* Genealogy of the Freeman Family *
(version January 18, 2021)
Please email corrections to Mike Clark
 


 

The next two sections look at the history of the Freeman Family and Shane Family ancestors of Sally Freeman (1929-1971). It is based largely on family group sheets that Sally's brother Hugh Freeman (1920-2007), a history teacher, wrote down on forms he got from the Southern California Genealogical Society. We can verify almost all of what is in Hugh's group sheets, which gives us reasonable confidence that whatever we could not verify from Hugh's research is still nonetheless grounded in fact.

John Freeman of Surry County, Virginia is thought by some to be the earliest-known ancestor of the Freeman family of Paragould in Greene County, Arkansas. However, we have not seen any real evidence that convincingly links him to any descendants leading from him to his postulated great-grandson Anderson Freeman. This John Freeman lived in that part of Surry County that later became Sussex County, and he received there in 1701 a land patent (deed to a homestead). He subsequently worked a plantation and grist mill that was located on the north bank of the Nottoway River, near where Freeman's bridge crosses the river into Sussex County (Freeman, 2014). He died in 1725/1726 in Virginia. His son William Freeman (b. c.1692) is thought, by some, to have left Sussex County and moved to North Carolina, from whence his descendants supposedly moved west about 1800 to settle in Tennessee, and later Arkansas. William's supposed grandson Anderson Freeman is Generation I in the lineage that follows.

 

 

  1. Anderson Freeman is the earliest Freeman ancestor for whom we have found any real evidence. He was born in the late 1700s, possibly in Tennessee, as that is where he seems to have spent most of his life, and where he died. However, he may have also arrived there from Virginia or North Carolina. Various family trees confidently place him in one of these three places, but we are not aware of any evidence in any of these trees. There are records to show that he resided in, and/or owned land at various times in Rutherford County in central Tennessee, and later Haywood County in western Tennessee. There is also the record of his marriage to Delilah Yearnel (1796?-1873) on Dec. 23, 1813 in Wilson County (central Tennessee). The obituary of his daughter Nancy Marble (1827-1900) states that, "She [Nancy] belonged to a large and influential (Methodist) family. Her father, Anderson Freeman and many of the family have been and are ministers of the gospel, being widely known over Tennessee and North Mississippi". However, we know nothing of the churches with which Anderson was associated. He is not to be confused with the same-named, and much better-known, Rev. Anderson Freeman, D.D. of Maryville College in eastern Tennessee.

    The only other information we have on Anderson are some notes that his granddaughter Delilah McKay (1856-1955) left us on her life and family. She writes, "My mother Nancy's mother, my grandmother was also named Delilah, Delilah Yarnell and she was born in Kentucky in 1785. Her mother's maiden name was Baird. She married Anderson Freeman, a Methodist minister, and had the following five children:

    William [who follows in the next generation]
    Louis
    Martha Freeman who married a McFarland
    Elvis Freeman who married a Van Dyke
    Nancy Freeman who married Ira Jones Marble"

    Although Anderson's and Delilah's birth and death dates are poorly known, there are some facts to consider. First, the 1830 U.S. Census places Anderson in Haywood County, Tennessee. Then his wife Delilah was a widow when she married her second husband Armistead Poole (1794-1862) on March 15, 1838 in Tennessee. These facts mean that Anderson must have died sometime between 1830 and 1838 somewhere in Tennessee. Delilah and her second husband Armistead then moved about 1844 to Mississippi, from where he originally came. Armistead died in 1862 in Mississippi, and Delilah died on Aug. 31, 1873 in either Claiborne or Copiah County, Mississippi. Granddaughter Delilah McKay in her narrative gives 1785 as Delilah Yearnel's birth date, whereas Boddie (1960) in Historical Families of Southern Virginia, IV, p. 167 gives July 25, 1796 as her birth date. We suspect that the later birth date is more reliable, as it would mean she was 17 years old when she married Anderson, whereas the earlier birth date would mean she was 28 years old when she married, which would make her a bit of an "old maid" for the times.

     

  2. William B. Freeman (b. c.1817) is probably the son of Anderson Freeman and Delilah Yearnel. Census returns show that he was born about 1817 in Tennessee, and resided in Haywood County and Dyer County, both of which are near the Mississippi River in the westernmost part of the state. He married his first documented wife, Nancy Miller (b. c.1819), sometime before 1840 in Tennessee, and they were residing that same year on a 100-acre homestead on Pond Creek in Haywood County that William's younger brother Lewis (b. c.1819) had purchased from the original homestead claimant Alfred Freeman (b. 1806). Alfred, together with neighbors named Cato Freeman (b. c.1790), Green Freeman (b. c.1794) and Ashbury Freeman (b. c.1798) are shown in some family histories to by uncles of William and Lewis, but the evidence to document this has not been found.

