Aunt Vernie

Verna, Hazel Belle, and Shirlie Pope

One of the few members of my grandfather’s maternal family that my grandmother ever met was his aunt who she always referred to as “Aunt Vernie.”  Most of the interaction between Aunt Vernie and my grandmother was conducted in letters.  However, Grandma Marian did get a chance to meet Aunt Vernie.  You might way that Verna was the first family member that I learned about in the Pope family.

Verna Myra Pope was born on 1 Mar 1889 as the fourth daughter of Winslow Lonsdale Pope and Nancy Ann Marie Lyons.  Winslow had been married before and had lost his wife.  He had two other living children (Francis Hooker Pope b. 22 Jan 1873 and Viola Belinda b. 15 Sep 1875.)  Winslow and Nancy started out their married life in New Hampshire and Vermont and were living there when their two oldest daughters were born (Shirlie Louisa – my great grandmother b. 14 Jul 1881 and Anna May b. 5 Nov 1883), but by the time that Mattie Winnova b. 1 Jan 1886 and Verna Myra were born (1 Mar 1889) they were in Lake Park, Dickinson Co., Iowa.  They stayed there a few years and daughter Hazel Bell was born 17 Dec 1891.  By the time that their son John Francis was born on 26 Nov 1895 they lived in Sioux Valley, Jackson Co. MN.  Their youngest son, Plumer Elwood Pope was born on 26 Nov 1895 in Lake Park, Dickson Co., IA.  It wasn’t too long after 1901, when Mattie died of diphtheria, that the Pope family moved near Washburn, McLean Co., ND.   

Verna probably never really got to know her sister, Viola, she died in 1892 and her next oldest sister, Mattie died in 1901.  I imagine the family always lived with sickness of some time.  I’ve no idea how long that their mother, Nancy Ann Marie Lyons, lived with tuberculosis…however, from what I have read, it could have short period of time or years.  Nancy died on 30 May 1906, not too long after Shirlie married George White.  Winslow was left at home with his three daughters and two sons ranging in age from 23 to 9 years old.  At a young age, Verna knew how to work…I’m sure she helped care for her younger siblings and certainly her ailing mother.  After her death, she was 17 years old and I’ve been told that she went out to find work to help support the family. 

Verna - Washer Girl abt 1905

She married John Axel “Swede” Johnson on 2 Apr 1908 and within a short time, started her own family.  I don’t imagine that their life was easy.  I’ve heard too many tales of ropes between a house and barn during the winter time so one wouldn’t lose their way during blizzard conditions…or summers where hail and tornados could ruin the family crops before they ever could be harvested.  Verna, was by all accounts, a good farm wife and mother.  However, it appears to me that she grew with tragedy in her family…and it wasn’t done with her yet.  On 8 Jul 1921, Verna’s closest sister in age, Hazel Bell, died at the young age of 29.  Hazel’s husband had died several months earlier and now their four children were orphans.  Then in early April of 1927, Verna learned that her sister, Shirlie, was very ill.  Braving what must have been very cold and icy conditions, she rode her horse across the iced over Missouri River to Dunn Center, ND to try and take care of her sister.  Shirlie died on 14 Apr 1927…within a few days of her sister’s arrival.  Verna always blamed Shirlie’s husband (Ulpian Grey “George” Johnson) for not getting the doctor for his wife earlier.  I’m not sure that would have helped in 1927.  Shirlie died of pneumonia and there was very little most doctors could do to help someone very sick.  Once again, her sister left behind children to mourn her – three sons and three daughters, the youngest being only four years of age.

Verna with youngest son, Harley.

Verna had a surprise pregnancy at 41 years of age and delivered her second son, Harley Winslow Johnson.   (See above picture) Perhaps this was the hardest trial that Verna faced.  When her son turned about twelve years old, it was discovered that he had leukemia.  There was very little that could be done, but she cared for him and her sick husband.  She lost her husband on 15 Jan 1843 when he sixty two years old and her darling little boy just a few months later on 29 Mar 1943.  Verna didn’t survive this loss for very long and died on 18 Sep 1946 at the age of fifty seven years old. 

