Harry Thomas Shepler

Harry Thomas Shepler, son of Lewis Hamland Shepler Jr. and Keziah Chambers Horne, was born in Apollo, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania on December 18, 1910. He was the 5th child of 7—Bryon Reeves Shepler, Elizabeth Horne Shepler, Josephine Marie Shepler, Louise Margaret Shepler, Harry Thomas Shepler, Harold Lewis Shepler, and Howard Moses Shepler. Harry would have been my husband’s 1st cousin 2x removed. Their nearest common relatives are Moses Horne and his wife Elizabeth Larimer.

Harry's twin brother
Harold Shepler
(ca. 1929)

At just over a month old, baby Harry came down with catarrhal pneumonia, also known as bronchopneumonia. He was seen by a doctor on January 23 and 24 but died in Apollo at 3:30 a.m. on January 25, 1911. According to Harry’s death certificate (his father was the informant), he was buried at Apollo Cemetery on January 26. I submitted a request for a photo of Harry’s tombstone through Find-A-Grave but unfortunately, the person who attempted to fulfill my request discovered that the cemetery has no record of Harry’s burial.

Harry was a twin—his brother Harold shared the same birthday—December 18, 1910. Were they identical or fraternal twins? I don't know but I found a photo of Harold in the 1929 Vandergrift High School yearbook which gives us an idea of what Harry might have looked like had he lived.

Harry's death certificate

Ollie Von Brooks

Ollie Von Brooks, son of William Henry Brooks and Florence Lee Lankford, was born on February 19, 1896 in Bairdstown, Oglethorpe County, Georgia. He was the oldest child of 13—Ollie Von Brooks, Leila M. Brooks, Waver Brooks, Benjamin Franklin Brooks, Weldon J. Brooks, Calvin Brooks, Jessie James Brooks, Baby Boy Brooks, Nancy Annie Elizabeth Brooks, Evie M. Brooks, Ruby F. Brooks, Alvin Thomas Brooks, and Nettie Lou Brooks. He would be my 2nd cousin 3x removed. Our nearest common relatives are Charles L. Lankford and Miss Moore.

On June 4, 1900, Ollie, his parents, and two-year-old sister Leila lived in a rental home in the 232nd District of Oglethorpe County, Georgia. The census enumerator recorded his name as Olivon. His parents had been married for five years. His father was a farm laborer and neither of his parents could read or write.

On April 22, 1910, Ollie’s growing family lived in a rented farm on Lexington Road in Woodstock, Oglethorpe County, Georgia. Five more children had joined the family for a total of seven children. Ollie’s 78-year-old widowed grandmother Nancy Lankford was living in the home. With this many people in the home now, his mother, sister Leila, brother Waver, and Ollie himself were all having to work on the home farm so were enumerated with the occupation of laborer on a home farm. Although Ollie, Leila, Waver, and Frank were attending school, none of them could read or write. His grandmother was the only person in the home able to read.

About April 1911, Ollie’s mother gave birth to a baby boy. According to Ollie’s sister Nettie, the baby never cried so their parents did not name the baby, probably expecting it to die. He lived three months and four days. On July 14, 1911, the Oglethorpe Echo ran the following news item:

The grim reaper visited the Salem neighborhood twice toward the close of last week and left sorrowing friends and grief-stricken relatives. Taken were infants, one a child of Mr. and Mrs. Jim Adkins and the other of Mr. and Mrs. William Brooks.

World War I broke out when Ollie was 17 years old (July 28, 1914). For the first two years, the United States stayed out of the war. On January 5, 1917, Ollie registered for the World War I draft in Oglethorpe County. At the time, he lived in Rayle, Wilkes County, Georgia, was single, and a self-employed farmer on land owned by Frate Sim in Stephens, Oglethorpe County, Georgia. Ollie was of medium height and build, had blue eyes, and brown hair.

Ollie on the "Lists of Men Ordered to Report to Local Board for
Military Duty, 1917–1918" from Ancestry.com

RMS Olympic during her sea trial, Wikimedia Commons;
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AOlympic_sea_trials.jpg,
public domain, 1911.

Despite the efforts of President Woodrow Wilson to stay out of the war, America declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. On July 23, 1918, Ollie was inducted into the U.S. Army as a private at Lexington, Oglethorpe County, Georgia and sent to Camp Gordon located near Augusta, Richmond County, Georgia. According to GEORGIAINFO, Camp Gordon was “one of 16 temporary training camps, the largest in the southern states and the focus of Atlanta’s wartime patriotic spirit.” He served with the 24th Company, 6th Battalion, 157 Depot Brigade, the 3rd Infantry Regiment, and with Company M, 9th Infantry, Replacement and Training Battalion (I hope I got those right!) before being sent overseas to France, travelling aboard the RMS Olympic from Hoboken, New Jersey on September 9, 1918. I was surprised to discover that Ollie was joined on the trip by my great-uncle Luther T. Burnett. Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing if they were aware of the family connection. Ollie and Luther were connected by marriage—they had no common relative.