    William and Nancy moved with their family about 1859 to Greene County, Arkansas, where Nancy died sometime after the 1860 U.S. Census. William then married his second documented wife Emaline Ledbetter (b. c.1837) about 1868 in Tennessee. Emaline was a widow with young children, and whose previous husband Mark Kelly may have died in 1864 as a Confederate soldier being held prisoner in Andersonville Prison. William appears to have had at least three children with Emaline. He probably died sometime before the 1880 U.S. Census, which shows Emaline living without him.

    Some family trees on the internet quote stories that portray William's eldest "daughter" Mary J. Barton (neé Freeman) as a Cherokee Indian, who came into the family. However, there are also statements that DNA evidence does not support this, the argument being that Mary's descendants are genetically linked to the descendants of William's other children. However, if William was Mary's biologic father, but her mother was Cherokee, then an Mt-DNA analysis would be needed to show evidence of her Indian ancestry, and we are not sure this was done. Thus, the possibility that those family stories are grounded in truth cannot be dicounted.

    Shown above and right is a daguerreotype (tintype) portrait of William, with "Lizzie Lee Murphy's Grandpa Freeman" handwritten on the back. Lizzie is the daughter of the Sarah Freeman below who married John Murphy..

    children - Freeman (with 1st wife Nancy Miller)

    Ann Eliza Freeman (1842-?) is presumed to have been the eldest child of William and Nancy Freeman. She was born in Oct. 1842 in Tennessee, and came with her parents to Arkansas. She married William Worrell (b. 1839), not long after her arrival on July 7, 1859 in Greene County, Arkansas, and they had at least four children that we know of.

    Sarah Ellen "Sallie" Freeman (c.1849-1881?) was born about 1849 in Tennessee, and came as a little girl with her parents to Arkansas. She married John Crawford Murphy (1840-1914) on Sept. 30, 1868 in Madison County, Tennessee. They had at least four children that we know of, including their youngest child Lizzie Lee Murphy (1880-1971). Sallie is shown in some family histories to have died in 1881 in Main Shore, Arkansas, but this has not been verified. Her husband survived her, and remarried. He died on Feb. 21, 1914, and is buried in Greene County, Arkansas in the Crockett Cemetery, but we do not know where Sallie is buried.

    Marion Jackson "Jack" Freeman (1856-1922) was born on April 25, 1856 in Tennessee, and came with his parents when he was 3- or 4-years old to Greene County, Arkansas. He married Nannie Poston (1857-1844) on Jan. 28, 1877 in Crockett County, Tennessee, and they had a large family. Jack died on April 10, 1922 in Alamo, Tennessee. He was survived by 20 years by Nannie, who died on April 1, 1944 in Pulaski County, Arkansas. Both are buried in Alamo in the Pond Creek Cemetery

    additional children are shown in the census returns of 1850, 1860 and 1870 as members of William B. Freeman's household, Some are his children with first wife Nancy Miller, and some are children with second wife Emaline Ledbetter. Others may be stepchildren, such as the two listed below.

     

    stepchildren - Freeman

    Mary J. Freeman (1839-1892) is said in family stories to have been a Cherokee Indian. This probably precludes Nancy Miller from being Mary's mother, but Mary could still be a daughter of William B. Freeman and an unnamed Indian woman. She was married first to Samuel Barton (c.1839-1884), and second to Edmund Pickney Holt (c.1844-1919). Some family trees also show a marriage to Jesse Miller before she married Sam Barton, but we have not seen any evidence for this earlier liaison. There are children from her marriage to Sam Barton, but we do not know of any that she had with Ed Holt. She died on Feb. 3, 1892 in Arkansas, and she and Ed Holt are buried in Hartsoe Cemetery in Marmaduke, Arkansas.

    Isaac Anderson Freeman (1843-1923), who follows.

     

  3. Isaac Anderson Freeman (1843-1923) was born on November 23, 1843 in westernmost Tennessee, and raised in the household of William B. Freeman (b. c.1817) and William's wife Nancy Miller. Consequently, Isaac is assumed in most genealogies, to be the biological son of William and Nancy. However, his death certificate, for which his daughter Mrs. Ed Cooper (Fardelia Freeman) is the informant, clearly states that his parents are Thomas and Gertie Freeman, which makes William B. Freeman the stepfather of Isaac. Nonetheless, DNA evidence from the Freeman DNA project indicates a family connection between their respective descendants. Because Isaac's middle name of Anderson is the same as the first name of William's father, we suspect that William is probably an uncle, or at least a cousin, of Isaac. Marion Jackson Freeman (1856-1922) is a known son of William, and Isaac's granddaughter Thelma Freeman writes that Isaac "had a half brother named Jack Freeman". This indicates that even though the two may not be biologic brothers, they are still close relatives.

