Pieces of the Heart

My mother's graduation picture from 1959 - Betty Tannahill Johnson!

I have been fortuanate to have a large and loving family as well as an extended family.  There are various aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents that have helped shape me into the person that I am today.  However, when one is blessed as much as I have been – the loss of those family members can be very difficult as well. There is no question that the most significant loss that I have experienced was my mother who probably had more to do with my personality than any other person.  When we lost her to cancer just a little over six years ago, it made me rethink a lot of things.  Every one of these loved ones that I have lost has taken a piece of me with them…but they have left a piece of them with me as well.

I lost my first grandparent when I was eight years old.  I don’t have a lot of memories of spending a lot of time with my Grandpa Frank.  I do have a few precious memories that remain…that of going to the store with him and picking out candy for my siblings and getting my own bag all on my own.  I especially remember him teaching us how to peal an orange and to this day, the smell of oranges and the act of peeling the orange makes me think of him.  I know that my father is in many ways a reflection of his father.  He is a gentle man who is thoughtful and considerate as well as being a hard worker and loving father and husband.  Many of those qualities are reflections of his father.

 

As I got older, I lost two great grandmothers and by the time I was 20 – I had also lost both of my mother’s parents.  Seeing my grandmother in the hospital in a coma made an impact on what I thought of these family members.  It reminded me that I needed to tell them that I loved them often and ask them about who they were and what their lives were like.  My mother also reminded me at the time that when you lose someone you love that if you remember and think about them, then they are never truly gone.  She was experiencing a great loss as both of her parents died in that 18 month time period – but the experience of age had taught her acceptance.

My grandparents - Gwen & Capitola Friddle Shearer

By the time, I was 28 years old; I began a new journey of discovery.  I spent a great deal of time asking questions and listening to my older relatives.  I learned funny stories about marriage and children.  Sometimes these questions presented me with new information and insights into some of the family members that I never had an opportunity to know as an adult.  Through my mother and her uncle – I learned about the remarkable life that my great grandmother (Mom Friddle) and her husband (Pop Friddle) had led, as well as some of the sad aspects of their lives.  My father’s mother gave me the gift of her knowledge and family unstintingly.  Together we pored over pictures and talked about what it was like to grow up in such a large family with such remarkable parents and what it was like for her to raise her own family.

These past few months have been difficult.  We have lost my grandmother as well as several other friends and family members.  I have a few other relatives with serious health problems and the future for them is getting short.  As I have lost each one of these loved ones – family and friends – I still remember what my mother told so long ago.  If you remember them then they are never truly gone.  I remember that as well as believe that when we lose someone we love – they take a piece of our hearts with them…but they also leave a piece of themselves to enhance our own lives and memories of them.  It is a reminder to take the time and remember to tell someone you care about - that you love them and that they are important to you!

Jack & Jinxy

I’ll never forget that day back in the summer of 1985 when we were helping my Uncle Jack & Aunt Hilda move from Santa Rosa, CA to Roseburg, OR.  Mom came in the room with an odd look on her face and plastic recipe file box in hand.  It looked a little beat up and had tape around the top to seal it.  Evidently, it was the cremated remains of Jack’s cat Jinxy!

Jack & Hilda

Uncle Jack loved cats especially black ones.  I can remember every time he visited us that he would tease me that he might have to take that fine black kitty we had back home with him.  I would tell him that she wouldn’t go with him because she loved me.  When Jack got back home he sent me a picture of his black kitty sleeping in some gold garland and told me that his old Tom looked lonesome.  Seven years later, Jack was probably without a cat for the first time in decades and he and Hilda were moving.  My parents, brother and I went down to help them pack up for the move.  Mom said that Jack came back in the room and asked her if she remembered Jinxy.  Jinxy was a cat that Jack had had some 25 years before when he lived in Colorado.  Jinxy had died and Jack was getting ready to move and he couldn’t bear to leave his beloved cat behind.  So, Jack had Jinxy cremated and kept him a plastic recipe box that he declared was hermetically sealed with tape.  He was very serious when he asked my mother if she thought that he should take Jinxy to their next home.  Mom looked at him and could see that this meant a lot to him and told him that he had had Jinxy this long, so why not take him with them.  She did point out that Jack should get a better box for him though.

When Mom came into the room after that little talk with Uncle Jack…she told us what he had said.  My Dad said that it was probably just some dirt and gravel and that he was probably pulling our leg.  Mom said no…he was quite serious.  Hilda was no help…she told Dad to open it up and look if he wasn’t sure.

