene Co, VA

• Eliza MORRIS  (1847 Greene Co, VA – )
• Rebecca MORRIS  (1849 Greene Co, VA – )
• Ella Frances MORRIS (1851 Page Co, VA – 04 May 1914 Albemarle Co, VA ) & John Elsie SHIFLETT (16 Mar 1849 – 21 Mar 1922 Albemarle Co, VA )  15 Dec 1878 Page Co, VA
• Pleasant G. MORRIS ( 12 Jan 1854 Page Co, VA – 11 Nov 1929 ) & Mary J. BLACK ( 1852 Greene Co, VA – )  02 Oct 1881 Greene Co, VA
• Amanda E. MORRIS (1856 Page Co, VA – After 1900 ) & James Hiden SHIFLETT  (About 1856 Greene Co, VA – About 1927 Albemarle Co, VA )  15 Jan 1880 Page Co, VA
• James F. MORRIS ( 1858 Page Co, VA - Before 1870 Page Co, VA )

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Sepia Saturday: The Last Person on Earth

 Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

This week’s Sepia Saturday prompt focuses on the motorcycle and its riders, but the tent reminds me of some photos that need a little explanation.  I just wish I had one – an explanation, that is.

A camping trip
about 1922 or 1923

The evidence that my grandaunt Violetta Davis Ryan ever went camping is preserved in her photo album.  If you knew Violetta like I knew Violetta, you’d agree that she is the last person on earth who would ever fit the camper profile.  She focused on good education, culture, owning “nice things” (like her pink Cadillac) and obtaining financial success and independence.  

Even in college she was the cerebral type: a member of Le Cercle Français and the High School Club (for students planning to teach on the high school level).

Violetta is fourth from the right
from the 1923 School Ma'am
yearbook of the State Normal School at Harrisonburg, VA

Violetta on the back row with the green arrow
from the 1923 School Ma'am
yearbook of the State Normal School at Harrisonburg, VA

While the notes beneath her graduation picture make Violetta seem at least a bit athletic, membership in the Athletic Association and YWCA was automatic for ALL students.  There are no signs that she ever joined an intramural sport.

But camp she did.  It is not likely the camping trips were even school related since they were clearly co-ed while the teachers college was not.  Maybe this was a typical outing for groups of young people in the days before sports bars and frat parties. 

The most interesting photo though is this one. 

Double exposure?

At first glance it appears to be a group photo of friends in two rows – but look closely. 

Be a good pillion passenger and ride with me to Sepia Saturday for more stories and old photos.

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved. 

Wordless Wednesday: Gone to the Dogs #11

Wordless Wednesday is a daily prompt at Geneabloggers that asks family historians to create a post in which the main focus is a photograph or image.

my mother's family dog mid 1940s
when they lived on Farragut Street in Cradock, Portsmouth, Virginia

Counting down the number of photos of dogs in my collection

(I've changed the title since it is no longer summer!)

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors: #38 - Windle EBERT/EPPARD

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued a challenge:  write one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor.  It can be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem – anything that focuses on one ancestor.

My 5X great-grandfather Windle EBERT/EPPARD was among the first generation of Eppards born in what became the United States.  He was born about 1736 in Pennsylvania, son of Hans Jerg (George) and Margaret Christina Starke EBERT.  By 1750, this family had worked its way down through Maryland and into the Shenandoah Valley. 

In 1762, Windle obtained a patent for about 300 acres on the south side of Naked Creek in Rockingham County  (it was Augusta County at the time). 

Windle paid thirty shillings for his 300 acres

Most of this is the metes and bounds description
from Library of Virginia
Augusta County Land Grant to Windle Evert
dated 15 August 1762
Land Office Patents No. 36, 1764-1767
(v.1 & 2 p.557-1083), p. 613 (Reel 36)

Windle married Christiana MOYLE/MOYER about 1769. How many children they had is unknown; however, in 1780 they had twin boys, Johann George and Philip B.  Their baptism was recorded in the Parish Register at Saint Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. 