    Isaac moved in 1859 with William and Nancy Freeman to Greene County, Arkansas, where he was living two years later at the onset of the Civil War. He subsequently served in Company K of the Confederate 7th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment under the command of Col. John Fry Hill. Most likely, he enlisted first with a Missouri cavalry battalion that was organized in Greene County, Arkansas in April 1863 by Col. Solomon Kitchen. Then his unit merged in either June or July of 1863 with Hill's 7th Cavalry. Isaac's unit fought in several engagements before he mustered out in April 1865, just before surrender of the 7th Cavalry to Union Troops on June 3, 1865 in Galveston, Texas.

    Isaac married Patience Alabama "Bama" Patton (1844-1910) in 1866, probably in Greene County, Arkansas, where they settled down to raise their family. Bama died in 1910 in Paragould, Arkansas, according to family group sheets for the Freeman family that were put together by Isaac's descendant Hugh Edward Freeman (1920-2007). Isaac eventually married his second wife Belle on Oct. 11, 1911 in Baxter County, Arkansas. Belle is said by Isaac's granddaughter Thelma Freeman to have been, "a widow with grown children." Her surname on her marriage record in the county archives appears to be Loman, which may be her maiden name, given that most family trees seem to identify her with a widow named Belle Hoffman, who appears in the 1910 U.S. Census in Baxter County. She died on May 26, 1915 in Johnson County, Arkansas.

    Isaac died on April 8, 1923 in Paragould, where his death certificate in the county archives shows that he is buried in the Pine Knot Cemetery in Paragould. Hugh Edward Freeman's family group sheets indicate that Isaac's first wife Bama is also buried in the Pine Knot Cemetery. Isaac's granddaughter Thelma Grable (1965) remembered that, "Grandpa was a wonderful story teller."

    children - Freeman (with first wife Bama Patton)

    Fardelia Gertrude Freeman (1866-1949) was born in Nov. 1866 in Arkansas. She generally went by her middle name of Gertrude. She married the Rev. Edward D. Cooper (1866-1942) on Oct. 7, 1883 somewhere in Arkansas, and they had several children, all born in Arkansas. Rev. Cooper died on Oct. 24, 1942 in Greene County, Arkansas; and Gertrude died on June 1, 1949 in the same county. Both are buried in the Linwood Cemetery in Paragould, Arkansas.

    Augustus Jackson Freeman (1867-1932) was born in July 1867 in Arkansas. He married four times. His first wife was Rebecca "Betty" Herron (c.1875-1896?), whom he married on Nov. 23, 1893 in Arkansas. She probably died giving birth in March 1896 to their only child. He then married his second wife Sallie Johnson on Sept. 5, 1896 in Little Rock, Arkansas. So far as we know, he and Sallie did not have any children. We do not know what happened to her, but Augustus married his third wife Betty Willibanks (v.1884-1920) on Nov. 17, 1901 in Arkansas. They had several children, before Betty died on March 1, 1920 in Desha County, Arkansas. Augustus then married fourth wife Anna McCaskill on May 10, 1928 in Arkansas. We know nothing more about Anna, and Augustus died on Feb. 20, 1931 in Lonoke County, Arkansas.

    Emerson Jethro Freeman (1872-1913), who follows.

  4.  

  5. Emerson Jethro Freeman (1872-1913), the son of Isaac Anderson Freeman and Patience Alabama Patton, was born on Nov. 7, 1872 in Arkansas. He married Sarah Louvenia "Sallie Lou" Vanover (1877-1958) on Sept. 25, 1897 somewhere in Arkansas. He was killed on Nov. 2, 1913, when he was working as a switchman in the Iron Mountain railroad yards, and fell beneath the wheels of a train. He is buried in the Linwood Cemetery in Paragould.

    Sallie carried on, raising her family alone in Paragould. Then she moved in the 1930s to Detroit, Michigan, where her sons Eddie, Frank and Harry had moved with their families. She died on Jan. 15, 1948 in Trenton, Michigan, but she is buried in Linwood Cemetery in Paragould with her husband.

    children - Freeman

    Hugh Idle Freeman (1898-1982), who follows.

