So, it is 1904 and George Christian Shawver is left with
five children to care for after the death of Rebecca Jane “Frankie”
Pitsenbarger. According to Harvey
(Oldest son from
first
family) Chris made overtures to his first wife, Sarah Emaline Pitsenbarger.
Also according to Harvey – she wanted
nothing to do with him. I am sure that
Jessie took over as the oldest child…and perhaps Chris hired someone else to
help out. It is impossible for me to
know. It isn’t until 20 Jan 1906, that
Chris married Tamsey Omisca Perry Davidson – and so begins a new chapter.
 |
| Marriage photo - 1906 |
Tamsey Omisca Perry was born on 2 Apr 1882 in Carl Twp,
Adams Co., IA to Joseph Henry Perry and Sarah Ada Drake. She married Charles V. Davidson on 25 Dec
1901 in St. Clair, Monona Co., IA. She
had three children: William Merle
Davidson b. 21 Nov 1902 Whiting, IA d. 27 Aug 1967 Tulare, CA and twins John b.
12 Dec 1904 and died at birth and Ralph b. 12 Dec 1904 d. Jan 1905. I had always understood that Tamsey was a
widow. However, after a bit of research
on who she married, I have discovered that Charles Davidson did not die and
remarried to a Myrtle Williams on 4 Sept 1907 and lived until after 1940. Tamsey married Chris Shawver in 1906 and had
a ready-made family with her son and Chris’ five children. I remember that my great grandmother
(Florence Shawver Gage) always referred to Tamsey quite fondly as Mama and I am
certain that Tamsey provided the mothering her step children needed.
It wasn't too long before Chris and Tamsey’s first child was
born. Aida Elizabeth Shawver was born on
13 Dec 1908 in Lyons, Burt Co., NE followed by Ruth Margaret Shawver b. 7 Mar
1911 in Lyons, Burt Co., NE. Harold Christian
Shawver was b. 16 Jun 1913 in Lyons and Ernest Perry Shawver followed on 22 Jun
1914. Virginia Rachel Shawver was born
on 3 Jan 1918 in Lyons. Then on 3 Jun
1926 when Tamsey was 44 years old, their last child was born – Naomi Jeanne
Shawver in Lyons, Burt Co., NE. Their
family was complete with six additional children along with the five children
from Chris’ second marriage.
 |
Taken about 1919 - Top Left - Dewey, George, Merle, Florence, Nettie
Bottom Left - Harold, George "Chris" Aida, Ernie in front, Tamsey holding Virginia, Ruth |
At this point, some of my information comes from my great grandfather,
Ora Gage. He and my great grandmother
were married in 1917 and I think that they actually became quite close. There were a lot of combined trips to Chicago
to sell farm stock and I know that my great uncle spent a lot of time working
for his grandfather on his farm. Chris was
actually quite a prosperous farmer.
However, from what I understand, there were some issues with his step
son, Merle Davidson. He made several
careless ventures and a lot of money was lost.
In 1930 or so, Chris went back to West Virginia for the first time that
I know of since he left in 1888 or so.
There are photos taken with his brother, cousins and nieces as well as
photos of his childhood home. I know from
what was told to me that he also went to a bank and watched his son work for a
short time. This makes me think that his
older children were still on his mind.
In 1931, shortly before his death, Chris and his son Dewey disappeared
for a weekend with a load of goods. It
was thought that he was taking that load to someone from the first family. I don’t know if his suicide happened shortly
after that for later – but on 13 Apr 1931, Chris Shawver was found hung in a
barn.
There are a few reasons why Chris Shawver might have
committed suicide. He was considered to
be an upstanding citizen and leader of his community. From everything I have ever read – he was
well regarded. My great grandfather had
the theory that his financial problems might have prompted the suicide and
there is also the thought that he was about to be found out about his first
family. I think that his wife, Tamsey,
knew about this first family but his other children did not. So, after his death this came out and his
adult children who had children of their own had the shock of finding out that
they had five siblings that they had known nothing about. In fact, the first family and second family
were probably as close as siblings genetically since their mothers were sisters
and they shared the same father. This is the obituary that was in the local
newspaper:
Chris Shawver was born August 6, 1867, and came to Nebraska
when a young man. For a number of years he farmed near Decatur, and later moved
to his farm northeast of Lyons. At the time of his death he had attained the
age of 63 years, 8 months,and 7 days. He was good to his family, a considerate
and helpful neighbor, and honest and straightforward in his business dealings
and had the respect of who knew him. He leaves to mourn his death, his wife and
11 children. They are: Mrs. John Bacon, George Shawver, Mrs Ora Gage, Dewey
Shawver, Mrs Clarence Davidson, Mrs. Art Frey, Mrs. Dale Besst, Harold, Ernest,
Virginia and Jeanne and Merle Davidson. One brother John Shawver of Smoot, W.