Windle and his father Hans Jerg (George) were farmers, but they also had an iron ore mine on Fox Mountain.  Mountain ore or “brown ore” could be fed directly into blast furnaces to produce pig iron. Windle’s property provided the three essential ingredients for a furnace:  an adequate supply of iron ore and limestone (plentiful enough on Fox Mountain), a water source powerful enough to turn a waterwheel (Naked Creek and Shenandoah River), and enough timber for making charcoal which was the fuel for the furnace (the mountains and valley were covered in trees!). 

Image from waymarking.com

The iron industry was responsible for much of the success of the early colonies.  Towns grew up around the blast furnaces which required a fair number of employees not only to operate the furnace but also to cut down trees, burn charcoal, dig for ore, mine the limestone, and even care for the mules and oxen.  In 1781, Thomas Jefferson listed five operating furnaces in Virginia, two of which were in the Shenandoah Valley.  It is most likely that Windle sent his iron ore to Henry Miller at Mossy Creek in present-day Bridgewater.  No doubt pig iron for the Revolutionary War was made from ore supplied by Windle’s mine. 

Windle died about 1810.  His wife Christiana was head of household in the 1810 Rockingham County, Virginia census.  A male older than 45 was there as well suggesting there might have been another son besides the twins. 

Windle and Christiana were likely buried on their property or in one of the two Eppard cemeteries located on their land since those cemeteries were associated with the original St. Peter’s Lutheran Church.  However, due to a terrible flood in 1800, many graves were moved.  Also the church was rebuilt in another part of the county following a fire.  The current St. Peter’s Lutheran Church Cemetery in nearby Elkton is one of the oldest cemeteries in the Shenandoah Valley.

THREE GENERATIONS:

Windle EBERT ( 1736 Pennsylvania – 1810 Rockingham Co, VA) & Christina MOYLE/MOYER  1769

1. Johann George EPPARD ( 23 Apr 1780 Naked Creek, Rockingham Co, VA – 1869 Naked Creek, Rockingham Co, VA ) & Catherine BEASLEY ( 1784 – 1850 Rockingham Co, VA )  28 Apr 1802 Rockingham Co, VA

• William EPPARD ( 1803 Rockingham Co, VA – 24 Feb 1872 Page Co, VA ) & Helena FOLAND  (02 Apr 1818 – 1880 Page Co, VA )  24 Dec 1835 Rockingham Co, VA
• Andrew EPPARD ( 1804 Rockingham Co, VA – after 1870 Luray, Page, VA ) & Melissa SMITH (04 Jan 1811 Rockingham Co, VA – 07 Mar 1896 Rockingham Co, VA )  25 Jan 1827 Rockingham Co, VA
• John EPPARD ( 1806 Rockingham Co, VA – 1855 Luray, Page, VA ) & Mary “Polly” Mathene SMITH  (22 Jan 1816 Rockingham Co, VA – 05 Jan 1913, Madison Co, IA ) 02 Feb 1832 Page Co, VA
• Elizabeth EPPARD ( 1807 Rockingham Co, VA – 25 Apr 1889 Elkton, Rockingham Co, VA ) & Isaac GOODEN ( 12 Apr 1816 Shenandoah, Page Co, VA –  12 Apr 1898 Rockingham Co, VA)   30 Aug 1841 Rockingham Co, VA
• Mary EPPARD ( 24 Aug 1808 Rockingham Co, VA – 1879 Rockingham Co, VA ) & William MERICA (28 Aug 1804 Rockingham Co, VA – 31 Aug 1895 Rockingham Co, VA )  17 Oct 1834 Rockingham Co, VA
• Parmelia EPPARD ( Nov 1808 Rockingham County, VA – 1905 Shenandoah Iron Works, Page, VA ) & Joseph Hiram SAMUELS JR. ( 1804 – Aft 1880 ) 28 Aug 1828 Rockingham County, VA
• Nancy EPPARD ( 1812 Rockingham Co, VA – 31 May 1890 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Zachariah TAYLOR JR.  (1800 –  21 Jan 1871 Page Co, VA )  03 Sep 1834 Rockingham Co, VA
• Reuben EPPARD ( 1815 Rockingham Co, VA - Bef 1880 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Sarah Elizabeth SMITH  (31 Aug 1819 – 06 Apr 1864 Page Co, VA )  12 Feb 1837 Rockingham Co, VA
• Jacob EPPARD ( 1817 Rockingham Co, VA – 1850 ) & Pamelia COOK ( 1819 – )  11 Jun 1836 Page Co, VA
• James D. EPPARD (1819 Rockingham Co, VA – 1857 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Mary Ann FOX (17 Aug 1817 –  23 Nov 1908 )  06 Aug 1842 Page Co, VA        
• Wesley EPPARD ( 1825 Rockingham Co, VA – 09 Sep 1882 Argonia, Sumner, Kansas) & m1) Phoebe BREEDEN  ( 1831 – 1874 Randolph Co, MO ) 18 Dec 1848 Page Co, VA ; & m2) Sarah F. TURNER (1847  Missouri –  )