    Eddie Cline Freeman (1900-1970) was born on Aug. 7, 1900 in Hornersville, Missouri. He worked on oil-well drilling rigs as a young man, and ended up in Michigan, where he married Fay Dorothy Beauregard (1904-1959) on Nov. 23, 1927 in Grosse Pointe Park, near Detroit. He and Fay settled in Detroit, where he was working in the 1930s and 1940s in an auto factory. He and Fay had several children, before she died on May 8, 1959 in Wyandotte, Michigan. She is buried in Michigan Memorial Park in Flat Rock. Eddie died on May 7, 1970 in Trenton, which is nearby, but we do not know where he is buried.

    Thelma Mae Freeman (1904-1972) was born on April 1, 1904 in Paragould, Arkansas. She grew up in Paragould, and married Fred Leigh Grable (1901-1951) on Jan. 12, 1924 in her home town, afterwhich they moved to Trumann in adjacent Poinsett County. They then divorced on March 12, 1937 in Poinsett County. Thelma apparently collected a few notes on the family history, mainly quotes from her grandfather Isaac Anderson Freeman that appear from time to time on the internet, but we have never seen anything more substantial than those brief quotes. She died single on Feb. 20, 1972 in Trumann, and she is buried under her maiden name in Linwood Cemetery in Paragould. So far as we know, she died without issue.

    Harry Scott Freeman (1906-1999) was born on July 31, 1906 in Paragould, Arkansas. He moved as a young man to Detroit, which was where his older brother Eddie lived. He enlisted in the U.S. Army during WWII, and was admitted in May 1942 to a military hospital in Iceland, while serving there as a quartermaster. Then after his discharge, he married Jane Rose Brooks (1913-2008) in Detroit on April 1, 1944. He and Jane remained in Michigan, where they raised at least two children. However, we know nothing further about their family. Harry died on Jan. 13, 1999 in Stockbridge, Michigan; and Jane died on Feb. 16, 2008 in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

    Frank M. Freeman (1909-1977) was born on Aug. 21, 1909 in Cotter, Arkansas; and married Eleanor Frances McHaney (1909-1972) on Nov. 30, 1939 in Paragould. We are not aware that they had any children. Frank and Eleanor moved at some point after the 1940 census to Michigan, where they appear in the 1945 city directory for Battle Creek. Eleanor died on Oct. 6, 1972 in Battle Creek, and Frank died there on Dec. 20, 1977, but both of them are buried in Paragould in Linwood Cemetery.

  6.  

     

  7. Hugh Idle Freeman (1898-1982), the oldest son of Emerson Jethro Freeman and Sallie Lou Vanover, was born on Oct. 1, 1898 in Hornersville, Missouri. He married Frances Edith "Fannie" Shane (1901-1978) on Dec. 19, 1919 in Paragould, Arkansas, where they settled initially. They moved in 1922 to southern California, when their first child Hugh, Jr. was just two-years old, and settled in the San Fernando Valley. Hugh, Sr. worked various jobs in southern California, including working in a grocery store, with a radio station, and as a carpenter. Then he and Fannie moved during their retirement years to Vacaville, California, where their daughter Sally (1929-1971) was living. Fannie died on Nov. 21, 1978 in Vacaville, where she is buried in the Vacaville-Elmira Cemetery. Hugh died on Aug. 22, 1982 in Pomona, which was where his son was living in retirement, but he is buried with wife Fannie in Vacaville.

    children - Freeman

    Hugh Edward Freeman (1920-2007) was born on May 23, 1920 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and grew up in the San Fernando Valley of southern California. He served in the U.S. Navy during WWII as an officer, having joined the Naval Reserves while in school at UCLA. He was called into active duty in 1943 when he graduated, and served in the Mediterranean, where he commanded an air-sea rescue boat. He went to the Claremont Graduate School after the war, and earned a Masters degree in Education, prior to marrying Sylvia Kelly (1922-2010) on Aug. 5, 1948 in Pomona. He subsequently worked for the Alhambra City School District, where he taught history, and held various administrative positions. After his 1981 retirement, he pursued many interests, one of which was putting together the Freeman and Shane family group sheets that much of this lineage is based on. He died on March 7, 2007 in Pomona, and Sylvia died there on April 4, 2010. Both are buried at Oak Park Cemetery.

    • Roger Paul Freeman (b. 1946) was born on March 27, 1946 in Pomona, and married Joyce Bell on Jan. 3, 1976 in Los Angeles County.

    • Alan Patrick Freeman (b. 1948) was born on Dec. 16, 1948 in Pomona, and married Mary Kathleen Forcey on June 24, 1972 in Pomona.