Many years ago, I met Verna’s granddaughter.  She told me of the trip that Verna had made to try and care for her sister and her bitterness that they weren’t able to save her.  Perhaps that bitterness is why our families have had little contact through the years.  By the time, 1940 had rolled around…all but one of Verna’s siblings had died…of ten children only Verna and her youngest brother, Plumer were still alive.  Diphtheria, Pneumonia, Tuberculosis other illness had taken the family she grew up with away.  In her lifetime, she had lost her parents, her siblings, her husband and perhaps the most devastating loss of all…her child.  Fifty seven seems to be a young age to have died…but with all that loss, perhaps not!

A Marriage in Gallia Co., OH - Francis Tannahill

A few days ago, I was trolling for odd bits and pieces on www.familysearch.org when I came across a record that certainly gave me a bit of a thrill.  There in front of me was proof of a marriage and a name that I had been searching for over a decade.

Mary “Polly” Fillinger was born about 14 Oct 1813 in Virginia and she died on 10 Apr 1897 on Village Twp, Van Buren Co., IA.  I found Mary’s name listed in an marriage index in Gallia Co., OH.  She was married to Francis Tannahill on 5 Nov 1835.  Now, I knew that Mary and Francis or Frank had been married in Ohio and had lived there at least a few years.  This is what is great about websites like Family Search or Ancestry and many other genealogy websites.  There is always new information being indexed and always the chance of finding additional clues buried in this new info.

Francis was actually only a few years older than Mary’s father, having been born in about 1788.  Mary Fillinger was twenty five years younger than her husband.  I’m sure she must have always realized that she would be a young widow and from what I have discovered, Francis Tannahill probably died sometime before 1850.  He left behind nine children….although I don’t believe that the youngest child is his daughter.  Elgiva M. Tannahill was born on 28 Feb 1852 and while Mary Fillinger is not listed as a widow in the 1850 census, her husband is not listed.

There is a lot left to wonder about.  Francis is listed with a land record in the land office in Chillicothe Co., OH on 10 Mar 1836 with a purchase of 40 acres and is also listed has having 40 acres in Lawrence Co., OH of Twp 4-n, Rge 17-W, Section 14.  I suspect that this is the same piece of land.  Francis is also listed in the 1840 census in Van Buren Co., IA and the entry is listed with two males under the age of 5, one male age 30-39, one female under the age of 5, one female between age 20-29 listing five total people in the household.  These members would include Francis and Mary, and sons William H. b. 15 Jan 1838 and John Lyons b. 9 Feb 1840 and daughter Elisabeth b. 4 Nov 1836.  Although, I have to wonder if the census taker made a mistake on the age as Francis would have been older than 39 in 1840 as the best info I have is that his birth date was in 1788.  This record makes me wonder if my great great grandfather was really born in Ohio.  The possibility still exists that he was born in Ohio and that the family moved fairly soon after John Lyons Tannahill’s birth on 9 Feb 1840. 

By the time Mary Fillinger died in 1897, she only had two living children of her nine children.  That in itself seems to be a very sad fact.  I don’t even know what my great great grandfather died of…but he died in 1873 at the young age of 33 years of age.  Perhaps someday, I might find what happened to him.  My mother used to joke that he was probably shot or hung…but I suspect that his death cause was more likely pneumonia or influenza.  Even so, it is great to finally have a record that confirms the name of his father as Francis Tannahill. 

 

Descendants of Francis Tannahill

 

Generation No. 1

1.  FRANCIS⁸ TANNAHILL  (JAMES⁷ TANNEHILL, SAMUEL⁶, NINIAN⁵, WILLIAM⁴, WILLIAM³, WILLIAM², THOMAS¹ TANNAHILL) was born 1788 in VA, and died Bef. 1850.  He married POLLY MARY FILLINGER 05 Nov 1835 in Gallia Co., OH, daughter of HENRY FILLINGER and ELIZABETH FERREL.  She was born 14 Oct 1813 in VA, and died 10 Apr 1897 in Village Twp., Van Buren Co., IA.

