Chasing Dead Ancestors

“How about someone on a line where you feel like you're the only one researching them? (I have a couple of those!)” --Amy Johnson Crow I know exactly how you feel, Amy. Welcome to my SHEHORN family. Unaided, unaccompanied, unassisted I search. I fly solo because I haven’t encountered another researcher since the mid-1980s who knows anything about this family.  My confidence that I’ve found “my” Shehorn family is fairly low, because there are so many unknowns. Here’s what I know as fact: Me < My Mother < My Grandfather (Ralph Wayne Jones) < My Great-Grandfather (John Henry Jones, Jr.). These first four generations I know exist, as I have the primary source evidence. :) Then the record gets a little sketchy when the Shehorn name is introduced. John Henry Jones, Jr.’s mother may have been Mary Eleanor Shehorn (b. 1835-d. ~1908). Mary’s father may have been William Shehorn (b. ~1802-d. 1846). The only “evidence” I have connecting John Henry Jones, Jr. to his mother is (1)...

Simply not possible, so here's one of many favorites. Taken in Van Nuys, California ca. 1953, pictured (left to right) are my Aunt LaVerne, her son and my first cousin Robert, and my Uncle Bill who was visiting his sister while deployed to the Korean War.* LaVerne had been living in California for years, far away from most of the family back in Texas, so presumably this was the first time that Bill had met his nephew Robert. I don't know if Bill was traveling to or from Korea when this photo was taken. I assume the photographer was Harold, LaVerne's husband and Robert's father. (*Since two of the three people in this photo are still living, I am not including complete names.)

I started the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge in 2018 and managed to write for almost four months before being completely overwhelmed by life and abandoning the task. Since then, I've kept up with each week's theme and written little blog entries in my head but never published them (which isn't terribly helpful for those of you who aren't mind readers). Entering 2020, I hope I can make a fresh start. I retired at the end of 2019 from my job of 23 years so I won't have that time-consuming peskiness getting in the way of genealogy research and writing. I won't over promise that I will (or can) write about each weekly theme, but I'll have a better chance in 2020. UPDATE 30 June 2020: Wishful thinking. I wrote for a whopping TWO WEEKS before being completely overwhelmed by life and abandoning the task. And just as I was contemplating another attempt, the COVID-19 PANDEMIC happened.

My maternal 5x great-grandfather Zebulon Brevard was born 29 March 1724 in Cecil Co., Maryland and died 8 Aug 1798 in Iredell Co., North Carolina. In between he married, raised a family of 10 children and "assisted in establishing American Independence" [1] by serving as an ensign in the colonial militia in Mecklenburg Co., North Carolina. He also served as a jury member in the same county. (Perhaps that will make you rethink avoiding jury duty.) Obviously not a Brevard from the 1700s. This is my paternal grandfather John Frederick Goehring with a 48-star U.S. flag. I estimate this photo was taken ca. 1942 near the beginning of America's involvement in World War II. Although I don't know much about Zebulon Brevard (yet) as an individual, the Brevard family from that era were well-known and appear in many written histories of North Carolina. • The first Brevard ancestor in America -- Zebulon's father, John Brevard or Jean de Brever -- was a Huguenot refu...

Have you heard of poll taxes? Generally speaking, a poll tax is a tax levied on every adult, without reference to income or resources. (In Middle English, "poll" meant "head" so this was a tax on the head of every adult.) As a practical matter, poll taxes were a pre-condition of the exercise of the right to vote. [1] "After the right to vote was extended to all races by the enactment of the 15th Amendment, many Southern states enacted poll tax laws, which often included a grandfather clause that allowed any adult male whose father or grandfather had voted in a specific year prior to the abolition of slavery to vote without paying the tax. These laws achieved the desired effect of disfranchising African-American and Native American voters, as well as poor whites who immigrated after the year specified." [2] Although my Goehring ancestors presumably weren't denied any rights by failure to pay poll taxes -- being white, land-owning males and all -- I...

My maternal grandfather Ralph Wayne Jones' favorite aunt was his maiden aunt, Margaret America Brevard (his mother's oldest sister). "Aunt Mag" was born 7 Dec 1860 in Red River Co., Texas, and died 20 Jan 1933 and is buried in Crews, Texas beside her mother, Julia Matthews Brevard. No one in the Jones family who I knew, knew much about Aunt Mag. I've always loved her name. Apparently she was special to my grandfather, as my mother has always told me that she was Wayne's favorite aunt. He sent "Maggie" this postcard in 1910 from his home in Crews to her home in Ballinger, just 15 miles away. I love this postcard because not only does it preserve my grandfather's handwriting, it has a picture of him on the front which he makes fun of in his message to his aunt. Postmark Dec 14 A.M. 1910 Crews, Texas: "After 10 days return to Wayne Jones Crews, Tex. Miss Maggie Brevard Ballinger, Texas Well Aunt Mag I will send you ...

