Chapter 5 - The Ancestry

 

As I mentioned earlier, there is not a great deal of information available on our past family members. The information that is available is mostly just names and dates. I put together, in September, 1992, a little dissertation on our ancestors and I repeat it here. As the title implies, what follows is just some rambling thoughts of mine.

Don Shanks and his Rambling Thoughts on the Shanks Family Tree

Great-Great-Great Grandfather - Moses Shanks

Great-Great Grandfather - Nicholas Shanks

Great Grandfather - Silas Carrick Shanks

Grandfather - Elbert Kelly Shanks

Father - Elbert Ruble Shanks

Son - Donald Mike Shanks

MOSES SHANKS - We know very little about our 3rd Great Grandfather Moses. I show his birthday as "ABOUT 1750" but that is based on an assumption that he was around 25 years old when his son, Nicholas, was born in 1775, however, we could be off by several years. Nicholas is the only child we have a record of but we can again assume there were several other children. We have found that most of the Shanks families were rather large and I doubt if Moses' family was much different.

We know that Moses was a Revolutionary War veteran and settled on a land grant of 500 acres on Puncheon Camp Creek waters of Lick Creek near Romeo, Greene County, Tennessee in 1787. The Revolutionary War began in 1775, the same year his son, Nicholas, was born and the war ended in 1783. You will recall that the Revolutionary War was the war that "gave birth to the United States of America". The United States Declaration of Independence was signed July 4, 1776. Moses was probably in his mid-20s at about that time. Anyway, the U. S. Government gave land and money to those who had fought in the war. Thus, the land grant to Moses. The National Archives in Washington, D. C. has records on all Revolutionary War veterans but that generally only lists name, rank, unit and state. The Revolutionary Soldiers of Tennessee book shows a Moses Shanks with the following notations:

Allen; Tenn. Sol Am. Rev. p 29 N.C. Rev Army Accts. 1-73-2 (3)

I have no idea what all that means.

A letter dated October 29, 1971 from Jim Brown (a Shanks descendent) in Minneapolis, MN to Billy Fox (a Shanks descendent) in Johnson City, TN states that he (Mr. Brown) found a letter written January 16, 1933 by a J. W. Shanks of St. Charles, VA. In that letter, J. W. Shanks said he got the following information from his mother who was then 80 years old (born 1853) and was living in Rogersville, Hawkins County, TN. The portion of the letter said:

"It seems that the Shanks' came from Dublin in the early eighties or late seventies (1775 - 1785) and settled in the

eastern portion of Virginia. Just how many came I do not know, but there was about seven brothers or cousins and they all seemed to settle in East Tennessee or Kentucky and some remained in Eastern Virginia."

Was Moses one of these brothers or cousins? He could have been 20-30 years old about that time and Nicholas could have been born in 1775 shortly after his arrival in the States from Dublin!

It further gives us a reason for his serving in the Revolutionary War to fight the British. The Irish fought for hundreds of years to be free of British rule. In the 1700s and 1800s, hundreds of thousands of Irish people left the country to be free of the British and to seek a better life. I believe that Moses was one of one of those seven brothers and cousins that came from Dublin in the late 1770s or early 1780s, settled in Eastern Virginia and then moved to Hawkins County (Rogersville) in East Tennessee.

Another item that supports this theory is the notation on a census report on Moses' son, Nicholas, that says he (Nicholas) was "of English-Irish Origin". In other words, his ancestors were from Ireland, which was under British (English) rule in those days. Moses, I believe, came from Dublin, Ireland! I gotta' tell you, folks, March 17th, St. Patrick's Day, will in the future have a more special meaning.

NICHOLAS SHANKS 1775 - 1838 - Our 2nd Great Grandfather Nicholas worries me! I've got him pictured as wanderer. He was born in 1775 and he died in 1838 at age 63. He married a gal from Pennsylvania, our 2nd Great Grandmother, Rosanna (Rosey) Graham. We don't know when Rosey was born. She died in 1840 - 2 years after Nicholas died.

Did Nicholas wander off to Pennsylvania to find Rosey or did Rosey come south to Nicholas? He fought in the War of 1812 (1812-1815) and is known to have participated in the Battle of the Horseshoe.