 
Children of FRANCIS TANNAHILL and POLLY FILLINGER are:

               i.   ELIZABETH⁹ TANNEHILL, b. 04 Nov 1836, OH; d. 29 Nov 1861, Van Buren Co., IA.

              ii.   WILLIAM H. TANNEHILL, b. 15 Jan 1838, OH; d. 08 Jul 1889, Van Buren Co., IA.

             iii.   JOHN LYONS TANNAHILL, b. 09 Feb 1840, OH; d. 19 Apr 1873, Chautauqua Co., KS; m. ALMIRA JONES, 27 Dec 1866, Chequist, Van Buren Co., IA; b. 03 Jul 1850, Van Buren Co., IA; d. 05 Aug 1916, Chautauqua Co., KS.

             iv.   HENRY F. TANNAHILL, b. 01 Sep 1841, IA or OH; d. 08 Dec 1864, Fort Cottonwood, NE.

              v.   ELIZA E. TANNEHILL, b. May 1845, Van Buren Co., IA; d. Aft. 1925; m. JOHN W. THORNTON, CO; b. Abt. 1842, France; d. 21 Jan 1900, Leavenworth, Leavenworth Co., KS.

             vi.   M. ANNA TANNEHILL, b. 08 Jan 1847, Van Buren Co., IA; d. 16 Sep 1859, Van Buren Co., IA.

            vii.   CHARLOTTE TANNAHILL, b. 13 Jan 1848, Van Buren Co., IA; d. 17 Mar 1934, Van Buren Co., IA; m. ORANGE BUCEY, 15 Apr 1863, Van Buren Co., IA; b. 14 Feb 1839, Tuscarawas Co, OH; d. 28 Jan 1910, Van Buren Co., IA.

            viii.   FRANCES MARION TANNEHILL, b. 04 Sep 1849, Van Buren Co., IA; d. 15 Jun 1889, Van Buren Co., IA.

             ix.   ELGIVA M. TANNEHILL, b. 28 Feb 1852, Van Buren Co., IA; d. 02 Apr 1862, Van Buren Co., IA.

 

 

Happy St Patrick's Day

At some point today between basketball games, laundry and chores, I'm going to sit down and watch my favorite Irish themed movie "The Quiet Man!"  It seems that ever since I was a little girl, somehow or another we would be looking for something to watch and come across the "The Quiet Man" and watch whatever was left of the movie.  Didn't matter if it was in the beginning or near the end...I think that we all had a pretty good memory for some of our favorite lines.  Whether it was the fishing scene with Maureen O'Hara describing to Ward Bond her problems in the "Gaelic" or even more importantly...the best fight scene I've ever seen in a movie with the "Marquess of Queensbury Rules" of course. 

Mom used to tell the story of when she first saw the movie.  Her step-father, Gwen Shearer had seen the movie up in Orofino, ID during the week when he was working at the mill that he owned.  He came home on Friday night and on Saturday afternoon, the whole family got dressed up and went to the movie.  I think it was Grandpa Gwen's favorite movie as well.  Back in 1952, whenever Mom went shopping with her mother, they were dressed up...from hats, gloves, and dresses.  So...I'm sure that I will find it much more comfortable to sit in my easy chair and watch my favorite Irish movie on the big screen television. 

So, however you celebrate St. Patrick's Day...if you have never seen "The Quiet Man", take some time and enjoy a great movie.  It is supposed to be broadcast on Turner Classic Movies...I'll probably watch my DVD!  I can actually claim some Irish ancestry...probably quite a bit through my great grandmother's grandfather, Jasper Bailey...but other than the name, I can't take him back much further.  I wrote about some of my Irish ancestors last year - See "Tenuous Irish Ties"  So...enjoy your corn beef and cabbage, soda bread, or green beer...and have a great St. Patrick's Day!

