Jack Sheldon Jr.

Ancestors

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Biography

Jack is a Life Member of the Sheldon Family Association, and frequent contributor to the President and Board of Directors.

Mystery Ancestors: Autosomal DNA analysis suggests two sets of common ancestors with two large groups of DNA matches (many triangulated) descending from (1) Alexander Walker (1791-1856) and Lois Knapp (1790-1845), and (2) Roger Murphy Jr (1767-1854) and Nancy Wilson (1771-1854). This second set of ancestors share multiple marriages with the Pickle, Wilson, Welborn, and Martin surnames. Our Pedigree chart is documented from our paper genealogy, and there are two possibilities along our Sheldon surname line. One is that we are possibly seeing that Adaline (Crandall) Sheldon may not have been a Crandall, and / or we are looking at the possible mother of Lovisa (Rice) Sheldon. So, if you found your way to Jack's profile by researching these families and do not find them in his Pedigree Chart, this is why.

Originally a resident of the state of Michigan, Jack grew up in small-town Owosso when his parents moved to their Water Street home in 1959. Among other important footprints, Owosso is the birthplace of Thomas E. Dewey, who lost the Presidential election to Harry S. Truman in 1948 (remember the photo of Truman holding a newspaper with headlines "Dewey Wins!"?), and the location of the writing studio of James Oliver Curwood, conservationist and author (Curwood Castle is on the banks of the Shiawassee River).

In approximately 1971, Jack's parents moved to Mesa, Arizona in part to care for his grandmother, Nellie Anne (Page) Sheldon Nolan, who passed away in 1973. Jack was inspired to pursue his genealogy in 1999 during a visit to her gravesite, when he realized just how little he knew about his ancestors.

On his paternal side, Jack is a descendant of mostly colonial ancestors, including John Sheldon of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, supported through both paper genealogy and Y-DNA. Additionally, he descends four times from Elder John Crandall of Rhode Island and his Descendants, and from this volume it is noted that his direct line likewise descends from Elder William Brewster of the Mayflower (likewise four times, Hannah Brewster m. Constant Crandall). He is a also descendant of Captain John Johnson of Roxbury, Massachusetts [ggg-grandparents: 8(2243) Nathaniel Johnson (1789-1864) m. (2) Rhoda Crowner (1802-1889), Eighth Generation (p. 185)].

On his maternal side, he is a descendant of Daniel Shuster (1752-1818), and an interesting lineage of immigrating ancestors and uncommon surnames such as Gerthoffer and Overpack. His gg-uncle Silas Chidester Overpack of Manistee, Michigan, is credited for inventing the Michigan (big) logging wheels that revolutionized the industry in the late 1800's.

Jack is a certified public accountant licensed in the state of Arizona for over 25 years (1996), having earned a BSBA with an emphasis in the study of Accounting from the University of Arizona with Distinction in December 1985. He is semi-retired and employed only part-time and provides consulting services for a CPA Firm located in Mesa.

Jack loves to travel with his wife Barbara (Oihus) and they enjoy spending time together especially outdoors, hiking, walking their dog Susie, and traveling, and he is proud of his son who is serving as a Petty Officer First Class, Nuclear Electronics Technician and Instructor in the United States Navy. Jack is an avid philatelist, and in 2015 exhibited a collection of postcards that were mailed between his Sheldon ancestors during the first two decades of the 20th century, a time referred to as "the postcard craze." He is likewise an avid wildlife photographer and has earned awards for his photographs of wildlife and people in casual settings and his photographs have been published on a few occasions.

Sources

• First-hand information. Entered by Jack L. Sheldon, Jr. at registration.