My Brother Jimmy and the Loss of Other Siblings of Past Ancestors

Yesterday, February 23, 2015 would have been my little brother’s 67^th birthday. He never made it that far. In fact, he died in 1950 just past the age of two years and two months.

James Edwin Shepheard, named for his two grandfathers, was born on February 23^rd, 1948 and passed away on May 15^th, 1950. The clinical cause of death was from a pulmonary infarction due to Eisenminger’s Syndrome, a congenital heart defect. We were just told he had a hole in his heart, which is true.

 

James Edwin Shepheard 1949

We don’t know if surgery could have saved Jimmy. In any case the first open heart surgery to correct such defects was not accomplished until 1952. Surgeries involving a heart-lung machine were not done until much later.

I am reminded of Jimmy often, particularly around my own birthday and those of my sisters, and I often wonder how our lives might have been different if he had survived. I also think about him when I come across the deaths of other infants and children of my ancestors’ families. And, to my surprise, there have been many!

I only have snippets of memories of him, playing quietly with him in the back yard or on the living room floor. My two older sisters remember Jimmy as “a little angel who came to brighten our family . . . a happy, sweet tempered little boy . . . and so cute.” He never learned to walk – he was not strong enough – but he did talk and loved to laugh. His favorite game with our oldest sister was the nursery rhyme, “One two, buckle my shoe. . .” When they got to ten he would laugh and shout out, “Big Fot Hen!” in his growly little voice.

Some of the things that go through your mind as a surviving sibling are: If he had not been ill and we had grown up together, would we have shared similar interests? Would we have played sports or had business interests together? Might he have been my best man when I got married? There are so many scenarios that can be imagined with stories like these.

 

Jimmy and Wayne Shepheard 1948

My youngest sister came along after Jimmy died. She likes to tell everyone that she was the only one of us that was planned. Of course we disagree about that. She has also commented that she might not be here if Jimmy had lived. I think she would have, and that we would have been a family of five children. But her initials would probably not have been J. E.

Psychologists suggest there can be major conflicting emotions when siblings die, especially at a very young age. Some individuals will be fearful or anxious; some may feel guilt. Others may feel abandoned especially if there are no other brothers and sisters to lean on. I think most children will experience a loss of innocence or, at least, an unwanted welcome into the real world. In our family, we learned that death is a part of life, that it is not to be feared nor dwelled upon but, basically, that things often happen that are beyond our control. While we can and will be sad that someone close was lost, we do have to move on.

Perhaps because we were ourselves so young, my sisters and I did not fully appreciate the seriousness of Jimmy’s illness or how his passing would affect any of us. It’s only as we get older that we really understand death and the loss of a loved one. The more years we have together the closer we become and therefore parting with the person, and our interactions together, is so much harder. We cannot know if Jimmy’s death had any lasting effect on us as siblings since our lives unfolded in what we have come to believe was the way they were supposed to. Perhaps there were some scars that accompanied the pleasant memories.

I cannot imagine anything as devastating as a parent losing a child. In looking back now, I believe that our parents were prepared for the eventuality and were able to get on with what they had to do – raising their remaining three children. Planning for their fifth was also part of the healing process. I suspect they experienced enormous grief but hid it from us in order to protect us and to allow us to get over the loss of our brother more easily.

In decades and centuries past, childhood deaths were not uncommon. Normal childhood diseases that we have seen almost eradicated often visited communities. Without the protection of vaccines which we now take for granted, these outbreaks resulted in the deaths of many children – and adults as well. Health conditions that children were born with, many less serious than my brother’s affliction, may have been untreatable, if they were even recognized.

In assembling the history about my own ancestors, I discovered that, in every generation, babies and young children were lost. I imagine that, in each case, the parents and siblings of those children must have felt the same way we did, with a great sense of loss. In later years, they may also have wondered how their own lives might have been different if their brother or sister had lived.

Our family histories often gloss over the premature deaths of people who never grew up, married and had their own families. They were no less important members of those families and their loss must have been felt deeply by parents, siblings and others. We should try to incorporate what we know or find out about them into any narrative as they were certainly part of the overall story.

I will try to do so below, however briefly, for siblings of my direct ancestors going back just four generations. The paucity of information about them shows I still have much research to do.

