The blessing of being named after Scheris Lee

This cute little girl is Scheris Lee, who I was named after.  This year I have had confirmation from the Holy Spirit that I was named Scheris Lee for a bigger reason than my dad could have ever imagined.  I have a greater appreciation for my earthly parents as I realize that these arrangements were made prior to us coming to earth!  We are fulfilling divine purposes and I am so grateful to have experienced this genealogy miracle this year!   

The Knight Train

I'll try to describe my experience this year, but I assure you, there really is not a profound enough way to tell this story, if you weren't witnessing it first hand.  As I type up this journey, I am sad that I can't truly convey the miracles and blessings that have come through this project! 

In short, what you should know is that in 30 day's time, 13 strangers united to piece together the life of James Augustus Knight and the descendants of the 10 children he bore with Eugenia Siphone Brown. 

Background

I have been told that when my parents were deciding on a name for me as a baby, my mother liked the name Carmen and my father was insistent on naming me Scheris Lee.  His favorite cousin was Scheris Lee and he had fond memories from his childhood with her. 

 

So backing up, and moving over;  my mother's mother passed away in 2008.  Last year, I wanted to begin pulling together the details from her life, to write her story.  In the midst of all that, I began feeling pulled in a few other genealogy directions.  They took priority because there were older living relatives that I realized I needed to meet and gather information before they passed on from this earth.  I am so grateful I did since I lost my grandfather's only sister a few months ago.  The time we spent together last January will be forever cherished and changed my life. 

In March, I suddenly had the strong urge to really make an effort to get to know my name sake, Scheris Lee.   Unfortunately, in the 1980's, there had been some family turmoil and relationships ceased.  For the next 30 years, my father and his cousin and both their mothers halted all communications with each other.  I grew up knowing some of the stories, but there was really no reason I couldn't revive relationships with each person, individually.  

 

I thought an obvious way to get closer to Scheris would be to get to know her parents who live here in WA State.  Scheris' mother is my grandmother's only sister, Dorothy Mae (Aunt Dot).  She happens to be a half-sister, but that is neither here nor there, just explaining for context. She and her husband Uncle Jimmy, have been married almost 70 years.  While I am thrilled at all that we have gained this year, I am sad for the years I wasted not knowing them.    

When I met up with my Aunt Dot in March, I thought we would spend a lot of time talking about her sister/my grandmother, their mother Lena - my great grandmother, and of course, my first cousin, once removed, Scheris Lee.  I also hoped I could help Aunt Dot with her father's side of the family, that was not related to mine.  Without a doubt, the Lord had bigger plans, MUCH BIGGER PLANS!

During that first visit, I discovered that Uncle Jimmy, knew VERY LITTLE about his own parents, grandparents, and even his siblings.  Essentially, all contact was lost with them after he went to his mother's funeral on 21 December 1935. Jimmy didn't even have a birth certificate for the mid-wife that delivered him never filed his birth with the state.  He had some random memories and details about his aunts/uncles/cousins. 

So my life changed forever after that visit with Dot and Jimmy.  I found a greater purpose to my life, one that I wouldn't necessarily say I have control over either.  I realized that I was being called to help him learn of his lineage.  I asked him as many questions as possible so that I could begin to locate some sort of a connection.  It was led to meet a dear soul; realistically a friend for eternity, Christine - who goes by Chris.  She lives in Ohio.  She and I had no idea that on June 30th our lives would change and that the KNIGHTS from the other side of the veil had begun to rally and genealogy work for their family would explode! 

June 30, 2012, I was scouring Ancestry.com for something, anything that felt familiar to what Jimmy had told me about his family and home town.  I came across an old 2007 post that read;

William F Lang b 1888 married Ella Rosetta Crosby b 1884 Gardi/Brunswick GA

It was the one word Gardi that caught my eye and so I sent the below message off. 

Hello Chris,

I saw your Ancestry Post and it caught my interest.  I have a great uncle named James Lee Knight.  He was born April 30, 1916 and is still living and has a wonderful memory.  However, his childhood was not ideal. I am trying to help him trace his genealogy and especially for my 2nd cousins, his two daughters. 

James Lee Knight wasn’t really raised by his birth parents.  He knows their names were Robert Lee Knight and Elizabeth Testone.  He said he was told by his Aunt Dora Knight (married a Kennedy and lived in Tampa, FL) that he was born in Gardi, GA and that a mid-wife delivered him and no birth certificate was created.  His twin died during child birth.  His parents had more children, including a son they named Robert Lee Jr, Jack, Jesse, Homer, and Charles.  James’ grandfather is also named James Lee Knight. 

Hoping your Dalton Knight is somehow related to my Knights from Gardi, GA.  Before I type too much, I will see if this email gets to you.   

Thank you!!!

The next day, 1 July, Chris replied.

Hi

I'm pretty sure we're related! 

The Aunt Dora you're talking about lived in Gibsonton, a suburb of Tampa and she was married 2 or 3 times. The name we knew her by was Dora Easton. She was MY Great Aunt.

Tomorrow, I will check my files but off the top of my head I think your Robert Lee Knight was my Dalton Knight's BROTHER.....so if your descended from Robert Lee Knight, then you and I are distant cousins.....I'll get back to you.......thanks for writing! 