After he and Rosey were married they apparently stayed close to Greene County because census records show that they both died in Greene County. Interestingly enough, we do not know where they were buried! Census shows their son, Silas Carrick, may have come from Hawkins County so Nicholas & Rosey could have been buried in Hawkins County (Rogersville), TN.

An early 1800s census has a note that they had 12 children - 7 girls, 2 boys, and 3 children whose sex we do not know. Nicholas and Rosey gave us our Great Grandfather, Silas Carrick - let's call him Silas. We only have his and his brother, Moses' (obviously named after his Grandfather) birth dates. Silas was born in 1799 and Moses was born ten years later in 1809. One census says that Nicholas and Rosey had 12 children but it only lists Silas, Moses and Susannah. The report shows them as the 5th, 6th and 7th children but does not list the other children. A real mystery. Nicholas would have been 24 years old when Silas was born and he would live another 39 years before dying in 1838. I wonder what kind of a relationship they had. Nicholas' son, Silas and his wife, Elizabeth Milburn, and most, if not all of their 9 children were buried at the Methodist Church in Milburnton, TN. But, again, we do not know where Nicholas and Rosey were buried.

Let's go back to Moses, our Great Grandfather Silas' little brother and our Great granduncle. There's an interesting story here. Records indicate that when he was 31 years old, in 1840, he moved to Scotland County, Missouri and, listen to this, "took all of his sisters". Remember, his dad, Nicholas died in 1838 and his mother, Rosey, died in 1840 and in that same year, Moses packs up Jane, Mary, Nancy, Rebecca and Susannah and leaves town!

He loads these five young, unmarried, and, I assume - since they were Shanks' - beautiful women on wagons and heads out to Scotland County, Missouri. You gotta' believe that took guts! He married Sarah McLaughlin in 1859 in Missouri. She, too, was a native of Greene County, TN. Moses would have been 50 years old when he married Sarah. She died in 1872. They had 4 children. Moses then married Mrs. Elizabeth Prince Mathes, a widow, in 1876. Moses is now 67 years old and his new bride is 29 years old! The History of Scotland County, Missouri (pages 1211 & 1212) published in the 1880s says that Moses was:

"an old and respected citizen of Miller Township, Scotland County"

and said that his father, Nicholas,

"was of English and Irish origin and at the time of his death, which occurred in Greene County, Tennessee in 1838 was in the prime of life."

This same biographical sketch on Moses reiterates that Nicholas fought in the War of 1812 and "participated in the battle of the Horseshoe". The sketch further identifies Moses as the 6th child and said he owned 520 acres "of as good land as is to be found in the county". And, this, my fellow Republicans, will break your heart..........it said Moses "is a decided Democrat".

The bio-sketch did not mention Great Granddaddy Silas. There is something here we need to ponder, folks. Apparently Moses took all of Nicholas and Rosey's family to Missouri.....except Silas. Our Great Grandfather Silas stayed in Tennessee to bear Elbert Kelly, who bore Elbert Ruble who married Letha.. etc.. etc.. see what I mean! I don't want to even think what might have happened if Silas had gone off to Missouri with Moses and the girls. Incidentally, to put the finishing touches on that Missouri group, Jane married Josh Cox and had 3 children, Mary married John Rhodes and had 4 children, Nancy married John Alexander and had 3 children, Rebecca married Ephriam McLoughlin and Susannah apparently had some problems - she lived with Moses until his death in 1889, nearly 50 years after they moved to Missouri.

Moses is not a "direct descendent" of ours - just one of the Uncles along the way, but we have some good information on him and I wanted to pass it a long. I found it interesting and it still scares the heck out of me that Silas could have gone along with Moses and the girls to Missouri and if he had we wouldn't be here -as we know it - today! I'd be living in Missouri and be someone else's brother! Thank you Great Grandfather Silas for staying home and keeping the home fires burning!!

Let's get back to Nicholas. Another letter from Mr. Brown in Minneapolis to Billy Fox in Johnson City says:

"Do you know the names and dates of the other children of Nicholas & Rosey? You joked about Nick being a horse thief but I have found a Thomas Shanks who may be connected with my line who was hanged as a spy by George Washington during the Revolutionary War."