·         Marion Elizabeth Shepheard (1919-1919) and Evelyn Ethel Shepheard (1926-1926) – I know very little about these two sisters of my father. They were infants when they died, perhaps even still-born.

·         Lois Ivy Miller (1896-1905) – This little girl was born in Oklahoma over twenty years before my mother so she never knew her older sister.

 

Lois Ivy Miller ca 1903

·         Andrew E. McDaniel (1868-1869) – My maternal grandmother’s brother was born and died in Lee County, Virginia.

·         Florence M. Thompson (1892-1892) and Eveline Thompson (1902-1902) – These were two of my paternal grandmother’s sisters. Both were born and died in Mapleton, North Dakota.

·         Charlotte Ann Shepheard (1867-1869) – This sister of one of my great-grandfathers died of rubella, complicated by pneumonia.

·         Mary Ann Pearson (1852-1854) and Thomas Pearson (1854-1854) – These siblings of one of my great-grandmothers both died in Australia. Mary Ann was born in Warwickshire, England and moved with her parents to Australia in 1853. Her death record says “Scald Mortification 11 days” which must have been a tragic and heart-rending accident. Thomas was born in Australia and died of pneumonia at the age of two months.

·         Harriet Keith (1851-1852), Martha Helen Keith (1853-1857) and infant Keith (1867-1867) –

·         A great-grandmother lost three siblings, all of whom were born and died in Jennings, Indiana.

·         Martha Anderson (1870-1870) – This sister of another of my great-grandmothers was born and died in North Dakota.

·         Infant Anderson (1821-1821), Gilbert Anderson (1840-1841) and Jane Anderson (1844-1844) – The Campsie, Scotland birth record for the first child, sibling of one of my 2^nd great-grandfathers, has a note “This child is dead” indicating it was still-born. No forename was recorded for this child and there is no indication of its gender. Other siblings, Gilbert and Jane were born in Lanark County, Ontario but did not survive infancy.

·         Jane Crispin Carpenter (1835-1836) – This was a sister of one of my 2^nd great-grandmothers. Her cause of death is unknown.

·         Samuel Davis (1840-1842) – This brother of another 2^nd great-grandmother was born and died in Warwickshire, England.

·         Robert Emerson (1826-1826), Mary Emerson (1827-1829), George Emerson (1831-1831), William Emerson (1835-1835), Ann Emerson (1837-1837), George Emerson (1840-1840) and Phoebe Emerson (1843-1843) – Another of my 2^nd great-grandmothers lost seven siblings at very young ages, the first three in Leiscestershire, England, before the family immigrated to Canada, another while crossing the Atlantic and two in Thorold, Ontario, where they were born.

There may have been more children lost to these and other direct-line families however I do not yet have complete information for all the family members to be able to confirm whether other names should be added to the list.

My maternal grand-father was a twin. His brother was still-born. I think he also always wondered what life might have been like had his brother lived, especially so since they were born on the same day. Edwin Miller was a sensitive and caring man who, on the day of his 83^rd birthday wrote the following poem. It relates a sentiment that I think all of us feel who have lost a brother or sister at a very young age.

My Birthday – February 17th, 1870

In a Kansas shanty – in a form more like a toy,

Eighty three years ago today, was born a baby boy.

A Kansas blizzard raged without; within, a tiny wail

Came from the throat of that little form so frail.

You may believe it or may not; that feeble little cry

Came from that babe, that little babe – the babe that once was I,

At the same time there lay beside me on that bed

A normal child in every way except that child was dead.

And so the little weakling grew up to be a man,

They laid the strong beneath the sod as only parents can.

It seemed to me my greatest loss as I grew up alone

Was my twin baby brother whom I have never known.

Edwin died just seven months after writing this remembrance poem.

I never really knew my brother but I do still miss him. Happy Birthday Jimmy! Wish you were here.

Wayne Shepheard is a volunteer with the Online Parish Clerk program in England, handling four parishes in Devon, England. He has published a number of articles about various aspects of genealogy and is a past Editor of Chinook, the quarterly journal of the Alberta Family Histories Society. Wayne also provides genealogical consulting services through his business, Family History Facilitated.

Recognizing Notables in the Parish Records

I have occasionally observed the use of titles and honorifics in the registers of Cornwood parish, Devon. Invariably they were attached to notable people in the community who, for the most part, were major landowners. I use this example as it is the area of origin of my Shepheard ancestors and for which I have transcribed all of the parish baptism, marriage and burial records. I am sure that the same holds true for other parishes in Britain.

