Purpose

The purpose of the Sheldon Memorial Plaque is to give special recognition to those who have made significant contributions to the SFA.  The plaque was created and donated to the SFA in memory of Marie Sheldon Hin, S#4812X1321-1, a member and regular SFA volunteer.

 All the individuals memorialized here typify a spirit of selflessness, sharing, and collaboration.  They constantly yearned for improvement, were forward-thinking, and were cutting edge.

For their contributions and the passion they embodied, we honor them on the SFA Memorial Plaque.  May we strive, emulate, and achieve as much success as they

Alberta Joanne Dunn  S8209x731

Board Member

Recognized at the 2024 Board Meeting

Alberta was born Jan. 25, 1939, in Rochester, NY, the daughter of Arthur and Winifred Scutt Sheldon. She retired from Honeoye Central School after many dedicated years as the High School Librarian. She is a descendant of the Issac 5 line with several great-grandfathers who were patriots, becoming a member of the Sheldon Family Association in 2003. A few years after joining, she became a very active member of the Association, putting her librarian and organizational skills to good use.  She served as a director-at-large and as an appointed director from 2010 to 2019.  Her role as an appointed director allowed her to be the chair of the annual Sheldon Family Reunion.  The first reunion she planned was held in her own Genesee Valley, where she had a rich knowledge of its history.  The years that she served were, at times, quite tumultuous and through it all, she stayed true to the SFA’s needs and reunions.  In August 2019, she stepped off the Board and turned over the duties of chair of the reunion committee to Libby Wilson. She remained active with the committee, attending the annual meetings when she could, most recently the Boston reunion in 2022.  She was one of the principals to provide the glue that helped hold the organization together.

Michael Sheldon, past SFA president, offered the following tribute: I first met Alberta in 2019 when I joined the board as a director-at-large. Due to circumstances, I ascended to the role of president a year later. Despite her being off the board, her quiet demeanor and sage advice during several personal phone calls helped me every time. The Sheldon Family Association will miss her.

Highlights

  • Born Jan. 25, 1939 in Rochester, NY
  • Died Apr. 25, 2024 in Geneseo, NY
  • Descendant of Isaac 5
  • Former High School Librarian
  • Served as Director at Large from 2010 through 2019

Link to obituary

Keith M. Sheldon S8972x341

Board Member

Recognized at the 2024 Board Meeting

Keith M Sheldon, a name that resonates within the Sheldon Family Association, was a pillar of our community. Born in Minnesota during the period between the World Wars, he was the oldest of his siblings. At the age of 20, he joined the Navy.  After the war, he married his wife Ruth and shared his life with her until her passing. They shared 65 years together and had six progenies. He had a long career of 35 years with Eastern Airlines retiring in the 1980s.

Keith’s legacy includes the trait of being avid and dedicated person to his tasks. One found in an SFAQ was his passion for music.  That passion was very evident in his love for SFA and history. Keith joined the SFA in 1976 when the SFA was a “voluntary” association and was elected as Vice President in 1978 and President in 1979. He and fellow SFA member Wayne Nelson transitioned the SFA to a Not-For-Profit Association registered in the State of Illinois. He served as President until 1983 when E. Mark Sheldon took the reins.  Keith then concentrated efforts on the Sheldon genealogy.  He was an active member and, at times, the 2nd VP or Committee Chairperson until 2003. He was also named SFA’s Historian.

His service to SFA was impressive, but his contribution to the science of Genealogy is most stunning.  His first effort was a thorough researching early Sheldon history published as a book called Sheldons at Bicentennial. He published it in 1979 and is only 906 pages.  This effort led to a second book called the John Sheldon of Providence and Records of His Descendants, published in 1984.  This book is about the lineage of John Sheldon (S8) lineage. This effort resulted in a published book receiving awards of recognition from organizations such as the New England Historical Society. All the while, he took all the “old” index cards and updated them to new ones. These old cards were donated to the Henry Flint Library in Old Deerfield, MA. As we approached SFA’s 50th anniversary, he and Dale C. Kellogg undertook the task of taking all of Henry Olcott Sheldon’s journals and committing them to microfiche for preservation.  SFA then donated those films to Bowling Green State College, where they are today.  He began with the help of Dale C. Kellogg.  He was instrumental in the transition of the Sheldon data from index cards to digital files by assisting E. Mark Sheldon, who was heading up the project.  His last contribution was to co-author the 2nd revision of Founders of Early American Families with the principal author Meridith Colket.

Keith “retired” from active participation in the SFA in October 2003. Bruce H. Robertson was the SFA President, and in his letter of thanks printed in the October 2003 issue, he wrote, “You have been the rock we all have trusted.” Keith continued to live in his home in Ohio, and there are mentions of him in the SFAQs up until 2012. He passed away at age 99 in November 2023. He was truly an outstanding member of the SFA and worthy of being memorialized.