My great great great grandfather...Jasper L. Bailey!

Complicated Pennington Connections

There are a lot of complicated family lines that I have studied through the years…some have well established family lines that have been documented and stretch back to Europe.  Others are fortunate if they stretch back to the mid 1700’s.  DNA has told us that the Pennington's who came from the Ashe Co., NC area are genetically linked…but once you get back a generation or two in the 1700’s, there hasn’t been any documentation located yet that establishes a clear relationship.  So, having said that, I decided many years ago to concentrate on all of the Pennington's who came through Ashe Co., NC and not just the family that I descend from…you might say I started this because of a tie between my Dollar family and the Pennington family.

I have written before about the two Andrews Penningtons (A Tale of Two Andrews…) and you might say that I am revisiting one of those lines.  Research has told me that if I am looking at a family who lives in the Washington Co., VA area or nearby, I am looking at a descendant of Group 30 and most likely one of Andrew Pennington and Hester Ann Blevins.  Andrew lived to be 71 years of age and Hester was 78 when she passed.  Both were buried in the Laurel Cemetery in Smyth Co., VA.  They had eleven children and while they all lived relatively near their parents…they were scattered around Ashe Co., NC, Johnson Co., TN, Washington Co., VA and Smyth Co., VA.  I found one of these daughters of Andrew and Hester while researching my Dollar family.

Mary Matilda Pennington was born 11 Jul 1842 in Ashe Co., NC and died on 2 Mar 1920 at Little Fall, Ashe Co., NC.  She married Calvin Calhoun Davis on 25 Jul 1861.  Calvin was the son of Jordan Anderson Davis and Cynthia Lynch.  It looks as if Calvin and Mary Matilda Pennington married and then he left to fight in the Civil War.  Of course that might have been when the marriage had a license or bond that was obtained…their oldest child was born on 6 May 1861 in Ashe Co., NC…a few months preceding their marriage license.  Calvin evidently went to the war and ended up a prisoner at Elmira prison…for their next child appears on 19 Dec 1865.  You might say that Mary Matilda Pennington was one of the reasons that I started researching all of the Penningtons in the area.  I kept running into Penningtons that I couldn’t identify and it was frustrating.  Mary Matilda’s son, Ezra Edward Davis had a daughter named Ethel Davis.  (She just died a few years ago at the age of almost 102)  Ethel was married to Chester Lyall, who was the son of Amanda Jane Dollar and William Davis Lyall.  One of my habits is to try and find the parents of a spouse in case the information might prove useful in the future.  This information proved very useful. 

Amanda Dollar was the older sister of my great great grandfather, John Dula Dollar and they were both children of Alexander Monroe Dollar and Elizabeth Pennington.  So, when Amanda Dollar’s son married a Pennington descendant (Ethel Davis), I got curious. I was told by Ethel’s son that his grandparents were Ezra Edward Davis and Sina Miller and that he had heard of a Pennington connection.  So, I tried to take it a bit further.  Ezra was the son of a Tildie Pennington and C. C. Davis.  After more research I discovered that their full names were Mary Matilda Pennington and Calvin Calhoun Davis.  While Mary Matilda was mostly referred to as Matilda or Tildie….that was her full name.  So, her parents were Andrew Pennington and Hester Blevins…so now I started working on that family tree.  Just because I always like to include the parents, I did a little more checking and found out that Sina E. Miller was the daughter of Eli Miller and Allie Hart…I couldn’t help looking further and found out that Sina’s grandmother was a Blevins and when I put her name into my genealogy program it popped out a red flag and asked me if the Bathsheba Blevins was the same one who married Isaac Miller.  I found out that she was…and found yet again another Pennington link.  Bathsheba was the daughter of Elizabeth Pennington and Wells Blevins.  Elizabeth was Andrew Pennington’s sister…and Wells Blevins was Hester’s brother…so now the tree became even more complicated.