The heads of the Rogers family were consistently referred to with the titles of “Sir” and “Bart.” – for Baronet – in the Cornwood registers; for the women, “Lady” or “Dame” were used. John Rogers, the first of the line, made his fortune as a merchant and bought an estate and the lordship of the manor, called Blatchford, from John Hele, in 1690. He was created a Baronet in 1699. Eight Baronets from the Rogers family, including one who was created Baron, Lord Blachford, in 1871, are buried at Cornwood, and, as one might expect, all with their full titles recorded in the burial register.

 

1716 baptism entries for Frederick & Barbara, son & daughter of Sir J. Rogers Bart. & Mary his wife

1889 burial entry for Frederick Rogers, Lord Blachford

One term that most people are familiar with in family history records is Esquire. It originally was generally used interchangeably with “squire” although that word originated as the individual who served a knight.

Historically, in Britain, Esquire was the title used for man with a “rank next below that of Knight. Besides those Esquires who are personal attendants of Knights of Orders of Knighthood, this title is held by all attendants on the person of the Sovereign, and all persons holding the Sovereign's commission being of military rank not below Captain ; also, by general concession, by Barristers at Law, Masters of Arts, and Bachelors of Law and Physic” (Boutell, 1899). In the 1600s, Esquire was defined generally as the title for the eldest sons of knights or peers and their eldest sons in perpetuity, for those in positions created by the monarch or by virtue of their office, such as Justices of the Peace. In more modern times it may be attached to the name of any man in formal use or in the address of a letter where there is no prefixed title.

In the Cornwood parish registers only a few men were recorded with the term, Esquire, all of them members of the most affluent and influential families in the parish and owners of the major manors or estates – including the Hays, Hele, Maynard, Pode, Praed, Savery and Trefusis families. The burial register is most often the place one finds the title recorded. The title was almost expressly used for the eldest sons of the families, which was the norm in Britain.

 

1691 burial entry for Robert Savery Esquire of Slade

1692 baptism entry for Waltham Savery, son of Will. Savery Junr. Esq & Catherine his wife

Another term used for many individuals in the same families where a man was accorded the title of Esquire is Gentleman; Gentlewoman was common for the wives or daughters of these families. In the registers, the term is not used for any of those men known as Esquire, suggesting the designation was more restricted to younger siblings of those families – still “gentle” by birth but likely not in line for inheriting titles or necessarily land. Many of those recorded with the term, Gentleman, were from wealthy land-owning families but not part of the most “titled” families – knights or peers.

1685 burial entry for William Mason Gentn.

1830 baptism entry for Joshua Horton Northmore, son of Mary & Matthew Fortescue Northmore, of Hanger, Gent.

Many of those recorded in Cornwood records, with the term, Gentleman, were from wealthy land-owning families but not part of the most “titled” families – knights or peers – including the Badcock, Bunswell, Burrell, Coryton, Fortesque, Hele, Mason, Maynard, Northmore, Prideaux, Rogers, Savery, Williams and Worthington families.

More commonly, other important members of the community were identified by an honorific – Mr., Mrs. or Miss. Again, none of the individuals who were shown as Esquire or Gentleman (Gentlewoman) were referred to in this manner in the registers although the widows of some gentlemen or esquires might also be shown as Mrs. Most of the references are found on the burial register. The land tax lists also have numerous individuals shown as Mr. or Mrs. In all cases, these were individuals who also owned land in the parish.

My 5^th and 6^th great-grandfathers were referred to in most register entries as Mr. Both were land-owners and active in the community.

Nicholas Shepheard (ca 1675-1756) – 6^th great-grandfather – was listed in the Devon Freeholders lists as “yeoman”, “gentleman” and “freeholder” between 1711 and 1733. He was an original Feoffee and Trustee for Wakeham's Rooke Charity set up in 1700 and continued to administer the fund until his death in 1756. On the baptism entries of seven of his nine children, Nicholas was shown as Mr. His burial was recorded as Mr. Nicholas Shepard and his wife’s as Mrs. Amy Shepard. The spelling of their names in the registers was done at the discretion of the Vicar but not in keeping with other documents Nicholas has signed as Shepheard.