2. Philip B. EPPARD ( 23 Apr 1780 Naked Creek, Rockingham Co, VA – Before 1850 Moonsville, Madison, IN ) & Margaret UTZ  (1785 – 23 Aug 1853 Madison Co, IN )  11 Mar 1803 Rockingham Co, VA

• Daniel EPPARD ( 28 Nov 1803 Rockingham Co, VA – 30 Jul 1878 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Delilah Ann HENSLEY  (15 mar 1810 Rockingham Co, VA – 1890 Page Co, VA )  08 Dec 1825 Rockingham Co, VA
• David EPPARD ( 1810 Rockingham Co, VA – 13 Jul 1895 Muncie, Delaware, IN ) & Sarah Elizabeth JONES (1812 Indiana – 1880 Indiana )  1834 Indiana
• Mary Virginia EPPARD ( 1814 Rockingham Co, VA – 1870 Madison Co, IN ) & David PENCE (01 Mar 1809 Shenandoah Co, VA – 22 Mar 1883 Madison Co, IN )  06 Aug 1835 Champaign, OH
• Samuel EPPARD 02 Jun 1815 Rockingham Co, VA –  1887 Indiana )  & m1) Mary Ann EBERT (Aft 1820 Ohio – Before 1850 Indiana ) ; & m2 Hannah WRIGHT  16 Jan 1853 Delaware Co, IN
• Noah EPPARD ( 23 Jul 1823 Rockingham Co, VA – 28 Dec 1900 Madison Co, IN ) & Rebecca Ann MOON (30 Nov 1827 Clinton, OH – 07 Oct 1900 Madison Co, IN )  20 Jun 1842 Indiana 

Sources:

"George Washington & Jefferson National Forests - History & Culture." U.S. Forest Service. N.p., 18 Sept. 2014. Web. 18 Sept. 2014. <http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/gwj/learning/history-culture/?cid=FSBDEV3_000460>.

Lauck-Ranson, Louise. "Shenandoah History." Town of Shenandoah. N.p., 2014. Web. 18 Sept. 2014. <http://www.townofshenandoah.com/index.php/component/content/article/76-history/149-shenandoahhistory>.

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Sepia Saturday: Little Friends

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

This week’s Sepia Saturday photo featuring three children in a field of poppies prompted me to revisit this picture of my uncle Orvin Davis Jr. sharing a seat in a wheelbarrow with a little boy, both being ignored by a little girl. 

Orvin Jr. is in the middle
Shenandoah, VA about 1927

My long-standing question about the identity of these children  – cousins? neighbors? – was rather quickly answered when I noticed the same children appear in another photo that was actually labeled with the children’s names:  Lanier and Louise. 

Lanier, Orvin Jr., and Louise

The possibility that they were cousins was instantly eliminated.  Another clue to their identity was the Davis Store in the background.

Closeup of Davis Store

The store was at the corner of Sixth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in Shenandoah, Virginia.   The house where Orvin Jr., Lanier, and Louise were playing faced Pennsylvania Avenue.  Based on Orvin Jr’s birth in 1925, the photo was probably taken in 1927, so I looked at both the 1920 and 1930 census records at Ancestry.com for my grandparents who lived on Sixth Street.  Clicking back and forth from the image, I located the families living on Pennsylvania Avenue, but no Lanier and Louise.