 

Highlights

  • Born Aug. 5, 1924 in Douglas, MN
  • Died Nov. 11, 2023 in Akron, OH
  • Descendant of John 8
  • Served in the Navy in WWII
  • Published several books about Sheldon Genealogy
  • Former President and Vice President of the SFA
  • Former SFA Historian
  • Instrumental in moving the SFA from a paper database to a digital  one

Link to obituary

 

E. Hortense Sheldon  S9595x721

Genealogist

Recognized at the 2022 Board Meeting

Emily Hortense Sheldon, whom our records and SFAQs show went by the name Hortense, was an essential part of the Sheldon Family Association history and did much for the organization.  She is a Godfrey descendant, and her Sheldon number is S9595x721.

Hortense wrote and published the book Sheldons before the 1700s in 1961, which traced the roots of the Isaac line. Not everyone agreed with her conclusion about the phantom Isaac; thus, it was perhaps slightly controversial, yet it remains a well-studied monograph. The hope someday is that a clear DNA path will resolve this controversy. She also explored the Bermuda and Barbados routes of Sheldons to America in colonial times.

Her collection of records is impressive. Later in her years, after she could no longer live at home, these records were transferred to Rose Newton, unfortunately, not before sustaining some damage and possible vandalism.

Though we have no clear connection to her grand nephews and nieces, our records show there are some family members. I hope a message to them can be communicated about how great this woman was and how she was such an essential part of the Sheldon Family Association’s History.

Highlights

  • Born 07 Sep 1902 in Bakersfield, VT
  • Died 26 Nov 1989 in Morrisville, VT
  • Never married
  • Her first degree was from Emerson College (Boston, MA) in literature interpretation.
  • Studied at Boston University
  • Received another degree from Ohio Wesleyan in remedial speech therapy
  • The first record of her participation in the Sheldon Family Association was in 1958 with correspondence to Leland Locke Sheldon.
  • She was a chairperson of the SFA genealogical Committee.
  • SFA 1st VP in 1965-1966
  • SFA President in 1967 and 1968

Leland Locke Sheldon  S6770x41

Genealogist

Recognized at the 2021 SFA board meeting

Leland Locke Sheldon served as a genealogist for the Sheldon Family Association and was the one to discover a number of libraries and Sheldon cousins that possessed the original Sheldon Magazines published by Henry Olcott Sheldon.

He was the one who started the transcribing of that information onto the “SFA cards.”  His efforts also included reprinting the Sheldon Magazines.

It is upon his shoulders that a long list of genealogists and researchers followed. They expanded and improved his efforts and began the process of digitizing the “SFA cards.”

Leland’s nephew, Clinton Bayard Sheldon, described him as a generous and kind person, always concerned about his fellow man.

  • Born in 1883 in Monroe, NY
  • Died 1982 in Charlotte, NC

 

Rose Marie Sheldon Newton  S4479x851

President & Editor

Recognized at the 2021 SFA board meeting

Rose was a critical part of setting up the trip to England in 1993.  She was an excellent researcher and a prolific writer. Ultimately, she became the guardian of many Sheldon records. Concurrently, she was an active member of the Allen County Public Library. Genealogy ran deep in her soul. Consequently, all the Sheldon records she possessed and collected over the years were given to the ACPL in 2014 for preservation with more given after she passed. 

  • Born 1938 in Telluride, CO, in 1938
  • Passed away in 2017 while living in Fort Wayne, IN.
  • Became President of the Association in 1986, serving in that role for ten years
  • Was the SFAQ editor from about 2001 to 2011, where she transformed it from a letter to members to research quarterly.
  • Served as the SFA genealogist from 2004 to 2014

 

E. Mark Sheldon  S9759x71

Historian

Like his great-great-grandfather, Henry Olcott Sheldon,  we honor Mark Sheldon for his tremendous contributions which moved the Sheldon Family Association forward. From data management to SFAQ publication and annual meetings…. virtually everything we do, he touched in some way.

  • Born in Colorado Springs, CO in 1919
  • Died in 2008 at the age of 89
  • Great-great grandson of Rev. Henry Olcott Sheldon
  • Brought the SFA into the computer age and was awarded special recognition by the Federation of Genealogical Societies for his efforts in computerizing and categorizing SFA genealogical records.

 

Rev. Henry Olcott Sheldon  S5124

Originator

The Sheldon Family Association traces its database back to the initial work of the Rev. Henry Olcott Sheldon. His seminal work has over the many years been elaborated on, yet his initial findings were very prophetic.  He detailed for us the earliest of Sheldons who came to the colonies during very turbulent times in England.  He traced the movement of pioneer Sheldons westward as the colonies formed to be a country and expanded into what we now call the Midwest. He even spent energy trying to specifically ascertain where our English roots lay. That endeavor was not successful, but it pointed to the calling the Sheldon Family Association still pursues today.  “Where did we come from?”

  • Born in Hartford, CT in 1799
  • Died in 1882 at the age of 83
  • Buried in Westwood Cemetery, Oberlin, Lorain, OH
  • His notes served as the basis of The Sheldon Magazine published in 1855-1857 in Sidney, OH
  • Detailed the earliest Sheldons who came to the US colonies
  • The Sheldon Family Association traces its database based on his work

More about Henry Olcott Sheldon