Most who have studied the Pennington family have stayed with their own particular line.  Going straight back as far as they could and not looking at the siblings and their families.  It don’t know if it is a sickness of mine…but I have hard time not poking around to see what else I might discover.  So, my research is almost always in a state of flux and I doubt that I will ever have a complete picture of the Penningtons of Ashe Co., NC.  There are too many branches that have yet to be explored.  You might say it all started when I discovered that Amanda Dollar’s son married a granddaughter of a Pennington…and I just had to figure out who it was!

The Most Important Women of My Life!

I've been informed that March 8 is “International Women’s Day”…not sure what the significance is internationally.  I often think of how lucky I've been to grow up in the United States where I had no fear that I was to be married off at the age of 9, didn't have to worry about a father or brother having control over every aspect of my life or not having to fear that I would have conform myself to society’s more’s whatever they might be.  Instead, I've grown up with six wonderful examples of what a woman should be.  The day before I turned 12 years old, I had three great grandmothers and two grandmothers still alive – they along with my mother taught me lessons by examples that were priceless.

On that day so long ago when we lost my great grandmother, who was mostly called Mom Friddle.  I knew just a small part of the person that she had been.  By the time I knew her, she had lost a lot of mobility because of a broken hip and had a constantly shaking head probably from something like Parkinsons.  I knew that she told fabulous stories and was probably one of the most interesting people in my young mind.  I didn't know about her marriage at 14 and traveling west with a baby alone when she was 16.  It never occurred to me that this little woman was capable of building houses by herself or that she had gone from a spoiled child to a strong, capable woman by refusing to believe that she couldn't do something.  She taught life lessons to her daughter and granddaughter by illustrating to them that a woman was capable of doing anything necessary.

Grandma Cappy was definitely her mother’s daughter.  I always knew that my grandmother was strong willed and had a “spine of steel!”  As I grew up and learned more about her…I found that that steel had been forged through a lot of hardship.  Going to college during the depression and getting that first teaching job took a lot of sacrifice and hard work on her part as well as that of her parents.  When she saw her students who didn't have enough to eat…she made sure they had a meal by fixing it herself during the school day on the wood stove from vegetables from her parent’s garden and meat from her boyfriend’s hunting.  When she lost her husband to a hunting accident and had to face a life without the love of her life, she didn't waste a lot time feeling sorry for herself.  Grandma Cappy made sure that she could provide for her children through her own business.  When she remarried, there was much that she did on her own…not really thinking that she needed anyone else to take care of something that she was capable of doing herself.  I still remember with a great deal of admiration about the way she lived the last few years of her life.  Despite crippling arthritis, she never complained or stopped trying to do for herself and family.  The only time when I ever saw her really ask for help was when she couldn't sew a button on a shirt that had come off.  She would soak her hands in hot water to get them to the things that she needed to do and then get it done!

Granny was my step grandfather’s mother.  She died when I was 13 years old.  Every memory I have of her is sweet and loving.  I can remember sitting at her feet and listening to her and Mom Friddle tell stories of their childhood and making everything sound like an adventure.  I never knew how hard her life must have been until after she had died.  Granny (Nettie Pearl Moody Shearer) was married to Floyd Shearer and had three sons.  She did something in the early 1950’s that many women of her generation never had the courage to do.  Granny left her husband and got a job as a cook and supported herself.  Granny’s husband was if not physically abusive, definitely emotionally abusive.  The type of courage that it must have taken for a woman who was over 60 years old to leave her husband and forge a new life on her own was impressive. 