    • Jon Christopher Freeman (b. 1955) was born on Aug. 22, 1955 in Pomona.

    Sarah "Sally" Carol Freeman (1929-1971), who follows.

  8.  

  9. Sarah "Sally" Carol Freeman (1929-1971), the daughter of Hugh Idle Freeman and Frances Edith Shane, was born on Sept. 25, 1929 in Glendale, California. She graduated from Van Nuys High School in southern California, and took classes ("finished") at the University of California at Santa Barbara, before earning a certificate from the Wright-McMahon Secretarial School in Beverly Hills. She was working for the Rand Corporation in Santa Monica, when she married Randy Klotz (b. 1930) on July 26, 1952 at the Congregational Church of the Chimes in Van Nuys. Their wedding date had special significance, as it was also the 59th wedding anniversary for Sally's maternal grandparents Ed and Carrie Shane. Sally and Randy settled in Vacaville, California, where Randy went to work at Al Klotz Auto Parts, a family business that his father had founded just three years earlier. Randy and Sally had four children, all born in Vacaville, and all four graduated from Vacaville High School, the same school that Randy graduated from. Sally passed away unexpectedly from lung cancer, when she was just 41 years old, on Feb. 28, 1971 in Vacaville. She was survived by her husband and children, and both of her parents. Sally was cremated at Fairmont Memorial Park in Fairfield, and she is buried next to her parents in Vacaville-Elmira Cemetery. Please see the KLOTZ GENEALOGY to learn about Randy and Sally's children.

  10.  

    Sally and Hugh Freeman in 1942 with their parents Hugh Sr. and Fannie. Sally Freeman at a lawn party about 1943 with her Dad Hugh Freeman. Randy and Sally on a date at the beach.
     
    Randy Klotz and Sally Freeman wedding on July 26, 1952 at the Congregational Church of the Chimes, Van Nuys. Left Photo: Randy and Sally cutting the cake. Right Photo: Randy and Sally with their parents, Hugh and Fannie Freeman on the left, and Izzy and Al Klotz on the right.
     
    Sally and Randy in 1954 in Vacaville. Sally in 1954 in Vacaville with mother-in-law Izzy Klotz. Sally with her mother Fannie Freeman (neé Shane) and grandmother Carrie Shane (neé Steele).

     

 

 

 



* Genealogy of the Shane Family *
(version January 18, 2021)
Please email corrections to Mike Clark
 


 

  1. Robert Shane (1769-1847), the patriarch and immigrant ancestor of the Shane family of this lineage, was born on March 1, 1768 in County Down, Ireland (Northern Ireland). He arrived about 1800 in Alabama, and settled a short time later near Medina in Gibson County, Tennessee. There he married Elizabeth (1772-1852), whose maiden name we do not know. He died on May 19, 1847 in Gibson County, where he is buried with Elizabeth in the Mount Zion United Methodist Church Cemetery in Medina. Their tombstones are shown below.

    Shane is revered as a benefactor and founding member of the Mount Zion United Methodist Church. A church history, written in 1932 by Sarah Clement, records that the land where the church now stands, and the original part of the church cemetery, was a gift, given about 1832 from Shane. A deed states that this land was given for church school and burial purposes. The history then relates how Shane, who was born in Down County, Ireland, came to America in the early part of the eighteenth century, and is buried in the church cemetery. His great-great-grandson, Cecil Hemphill (1886-1939), was a member at the time of the church congregation.

  2. children - Shane

    William Shane (1807-1889), who follows.

    There are additional children, including six more sons and at least five daughters that we know about. The eldest son may have been born in Ireland, but this is not certain. The others were probably all born in Gibson County, Tennessee at the Shane family homestead near Medina. Many of them are buried in the Mount Zion Methodist Church Cemetery in Medina.

       

     

  3. William Shane (1807-1889), one of the seven sons of Robert and Elizabeth Shane, was born on Jan. 7, 1807 in Gibson County, Tennessee. He married Louisa Lyons (1815-1847) on Feb. 19, 1831 in Gibson County, Tennessee. They had several children before she died on Feb. 16, 1847 in Gibson County. William, a few years later, married Matilda Ann Delph (1824-1897) on Jan. 24, 1859 in the same county, and they had at least one daughter. William died on May 8, 1889 in Gibson County, where he is buried with both wives in the Centerville Cemetery. His widow Matilda then married J.A. Clay on Aug. 23, 1893 in Gibson County, so she is buried as Matilda Clay.