Passenger list for the RMS Olympic showing Ollie Brooks and Luther Burnett, Sept. 9, 1918
(portions deleted)

Relationship calculator showing the connection between Ollie and Luther

Many soldiers became sick with influenza and pneumonia during World War I, with Ollie being one of them. He contracted pneumonia while on the RMS Olympic and was taken to the military hospital upon arrival in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England where he died on September 30, 1918. The U.S. Army notified his father William H. Brooks, who also lived in Rayle. Ollie was buried in grave YIII at Magdalen Hill Cemetery in Hampshire on October 2 with a burial service performed by B. G. McGuigan. The war ended just over a month later, on November 11, 1918.

Register of Burials, Magdalen Hill Cemetery,
Winchester, Hampshire, England
(portions deleted)

The following year, Ollie was remembered during Arbor Day ceremonies in Lexington, Oglethorpe County, Georgia. The Oglethorpe Echo ran a news article on November 28, 1919:

Memorials read at Arbor Day ceremonies at Meson Academy last Friday morning at 11 o’clock: Read by Lona McRee—OLLIE VAN BROOKS. Aged 22: born Feb 19th, 1896 son of Florence Langford and Mr. William H Brooks. Died of pneumonia in Winchester, England September 30, 1918.

USS Princess Matoika (ID-2290) under way  in 1919,
U.S. Navy - U.S. Naval Historical
Center Photo #: NH 43123, public domain.

On April 16, 1920, Ollie’s body was exhumed by H.O. order. His body was later placed on board the ship U.S.A.T. Princess Matoika which departed from Southampton, England on May 11, 1920. According to Wikipedia the Matoika also carried “the bodies of 10 female nurses and over 400 soldiers who died while on duty in France during the war.” The ship arrived in Hoboken, New Jersey on May 23, 1920. I haven’t found a record that shows how Ollie’s body was transported back to Georgia but I assume it was by train.

Passenger list for the U.S.A.T. Princess Matoika carrying Ollie's body home to America

Ollie’s body was reinterred at Salem Baptist Church Cemetery in Lexington on June 27, 1920. The Oglethorpe Echo ran a news article on July 2:

The remains of Ollie Brooks arrived home from across the sea and was buried at Salem Church last Sunday. Funeral services were conducted by Rev Coile.

Ollie never married.

Regarding Ollie’s birthdate, when filling out his World War I draft registration card, Ollie listed his date of birth as January 19th, 1895. However, both his tombstone and the November 28, 1919 Oglethorpe Echo news article record the date as February 19, 1896. I have not yet found a birth record.


Additional references:

• Ollie Von Brooks photo from Find A Grave Memorial# 31365786, added by Lynn Ballard Cunningham, March 28, 2015.
• Carol R. Byerly, PhD, “The U.S. Military and the Influenza Pandemic of 1918–1919,” Public Health Rep. 2010; 125(Suppl 3): 82–91.

Baby Girl Lankford

Baby Girl Lankford, daughter of Cornelius Lankford and Betty Cross Reid, was “born dead” in Tempe Hospital in Tempe, Maricopa County, Arizona on November 26, 1949. Baby Girl Lankford was a victim of RH disease. Her death certificate listed the disease or condition directly leading to death as monstrosity, caused by her mother being Rh negative and her father Rh positive. Wait, what? I had never seen monstrosity listed as a cause of death and it shook me. I can’t imagine how it made her parents feel when they were handed a copy of the death certificate. A time in their life that should have been filled with great joy was instead labeled a monstrosity! Baby Girl Lankford, part of the Curtis Caldwell Lankford/Nancy A. E. McCarthy line, was buried at Tempe Cemetery on November 28. Curtis Lankford was the brother of my 3rd great grandfather, James Meriweather Lankford, so she would have been my 4th cousin, 1x removed.

Partial death certificate for Baby Girl Lankford (ca. 1949)

This was the first time I had seen a Lankford in my family tree living in Arizona so of course I had to find out what took them there. Cornelius, originally born in Oglethorpe County, Georgia, moved to Mecklenburg County, North Carolina at some point in the 1940s where he must have met Betty, born in Charlotte. Betty’s mother was Bessie Mae Cross Reid, also born in North Carolina. Bessie divorced Betty’s father Fred Olin Reid and married Daniel Thomas Selvage on May 1, 1948 in Mecklenburg County. Bessie and Daniel apparently moved to Arizona after they married. If you dig deep enough, you find that Daniel previously had ties in Arizona. Bessie was living in Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona on February 12, 1949 when Cornelius and Betty were married so that tells me that Cornelius and Betty were either visiting her mother in Arizona or had moved there. Betty died in Charlotte on January 27, 1999 so apparently didn’t stay in Arizona.