We began the convoy up north – my brother and I driving Jack’s extra cars – and headed north to Roseburg, OR.  Along the way, my brother found a lovely little myrtle wood box for his wife.  When he was showing us all the box – Jack began eying the box and told him that it would make a fine coffin for Jinxy…my brother quickly put the box away because we weren’t real sure whether Jack was joking or not.

Jack didn’t live very long in Roseburg, OR.   One day, 2 years later, he was working in his wood shop and died of a heart attack.  Hilda, while broken hearted, still had her sense of humor and wrote Jack – AWOL on the day that he died.  Jack had a simple wish.  He wanted to be cremated and taken up to Grouse Flats on the old home place and have his and Jinxy’s ashes scattered.  His brother, Claude, told me that it really wasn’t quite fair to Jinxy as he was a city cat and he was up there with all of those country cats.

My cat - Jinxy

Several years ago when I got a new kitten the only name that immediately came to mind for her was Jinxy – so in memory of Uncle Jack and his love for black kitties…she is my Jinxy!

A Surprise With Hiley

If you ever think that you have the “complete” information on a family – be prepared to be wrong.  I didn’t feel quite that confident about the family of Levi Pennington and Elizabeth Henson, but I was pretty sure that we had a pretty good list of their children.  I was definitely proved wrong.

A few years ago, I began hearing about a Hiley Pennington.  Now…I had never come across this name and so it was pretty interesting.  She was born between 1816-1818 in Ashe Co., NC and died 4 Nov 1895 at Sturgill, Ashe Co., NC.  Hiley was married to James Emmett Lewis  in August 1837 probably also in Ashe Co., NC and they were the parents of eight children.  I went through my normal research to see if I could figure out where she belonged.  The more I looked the more suspicious that I got that I was looking at a daughter of Levi Pennington and Elizabeth Henson.

Levi Pennington was born abt 1794 probably in Ashe Co., NC and died sometime bet 1886-1887.  He married Elizabeth Henson probably around 1815.  They have been said to have anywhere between 12 and 16 children.  I really felt that I could only prove 12 children and so that was on my list.  However, I became convinced that Hiley was actually one of those children and therefore I had to raise my number to 13.  Their children are:

• Dora Pennington b. bet 1810-1820 (no further info)
• Edy Pennington b. abt 1815 Ashe Co., NC d. abt 1866 Ashe Co., NC m. Nathan Eastrage
• Hiley Pennington b. bet 1816-1818 Ashe Co., NC d. 4 Nov 1895 Sturgill, Ashe Co., NC m. James Emmett Lewis
• Elijah Ephraim Pennington b. bet 1819-1822 Ashe Co., ND d. 4 Nov 1895 Ashe Co., NC m. Mary Osborne
• William Pennington b. abt 1821 Ashe Co., ND d. aft 1880 m. Frances Blevins
• Larkin Pennington b. Jan 1826 Ashe Co., NC d. 6 May 1901 Ashe Co., NC. m. Lydia Lewis
• Harvey Pennington b. 29 Feb 1828 Ashe Co., NC d. 21 Apr 1922 Ashe Co., NC m. abt 1850 Easter Little m. 2. Oct 1896  Martha Ann Brooks  
• John Pennington b. 10 May 1829 Ashe Co., NC d. 5 Mar 1917 Ashe Co., NC m. 16 Feb 1859 Manda Hurley m 2. Abt 1860 Emeline Kilby
• Anderson Pennington b. 1832 Ashe Co., NC d. 1850 Ashe Co., NC (Drowned)
• Andrew Pennington b. 1834 Ashe Co., NC d. aft 27 Aug 1863 (Civil War) m. 5 Nov 1857 Mary Little
• Levi Daniel Pennington b. 1837 Ashe Co., ND c. 17 Jan 1909 Morganton, Burke Co., NC m. 17 Dec 1854 Elizabeth Osborn
• Elizabeth Pennington b. abt 1839 Ashe Co., NC d. bet 1883-1887 Johnson Co., TN m. 17 Jan 1857 Alexander Monroe Dollar (my line)
• Martha Pennington b. 29 Mar 1843 Hemlock, Ashe Co., NC d. 21 Dec 1926 Eldreth, Ashe Co., NC m. 21 Mar 1872 Marshel Gilley

There may be more because we have a few unidentified names that we have found in a Probate document on Levi Pennington.  I’ve not yet been able to identify Isaac Cartron & wife and C. A. Warren and wife Catherine.

Clip listing the children of Levi and grandchildren (if parent had passed away)

 

This gives me hope that someday, someone will find another document that answers all the questions that this Probate document poses.  Although you must admit that it is interesting that there is hope that if you keep searching even on families that you think you have a complete history…you never will know when something shows up that offers a delightful surprise piece of information.  So…Hiley was a surprise all those years ago…but she was also a good lesson.  Never believe that your information is complete – there always might something else that explains yet another mystery.