Snip of 1930 Shenandoah, Page, Virginia census

Not to be defeated, I searched Ancestry.com entering Lanier, no last name, living in Shenandoah, Virginia in 1930.  And ta da – there he was along with a sister Louise, and his parents Harry and Nelle WADE living on Sixth Street, just a few doors away from the Davis family.  However, I still don’t know whose yard they were playing in because the house was rented in both 1920 and 1930 by different people, so who lived there in 1927 is anyone’s guess.

Lanier and Louise did not remain in Shenandoah very long.  Their father Harry was apparently climbing the corporate ladder in the flour mill business. In 1920, shortly after he married Nelle Snider, he worked in a mill in Rockbridge County.  By 1930, he was superintendent of a flour mill in Shenandoah.  Possibly he worked for Shenandoah Milling Company, a large grain elevator and flour mill.  However, he might as easily have been employed at any number of smaller mills since there seemed to have been a mill on every corner. 

Between 1935 and 1940, the Wades relocated to Huntington, West Virginia, where Harry was “Head Miller” of Gwinn Brothers & Co, the leading merchant millers of grain and hay in the state.  The Wades were finally able to change their status from renters to home owners with their purchase at 839 9^th Street valued at $6000 in 1940.

Home of the Wades at least in 1940
839 9th Street, Huntington, West Virginia
from Google Maps

What became of Louise is not known.  However, Lanier married Katherine Gillespie in 1944, joined the Marines, and died in 1999.  Harry and Nelle, and Lanier and Katherine are all buried at the White Chapel Memorial Gardens in Barboursville, Cabell County, West Virginia. 

While poppies might induce sleep, even in a tent, the children will keep you entertained at Sepia Saturday.

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.  

Wordless Wednesday: Dog Days of Summer #10

Wordless Wednesday is a daily prompt at Geneabloggers that asks family historians to create a post in which the main focus is a photograph or image.

Unknown friend (left) and my mother Mary Eleanor Davis Slade (right)
and Fritz, son of a circus dog
outside Davis Grocery Store Sixth St., Shenandoah, Virginia
about 1935-38

Counting down the number of photos of dogs in my collection

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors: #37 - Hans Jerg (George) EBERT

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued a challenge:  write one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor.  It can be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem – anything that focuses on one ancestor.

My 6X great-grandfather Hans Jerg (George) EBERT lived to be roughly 61 years old, and half of that life was spent in the British colonies that later became the states of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia.  He didn’t live to see the establishment of a new country although his wife Margaret Christina witnessed the American Revolution, or part of it anyway. 

Great Philadelphia Wagon Road

George arrived in Philadelphia from Germany in 1731 and settled in York County.  At some point, he joined other Germans who followed the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road south through Maryland into the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Virginians today know this route as the Valley Pike, or Route 11.  

Some highlights of George’s 30 years in the American colonies:

• He lived under the rule of King George II.
• There was a slave revolt in New York in 1741. 
• The Centigrade thermometer was invented.
• South Dakota saw its first settlement in 1743.
• Sign language for deaf-mutes was developed.
• Britain and its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar (which explains why some of our ancestors show a “double year” for life events such as birth or death).
• Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod and bifocals.
• Halley’s Comet made an appearance.
• The French and Indian War lasted past George’s lifetime.

THREE GENERATIONS:

Hans Jerg (George) EBERT (1701 Germany – 1762 ) & m1) Johannata Charlotte HUNERMANN (1695 Germany – )  1724  Germany ; & m2) Margaret Christina STARKE (1698 Pennsylvania  – 1778 Rockingham Co, VA )  1732 Pennsylvania

George and Johannata had the following children:

1. Philip EBERT ( 1725 Germany – ? Pennsylvania)

2. John EBERT ( 1726 Germany – 1804 Pennsylvania ) & Maria RICHM  1750 Pennsylvania

3. Catherine Sybella EBERT ( 1727 Germany – ) & John SCHAUT 15 May 1748 New Hanover, Montgomery, Pennsylvania

4. Andrew EPPARD ( 1728 Germany – 1804 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Mary Elizabeth UNKNOWN ( - 1804 Rockingham Co, VA )  1761