Partial marriage certificate for Cornelius Lankford and Betty Cross Reid

Anyone who does genealogy knows how easy it is to get sidetracked when doing research. This is what happened to me when I sat down to do some research for another blog entry. I originally planned to research Joseph Jackson Lankford, grandfather of Cornelius Lankford. Instead, during one of my searches on ancestry.com, I found the death certificate for Baby Girl Lankford and the next thing you know, three hours had passed.

Although this happened years ago, after I finished writing this blog entry, I said a prayer for Baby Girl and her parents Cornelius and Betty.

My AncestryDNA test didn’t disappoint

I’ve already posted my weekly blog entry but here I am posting another one. This one couldn’t wait until next week—I had exciting news to share! We’ve all seen the commercial about Kyle, the man who traded his lederhosen in for a kilt, right? Well, here’s my testimonial after taking my AncestryDNA test.

Earlier this year, my cousin took an AncestryDNA test. After her results came in, she shared her ethnicity on Facebook. Two months ago, her brother and sister-in-law visited and she and her sister-in-law spent time looking at the DNA matches she shared with other people. That was when they discovered a proof positive DNA match to the line that has been my family mystery and cause of a brick wall—Janes. If you’ve followed my blog, you’ve read the story Daddy has told me many times over the years about the birth of my grandpa, Carroll Harvey Lankford Sr. Just in case, I’ll tell it again.

Daddy was probably in the 7th grade when two teachers named Annie Mae Durham and Leana Mae Moody of Woodville, Greene County, Georgia, pulled him and his sister aside at school. The teachers told Daddy and my aunt the story that their grandmother, Alice Beman Lankford, had allegedly been raped by Thomas P. Janes Jr., the son of Thomas P. Janes Sr., a wealthy plantation owner in Greene County and Georgia’s first Commissioner of Agriculture. A pregnancy resulted and my grandpa was born in 1887. After the alleged rape, Thomas Jr.’s family allegedly disowned him and he was run out of town. They were told that Thomas Jr. was not charged with anything due to the wealth and prominence of his family. None of this could be proven though … until now.

I’ve been interested in having my DNA tested for a while but hadn’t. I felt it was another place for people to get your personal information so held back. But the match found from my cousin’s AncestryDNA test peaked my curiosity. I had to see for myself so I submitted my test in June. The results came in yesterday and didn’t disappoint. I got a “Shared Ancestor Hint” for a match to a couple in the Janes family who we share as common ancestors—my 4th great-grandfather William Janes and his wife Selah Gresham, my 4th great-grandmother. William and Selah Janes had a son named Absalom Madison Janes and a daughter named Mary Ann Frances Janes. My line travels through Absalom’s branch of the tree while the match connects through Mary Ann’s branch. Absalom had a son named Thomas P. Janes (Georgia’s first Commissioner of Agriculture), who had a son named Thomas P. Janes Jr., and the rest is history.

Shared Ancestor Hint from DNA connection

Absalom Janes moved his family to Penfield, Greene County, Georgia in 1839 where they settled in and became prominent members of the community. Thomas eventually sought higher education and once that was completed, made his home in Penfield as well which is where my 2nd great-grandfather James C. Lankford lived in 1872 when his daughter Alice Beman Lankford was born. I confirmed Thomas Janes Sr. knew James C. Lankford when I found an article in the Atlanta Constitution via the Oglethorpe Echo dated May 12, 1883 that stated “A few weeks ago while Mr. J. C. Lankford was plowing along down on Dr. Janes’s home place he plowed up the frame of some person who had been buried there in the past. It was lying due east and west and was in its natural form. The contents were gathered up and carried to Dr. Janes for examination and he pronounced it to be an Indian child between 8 and 12 years old.” That was significant to me because it meant they were in close enough proximity for Thomas Jr. and Alice to know each other.

Rape is horrible and I obviously have no way of knowing if that part of the story is true but I definitely feel that something happened and now I have DNA evidence that links my Lankford line to the Janes line. So, we’ll leave it at that.

My grandpa never thought he was as good as other people and never got over the fact that he was illegitimate. He lived with that shame his entire life. His own family didn’t help. The paper trail of information that would have been provided by family members proves that. Each piece of information (see table below) tells a different story, and for the most part, were not true or were incomplete.

I feel sad that grandpa had to live his life under these circumstances. I also have mixed feelings about what might have happened to my great-grandmother Alice. On one hand, she had to live with whatever it was that happened and my grandpa was forced to live a lie. On the other hand, my Lankford family wouldn’t exist if some part of this story weren’t true because my grandpa would never have been born which means none of us would have either!