Let's recap Nicholas, our 2nd Great Grandfather - He was born in 1775 and was 63 years old when he died in 1838. He married Rosey Graham from Pennsylvania. She died in 1840. They had 12 children. We know the names of 7 of them and we know those 7 lived to marry and have children. Six of them moved to Missouri. Each family we research from those years had several children to die as infants so it is possible that the 5 we are unable to locate died in infancy. Nicholas fought in the War of 1812. He apparently was a farmer because his son, Moses', biographical sketch from Missouri said "while in Tennessee he followed agricultural pursuits on a farm given him by his father (Nicholas)." Was he a horse thief?? No, I doubt it! We don't know and probably never will - and that's okay with me.

SILAS CARRICK SHANKS - Our Great Grandfather Silas Carrick (again, let's call him Silas - I don't think they would have called him Carrick!) appears to me to be the opposite of his dad, Nicholas. I see Silas as a pretty stable person. Remember, he is the one that stayed home when his brother and sisters went west. Silas was born in 1799. We do not know when he died. He is buried in the Milburnton Methodist Church Cemetery with his wife Elizabeth and three children, Luisa, Nancy and Jonathan, who apparently died young. Someone has replaced the tombstone with a new one and it only shows the birth years for each one.

Silas married Great Grandmother, Elizabeth Milburn, a sister of Rev. William Milburn and Rev. Joseph Milburn. They were married June 29, 1820 and this probably tells us why he stayed home when Moses and the 5 girls left for Missouri in 1840. Silas is believed to have come from Hawkins County (Rogersville) and settled in the Milburnton area and lived there until his death. They had 9 children - Our grandaunts and granduncles plus Granddaddy Kelly! Luisa, Nancy and Jonathan died in their teens and 20s. Lucinda lived to be 81. Her first husband was killed in the Civil War. He served with the Union Army. Uncle William Milburn was 68 when he died, and he had 2 wives and 19 children! Uncle Asbury Milton was also killed in the Civil War - he, too, served with the Union Army. I THOUGHT WE SHANKS' WERE ON THE SIDE OF THE SOUTH! Uncle Walter Emerson moved to West Fork, Arkansas and married a couple of times. Uncle Silas Carrick, Jr. lived to be 76 years old. And, we all know about our favorite one of all in this family - Grandfather Elbert Kelly, and his 3 wives named Mary!

Great Grandfather Silas' life apparently was not too exciting. He didn't fight in any wars and he didn't move to another state. He apparently stayed close to Milburnton where he lived, worked and died.

The 1850 census says the following about Silas' and his family. Silas was 52 years old (in 1850) and the census showed his occupation as "blacksmith" and his estate valued at $300.00. Wonder what that would be in 1992 dollars? That same census said Lucinda and Nancy could not read or write. Lucinda was 28, Nancy was 20. It also said that William Milburn and Grandfather Elbert Kelly were "farmers" and that they had "attended school in yr".

ELBERT KELLY SHANKS - Our Grandfather Kelly was a heckuva man! I'm not sure whether he was called Elbert or Kelly but let's call him Kelly! He had three wives and 12 children and as we all know, gave us the greatest Dad that ever lived on this earth. Dad Shanks was the last of Grandfather Kelly's 12 children.

Elbert Kelly Shanks & Mary E. Fraker - - - A little study of Kelly's marriages would indicate that he was a very strong-willed person. Further study reveals some other interesting information. Let's look at a few of the facts that are available. Grandfather Kelly's first wife, Mary E. Fraker, was born in 1841 and died in 1868 at the young age of 27. There is no information on the cause of her death. She and Kelly had one son, Joseph Asbury. Joe was born in 1866 so Granddad Kelly got a little bit of a late start for a man destined to have 12 children. He was 31 years old when Joe was born. Here's a thought. . . .The Civil War was fought from 1861 - 1865. Grandfather's age during that time would have been 25 - 30 years which would have made him pretty prime material for military duty but I know of no records indicating that he was in the Civil War. On the other hand, remember that Joe, his first child, was not born until 1866 - one year after the Civil War ended. Could it have been that Kelly fought in the Civil War (1861-1865), thus the reason for him being 31 years old when Joe was born in 1866. I don't know! Whoops! Forgive me for I know not what I say! I just dug a little deeper and found that Grandfather and his first wife, Mary E. Fraker, did not marry until November 28, 1865 - just barely 6 months after the end of the Civil War. He would have been 30 years old and she was 24 years old. Joe would be born 11 months after their marriage. The question still remains, however, - - did he have any involvement in the Civil War and was that the reason for his late start on his family. Anyway, his first wife Mary E. died April 12, 1868, about 2 1/2 years after they were married and little Joe was about 18 months old. She was a month and a half away from her 27th birthday.