If you drew a picture or tried to describe the perfect grandmother, that would have been my Dad’s grandmother, Florence Shawver Gage.   She was well known for her cooking abilities and my Dad said that the only time she ever said a cross word to him was when he slammed the door when she had an Angel Food cake in the oven.  I don’t know how she did it…but she made each grandchild and great grandchild feel like they were special and important to her.  Grandma had over 35 grandchildren and around 40 great grandchildren as well as 10 great great grandchildren when she died at 93 years old.  There were a lot of things that made her special…her kindness, loving attention and her sweet smile.  This is a woman who began her adult life as a teacher in a one room school and taught until she had her first child.  She had to pick up and leave her home during the depression with six children in tow.  Within a year, they had to leave that home as well in order to move to Idaho.  Through being married for over 73 years, having 10 children losing two of them during her lifetime she never lost her faith in God and never lost her positive outlook.  She had a special talent for managing her husband and children without them really realizing that they had been managed.  Grandma Florence knew the art of subtlety and also the art of loving,  both are rare qualities!

I knew Grandma Marian the longest…having only lost her on Dec. 30, 2011.  Grandma Marian didn't have the subtle touch of her mother nor her patience…and she knew it.  I think that Grandma Marian was a lot more like her father…more apt to dive into something head first without a great deal of tact or patience.  Grandma Marian probably had a harder go of it than her mother.  Grandma Marian and Grandpa Frank never had financial security and it was always a struggle.  However, Grandma Marian was never one to complain about what she didn't have…she made the best of what she did have.  The most important thing in her life was her family and they all knew it.  Grandma Marian had a questing intellect and throughout her 91 years never stopped learning and educating herself.  She learned out to scan photos and to use a computer in her 80’s.  If you wanted to know something about the larger family – she was a marvelous font of information.  Everyone felt like they could talk to her and she was always interested in what was going on in her children and grandchildren’s lives as well as that of her siblings and their families.  Grandma Marian had the talent that her mother had had…she made all of her children and grandchildren feel special and important to her.  When we have our next family reunion…there will be an empty spot at our tables for her…but I know she will always be there in spirit.

The most important woman in my life was my mother.  We lost her over seven years ago.  If you are lucky…you have a mother like mine.  She was strict but fair...always interested in our lives and certainly willing to let us know what she thought.  Mom was shaped by her grandmother and mother’s ideas as to how a woman should conduct herself.  She was independent, strong minded and never allowed someone else to dictate what she should or should not do in her life.  Mom was also fun!  My brother’s friends used to spend a great deal of time at our house because Mom was always willing to be part of the fun.  Whether it was playing ancient video games, playing board games or cards or putting together a puzzle…Mom was in the middle of it all.  Mom struggled with health problems her entire life and she never let it get her down or stop her from living her life to the fullest.  I can still hear my mother’s voice guiding me and I believe that it is the most wonderful gift that a mother can give to a daughter – unconditional love and honesty.

I would like to think that I have tried meld some of those admirable qualities that these six women showed me during their lifetimes.  I try to keep a positive outlook.  While I might seek advice on many of the decisions in my life – I realize that I alone am responsible for my decisions and therefore must make my mind up on my own.   I would like to think that I have some of Grandma Cappy and Mom Friddle’s independence, the love of family that my Grandma Florence and Grandma Marian showed, hopefully some of the courage of Granny Shearer and hopefully I can keep the positive outlook and sense of fun that my mother always showed.  I am fortunate to be a woman who lives in the United States and have all of the privileges and rights that come with that…but I am wonderfully fortunate to have had women in my life who showed me how to be a woman.  I only hope I can live up to their examples!

George William Shawver

George William Shawver & Elizabeth Matilda Legg

George William Shawver was born on 15 Nov 1824 at Mill Creek Mountain, Greenbrier Co., WV (VA) as the second son of Robert S. Shawver and Mary Jane Callison.  His father’s family had emigrated from Germany probably in the mid 1700’s. (See Sebastian Shawver – Immigrant Ancestor) and from the 1790’s on – the Shawver family had lived in Virginia or West Virginia as it was after 1860.  His mother’s grandfather was James Callison who was born in Ballyhagen, Armagh Co., Ireland around 1739.

