Martha Jane Smith and Elverton Adolphus Shands

ELVERTON ADOLPHUS SHANDS was born August 31, 1816 in Prince George County, Virginia,⁷²⁷ and died April 27, 1862.^{726, 727} He is buried in Woodbine Cemetery, Harrisonburg, Virginia.⁴⁵⁶

He married MARTHA JANE SMITH on March 21, 1844 in Rockingham County, Virginia,⁷²⁷ daughter of MARY SCOTT and ABRAHAM SMITH. She was born January 28, 1820 in Harrisonburg, Rockingham, Virginia,²²⁰⁰ and died April 2, 1891 in Harrisonburg, Rockingham, Virginia.⁴³⁹⁴ She is buried in Woodbine Cemetery, Harrisonburg, Virginia.⁴⁵⁶

• Descendant Reports
  • William Scott Descendant Report (Ancestor of Martha J. Smith)

Children of MARTHA JANE SMITH and ELVERTON ADOLPHUS SHANDS:

1. MARY SCOTT SHANDS, b. March 1, 1845, Rockingham County, Virginia;¹⁸²⁴ m. JAMES RUFUS BOWER on May 27, 1868⁶⁷¹²; d. June 10, 1875, Bedford County, Virginia.¹⁸²⁴
2. SARAH RIVES SHANDS, b. December 5, 1847, Harrisonburg, Rockingham, Virginia;²⁶²⁸ m. HENRY C. STEWART on October 8, 1891 in Palmetto Mills, Charles City, Virginia²⁶²⁸; d. December 5, 1918, St. Petersburg, Pinellas, Florida.¹⁵³²
3. WILLIAM SHANDS, b. October 15, 1849, Virginia; m. ANNIE TAYLOR SMITH on March 4, 1878⁹⁷; d. October 12, 1880, Rockingham County, Virginia.^{97, 2949}
4. FRANK RIVES SHANDS, b. August 15, 1851, Harrisonburg, Virginia;⁷⁰⁶ m. MARY ELIZABETH DOERING on February 1, 1878 in Grundy Center, Grundy, Iowa⁴⁶; d. February 15, 1923, Lincoln, Jasper, Missouri.⁷⁰⁶
5. ELVERTON A. SHANDS, b. May 20, 1855, Rockingham County, Virginia;⁷²⁵ m. (1) ANNE COMPTON HOOVER on February 19, 1884 in Washington, District of Columbia²⁶²⁶, m. (2) MARGARET ORR HERING on April 28, 1893 in Washington, District of Columbia¹⁸⁰⁰; d. November 4, 1935, Harrisonburg, Rockingham, Virginia.⁵³³⁵

Newspaper Articles

Harrisonburg Rockingham Register, November 8, 1888²⁶⁵²

Mrs. Charlotte Maddox nee Butler, is visiting Mrs. Shands.

Obituaries

Harrisonburg Rockingham Register, April 10, 1891²⁶¹⁹

In Memoriam.

A tribute to the memory of a departed friend, though a sad and mournful task, is still a duty which most of us, at some period in our lives, are called upon to perform.

We all know that sometime (we know not when the summons will come, and that we, too, like all who have gone before, will lay down the burden of this life and stand in the presence of the Great Master who has called us to come to Him. No earthly ties will avail to keep us back; earth with all its joys and sorrows, must be swallowed in the grave, and eternity, with all its hopes, beckons the immortal spirit to its eternal home.

We we stand by the open grave of a departed friend, whose life has been all that was upright, honest and true, we feel that we have naught but the memory of the virtues and affections of the departed that now bids us cease our mourning, dry our tears, and sustained by that same unfaltering hope as the one who has just left us, lood forward to that time when we shall meet again.

Mrs. Martha Shands was born on the 22d of January, 1820, and died at her home in Harrisonburg on the 2d day of April, 1891. She was born, lived and died in Rockingham. She was the daughter of Abraham and Mary Smith. Her father, Abraham Smith, was a well known citizen of Rockingham, a large landholder, a farmer, a merchant and a Justice of the Peace before the war and at a time when that office was a guaranty of integrity.