    Two portraits of William Shane (1807-1889)

    children - Shane

    John Powell Shane (1838-1879), who follows.

    There are additional children, including at least six born to William Shane and first wife Louisa. Another daughter was born to William and second wife Matilda. Many of them are buried in the Mount Zion Methodist Church Cemetery in Medina, Tennessee..

  4.  

  5. John Powell Shane (1838-1879), the son of William Shane and Louisa Lyons, was born on Aug. 12, 1838 in Tennessee. He is shown in some Family Trees and on Findagrave.com to have been born in Davidson County. However, we have yet to see any evidence to confirm this, and he just as likely could have been born in Gibson County, as that is where his parents appear to have lived their entire lives. He served as a young man in the Confederate Tennessee Infantry during the Civil War, but we have no dates for his service. He is probably the John Shane in the NPS Civil War Soldier Database, who served in the 31st Regiment of the Tennessee Infantry that was commanded by Col. A. H. Bradford. He married Clara Ann Day (1843-1934) after the war on Sept. 4, 1866 in Madison County, Tennessee, which is where Clara was from. They subsequently made their home in Tennessee, where three of their children were born. They then moved to Greene County, Arkansas about 1878, before the birth of their daughter Annie. There they seem to be associated with both of the towns of Friendship and Paragould, which may indicate that lived in the country in between the two places. John died on April 18, 1889 in Greene County, and Clara died on March 26, 1934 in the same county. They are buried with their grandson William in the New Friendship Cemetery in Paragould.

    children - Shane

    Thomas Shane (1867-1897) was born on Aug. 9, 1867 in Tennessee, married Ara Shaffer (1876-1953), and died in 1898, according to Hugh Edward Freeman's Family Group Sheets. He is almost certainly the Thomas R. Shane who is buried in the Old Bardwell Cemetery in Bardwell, Tennessee, with BORN AUG. 12. 1867. DIED OCT. 8. 1897. inscribed on his tombstone. His widow Ara married Edward Menees (1879-1928) on April 5, 1911 in Faulkner County, Arkansas, but we know of no children. She died on July 3, 1953 somewhere in Arkansas, and she is buried in the Quitman Cemetery in Cleburn County.

    Mary Lou Shane (1869-1917) was born on March 9, 1869 in Tennessee, and grew up near Paragould in Greene County, Arkansas. She married Samuel Stutes (1853-1892) on March 14, 1885 in Greene County, but he died only a few years later on Jan. 7, 1892 at the age of 21, leaving her a widow with three young children. She raised her children alone - John Bun Stutes (1886-1937), Roy Stutes (1888-1919), and Clara Reb Stutes (1891-1927). She died on Jan 7, 1917 at the age of 47, and she is buried with Sam Stutes in the Paragould Cemetery.

    Eva Shane (b. 1870) was born in 1870, and probably died young. She is known only from Hugh Edward Freeman's Family Group Sheets, unless she is to be identified with a Sarah Shane who is mentioned "History & Families of Greene County, Arkansas" (v. 1, p. 332), and said to have died an infant.

    Christopher Shane (1872-1949) was born on March 18, 1872 in Tennessee, and grew up near Paragould in Greene County, Arkansas. He married Lena Steele (1877-1954) on May 9, 1894 in Arkansas, probably in Paragould. Lena may have been a relative of Chris' sister-in-law Carrie Shane (neé Steele), but we do not know any details. So far as we know, Chris and Lena did not have any children. Chris died on May 26, 1949 in Greene County, where he is buried in Linwood Cemetery in Paragould. Lena then moved to southern California, where she died on May 13, 1954 in Los Angeles County. She is buried there in the same grave as her sister Lula Landrum (1875-1956) in the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood.

    Joecephas Edgar Shane (1874-1956), who follows.

    Fannie Hicks Shane (1876-1967) was born on Oct 3, 1876 in Tennessee, and grew up near Paragould in Greene County, Arkansas. She married her first husband John R. Weatherly (1865-1904) on May 24, 1893 in Arkansas. After he passed away in 1904 in Greene County, she married Kervey Nade McKelvey on July 17, 1904 in Arkansas. She had several children with each of her husbands. Nade McKelvey died on May 11, 1950 in Flint, Michigan; and Fannie died on Jan. 12, 1967 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Both are buried in the Gainesville Cemetery in Gainesville, Arkansas.