So, it appears that Daddy was right. I can’t because he’s over 600 miles away from me, but I want to give my Daddy a hug right now and tell him about the DNA evidence face-to-face. There might just be some truth to the story his teachers told him all those years ago.

P.S., for several years, I’ve been gathering information on Thomas P. Janes Sr. on the chance that I was ever able to prove the connection. He left his mark in Georgia history and it’s been interesting to study him. I’ll share his story in a blog post soon.

_________________

DNA image photo credit: By brian0918™ (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Margaret Shaw

Margaret Shaw Athya (ca. 1917-18)

Margaret Shaw, daughter of Ewen Shaw and Catherine McGillivray, was born between 1884 and 1889 (see table below) in Dores, a village located in the Shire of Inverness, Scotland. According to Wikipedia, Inverness-shire is the largest county in Scotland. Margaret came from a large family of at least nine children—Anne Shaw, John Shaw, David J. Shaw, Catherine S. Shaw, Marjory F. (or Mary or May) Shaw, Bella F. Shaw, Margaret Shaw, Davidina Shaw, and Ewen James Shaw. Margaret was the wife of my husband’s grand uncle Robert Durie Athya. She and my husband have no common relative.

In 1891, Margaret and her family lived at Mackay’s House on Stephens Brae in Inverness. She was enumerated as a five-year-old scholar. They were still living at Mackay’s House four years later when Margaret’s father Ewen, a blacksmith, died there on January 11, 1895.

In 1901, Margaret, her mother, and seven of her siblings, ranging in age from 31 to 7, lived in Inverness at 9 Abbotsford Terrace on Greig Street. At 17 years of age, Margaret earned a living as a domestic servant. She was enumerated as Maggie vs. Margaret. The year 1901 would have been a sad but exciting time for Margaret. Queen Victoria died on January 22 and her son Edward became the King of the United Kingdom. Victoria, who had reigned since 1837, had been the Queen during Margaret’s entire lifetime so this would have been a huge historical event for a teenage subject of the United Kingdom. King Edward VII's coronation took place in 1902.

Back of Margaret Shaw Athya photo

Sometime between 1901 and 1917, Margaret’s mother passed away. I can’t find a death record for Catherine but when Margaret married Robert Durie Athya, son of James Athya and Jemima Durie, on November 23, 1917 in Rosskeen, Scotland, Catherine was recorded as “deceased.” The registry noted that Margaret was a domestic servant and spinster. At the time, World War I was raging and her groom was serving with Scotland’s Black Watch—a Sergeant with the Cameron Highlanders. The photo of Margaret above was taken ca. 1917–1918. She wrote the following on the back of the photo: “To my Darling Hubby with fondest love. How Do you like your little boy. Yours Loving. Maggie Athya.” In the bottom right corner, she wrote “Don’t smile.” It’s believed she was working in a factory at the time and was showing Robert her sense of humor.

Margaret and Robert had three children together. Their first child, a boy they named James Athya, was born about 1920. They welcomed daughter Margaret Shaw Athya on August 21, 1921. A third child, Robert Durie Athya Jr. joined the family on June 18, 1924. James, Margaret, and Robert were all born in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland. They were all given family names—son James was given his paternal grandfather’s name; daughter Margaret was given her mother’s first and maiden names; and son Robert given his father’s full name.

Newlyweds Margaret and Robert Athya
(ca. 1917-18)

When Margaret’s youngest child was just two years old, she was stricken with encephalitis lethargica (also known as “sleeping sickness”) and died on August 9, 1926 at Connolly Hospital in Motherwell, a town in Lanarkshire, Scotland. According to Wikipedia, “Between 1915 and 1926, an epidemic of encephalitis lethargica spread around the world. Nearly five million people were affected, a third of whom died in the acute stages. Many of those who survived never returned to their pre-existing ‘aliveness.’” Margaret and Robert lived in Bellshill at the time of her death. Her burial location is unknown to me, but I would assume she was buried somewhere in Bellshill or perhaps taken to Inverness-shire where she was born. The Dalziel Parish, County of Lanark death registry recorded Margaret’s age as 37 years.

Four years after Margaret’s death, Robert and their three children emigrated to America where they settled in Steubenville, Jefferson County, Ohio. They joined Robert’s sister Margaret Athya Close and his brother George Durie Athya who had been living in America since 1920.

I noted earlier that Margaret was born between 1884 and 1889. Unfortunately, I can’t pinpoint her birthdate. The four records I find equate to different birth years. Each record provides Margaret’s age as well as a record date. When you do the math, things don’t add up. Here’s what I’ve found:

Hopefully a birth or burial record will eventually be found for Margaret that will help solve the mystery.