This blog shall be a tribute to all those noble Shapard men and women of a by-gone era, whom, deserve to be remembered and have their story told. It shall be a vast resource for future Shapard research genealogists seeking truth and knowledge about our wonderful family, and an arena to share an discuss topics pertaining to these fascinating men and women of history.
Years ago, I felt the call to research an obscure Shapard ancestor and unknowingly began an extraordinary genealogical adventure which would occupy the betterment of my free-time for the next decade of my life. Before me was an unexplored historical frontier steeped in mystery, scholarly study, expeditions to unknown locations and the excitement of the find - no matter how great or small. I tirelessly explored historical society archives, libraries, the internet, and the dusty old boxes held by every relative, near and distant. All the while, meeting wonderful people who shared a similar interest in genealogy and/or Shapard family history, whom I otherwise would have never met. Shapard family history was on my mind from the time I awoke each morning until the time I fell asleep. I awaited each new day for an opportunity to illuminate the traces of these Shapard ancestors within the obscured cracks and crevices of recorded history where the vestige of their lives had settled.
The faces from their era had all disappeared, their life’s achievements and struggles forgotten as others from succeeding generations had filled their places. They had slipped into obscurity and were being erased by the consequence of time. There were no recognized testaments to their life’s work, no knowledge of their extraordinary deeds, no bold link connecting the succeeding generations to them. These Shapards from antiquity were perilously close to being erased from all known consciousness...perhaps only holding on by a single notation in a bible, a single inscription on a tombstone or a single faint memory from someone's childhood. I truly believed that the spirits of these nearly forgotten Shapards found me and beckoned me to seek out their life’s story, to bring life back to their forgotten memory and the memory of those they loved.
This has been my passion for the last decade. It will be my joy to share what has been illuminated to me about our ancestors so future generations can build on the foundation which has taken me so many years to develop.
“The true worth of men is not estimated by the impression which they make while living – the influence they exert upon the future generations is the criterion of worth.” Rev. Edwin Ruthven Shapard, April 14, 1888.
This is really superb piece of research and work! And done the way I believe genealogical research should be done.
ReplyDeleteI, too, am a descendant of Lewis Shapard, through his daughter Martha (m. Joshua W. McCown). Unfortunately, I find myself greatly embarrassed to have myself fallen into the trap of believing the alleged letters of Samuel Shepard of Buckingham County, etc., and built my Shapard family history on those erroneous assertions. I now feel the critical need to revise what I had written earlier to reflect what you have discovered and documented - and as soon as possible.
I would like to have your permission to excerpt and copy your research from your blog posts in order to correct the record as soon as possible, and then as time and access to original sources permit, go back and back-fill the story with transcripts of the original records. I would appreciate your contacting me at:
txgeezer (at) sbcglobal (dot) com
to discuss my proposed approach to an extensive revision in more detail.
Thank you, and please let me know if I can be of any help to you.
James Louis (my friends know me as "Lou") Poole