Building on a Legacy

I still remember the first time that I got my hands on a genealogy book.  It was probably in the late 1970’s when I first got my hands on the Gage Genealogy that was published by Rev. Walker VanTassel Gage.  It was published in the 1960’s and my great grandparents had a copy of the book.  The logistics of producing that book nearly boggles my mind!

The Gage genealogy (I’m not using the exact name because I can’t remember) was probably a photocopied copy of a typewritten document.  It used what I later found out was a fairly traditional numbering system that allowed you to trace generations.  I was upset to find that it didn’t include my entire family yet it did include a lot of details that I wasn’t of an age to explore.  I’m sure I was thought to be too young to appreciate the data and I’m sure older family members wanted to look at the book. 

I have a large genealogy database where I have kept over a decade of details and connections in a rather large file.  In addition, I have a library of digital images and documents that I have also collected through the years.  I also have several paper files (these really need to be gone throughJ).  I can go to the appropriate place and bring up an individual as well as all of the research that I have done on that individual.  For example – I can choose and ancestor and find a notation for every census record, marriage record, burial record or military record that I might have on that individual.  I can also show you what I have on their siblings, descendants and ancestors all at a click of a button.  I almost take this process for granted.  It has taken me too many hours to count to gather that information so I can access it so easily as well as trips to cemeteries, court houses, and libraries.  When Rev. Gage wrote that Gage book – he didn’t have a computer to work from nor something that would automatically search whatever records that he had.  Rev. Gage probably filed each individual on something like a library card or in books with family group sheets.  Making the family connections necessary to assemble a family history with thousands of individuals, records, and ties had to be labor of love.  He created a book that in some ways is hard to read and follow for the novice –but my great grandfather must have really studied that book.  Granddad Gage left that New York family back in 1908 and while he had gone back at least once – that book had to help him sort out the various cousins that he had met.

My mother and I did our own Gage genealogy book about 10 years ago.  I think it was over 800 pages and included the Gage, Gallup and associated families as well as the Shawver and Pitsenbarger families.  We had a few pictures and documents but it mostly contained our own lines.  I had one cousin who wondered why he was not listed on his own but rather under his parents.  We had to explain to him that you were only listed if you had children.  My father decided to introduce me as his daughter without issue when introducing our group at the family reunion which definitely generated quite a bit of laughter.  I realized at the time that all of the work that my mother and I had done was built on the work of people like Rev. Gage and many others.  After my mother’s death, it is now my job to continue our research and hope that I find some new young family researcher in the future who will take over our legacy and build on it!

The Little House in the Hollar….

I remember as a child listening to my great grandmother tell me about the house she was born in…that it was over 150 years old and a cabin.  I realized later in life that she was “pulling my leg!”  I never really thought I would ever get a chance to really see that house…but eleven years ago, I did! I talked a bit about that day in 2001 in an earlier blog “My Idea of a Vacation”…but there is a bit more to the story of that house.

Alexander Monroe Dollar and Elizabeth Pennington moved with their family over to the Laurel Bloomery area of Johnson Co., TN…more specifically Shingletown sometime after the 1880 census.  They purchased land and built a home near Shingletown.  My guess is that it was after 1883.  Sometime between 1883 and 1887, Elizabeth Pennington Dollar dies and Alexander Monroe Dollar remarries to Sarah “Lulu” Pearce.  The house that my great grandmother was born in is probably the same house that Alexander Monroe Dollar and Elizabeth Pennington originally built…but I am not sure – I am sure that it was built by 1890 when my great grandmother’s older brother was born.  John Dula Dollar probably brought his young bride (Buena Vista Bailey) to that house in 1889 after they were married.  By 1894, when my great grandmother was born and Buena Vista Bailey had died – the house was either deeded over or reverted to Alexander Monroe Dollar.  The three young children stayed with their grandfather and step grandmother while John Dula Dollar worked.  By 1897, he had remarried and the two older children went to live with their father and stepmother. Mom Friddle (Sophia Dollar Friddle) stayed with her grandfather and step-grandmother.  The step-grandmother, Lulu, was the only mother that she had ever known and Mom Friddle readily admitted that she had been somewhat spoiled. 