• John EBERT ( 1762 Pennsylvania – 1834 ) & Sarah UNKNOWN ( 1770 – 1834)
• Enoch EPPARD ( 1768 Pennsylvania – 1838 Page Co, VA ) & Elizabeth HEPLER

George and Margaret had the following children:

1. Jacob EBERT ( 1733 Philadelphia, PA – 1807 Rockingham Co, VA )

2. Windle EBERT ( 1736 Pennsylvania – 1810 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Christina MOYLE 1769

• Johann George EPPARD ( 23 Apr 1780 Rockingham Co, VA – 1869 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Catherine BEASLEY  (1784 – 1850 Rockingham Co, VA ) 28 Apr 1802 Rockingham Co, VA
• Philip EBERT ( 23 Apr 1780 Rockingham Co, VA – 1850 Moonsville, Madison, IN ) & Margaret UTZ (1785 Rockingham Co, VA – Before 23 Aug 1853 Madison Co, IN )  11 Mar 1803 Rockingham Co, VA

3. George EBERT ( 1737 Pennsylvania –1804 Virginia ) & Catherine BAKER  1760

4. Margaret Christina EBERT ( 02 Feb 1738 Philadelphia, PA – 19 Dec 1818 Rockingham Co, VA) & George Jacob MOYER ( 06 Jan 1727 Germany – 19 Feb 1796 Rockingham Co, VA )  1757

• Philip MOYER ( 1757 Rockingham Co, VA – 20 Jun 1797 Rockingham Co, VA
• Gasper MOYER ( 1760 Rockingham Co, VA – 1814 Rockingham Co, VA
• Jacob MOYER ( 1760 Rockingham Co, VA – Jul 1795  Rockingham Co, VA
• Mary Margaret MOYER ( 15 Feb 1762 Rockingham Co, VA – 08 Dec 1820 Rockingham Co, VA) & John Stephen CONRAD (26 Feb 1749 Berks Co, PA – 12 Aug 1822 Rockingham Co, VA)  1782 Rockingham Co, VA
• Anna Marie Mary MOYER ( 24 May 1764 Rockingham Co, VA – 24 Feb 1838 ) & Daniel BAUGHER ( 30 Mar 1756 Conewago, PA – 13 Feb 1812 Rockingham Co, VA )   1783 Rockingham Co,  VA
• George Jacob MOYER ( 16 Feb 1767 Rockingham Co, VA – 1833 Montgomery Co, OH )
• Michael MOYER ( 1769 Rockingham Co, VA – 1852 Stanardsville, Greene, VA)
• Henry MOYER ( 22 Jun 1771 Rockingham Co, VA – Nov 1841 Montgomery Co, OH )
• Christina MOYER ( Dec 1774 Rockingham Co, VA – 01 Jun 1837  Rockingham Co, VA )
• Barbara MOYER ( 24 May 1777 Rockingham Co, VA – 28 May 1848 Rockingham Co, VA ) 

5. Eva Christina EBERT ( 08 Oct 1739 Lancaster, Pennsylvania – 1740 Pennsylvania)

6. James EBERT ( 1740 Pennsylvania –1815 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Elizabeth OLDHAM  1761 

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Sepia Saturday: Confessions of a Facebook Stalker

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

NOTE: The information about Josie Krause is in error. You can read the most current research on Josie Sheehan HERE. Also information on Sadie Burns (actually Byrnes) is updated HERE.

This week’s Sepia Saturday prompt can send Homo Sepians into a variety of directions including groups of three, posing, drinking, or even lurking in the doorway – although this last bit of inspiration was cropped out in the display tag. 

John Jr. and Bob and the family poodle
New York 1920

The photo of these children looking back at the faceless torso lurking at the door is a microcosm of my world as a family historian.  My ancestors – honestly, sometimes I think they’re all nameless lurkers.  The champion lurkers are the Sheehan families of New York City, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Richmond Hill.  That’s where my great-grandmother’s sisters and maybe a brother lived in the late 1800s and early-mid 1900s following their emigration from Ireland, at least according to the clues left behind in a couple of photo albums.