    • children - first marriage (Weatherly)

    • Clarence Ray Weatherly (1894-1968)
    • Lillie Agnew Weatherly (1897-1981)
    • Letha Lorene Weatherly (1900-1994)
    • Bobbie Lee Weatherly (1902-1981)
    • children - second marriage (McKelvey)

    • Lera McKelvey (1905-1906)
    • Fannie McKelvey (1907-1935)
    • Elva Dean McKelvey (1911-1995)
    • Annie Josephine McKelvey (1916-2005)
    • Wava Imogene McKelvey (1919-2005)

    Annie Shane (1879-1957) was born on Jan. 30, 1879 near Paragould in Greene County, Arkansas. She married Thomas J. Bentley (1873-1948) on Nov. 26, 1899 in Arkansas, and they had at least two children - Winnie Bentley (1911-1920) and Macia Bentley (b. c.1914). Tom died on July 3, 1948, probably in Greene County; and Annie died on July 8, 1957, most likely in the same county. Both are buried in Linwood Cemetery in Paragould, Arkansas with their daughter Winnie.

    Samuel Monroe Shane (1881-1963) was born on Feb. 26, 1881 near Paragould in Greene County, Arkansas. He married Artie Thompson (1890-1961) on May 19, 1907 in Arkansas. Artie died on June 19, 1961, probably in Greene County; and Sam died on April 9, 1963 in Arkansas, probably also in Greene County. Both are buried in Linwould Cemetery in Paragould. Sam and Artie do not appear to have had any children.

    William Shane (1882-1903) was born on Aug. 4, 1882 near Paragould in Greene County, Arkansas; and died in 1903 on his 19th birthday. He is buried near his parents in the New Friendship Cemetery near Paragould, whereas most of his siblings are buried nearby in the Paragould Cemetery.

    John Cecil Shane (1887-1942) was born on Feb, 12, 1887 in Paragould, Arkansas, and went by his middle name of Cecil. He obtained a law degree in 1913 from Cumberland University, and returned to Paragould to start his own firm. He then married Pauline Augusta Bush (1895-1979) on Oct. 26, 1915 in Birmingham, Alabama, but they made Paragould their home. He next served overseas in France during WWI as a Captain in the Arkansas National Guard, returning to Paragould after the war to be elected City Attorney. He then moved his family during the Depression to nearby Blytheville, for greater opportunities, and became city mayor. He was president of the local chapter of the American Bar Association, when he died suddenly on Feb. 26, 1942 in Blytheville. Pauline died there in Jan. 1979; and she, Cecil and their only child Patricia Shane Fendler (1919-2003) are all buried in Blytheville’s Elmwood Cemetery.

  6.  

  7. Joecephas Edgar "Ed" Shane (1874-1956), the son of John Powell Shane and Clara Ann Day, was born on May 17, 1874 in Gibson County, Tennessee. He moved as a boy with his parents to Greene County, Arkansas, where they settled in or near the town of Paragould. He married Cary Ann "Carrie" Steele (1875-1969) on July 26, 1893 in Paragould. Carrie was the daughter of John and Elizabeth Steele of Haywood County, Tennessee, and she is probably somehow related to Lena Steele (1877-1954), who married her husband's older brother Chris Shane.

    Ed and Carrie settled in Greene County, where all four of their children were born, probably in or near the town of Paragould. We then find them in the 1930 U.S. Census in Blytheville, Arkansas (Mississippi County), but later that same year they moved to Los Angeles, California, where three of their four children had moved earlier. Ed died on Nov. 14, 1956 in Los Angeles County; and Carrie died on Jan. 27, 1969 in Van Nuys. Both are buried in Oakwood Memorial Park, which is in Chatsworth in L.A. County. The photo on the right shows Ed and Carrie in their 60s in 1942 on Mothers Day at their daughter Fannie's place.

    children - Shane

    Bertha Mae Shane (1894-1985) was born on May 28, 1894 in Paragould, Arkansas. However, some family trees give an incorrect date of June 1, 1892 for her birth, yet provide no evidence. She grew up in Paragould, Arkansas; and married George Washington Bush (1891-1976) on Oct. 26, 1915 in Birmingham, Alabama. They resided initially in Paragould, where their daughter Constance Jean Bush (1921-2007) was born, but moved in the 1960s to Tennessee. George died in Oct. 1976 in Memphis, Tennessee; and Bertha died in June 1985 in the same city. Both are buried in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Memphis.

    Frances Edith "Fannie" Shane (1901-1978), who follows.

