On This Day: November 2

1796: My maternal 4^th great grandparents, Gabriel Parsons and Sarah Justice, were married in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Gabriel and Sarah had five known children: Simeon, George (from whom I descend), Melinda, Richard, and Gabriel. [Sources: (1) "Virginia Marriages to 1800," database, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 Feb 2010), entry for marriage of Gabriel Parsons and Sarah Justice.]



© 2011 Denise Spurlock

On This Day: August 1

1720: Phillip Sheppard, one of my maternal 6^th great-grandfathers, son of David and Sarah (Vickers) Sheppard, was born probably in Cumberland County, New Jersey.¹ He died January 5, 1797, and is buried at the Old Cohansey Baptist Church Cemetery in Sheppards Mill, Cumberland County, New Jersey.²

1728: John Justice and Mary Moore, two of my maternal 6^th great-grandparents, married at Scituate, Plymouth County, Massachusetts. John and Mary had eight children: Mary, John, Simeon, Thomas, Elce, Elizabeth, William (my ancestor), and Ezra.³

¹Rev. Darrell and Sallyann Joiner (carver@ime.net), Cary Family History.

²Thomas Shourds, History and Genealogy of Fenwick's Colony, New Jersey (Bridgeton, New Jersey: George F. Nixon, 1876), 202.

³Thomas Harold Justice, First Justice Families of Eastern Kentucky (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kyfloyd/familyfiles/justice_history_update.htm : accessed 12 Feb 2010).

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Descended from Revolutionaries

A search of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) patriot database identifies five of my ancestors as patriots during the Revolutionary War:

• Luther Cary (maternal 4^th great-grandfather)
• George Clayton (maternal 5^th great-grandfather)
• Thomas Cook (maternal 4^th great-grandfather)
• William Justice (maternal 5^th great-grandfather)
• James Reeves (paternal 4^th great-grandfather)

Recognition as a patriot by the DAR does not require active military duty. In fact, only one of these five, Luther Cary, served in a military unit. The others provided provisions or supplies for the army.

Only those individuals who have had patriotic service documented by a DAR member are found in the database. There are probably other patriots in our family whose service has not yet been recognized in this way.

Our roots are long and strong in the history of the United States of America. Truly we are descended from revolutionaries!

© 2011 Denise Spurlock