I have written about photos in these albums before, complaining loud and long about how most are unlabeled except for one thin album dedicated to these children, John Jr. and Bob.  (I wrote about how I discovered Bob was a girl HERE.)   Unfortunately, none of the adults are labeled, just nameless lurkers waiting to be discovered. 

Available sources online produced nothing conclusive for my great-grandmother’s brother and sisters.  If I’m going to learn anything about them, it is time to get serious, and by “serious,” I mean creative.

Sadie Burns
August 1969

   

I started with this photo of cousin Sadie Burns, daughter of Sarah Sheehan Burns.  It’s shocking how many Sarah Burns with a daughter Sarah or Sadie lived in New York City as if purposely confounding my search.  Sadie’s habit is that of the Dominican Order of Preachers.  Fellow blogger Marti Kerkhoff Wallace has made herself an expert on Catholic research, so I turned to her for advice.  While Marti gave me several people to contact, I was hampered by not knowing Sadie’s religious name or where she might have served. 

             

Facebook ended up being my most productive research tool.  I joined the New York City Genealogy Group.  My photos and questions led nowhere, but in reading other posts I learned about a website called Italiangen.

Naturally, because my family isn’t Italian, I ignored it at first until a knowledgeable member of the group said that it isn’t just for Italians.  That’s where I learned that my great grandmother’s sister Josephine Sheehan Burns wasn’t Burns at all – she was Krause (confirmed by a marriage record at FamilySearch).

Snip from the database of marriage records on Italiangen

John Jr., Josie, Bob
1920
the back says "Bob sucks her thumm"

My speculation that Josie was grandmother to John Jr. and Bob so far has proved to be wrong.  She had no son John to father a John Jr., and the Krause daughters either didn’t marry or married long after John Jr. and Bob entered the picture.

It was through this same NYC Facebook group that I learned about the Brooklyn Genealogy Group, so I joined that one too.  Some lovely member posted a link to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle where I found an obituary for my great grandaunt Delia Sheehan Christian. 

from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Aha – a married name for her daughter Elmira/Elmyra!  Zarek.  She was single in the 1940 census but married by 1942 when her mother died.  I began calculating – if she had children, they might be a bit older than me but definitely still living.

Left - My grandmother Julia Walsh (Slade)
Right - Elmyra Christian
probably about 1920

Those children could be on Facebook!

And that’s when I crossed over to the dark side and became a Facebook Stalker.  I used the SEARCH box and looked for ZAREK.  There are Zareks on Facebook.  And in New York, to boot. 

Even though these Zareks have heeded the warnings about privacy settings, they still allowed me to see their list of FRIENDS.  One of the friends bears the maiden name “Christian.”  Eureka! I found them – my second cousins once removed. 

I quickly dashed off private messages, but since they weren’t my Facebook friends, the messages fell into that mysterious “OTHER FOLDER.”  However, there is a way to get around the need for FRIEND status in order to send a message.  Facebook will send those messages directly for $1.00.  Yes, $1.00. 

Why, of course, I gave Facebook my credit card on that secure site.  I’m a desperate lurker-turned-stalker. 

In no time, I heard back from both of them.  They’re glad to hear from me.  No surprise there – what can I say?  However, I confess to being a bit discouraged when one of my new-found cousins did not know of anyone in the family with children John Jr. and Bob.  Now I must face the possibility that these cousins are likewise too far removed from their grandaunts to solve the mystery of the faceless woman lurking in the doorway.

For more stories of posers, drinkers, and lurkers, please visit Sepia Saturday. 

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Wordless Wednesday: Dog Days of Summer #9

Wordless Wednesday is a daily prompt at Geneabloggers that asks family historians to create a post in which the main focus is a photograph or image.

my maternal grandparents Lucille and Orvin Davis with Fritz
front steps of home of Violetta Davis Ryan, Harrisonburg, Virginia
1940s

Counting down the number of photos of dogs in my collection

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.