Va. and one sister, Mrs. Wm Rogers of California also survive. The funeral
services were held Thurs. afternoon at 2:00 o'clock from the Presbyterian
church in Lyons, and with Rev. L. A Thompson in charge. Interment was made in
the Decatur Cemetery. Songs: Face to Face, Nearer My God to Thee, In the Sweet
By and By. Choir: Clay Newman, Mrs. Walton, Mrs. Matt Pond, Dr. Heyne Odd
Fellows had charge of the services at the Decatur Cemetery. Paul Bearers Osean
Swanson, Tom Crippen, Wid Bacon, Earl Bacon, Lewis Frey, Charles Frey.
I would assume that it was several years later – perhaps about
1940 when the older siblings met some of their younger siblings. Sarah Emaline Pitsenbarger came along and
also met the siblings. I don’t think
that my great grandmother was at this meeting – but I know that she traded
letters back and forth many years with her sister, Mary Shawver Booker and when
her brother Harvey moved to Spokane, WA there were many occasions when they
were able to visit. I imagine that the
entire episode was something that was hard to reconcile with their knowledge of
their beloved father. I tried to get a
copy of Chris Shawver’s death certificate and it wasn't available…which makes
me believe that it was never filed and it was another way to keep what happened
secret. However, there is no way that
gossip won’t be spread and that is probably how I found out about the story in
the first place. My uncle grew up near
the family in Nebraska and moved out to Idaho about the same time. So, he had first hand knowledge.
Tamsey still had a job to take care of herself. She was left with four children still under
the age of 18 with the youngest being just five years old. By all reports, she was an excellent mother
and her children certainly illustrated that.
I know that she made a few trips west to visit her family that had moved
out to Idaho. My father remembers fairly
well. She was the only great grandmother
that he ever knew. Tamsey died on 16 Apr
1958 in Lyons, Burt Co., NE at the age of 76.
Here is a list of Tamsey & Chris Shawver’s family:
- Aida Elizabeth Shawver b. 13 Dec 1908 Lyons, NE d. 27 Feb
1978 Portland, OR m. 13 Dec 1926 Arthur Glen Frey – 4 children m. 1 Dec 1940
Dell Stewart m. Dec 1945 Vaughn Elijah Maxfield – 3 children m. Dec 1954 Guy
Emery Neal
- Ruth Margaret Shawver b. 7 Mar 1911 Lyons, NE d. 12 Nov 2002
Lewiston, ID m. 31 Jul 1928 Dale Elwood Besst – 7 children
- Harold Christian Shawver b. 16 Jun 1913 Lyons, NE d. 23 May
1989 MT m. bef 1934 Ruth Evelyn Whitney 4
– children m. Opal Blossom
- Ernest Perry Shawver b. 22 Jun 1914 Lyons, NE d. 7 Mar 1987
Yuma, AZ m. 22 Apr 1933 Fern Lillian Craig – 1 child
- Virginia Rachel Shawver b. 3 Jan 1918 Lyons, NE d. 15 Sept
1964 San Francisco, CA m. John Guy Bernich m. John Vincent Biagi – 1 child m.
Howard Johnson 1 child
- Naomi Jeanne Shawver b. 3 Jun 1926 Lyons, NE d. 30 Dec 2012
Moscow, ID m. 3 Aug 1946 Warren Philip Renz – 6 children
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| Shawver Brothers - Left to Right: Harvey, Ernie, Harold, Marvin & Dewey |
 |
Back Left: Harold, Dewey & Ernie
Front Left: Ruth, Jessie, Florence & Jeanne - Taken about 1981. |