It is interesting to note that George William Shawver probably had some interesting ancestors with perhaps some interesting stories.  I have James Callison listed in my database as “Sir James Callison” which implies some sort of Irish nobility.  I also have an interesting note that Mary Jane Callison’s grandfather also had a noble line.  Although, it is suspected that it isn’t of the legitimate variety.  His mother possibly arrived in America on a convict ship.  If is mother was “well-born” and arriving in the colonies with her children on a convict ship – one has to wonder what happened in Ireland or England.    In any case, I suspect there is a good story there and I am not sure that we will ever know the “whole” of it!

George William Shawver married Elizabeth Matilda Legg on 2 Nov 1848 in Fayette Co., VA (WV).  She was the daughter of Thomas Henderson Legg and Elizabeth Nutter.  Elizabeth was born on 16 May 1830 in Leander, Fayette Co., VA (WV).  Her parents had settled in and around Nicholas and Fayette Co., VA around 1820 and she was the youngest daughter in a family of 10 children.

It is hard to know much about a family that lived over a hundred and fifty years ago.  There are really only a few details that one can gather from the census records that counted the passage of time.  In 1850, George and his wife Elizabeth are living with his father in Greenbrier Co., VA with their first son, Robert Thomas Shawver.  By 1860, they are living in Nicholas Co., VA with their growing family including Robert, Melcena, Paul Harvey, John Morrison, Henry, and Daniel.  George is listed as a farmer at this point with land valued at $600 and a personal estate of $100…not terribly prosperous.  By 1870, he is still listed as a farmer with a value of $3,000 land value and $900 personal estate.  He is listed with wife Matilda, children Harvey, John, Henry, Ruth, George C. (my 2^nd great grandfather) and Felix.  In 1880, George is no longer listed as a farmer but rather a Stone Mason, land and personal estate values are no longer listed but rather parental birthplaces.  This is the last census that George and Elizabeth Matilda are counted as they both passed away in 1900.  Elizabeth died on 12 Feb 1900 and George died on 9 Mar 1900 both in Prosperity, Raleigh Co., WV.  They were both buried at Prosperity Cemetery in Raleigh Co., WV.

 

 

I know from notes that I have that George William Shawver was also a Blacksmith and Methodist minister.  He was referred to as “Shoutin George Shawver” and referred to many as “brother”.  My 2^nd Great Grandfather left West Virginia sometime before 1890 and only returned to West Virginia once in 1931 not too long before he died. My Great Grandmother had pictures filled with photos taken during that trip including pictures of the old home place and photos of his siblings and parent’s graves.  So…that is really all I have of my 3^rd Great Grandparents…a few pictures and a few details of their life.  I suppose that is more than most!

 

 

 

Descendants of George William SHAWVER

Generation No. 1

1.  GEORGE WILLIAM⁴ SHAWVER  (ROBERT S.³, GEORGE², SEBASTIAN¹) was born 15 Nov 1824 in Mill Creek Mountain, Greenbrier Co., VA (WV), and died 09 Mar 1900 in Prosperity, Raleigh Co., WV.  He married ELIZABETH MATILDA LEGG 02 Nov 1848 in Fayette Co.,  VA (WV), daughter of THOMAS LEGG and ELIZABETH NUTTER.  She was born 16 May 1830 in Leander, Fayette Co., VA (WV), and died 12 Feb 1900 in Prosperity, Raleigh Co., WV.

