The Norman Transcript
June 24, 2006 12:30 am
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Ira Shain was born July 1, 1870, in Omaha in Gallatin County, Ill., to Howell Thomas and Susan Caroline Minor Shain. He married Emma Smith, the daughter of John and Ella Pauline Douglass Smith, on April 5, 1899, in White County, Ill.
They made their home in Norris City, White County, from 1904 when their home was built on the corner of Powell and Boyd streets and lived there for the rest of their lives. During this time Ira Shain began his research of the Alexander Douglass family.
Ira and I were not related; however, Emma Smith and I shared common ancestors. Alexander Douglass, her great-grandfather, is my great-great-great-great-grandfather, and his son Henry is Emma's grandfather and my great-great-great-grandfather. Without the aid of a "cousin finder" I could not tell you how I am related to Emma, but we do share this Douglass lineage.
March 12, 1942, Emma Smith Shain died and was buried in the Ebenezer Cemetery, located in Norris City, White County, Ill. Many members of the Douglass clan were buried in this cemetery, as well as Emma's parents and some of her siblings.
With her death, Ira began his long pursuit of genealogy as a hobby. I think Ira Shain began this research of the Douglass family to leave a legacy for his wife, Emma. Even though he did not descend from the Douglass family he spent many years researching this large Illinois family. The unique thing about Ira Shain was the fact that he lived to be over 100 years old.
Ira Shain was a trim man about 5-foot-6 and was known to be the man who took vigorous walks around the small town of Norris City. Everyone loved to see Ira up and about for the townspeople were very proud of him.
They honored this elderly man who lived to an advanced age and especially one as active as Ira. He kept busy in many ways, living alone in the two-story home built in 1904.
At the age of 90 he bought a typewriter and taught himself to type. There were not enough hours in his day because he was busy with his genealogy, his study of history and he had letters to answer to the many Douglass researchers. He could not understand how they learned about him, but they did and they wrote to him often.?
As a Douglass researcher, I made a special trip to the Norris City library many years ago to see what Ira Shain had written about my ancestor Harriet Tressie Douglass, who married Meander Scott on July 11, 1858, in White County, Ill.
Being a new genealogist I was eager to learn more about this family, but it was an experience I will not soon forget. I learned not all researchers are 100 percent accurate. Ira had Henry Douglass' sister Harriet Tressie marrying both Preston Kanada and Meander Scott.
It was Henry's daughter Harriet who married Meander Scott (my great-great-grandparents). To this day researchers will find that error posted online. When I have time to add a post, I will make the necessary corrections.?
Ira's writings could be found in longhand as well as typewritten. He did not limit his research to only the Douglass clan, but researched other families in his lineage as well as his wife's.
There was no documentation included in his research even though I am sure he had to learn about the specific families in some way. He probably knew most of them and could have researched by interviewing the families.
Alexander Douglass, my fourth great-grandfather, settled in White County, Ill., by 1820, and Ira Shain begins his research with Alexander. He listed all of Alexander's children, beginning with my ancestor, Henry, their children and as many generations as he could during his lifetime.
With the censuses that are available today we are able to prove or disapprove much of his research. We know the family lived in Virginia and Tennessee before settling in Illinois. There was another family of Douglasses living in this area and Ira's theory was that Alexander and John were brothers, but this connection has not been proven.
Henry Douglass stated on his Civil War military papers that he was born in Halifax County, Va., so that will establish the family in Virginia at a given time.
There are two listings for Alexander Douglass in the Halifax County tax records and it is believed one was the father and the other his son. A serious group of Douglass researchers are poring over land records, tax records, probate records and marriage records trying to document each family in this Virginia County.?
The name of Alexander's wife or wives?has eluded everyone. Ira listed Eleanor Carew as his wife, but that has been proven to be in error as other researchers have shown the Alexander who married Eleanor Carew remained in South Carolina with their family.
My theory is Alexander married in Halifax County, Va., where Henry was born, and then moved to Davidson County, Tenn., and married a second wife. Some of Alexander's children were born in Tennessee. My theory remains unproven.??
Even though Ira Shain was not 100 percent perfect, he did a great service for all researchers of this Douglass family. It was his compilation of family history that would give the necessary clues for others to follow.
We could verify his work and accept it if the documentation supported it or we could eliminate his writings if they proved to be incorrect. On Jan. 12, 1971, Ira Shain left his Douglass research for others to finish and was laid to rest beside his wife, Emma, in Ebenezer Cemetery. I will remember Ira Shain each time I research my Douglass line.
It makes me wonder how my research will be viewed 30 or 40 years from now. Is it all correct and perfect? There is always room for mistakes.?Will it be documented? To the best of my ability. This research will need to be written and placed in areas where others will have access to it or it will be lost in a file cabinet forever.
When sending in queries or sharing information, write to: Relatively Speaking, P.O. Drawer 1058, Norman, OK 73070 or e-mail Darlene Shawn at Djshawn636@aol.com.
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