Elbert Kelly Shanks & Mary A. Basket - - - They were married on March 21, 1870 - about 2 years after Mary #1 died. (Pardon me for assigning numbers to his wives, but it makes it easier to follow.) His new Mary #2 was 26 and he was about 35 years old. Little Joe would be close to 4 years.

And, if all of our dates are correct, Grandfather Kelly and Mary #2 apparently were quite intimate long before their marriage on March 21, 1870..... 'cause Ida, their first child, was born June 12, 1870! Just 3 months after they were married. (Didn't we find a similar situation with Grandfather and Grandmother Williams on Mom's side of the family - they were married June 20, 1886 and their first child, Mary Adaline, was born May 5, 1885 - a year prior to their marriage!!) Lordy! Lordy! Our grandparents apparently were hot-blooded folks! God Bless 'em!

Anyway, enough dirt - let's move on! Granddad Kelly and Mary A. (#2) after a quick start had a total of 10 children. As in the case of most families during this era - several "died in infancy".

Keep in mind now that these were our Half Aunts and Half Uncles - Dad Shanks' half-brothers and sisters. Joe, from Mary #1, would go on to live to the age of 62. Ida, born 3 months after Kelly's marriage to Mary #2 "died in infancy". Thomas died at the young age of 21. He was a teacher. Effie married but died at age 35. Edgar lived 7 months. Lulu married Ellison Bailey and lived a long life (date of death unknown). Lena died when she was 8 years old. Garfield died at age 48. Bertie was 67 when she died. Elmer was 75!! Luther was 67 years old. Dad, born to Mary #3, was 66 years old! This is interesting, so let's recap those 12 ages at death from Joe to Dad Shanks. Their ages at death were:

62 - infant - 21 - 35 - 7 months - 80s - 8 - 48 - 67 - 75 - 67 - 66

It appears that Grandfather Kelly spent an awful lot of time burying his children.

Kelly and Mary #2 were married March 21, 1870 and she died June 18, 1892. They were married 22 years. Grandpa Kelly was left with some pretty young children to care for - The youngest, Luther, was 3 years old, Elmer was 7, Bertie was 9, Garfield was 11, etc., etc.

Elbert Kelly Shanks & Mary J. Brown - - - And, along comes the one we owe much to - our Grandmother Mary J. - Grandfather's Mary #3! What would you give to set down and chat with her for a few minutes! They were married March 16, 1893 - 9 months after Mary #2's death. She was 40 years old and Kelly was 57 years old. I don't get the feeling that Elbert Ruble Shanks was in their plans because he was not born until 1897, nearly 5 years after their marriage.

She would have been nearly 45 years old and Granddad Kelly was at a grand old age of 62!! We almost didn't make it!!

Dad's Dad, Kelly, died July 31, 1903 at the age of 68 when Dad was 5 1/2 years old. Dad's Mom, Mary, died November 13, 1917 at the age of 64 when Dad was 20 years old.

Three years later at the age of 22 years on April 4, 1920 he would marry a beautiful young lady named Letha O'Dell Williams. She was not quite 20 years old and they would combine to become the greatest Mom and Dad that ever lived! And, they gave this world my brothers and sister that I love so dearly - Andy, Thelma, Glen, Carroll and Wayne and we all gave birth to a host of wonderful children that will forever carry forth the rich heritage of the Shanks Family.

These Ramblings Respectfully Prepared By:

Don M. Shanks, September, 1992