My Goehring family has farmed and ranched the same land in Concho County, Texas, for 115 years . My great-grandfather John Lewis Goehring bought the property in 1903 along with his son/my grandfather John Frederick Goehring. My father was born in 1932 in the old house on the property and my parents were still living on the property in 1962 when I was born (although my birth occurred in a hospital 60 miles away). My parents still live on and work the same land today. The original house (with modifications) on the property since 1903 purchase. The house built by John Frederick Goehring in the early 1940s. JFG's house in 2006, now in a new location dictated by Lake O.H. Ivie.

Mary Ellen Moss' (my great-grandmother's) bedroom furniture -- vanity with stool, chest of drawers and cedar chest -- was in a house fire in the 1920s at the family's home in Crews, Texas. The family was able to save the furniture before the house burned down, although the shellac finish on the furniture was damaged and “bubbled” from the heat.* The furniture was kept in the family throughout the years, with the pieces shuffled around to various family members in various combinations. When my husband and I bought our first home, we needed furniture so we were more then happy to accept my mother's gift of the chest of drawers and vanity. Truth be told, I'd always loved this furniture so I was thrilled to have it in my home. It wasn't in the greatest of shape due to wear and tear over the years (not to mention the fire damage), but we pressed it into service in the guest room and planned on refinishing it one day. But days turned into weeks, weeks into months,...

Luck -- and DNA -- played a role in discovering the identity of one of my husband's great-grandfathers. Since we were married and I started learning about his family, I was surprised that he knew so little about his lineage. He knew a few of his grandparents, but beyond that information was sketchy or non-existent. As I spent more time with my in-laws asking questions, I was particularly taken with the fact that my father-in-law couldn't name his father's father. For years, I asked questions in every way possible in an attempt to elicit information that I thought might yield clues to this man's identity. For years, I was met with no information at all. My last conversation with my father-in-law about his grandfather finally elicited what I believe to be the only information he had. Paraphrasing: "My grandfather was NEVER discussed around me. I'm not sure my father ever knew his father. If he did, he never spoke about it and I never asked him." Now wh...

When I think of a "strong woman," I think of all the women in my family who lived their lives without "all mod cons." [1] Florence Ellen Johnson (maternal grandmother; b. 1901, d. 1992) worked as a short order cook in small town cafes most of her life, and even ran a boarding house back in the 1930s. She became the sole income earner for the family after my grandfather was permanently disabled by the Spanish influenza he contracted during WWI. Amanda Biddy (center) and Gertrude Elizabeth Wallace (right) I've heard many stories about my paternal grandmother Gertrude Elizabeth Wallace (b. 1893, d. 1969) washing clothes in a kettle over a fire with lye soap she made herself. When her father died in 1911, she purchased a Singer sewing machine to sew for a living and provide for the family. (She was 17 and the oldest daughter.) Her mother, Amanda Biddy (paternal great-grandmother; b. 1862, d. 1941), was seven years old when her father was murdered in Ma...

So again with this prompt, nothing immediately related to "Will" pops to mind. So how about a partial survey of my ancestors with "Will in their names? I was surprised to find so many people buried off in my family tree software who don't seem familiar at all... William Beard William Andrew Johnson William Biddy (my 3x great uncle) William Eugene Caruthers William Givans William Henry "Doc" Shockey Willard Hobson Jones, my great uncle Gen. William Lee Davidson* William McFee William Moss (I counted 23 men named "William Moss.") William Shehorn (my 3x great-grandfather) William Wallace (I wish!) William Wilson Willie May Brevard Willis Monroe Johnson (my 2x great-grandfather) *While not a direct descendant, Gen. William Lee Davidson married one of my Brevard aunts. He was an officer in the Continental Army, serving with Gen. George Washington, “Light Horse Harry” Lee and Daniel Morgan, among others. He was killed at the Battle of ...

I put this week's prompt off until the very last day, because I just couldn't think of anything to write about. (Every other week I've immediately had an idea or many ideas, but this week -- nada.) Then suddenly it was nine weeks later (!) and I still hadn't finished this prompt... Granny's wedding ring If they were diamonds, they were teeny tiny, but that didn't matter to me. I thought that ring was beautiful. My parents had promised that I could have the ring when I turned 18, but guess what? Our house was robbed when I was 16 and the ring was stolen along with some other valuables. All the other things that were stolen were replaceable, but that ring wasn't. I remember it looking something like this... That theft was almost 40 years ago, and it still makes me sad to think that some stranger is wearing Granny's wedding ring or, worse, that it was discarded because it wasn't beautiful to someone else.

My parents -- native Texans both -- were married in Oklahoma. Marietta, Oklahoma. Marietta, LOVE COUNTY, Oklahoma, to be exact. Love County? Seriously? When I saw the "Valentine" prompt for this week, I called my mom and asked her to tell me the story of how she and dad ended up being married in Love County, Oklahoma. Me: "Did you pick Marietta because it was in Love County?" Mom: "Oh, no, we had no idea. We didn't know it was in Love County until we received the marriage license back in the mail. And boy, were we ever in love!" Me: "So why did you decide to get married in Oklahoma in the first place?" Mom: "Well, I remember it was the end of plowing season and I was helping your dad plow some neighbors' fields to earn some extra money. I remember we plowed about 200 acres for $200, and we decided to take that money and go get married. "We had decided we didn't want a church wedding, and we'd already talk...