 

1718 baptism entry of John Shepherd, son of Mr. Nicholas & Amy Shepherd

1723 burial entries for Ann and Amy Shepherd, daughters of Mr. Nicho. Shepherd

1751 burial entry for Mrs. Amy Shepard

1756 burial entry for Mr. Nicholas Shepard

Nicholas Shepheard (1716-1786) – 5^th great-grandfather – was listed in the Devon Freeholder’s lists as “gentleman” and “freeholder” from 1762 to 1783. The designation indicates he had a fairly high position in the parish. He was shown as a co-Assessor & Collector on the Land Tax Assessment roles as well as a land owner of two major properties in the parish. He also served as the Churchwarden for St. Michael & All Angels Church in Cornwood. In that position he was primarily responsible for having the bells manufactured and installed in the church belfry in 1770. His name is cast into five of the bells (see my post of July 1, 2014). Nicholas was a Trustee of the Wakeham's Rooke Charity with brother, Richard, succeeding their father, Nicholas, in the position.

Recording the status of individuals by way of title is very much an old practice. In Cornwood parish the last time the term Esquire was used was in 1898 in the baptism register when Phyllis Cordelia Pode, daughter of Cyril Augustus & Constance Pode, of Slade manor, was baptized. In the burial register, it was for George Crawley, Esquire, a Captain in the Royal Navy, who was buried in 1810.

The last use of Gentleman was in 1896 in the baptism register when Gerard Parker, son of Mackworth Parker, of Moor Cross, was baptized. In the burial register, it was for Henry Rogers who died in 1716.

An honorific was last used in the baptism register in 1808 when Anne Roberts was baptized, her father being a servant to Mr. Pode. The last reference in the burial register was for Mrs. Anne Hayes in 1803.

Knowing the people within a parish or region and observing the titles or honorifics with which they are recorded allows one to get a sense of the hierarchy in the community at the time. Obviously, titles conferred by the Crown are at the highest level – knights, baronets, barons. Those known as Esquire appear to occupy a second level. And Gentlemen/Gentlewomen are the third. Both of these we might refer to as “gentry” or “landed aristocracy”. In past centuries, those called Mr. or Mrs., especially on official documents, were important people in the community and very likely all land-owners. In Cornwood parish we can certainly make the above connections to social position and influence.

All baptism and burial images reproduced here are used with the kind permission of the rights holder, Plymouth and West Devon Record Office. Wayne Shepheard is a volunteer with the Online Parish Clerk program in England, handling four parishes in Devon, England. He has published a number of articles about various aspects of genealogy and is a past Editor of Chinook, the quarterly journal of the Alberta Family Histories Society. Wayne also provides genealogical consulting services through his business, Family History Facilitated.

References:

Boutell, Charles. (1867). English Heraldry. London & New York: Cassell, Petter. and Galpin.

The Readmission into the Church of England by Apostates in 17th Century England

I have written before about finding notes in old BMD parish registers that referenced activities in the parish as wells as various historical events.

I found the following note, apparently glued into the pages of the burial register for Plympton St. Mary parish in Devon, England. It was at the end of a section that listed burials in 1683. On the preceding page were some other parish notes dated 1632 and 1662. On the following page, which is the last page of the register book, were some notes dated 1680 and 1681.

At the bottom of the insert is a reference to the information having been copied by E. G. Hunt on what looks like July 5^th, 1869. Edward George Hunt was the Vicar of Plympton St. Mary from 1865 to 1872 so the 1869 date makes sense. Why he did so then and in that register book, we may never know. One may surmise he was studying one of the most accomplished leaders of the Church of England and thought that particular register book which spanned the years 1603 to 1683 was the most appropriate place to include it.

A transcription of the insert is as follows:

In A.D. 1637 Arch. Bp. Land, in presenting to the King

the annual returns from the Bps. of his Province, reports

under “Exeter”. “This year, by reason of the return of divers

that were captured in Marocco, and having been in-

habitants of those western parts, there arise in my Lord

the bishop a doubt, how they, having renounced their

Saviour, and become Turks, might be readmitted

into the Church of Christ, and under what penitential

form. His Lordship at his last being in London spoke

with me about it, and we agreed on a form which

was afterward drawn up, and approved by the right

reverend father in God my Lord the bishops of London,

Elg. And Norwich, and is now settled by your Majesty’s

appointment; and I shall take care to see it regis-

tered here, and have given charge to my Lord of Exon

to see it registered below, to remain as a precedent

for future times, if there should be any more and

examples of apostasy from the faith.”