Mom Friddle’s life was about to change very quickly…her grandfather died in 1908 and ownership of the house transferred to Lulu Pearce Dollar.  John Dula Dollar was making noises about bringing Mom Friddle to live with him and Lulu wasn’t very happy about that prospect and encouraged Mom Friddle to elope with her beau!  (That is a whole other story that will wait for later)  Anyway, not too long after Mom Friddle eloped, Lulu remarried and moved over to Ashe Co., NC with her new husband.  At that point, she deeded the house over to Maggie Dollar.  Maggie was the wife of Roby Smith Dollar who was John Dula Dollar’s younger brother.  I always thought it was interesting that she deeded to Maggie and not Roby Smith Dollar…but by 1912, Maggie died of pneumonia and Roby was left in the house with his daughters. 

Roby's daughters on the porch in front of the  little house.

Another View of the house...going up the hill behind.

Roby stayed in the little house until after 1930 when he and his daughter Eva built a little house in Mountain City, TN.   The little house had been in the family for almost 50 years.  On my second visit to that little house in the holler, I met the lady who owned the house now.  She said that her parents had bought the house from Roby Dollar.  They had added an indoor bathroom and plumbing in the 1950’s as they got older and an addition on the back.  She still used the house as a guest house and said that it was much easier for her to do her canning in the little house’s kitchen than hers.  Mrs. Eller then took us through the house and down to the cellar where she proudly showed off her home canned goods.  I remember standing on that porch and thinking that over a hundred years ago, my great grandmother stood on that same porch gazing out over the view and probably dreaming about her future.  She probably never dreamed that she would end up so far away in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.  I’m sure Roby’s daughters had the same dreams standing on that porch.  In some ways it was a bit spooky standing there gazing out – it isn’t often we get to see and touch a place that played such a significant role in a loved one’s life. 

The view from the front porch.

Intersecting Families....

The Pennington family in Ashe Co., NC intersects with a lot of families.  Possibly one of the most dominant of these families is the Blevins family.  They are present in the Micajah Pennington line (Group 7) as well as Group 30 and the children of Abram Pennington.  Trying to figure out where they fit can be a challenge.

Johanna Pennington was the youngest daughter of Micajah Pennington and Rachel Jones.  She was born on 24 Mar 1779 in Wilkes Co., NC and died before 1860 probably in Ashe Co., NC.   Johanna married Douglas Dickson sometime before 1804 probably in Ashe Co., NC.  They were the parents of eight known children and their daughter Lucy Ann Dickson married Daniel Blevins in 1831 in Ashe Co., NC and were the parents of 13 children and grandparents of at least 40 others.  Daniel Blevins siblings also had close ties to Penningtons.  Daniel was the son of James B. Blevins and Lydia Sizemore.  James Blevins and Lydia Sizemore’s had ten children and of those four were married to Penningtons. They were:

• Wells Blevins  b. 8 Oct 1795 Ashe Co., NC and d. 23 Dec 1865 Whitetop, Grayson Co., VA m abt 1820 Elizabeth Pennington b. 9 Apr 1798 Ashe Co., NC d. 13 Dec 1868 in Whitetop, Grayson Co., VA
• Hester Ann Blevins b. 8 May 1812 in Ashe Co., NC and d. 19 Oct 1890 in Konnarock, Smyth Co., VA m. abt 1835 Andrew Pennington b. 11 Oct 1809 Ashe Co., NC d. 11 Oct 1882 Konnarock, Smyth Co., VA
• James Blevins, Jr b. abt 1809 in Ashe Co., NC and d. 23 Dec 1869 in Ashe Co., NC m. abt 1831 Artemecia Pennington b. abt 1810 in Ashe Co., NC d. 27 Feb 1897 in Ashe Co., NC
• Daniel was born about 1814 in Ashe Co., NC and died 12 July 1864 probably either in Ashe Co., NC or Washington Co., VA. m. abt 1831 Lucy Ann Dickson b. abt 1815 in Ashe Co., NC and d. 1883 Ashe Co., NC

All three of the Pennington siblings were the children of Abram Pennington who was probably a cousin of Micajah Pennington and his granddaughter who married Daniel Blevins – their younger brother.

James Blevins and Lydia Sizemore had about 44 grandchildren with these Pennington siblings and cousins.  Then the Blevins and Penningtons make things even more confusing by intermarrying several times.  It seems that almost any Blevins in Ashe Co., NC is somehow connected to both the Pennington/Dickson family as well as the Blevins family.   Some of these Pennington/Blevins families stayed in Ashe Co., NC but many more lived in Smyth and Washington Co., VA as well as Grayson Co., VA.

When I am confused as to the relationship of a Blevins to the Pennington family – I refer to Ron Blevins who I think is probably the best Blevins researcher that I have come across.  There have been many times that the two of us have had to puzzle out a relationship and it has taken both of our databases and experience to figure it out. 