Mrs Shands was married to E. A. Shands in 1844. Her husband was a lawyer and railroad contractor. He was captain of a troop of cavalry, and was killed at Mauck's Mill, on the 9th of April, 1862, during the raid of Banks, Freemont and Shields.

Mrs. Shands was the mother of five children, Mary S. Bowers (dead), Sallie R., William (dead), F. R. and E. A. Shands.

Mrs. Shands was a member of the Episcopal church, and was devoted to its tenets and doctrines, but had many warm friends among other sects. She was a lady of fine literary taste, and in her old age her love of literature and reading afforded that recreation and consolation which tends to smooth the downward path when labor ceases to be possible.

Mr. Shands had her full share of the afflictions that are allotted to the human race: father, mother, sisters and brothers, husband and children had been taken from her, one by one, yet she bore all with the fortitude of a Christian, and in all her relations in this life, as daughter, sister, wife, mother and friend, she discharged her whole duty, and then after the lapse of the appointed three-score and ten she was relieved of her burden and slept with her fathers.

She has gone, but left behind those who will miss the tender care of the mother who watched over their infancy, and counseled them in their maturer years, with that love and affection that can only well up from a mother's heart.

The solemn and impressive services of the church she loved so well were held over her remains, and after the services the long train of weeping relatives and mourning friends wended their way to the cemetery, and there by the side of her departed husband, her mortal remains were laid in the tomb, and as the clods of the Valley filled the grave, the mournful wail, of "Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, and dust to dust," spoke only of the clay-cold inanimate form therein urned, but bade us look up for the immortal part that was now winging its way from time to eternity.

K.E.Y.N.

Staunton Spectator, April 15, 1891⁴³⁹⁴

SHANDS.—At her home in Harrisonburg, Mrs. Mary Shands, aged 70 years, 2 months and 12 days.

Mrs. Shands was married to E. A. Shands in 1814. Her husband was a lawyer and railroad contractor. He was captain of a troop of cavalry, and was killed at Mauck's Mill, on the 9th of April, 1862, during the raid of Banks, Fremont and Shields.

Mrs. Shands was the mother of five childred, Mary S. Bowers (dead), Sallie R., William (dead), P. R. and E. A. Shands.

Mrs. Shands was a member of the Episcopal church, and was devoted to its tenets and doctrines, but had many warm friends among other sects. She was a lady of fine literary tastes and in her old age her love of literature and reading afforded that recreation and consolation which tends to smooth the downward path when labor ceases to be possible.

October 7, 1958⁶⁷¹⁴

Capt. Shands Killed

"A Confederate officer, Captain E. A. Shands, had been killed outside our lines, in the eastern portion of the county. He had been a resident of Harrisonburg, and his wife, hearing of his death, visited the provost-marshal's office to procure, if possible, permission to go and bring in her husband's body for burial in the village cemetery. This, in the exciting times of war, was an unusual request, and it was with great difficulty that the general in command could be persuaded to allow Captain Bowden to grant the permit. The correspondence between the two officers is said to have been very warm, the general at first returning the papers unsigned, with this question: 'Why —- —- do you ask for such an order?' It was returned again by Captain Bowden, with the following endorsement: 'I did not enter the service to fight dead men, women, or children.' This time the order came back approved, and the widow was allowed to go to her sad errand, provided by the captain with an escort and ambulance for the return of the body. Thus he showed his humane spirit and kindliness, and each day the respect and gratitude of the citizens for him increased."

Census Records

Date	Location	Enumerated Names
March 16, 1850719	Rockingham County, Virginia	Elverton Adolphus Shands Martha Jane Smith Mary Scott Shands Sarah Rives Shands William Shands
June 6, 1860718	Harrisonburg, Rockingham, Virginia	Elverton Adolphus Shands Martha Jane Smith Elverton A. Shands Mary Scott Shands Sarah Rives Shands William Shands Frank Rives Shands
September 20, 1870721	Harrisonburg, Rockingham, Virginia	Martha Jane Smith Sarah Rives Shands Frank Rives Shands Elverton A. Shands William Shands
June 10, 1880720	Rockingham County, Virginia	William Shands Annie Taylor Smith William Shands Martha Jane Smith Sarah Rives Shands Elverton A. Shands Martha Bower Mary E. Smith