First of all I would like to address why I am not on the DNA bandwagon. I think the fact that I don't fully understand how it all works has a lot to do with it. But I have read up on DNA in relation to genealogy and from what I understand the farther the line goes back the less reliable and helpful DNA is. Most of my brick walls are much more than the three or four generations back that DNA is said to be accurate for. Also the majority of my lines are the Pennsylvania Dutch people and they intermarried so closely with cousins it is a wonder I don't have an extra thumb. So the DNA is probably as intertwined as the paper trail is. In addition to the fact I don't think it would be extremely helpful, I also am an advocate of nurture over nature so the paper trail is what matters to me. In my opinion nature does of course determine our potential. But the nurturing we received is what is responsible for what we have done with that potential. Our culture is handed down by nurture not nature. So the paper trail is what matters to me. Not whether or not the milk man got over enthusiasitically involved in some generation along the way. I am much more interested in the social history that revolved around my ancestors than I am their chromosomes. And I am specifically interested in the women of my ancestry. I like to chase who they were and what their lives were like. I feel like they have not been documented adequately and would like the women of my past to be honored. Except for the cases of formal adoption the women are there, whether or not the husbands or the milk men were, at the time the DNA was joined. Therefore I did not choose to use the first writing prompt for July.
The second writing prompt also provided a challenge to me because I don't really identify with my ancestors life choices. I don't feel like I share a lot of their traits. I do have some physical charecteristics in common with my ancestors. And I run across old photos that resemble closely other modern day family members. But I have not found a photo that closely resembles me. Most of my lines were deeply religious people who were very involved in church work. I am not one that is a joiner. Most of my ancestors were either farmers, teachers or preachers. I have an interest in herbs and I do enjoy playing a bit in the dirt with plants but I am not an extensive gardener. I am not a public speaker. I have a lot of appreciation for the value system that was instilled in me because of the culture of the Old Order people that proceeded me but do not identify myself as a clone of any Amish or Mennonite individuals. I am a nurse and I have not run across very many ancestors involved in the medical profession. But I have found one nurse midwife! She is not a direct ancestor but she is an ancestor.
Barbara Ann Neher married a man named Squire Sheafor in 1850. They lived in Carroll County, Indiana but moved to Richland County, Wisconsin in 1854. She was born in 1831 in Augusta County, Virginia. She was two years old when her parents migrated to Clark County, Ohio. Squire was born in Butler County Ohio. It is unclear how they ended up married but since they were members of the United Brethren Church it is likely that they connected at a church conference. Such events were often used to find brides that were not closely related, because of the practice of marrying with in the same church body caused local couples to often be cousins. Or since Squire's brother Clarkston married Barbara's sister Elizabeth, perhaps Barbara Ann and Squire met at their siblings wedding. I do not have a photo of Barbara Ann but I do have the following photo of Elizabeth.
Elizabeth Neher Sheafor
born 1838
I do not have a lot of information on either of the Neher sisters and the line leading to me is from their husbands. Squire and Clarkston's father, Jacob, was the brother of my ancestor Elizabeth Sheafor who married Isaac Southern Patton. Elizabeth and Isaac's son Vincent had a son named Samuel who had a daughter named Clara. Clara married LeRoy Shepler. They had a daughter named Georgia who was my mother's grandmother.
Returning to the subject of this post, Barbara Ann Neher Sheafor, I discovered she was a nurse midwife when I found her grand daughter's birth certificate. Barbara delivered her grand daughter and signed the birth certificate as a nurse midwife. I can't share the birth certificate here because I obtained it from the DAR application of a descendant. I obtained the DAR application because Elizabeth and Jacob Sheafor's father served in the revolution. The DAR is very clear in their rules related to the documents they provide as a service when you purchase those applications. But I do have a photo of the grand daughter that Barbara Ann delivered.
Pearlie Ann Sheafor
1888-1977
Both the photo of Elizabeth Neher and Pearlie Ann Sheafor were given to me by my fifth cousin and partner in crime in researching the Sheafor's - Rebecca. She is always ready for a genealogical road trip and great fun to work and corospond with.
I would like to research more about the history of nursing and nurse midwifery in Wisconsin during the latter half of the 19th century but I have not done so yet. I would like to find more out about Barbara Ann Neher Sheafor. I also hope to find more nurses in my back ground as my family research proceeds.
No comments:
Post a Comment