Now, I don’t believe that this is any different than any other county with families who have lived in the same area of generations.  In fact – I’m sure that there are many other researchers out there who have experienced the same challenges.  The Blevins family helped convince me to research not just one Pennington line but multiple Pennington lines.  These cover the Pennington Research Association groups of Group 7 (Desc. Of Micajah Pennington) Group 30 (Desc. Of Abram Pennington) and also of Douglas Pennington b. 1818 whose lineage has not yet been ascertained.  

So, if you research Penningtons – you also research Blevins and a few other family lines such as Graybeal and Osborne.  It is a tangled web with many intersecting relationships.  It is difficult enough with a computer and genealogy program – I have to wonder how genealogist who were not computer aided managed the excellent research that they accomplished.

Immigrant Ancestor - Sebastian Shawver

My great grandmother had mostly German heritage…her maiden name was Shawver and her mother’s maiden name was Pitsenbarger, both thoroughly of Germanic descent.  Grandma Florence actually had her family line spelled out on a piece of paper from her mother’s line and her father’s line back to their immigrant ancestor.  Her paternal immigrant grandfather arrived on the Eastern Branch on 3 Oct 1753.

Sebastian Shawver or Schauber as it was probably originally spelled was born around 1733 probably in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany.  He arrived in Philadelphia on the Eastern Branch in 1753 captained by James Nevin.  As a 20 year old arriving in Philadelphia, I have to wonder how daunting it must have been to be somewhere away from everything that was familiar and be in a place where most probably didn’t even speak the same language.

Philadelphia was a typical landing spot for many of the German immigrants who arrived on American soil and many families can be traced through the Pennsylvania country between Philadelphia and West Virginia.  Sebastian does not seem to be one of those easily traced; however there is no doubt that he followed the same trail that many other German immigrants did.  Sebastian married Elizabeth Hammer around 1760 in Monroe Co., VA.  She was born sometime between 1730 and 1740 probably in the United States.  In truth, I’ve never read much about her except to know that she preceded Sebastian Shawver in death as she is not mentioned in his will.  They had the following children:

• Jacob Shawver b. 1761 Monroe Co., VA d. abt 1828 Monroe Co., VA m. Judith Carpenter
• George Shawver b. 1764 Botetourt Co., VA d. Nov 1849 Fayette Co., VA m. Mary Gillespie
• Sarah “Sally” Shawver b. 1766 in Monroe Co., VA d. unknown m. Henry Smith
• John Shawver b. 1767 in Monroe Co., VA d. bef Jun 1828 in Monroe Co., VA m. Margaret Wylie
• Barbara Shawver b. 1769 Monroe Co., VA d. abt 1835 m. Charles Rowan
• Child b. 1771 d. young
• Elizabeth Shawver b. 1773 Monroe Co., VA d. unknown m. John Harnsberger
• Christopher Shawver b. 1775 Monroe Co., VA d. 9 Dec 1831 Dodson Twp, Highland Co., OH  m. Mary Ruble m. 2 Elizabeth Harmon

My ancestor was George Shawver and Mary Gillespie through their son Robert S. Shawver.

Sebastian at times was also known as Boston Shawver and this in fact a common name in the family.  I know from family history that the middle names are often the names a German child is known by…so perhaps his full name was Boston Sebastian Shawver.   Anyway, Sebastian signed a will dated Jan 1816 and it was probated on 15 Oct 1816.  Sebastian left his sons land and money and his daughters were given Sebastian’s slaves.  After their deaths, the slaves were to be sold and proceeds to be divided amongst their children.  The will makes me believe that Sebastian had done fairly well for himself and was able to leave his sons land and money and to his daughter’s his slaves. 

Nothing of that inheritance is all that pleasant to read…that of slaves being given to his daughters and being sold at their deaths.  It is ironic that an immigrant who probably arrived with nothing gained enough wealth to own land and slaves and probably saw nothing bad about it as it was such a common practice in that time period. 

So…Sebastian and Elizabeth left behind thousands of descendants who populate at least within my family lines areas in West Virginia, Iowa, Nebraska, Idaho, Montana, Washington, & Oregon as well as many other states.  They would be my sixth great grandparents.  We will probably never know much their actual birth places or certainly their place of burial.  It is impossible for me not to wonder what life must have been like in the 1770’s when they were having their children and war was breaking out around them.  I have to wonder if it even touched them personally and if Sebastian actually might have gone off to fight.  By the time, Sebastian died in 1816, he was an old man of 83 years old who had lived a long life and had been able to see his children grow and have children of their own.  I’m sure he worked hard and was proud to leave a monetary legacy to his children that he never had from his own family.  I may not be entirely proud of the contents of that legacy – but it certainly had to be satisfying to him!