I can't pick just one favorite name, so here are but a few I enjoy... Abednego Biddy As far as I know, Abednego Biddy is the first of my direct ancestors to settle in Texas. He came to Texas in 1826 and by December 1830 was living in Stephen F. Austin's Colony with his family. [1] He is listed on the muster roll of Capt. Hill's Company of Rangers [2] from July-October 1836. [3] And if you can't quite place his first name, think back to your Vacation Bible School days. Remember the Biblical story of the three boys cast into the fire by Nebuchadnezzar when they refuse to bow down to the king's golden image? Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. I've recently found a military service record for a "Mashack Biddy" who is possibly a brother to Abednego. If/when I find "Shadrach Biddy"...trifecta! Zebulon Brevard Another Biblical name, this Zebulon [4] is my Revolutionary War ancestor and DAR patriot. He was a member of the Mecklenburg Co., Nort...

You've heard the modern expression, "Don't believe everything you read on the Internet?" Well, don't believe everything you read in the census, either. One of my ongoing genealogy projects is researching my husband's Seago family, who are just full of mysteries. Seeing discrepancies in census data makes me wonder about the root cause: Was the family distrustful of giving out information to the government? Did they really not remember birthdates of children, or how old they were? What role did illiteracy play in the information given, or in the census worker's ability to accurately capture information?   "I nicked the census man." Regardless of the cause, I have enjoyed seeing how the basic facts of people's lives change in census data compared to other documents. Let's take my husband's great-grandmother, Theodocia Catherine Seago, as an example. Information from a family Bible says that Theodocia was born 25 Nov 1867. ...

Who would I invite to dinner if I could invite anyone? The answer to this question is easy for me -- my paternal grandfather, John Frederick Goehring. "Granddad" -- as I've always called him -- died six months before I was born so we never got to meet. By all accounts, he was a pretty special guy. I’ve had 80-year-old men who knew him when they were children tell me how remarkable “Uncle Johnny” was. John Frederick Goehring standing on Snip, his "trick" horse (Don't worry. Snip is very much alive. Well, at least he was when the photo was taken.) I've started writing a short "biographical sketch", I guess you can call it, about Granddad just to try to get to know him a little better. I have so many questions that I wish I could ask him, including: Does he know why his father's family made the decision to come to America in the 1850s? Did he really operate a wagon freight service from Indianola to points inland? Why did he and hi...

My Goehring family has farmed and ranched the same land in Concho County, Texas, for 115 years . My great-grandfather John Lewis Goehring bought the property in 1903 along with his son/my grandfather John Frederick Goehring. My father was born in 1932 in the old house on the property and my parents were still living on the property in 1962 when I was born (although my birth occurred in a hospital 60 miles away). My parents still live on and work the same land today. The original house (with modifications) on the property since 1903 purchase. The house built by John Frederick Goehring in the early 1940s.

John Henry Jones, Jr. and Julia Alexander Brevard An absolutely impossible task. So I chose this portait of my great-grandparents John Henry Jones, Jr. and Julia Alexander Brevard because of the following story. A friend was visiting and staying in the guest room in my house where the photo is displayed. She asked me where I had the "old-timey" photo made of me and my husband. I'd never noticed the family resemblance between myself and my great-grandmother until my friend thought the photo was an image we'd had made at a tourist attraction. For the record, my great-grandfather and my husband look nothing alike. Sigh of relief.

I got my start in genealogy before I even knew there was a word that described "chasing dead ancestors." One summer, Dad, Mom and I took Grandma (my mom's mom) on a two-week trip through the Deep South trying to find cousins that Grandma had lost contact with over the decades or had only ever known via letters. (Remember snail mail?) I was only about seven years old, so I was absolutely no help with this process, but I was acutely aware of our mission and thought it was the grandest adventure. I'm certain that my memories and the reality of that trip are worlds apart, but I still remember some things vividly: A distant cousin's huge old house filled with dozens of grandfather clocks that all chimed on the hour, but none of them in unison. Driving hours through the countryside to find the old family homestead. (I'm sure the reality was more like a 10-mile drive.) Finding a relative in Atlanta who had written and published a history on our Johnson family,...

Recently, I was served up a sponsored post* on Facebook for the " 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks " challenge. (Obviously, my cookies gave me away.) I've been spending more time as of late working on genealogy and thought this would be a good way to keep me on task this year. So I'll give this challenge a go and hopefully stick with it throughout 2018. I'll try to post on this blog, Instagram and maybe Twitter (but probably not Facebook because it really annoys me these days and I spend as little time on it as possible). (*I'm assuming it was a sponsored post, or else Facebook wouldn't have bothered to show it to me. Which is to say I'm surprised I saw it at all given Facebook's proclivities.)