    Lucy Elizabeth Shane (1904-1976) was born on Jan 3, 1904 in Little Rock, Arkansas. She married Darrell Burton Crook (1900-1987) on June 11, 1921 in Arkansas, but they moved at some point to California, where their daughter Cynthia Ann Crook (1928-2007) was born. Lucy died on May 12, 1976 in Los Angeles, California; and Darrell died there on June 2, 1987. Both are buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

    Verna Margaret Shane (1908-1999) was born on Sept. 15, 1908 in Paragould, Arkansas, and was known to the family by her middle name of Margaret. She moved to California as a young woman, possibly before her parents, and married Harold Hebron Maddock (1905-1991), about a month before her 18th birthday on Aug. 12, 1926 in Los Angeles County. They made Los Angeles their home, and the one daughter of theirs that we know about, Joanne "Joan" Louise Maddock (1929-2011), was born there. Harold died on Oct. 19, 1991 in Riverside County, California; and Verna died on July 9, 1999 in Sun City, which is also in Riverside County. Both are buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

  8.  

    Ed and Carrie Shane on Mother's Day 1942 in Vacaville. Ed and Carrie Shane at the 1952 wedding of their granddaughter Sally. Carrie Shane at her Sept. 24, 1966 birthday with daughters Lucy and Margaret, and great grandkids Ellen and Ken Klotz.

     

  9. Frances Edith "Fannie" Shane (1901-1978), the daughter of Joecephas Edgar Shane and Carrie Steele, was born on Feb. 7, 1901 in Paragould, Arkansas. She married Hugh Idle Freeman on Dec. 19, 1919 in Paragould, which is where they settled initially. They moved at some point in the 1920s to California, and settled in the Los Angeles area, then later moved to Vacaville, California, where their daughter Sally was living. Fannie died on Nov. 21, 1978 in Vacaville, where she is buried in the Vacaville-Elmira Cemetery. Hugh died not long after her on Aug. 22, 1982 in Pomona, and he is buried with Fannie in Vacaville. For the children of Edith and Hugh please see the FREEMAN GENEALOGY.

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REFERENCES (Freeman and Shane Families):

  • Ancestry.com (subscription required) online databases and family trees provide the documentation for most dates and places given in this history.  

  • Carnicle, Hope Freeman (2019) is one of the administrators of the Freeman DNA Project, which still has an obsolete information page on RootsWeb.com, and used to have a dedicated website that is now inactive at www.carnicle.com. There is a project description on the www.familytreedna.com website, but it only provides information on obtaining a Y-DNA test kit to participate in the project. Last accessed 11 May 2019

  • "Freeman DNA Project" (also see Carnicle, 2019) at www.familytreedna.com (website). Last accessed 11 May 2019.

  • Freeman, Hugh Edward (undated), Freeman and Shane Family Group Sheets, unpublished family papers. Hugh (1920-2007) was a history teacher and administrator with the Alhambra City School District. He probably compiled these group sheets sometime after his 1981 retirement, and no doubt utilized family notes from his Aunt Thelma (see Grable, 1965).

    Freeman Family Group Sheets
    Shane Family Group Sheets

  • Freeman, Robert Keith (2014), "Freeman Family Ancestry" at freemanancestry.blogspot.com (website). Last accessed 11 May 2019.

  • Freeman, Robert R. (2005), Freeman Families of New England in the 17th and 18th Centuries (in three volumes), Heritage Books, Maryland. This work covers the Freeman Family in the 1600s and 1700s, which is actually beyond the scope covered in our brief history of the 19th century Arkansas Freemans. However, we include it here for the sake of general interest. A similar reference of general interest is Freeman, Frederick (1875), Freeman Genealogy in Three Parts, Franklin Press, Boston, 456 p.

    Volume I
    Volume II
    Volume III

  • Grable, Thelma (1965), Freeman Family Notes, unpublished family papers. Thelma neé Freeman (1904-1972) is a granddaughter of Isaac Anderson Freeman, and she wrote down several of her memories of him.

  • Grave and burial locations where known are listed with tombstone photos (when available) on Findagrave.com (free access).  

  • Klotz, Randy, and Klotz, Don (2019), Notes on the Freeman and Shane Families, from interviews with Randy and Don, Vacaville, California.

  • Newspaper articles were of great value in putting together this family history, especially obituaries, wedding announcements, and the like. Some of these articles came from family papers, most came from www.newspapers.com (subscription required).

  • Williams, Floy (1954), "Reflections of Delilah E. (Marble) McKay Regarding Her Marble, Jones, Freeman Ancestors as Narrated to her daughter" at www.usgwarchives.net (website). Last accessed 10 May 2019.

 

 

 

by Don Klotz & Mike Clark

This history is an evolving document.
Despite our best intentions it probably contains mistakes.
Please let us know if you spot any by sending an email to Mike Clark

 

 



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