Chris in Ohio

PS: Just this past week I was talking to my sister about the Knight family and she told me some of Robert Lee Knight's children came to live with my Granny and Grandpa Knight (Dalton Knight and his wife Sallie) for a while in Lakeland, Polk Co, Fla. I can't remember what she said as to why they lived with them but it seemed like it was on a temporary basis.  I will call her tomorrow and have her tell me again, she mentioned the kids' names, that way we can compare see if it is same family you know of.  But I am pretty sure Robert Lee and Dalton Knight were brothers.

Of course a lot of conversation happened in July and August and by August 27, I marveled at this email she sent to me. 

This is truly amazing.  All these years (20)  I plodded along, digging around finding what I could and leaving messages all over ancestry and genalogy.com and roots web. Then in 2012 Knight descendants converge out of the woodwork.  I wish my grandmother was alive she would be thrilled. Plus she could fill in a ton of info. Anyways just wanted to let you all know about the Amanda connection and exactly what we've all done now. We've connected 6 of the Knight children's descendants!! 

Blessings,

Chris in Ohio.

Since that time, I have looked over the details that Jimmy initially gave me and am just in awe how this all came together, considering the level of errors that he had been led to believe. 

Examples

 

• All these years, he has thought he was named James Lee after his grandfather, but in fact his grandfather's name was James Augustus.  It took him a long time to adjust to this new information once I told him.  I would say he is probably still perplexed about why he had been told that!
• He knew he had an Aunt Dora, but wasn't sure if that was on his mother or father's side. It turns out that his Aunt Martha Dora was a Knight, a sister to his father. 
• He had thought Aunt Dora to have a son named Kirkpatrick, but that name has not surfaced anywhere.  We searched for her locomotive engineer husband's tragic accident that was supposedly a life time benefit of railway passes, but no evidence of this odd story either. 
• He told me of the fond memories he had of his Uncle Jack who was an Advance Man in the Ringling Brothers Circus.  NOPE, not true either. 
• He remembered a cousin Elmo that he had thought fell overboard during watch while at sea in the war.  In fact, I found Rutherford Elmo who lived until 1972, married with children; clearly not a man lost at sea!
• Jimmy spoke fondly of his mother's sister, Aunt Pink and her three kids.  Well, Aunt Pink is really Charity Pauline and may not even be a blood aunt, but may have married into the family. That sorting is still in the works. 
• He knew he had a brother named Harold and had thought him to have died in the war as a young man.  Nope, in fact Harold lived until 1976 and Uncle Jimmy has a living niece  by way of his brother Harold.
• Jimmy thought his mother's name to be Elizabeth Test-stone.  When I found Lucretia Elizabeth Teston, he remembered that Lucretia name! 
• Jimmy had mis-directed me on where he lived after he was age 11, so that sent me on some useless dead-ends, until I kept going back to him and proving to him that what he was telling me could not be correct.  He soon realized that he might as well discontinue some of the stories that he had been telling since 1940 and pull the facts out that were buried very deep.  He didn't lie for any wrong doing he had done, but simply because he had erased his life prior to 1941.  It was time to begin again!

So, as you can see, finding Jimmy's heritage, by way of the hints he provided, was truly a divine work.  Chris named our project the Knight Train.  There are 10 children from the grandparents of Jimmy and at least 37 grandchildren.  We have not yet gotten a great-grandchildren count!  The Knight Train has participants representing 9 of the 10 lines of heritage and we have over 20 people attacking this genealogy!  I assure you there must be hundreds of Knights on the other side whispering to us, because the work is progressing at great speed!

James Augustus Knight / Eugenia Siphone Brown children and descendants

1. William Haywood - It is through the wives second husband's lineage that we found a connection.  G.S lives in UT. 
2. Annie – Great granddaughter MC and great great grandson J.R. live in FL & GA.
3. Charles Sinclair - Granddaughter SVG is in her 90's living in GA.
4. Amanda – Great great granddaughter JMMK lives in NJ.
5. Thomas J -
6. Dalton Henry – Granddaughter CSL lives in OH.
7. Calvin McClain – Great granddaughters, MK & PMA lives in FL.
8. Robert Lee – two lines established.
1. James Lee - through me in WA and Jimmy's daughter Scheris Lee in AR.
2. Harold Lee - through daughter HKW in OH and her children.
3. Betty Jean - through son RAC in FL.
9. Jesse James – Great great granddaughter AJPL lives in GA.
10. Martha Dora - great granddaughter JD and her children.

Some of the relevant dates

• 1/24 - I joined Ancestry.com
• 3/22 - I visited my great Aunt Dot and great Uncle Jimmy
• 4/11 - Sent a man named Keith a message on Ancestry
• May - Write to Jimmy's daughter in OK
• June - Wrote to Jimmy's other daughter in AR
• 6/30  - Found Chris on Ancestry.com
• 8/26 - Spoke to Scheris for the first time since 1983
• 8/25 - Met professional Glynn County genealogist

When I began my genealogy journey about a year ago, I just never could have dreamed of the fulfillment I would have the blessing to experience.  I am so grateful to have that confirmation of why I was born into this family and why I was named Scheris Lee.   If my name hadn't been Scheris Lee, I don't believe I would have been aching to build that relationship with her.  Without that search, I wouldn't have found out about her father's missing history!  

Now, I admit, even with the confirmations that I feel in my heart and soul, it doesn't make living the gospel easier.  However, the reminders are helpful in keeping me on the path and continuing the good work!  I am grateful to be on the Lord's errand and I marvel at the realization that Jimmy will know his relatives when they greet him at Heaven's Gate! 

I am all the more grateful to my earthly parents for my life and the paths we have each taken, to get us to this exact place in time - for this is definitely where I am supposed to be!