Laud’s Works. V. 352

The Bp. Of Exeter at this time was the famous

Dr. Joseph Hall.

Copied July 5^th 1869

by E. G. Hunt

It is a curious entry and I wondered what it all meant. I knew that, between the 16^th and 19^th centuries, a white slave market had flourished with tens of thousands of men, women and children taken in raids along the European coast from Spain to England – from villages and ships at sea. While captive many people converted to the Muslim religion – or “Turk” as it was called – probably to save their lives.

Thousands died in captivity as a result of overwork, malnutrition, disease or murder. Over the decades, though, many were able to escape or were ransomed, and returned to their home countries. Among many references about the subject is a good summary on the History webpages, called British Slaves on the Barbary Coast.

The return of the former captives posed a problem for the Established Church. The ones who had converted to Muslim were considered apostates and could no longer attend services or receive help from their local parishes.

One man who recognized the situation and who also realized that the majority of former slaves had been forced to convert was Joseph Hall (1574-1656), who served as the Bishop of Exeter between 1627 and 1641. Hall was an outspoken theologian, often controversial, and a prodigious writer. Much of his writing was compiled later and published, in twelve volumes, as The Works of Joseph Hall, D. D. All of the volumes, along with many more books and essays by him can be read online. He had many run-ins with authorities but also had many accomplishments within the Church of England.

Dr. Hall had been troubled by former slaves who returned home as apostates and undertook to find ways to reunite them with their former church and congregation and to become, once more, productive members of their communities.

The note found in the parish register references a form which was drawn by Dr. Hall, under the authority of Archbishop William Laud (1573-1645). The finished document, published in 1635, can be found in Volume XII of The Works of Joseph Hall, D. D. (pages 346-350) and is titled, A Form of Penance and Reconcilitation of a Renegado, or Apostate from the Christian Church to Turcism.

 

First part of 1635 Church of England form dealing with the Penance and Reconciliation of an Apostate

The rules for readmission into the Church were laid out in detail in this form. The penitent was required to meet with clergy in his area for a number counselling sessions. If his situation warranted, he would be allowed to offer penance over several weeks, described firstly as:

The next Sunday following, let the offender be appointed to stand all the time of divine service and sermon in the forenoon, in the porch of the Church, if it have any; if none, yet without the Church door, if extremity of weather hinder not; in a penitent fashion, in a white sheet, and with a white wand in his hand, his head uncovered, his countenance dejected, not taking particular notice of any one person that passeth by him; and when the people come in and go out of
the Church, let him upon his knees humbly crave their prayers, and acknowledge his offence in this form; “ Good Christians, remember in your prayers a poor wretched Apostate, or Renegado.

After numerous occasions of standing in penance, he would be questioned again if he had “. . . found a true and earnest remorse in his soul for his sin. . .” and, following substantial prayers and public entreaties, a Minister would finally take away his white sheet and absolve the individual by saying,

Dear Brother, (for so we all now acknowledge you to be,) let me here advise you, with what care and diligence, every day of your life, you ought to consider how much you are bound to the infinite goodness of God, who bath called you out of that woeful condition, whereunto you had cast yourself; and how much it concerneth you ever hereafter to walk worthy of so great a mercy; being so much yourself in all holy obedience to God, by how much you have more dishonoured and provoked him by this your shameful revolt from him: which the same God, the Father of mercies, vouchsafe to enable you unto, for the sake of the dear Son of his love, Jesus Christ the righteous. Amen.

And I learned all this after finding a strange note pasted into a parish register by the local vicar in 1869. These kinds of notes will rarely be digitized and almost never found in an online database of births, marriages and deaths. One has to troll the pages themselves. In doing so, it might be possible to find all manner of references to the history of the times.

The image reproduced here is used with the kind permission of the rightsholder, Plymouth and West Devon Record Office, Wayne Shepheard is a volunteer with the Online Parish Clerk program in England, handling four parishes in Devon, England. He has published a number of articles about various aspects of genealogy and is a past Editor of Chinook, the quarterly journal of the Alberta Family Histories Society. Wayne also provides genealogical consulting services through his business, Family History Facilitated.