       

Children of GEORGE SHAWVER and ELIZABETH LEGG are:

                   i.    ROBERT THOMAS⁵ SHAWVER, b. 06 Nov 1849, Kentucky District, Nicholas Co., VA (WV) or Fayette Co., VA; d. 22 May 1907, Spruce Grove, Nicholas Co., WV; m. ANNETTA T. MORRISON, 17 Feb 1866, Nicholas Co., WV; b. Dec 1847, Nicholas Co., VA (WV); d. 1932, Spruce Grove, Nicholas Co., WV.

                  ii.    MELCENA E. SHAWVER, b. 01 Apr 1851, Nicholas Co., VA (WV); d. 22 Dec 1903, Nicholas Co., WV; m. WILLIAM H. O'DELL, JR., 13 Jun 1867, Nicholas Co., WV ?; b. 1850, Nicholas Co., VA (WV); d. Dec 1893.

                 iii.    PAUL HARVEY SHAWVER, b. 14 Mar 1853, Greenbrier Co., VA (WV); d. 02 Mar 1917, Danville, Vermilion Co., IL; m. (1) MARY COPELAND KING, 21 Mar 1878, Nicholas Co., WV; b. 1860, WV; d. Bef. 1885; m. (2) MARY FRANCIS FULCHER, 15 Jul 1885, Montgomery Co., IN; b. 27 Sep 1860, Owensboro, Daviess Co., KY; d. 31 Jan 1925, Danville, Vermilion Co., IL.

                 iv.    JOHN MORRISON SHAWVER, b. 14 Mar 1855, Nicholas Co., VA (WV); d. 25 Nov 1938, Grassy Meadows, Greenbrier Co., WV; m. ELIZABETH MEDORA BOLEY, 07 Jan 1875, Nicholas Co., WV; b. Feb 1856, Nicholas Co., VA (WV); d. 06 Feb 1940, Grassy Meadows, Greenbrier Co., WV.

                  v.    HENRY W. D. SHAWVER, b. 06 Dec 1857, New Kentucky, Nicholas Co., VA (WV); d. 1964, Nicholas Co., WV; m. MARGARET ELLEN STOWERS, 03 Feb 1874; b. 04 Jul 1853, WV; d. 15 Jul 1915, Nicholas Co., WV.

                 vi.    DANIEL L. SHAWVER, b. 06 Mar 1859, Nicholas Co., WV; d. 20 Oct 1861, Nicholas Co., WV.

                vii.    MELVINA J. O. L. SHAWVER, b. 25 Feb 1861, Nicholas Co., WV; d. 20 Nov 1865, Nicholas Co., WV.

               viii.    RUTH ELIZABETH SHAWVER, b. 05 Aug 1864, Nicholas Co., WV; m. MAHLEN ALBERT MILLS, 26 Apr 1877, Nicholas Co., WV; b. 02 Aug 1854, Greenbrier Co., VA (WV).

                 ix.    GEORGE CHRISTIAN SHAWVER, b. 06 Aug 1867, Fowler's Knob, Nicholas Co., WV; d. 13 Apr 1931, Lyons, Burt Co., NE; m. (1) SARAH EMALINE PITSENBARGER, 26 Aug 1883, Nicholas Co., WV; b. 19 Aug 1861, Nicholas Co., WV; d. 17 Aug 1947, Linden, Montgomery Co., IN; m. (2) REBECCA JANE PITZENBERGER, Abt. 1891, IA; b. 28 Jan 1870, Kanawha River near Shawverville, WV; d. 10 May 1904, Omaha, Douglas Co., NE; m. (3) TAMSEY OMISCA PERRY, 20 Jan 1906; b. 02 Apr 1882, Adams Co., IA; d. 16 Apr 1958, Lyons, Burt Co., NE.

                  x.    FELIX L. A. SHAWVER, b. 10 May 1869, Nicholas Co., WV; d. 19 Oct 1889, Darlington, Montgomery Co., IN.

                 xi.    CHRISTINA SIGNORA JANET LILLY SHAWVER, b. 10 Aug 1871, Nicholas Co., WV; d. 11 Jul 1945, Lindsay, Tulare Co., CA; m. WILLIAM MARTIN ROGERS, 13 Jan 1887, Nicholas Co., WV; b. 27 Nov 1862, WV; d. 21 Jan 1926, Lindsay, Tulare Co., CA.