Jermiah “Jerry” Shively was born ca. 1867 and died on 9-Feb-1923 in California. Jerry Shively is buried in the Santa Barbara Cemetery in Santa Barbara County, CA. He was the son of Isaac P. Shively (1822-1884) and Sarah Clapper (1823-1885). Isaac P. Shively was the son of John Shively (1794-1866) and Margaret Myers (1801-1865). John Shively was the son of Jacob Isaac Shively, Jr (1767-1814) and Barbara Thomas (1771-1851).
Located on the 1870 Pike Township, Muscatin County, IA census is the family of Isaac P. Shively age 48, wife Sarah age 47, son David age 19, daughter Eliza age 17, daughter Amanda age 15, daughter Irena age 8 and son J. age 3. On the 1880 Fremont, Platte Precinct, Dodge County, NE census is the household of I. P. Shivley age 57, wife Sarah age 56, daughter Irena age 18 and son Jerry age 13. Listed on 1885 Platte Precinct, Dodge County, NE state census is Peter Lally age 42, wife Saloma age 39, laborer Mathew Teal age 29, laborer Walter Boyer age 19, boarder William Boyer age 54, laborer Leonard Werr age 16 and brother in law Jeremiah Shively age 18.
The following was found in The San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco, California Sunday, November 24, 1895, Page 36, Column 2:
Santa Barbara’s Sailor Lad
There are some boys in Santa Barbara who pride themselves upon having to tuck their heads to get into an ordinary door. The tallest of these is a sailor, John Willis, who is also the tallest man in Santa Barbara county. He is 6 feet 5 3/4 inches in height and weighs 148 pounds. He was the same height at age seventeen, having taken an examination for the navy at that time. He has three uncles who are over 6 feet, 2 inches, and his father is 6 feet 4 inches, while his mother measure over 6 feet. He was born in San Francisco, but has traveled a good deal. He has many a story to tell of his difficulties of getting about in a hurry on the vessels in which he has served, as the ‘tween’ decks of ships are not built for men on his inches.
Some of the other tall men of Santa Barbara are Orson Rundell, 6 feet 4 inches; Jerry Shively, 6 feet 4 inches; Robert Ord, 6 feet 4 1/2 inches, and E. Knepper, 6 feet 4 inches in height, who is telegraph editor of the Santa Barbara “Press”, and is made up by Nature to look like McDougall’s pictures of Billl Nye that ornament the columns of “The Examiner”.
Copied from The Bulletin, Pomona, California, Thursday, February 22, 1923, Page 1, Column 3:
Thought Three Sailors Were Victims Of Booze Ring
SANTA BARBARA, Feb. 21. — Was Isaac Newton, sailor, whose body was found yesterday in Scorpion Bay, Channel Island, victim of foul play, and were Captain Frank Nidever and Captain Jerry Shively, the former of the craft Eagle, missing since January 29, and the latter of the craft OK, missing since February 8, also victims of assailants? There are questions the local authorities seek to answer.
The bodies of Nidever and Shively have not been found. Wreckage of the OK and Eagle, it is said, was discovered many miles from where Newton’s body came to light. Newton was known to have left with Shiveley on the OK to search for Nidever.
The idea that a strong party of liquor runners might have been discovered first by Nidever and later by Newton and Shiveley is suggested.
It is also said wild storms prevailed off the islands about the time the two boats disappeared, and they may have been wrecked and the men aboard drowned, but the officers are inclined to the first theory.
The following article appeared in The Morning Press, Santa Barbara, California, Tuesday, February 27, 1923, Page 1, Column 7 and Page 2, Column 1:
Jerry Shively’s Death Result Of Drowning Is Verdict
Second Fisherman In Quest Captain Nidever, Victim Of Severe Nor’wester
No Violence Is Proven
Sheriff Ross Heads Party That Finds Dead Man Near Scorpion Bay
“Big Jerry” Shively, veteran Channel fisherman who has been missing since February 9, came to death by “accidental drowning".
This was the verdict of a coroner’s jury returned yesterday following an inquest at the McDermott funeral establishment over a body found Sunday near Scorpion bay, Santa Cruz island, and identified as that of “Big Jerry”.
Testimony offered at the inquest by experienced seamen familiar during most of their lives with the tides and currents of the Santa Cruz shore, indicated that the tragedy occurred February 9 during a severe northwester at what was termed “one of the worst corners on the island” when the wind is blowing from that quarter.
Theory Of Search Proved
The testimony corroborated, as previously assumed, that Shively had gone out with his fishing launch O. K. with Isaac Newton, whose body was found near the same spot on February 21, to search for Captain Frank E. Nidever, an old fisherman friend, who disappeared in the fishing launch on February 1.
On February 9 they put into China bay, where they talked with two fishermen identified as Ben Journey and “Old John”. Then they put out to sea again and were last seen alive as they rounded Blank point. It was assumed that their tragic death occurred less than an hour later under the towering cliff known as Castle Rock.
The body of “Big Jerry” was found by a searching party which left early Sunday. The party included Sheriff James Ross, Frank Larco, Cape. Ira K. Eaton, Atwell Westwick, deputy district attorney, Capt. Clarence Libby and A. Nocetti, a Larco employe.
Body Fully Clothed
In contrast to the body of Newton, that of Shively was fully clothed when it was found and bore only few marks. A puncture of the skin on the chest near the left shoulder was first believed to be a bullet wound, but the postmortem examination conducted by Dr. Charles S. Stevens showed that the wound did not penetrate the fatty tissue lying immediately under the skin.
The story of the finding of the body was told at the inquest by Frank Larco, who said it was picked up about 150 yards from Castle Rock, about midway between Potato and Scorpion bays. On the shore under the rock, he said, there was a considerable quantity of the wreckage of the O. K., but explained that the timbers of such a small boat would be difficult to find.
Fishermen Talk With Shively
China bay, where Journey and “Old John” had talked to Shively and Newton, he said, was between five and six miles westward of the point where the body was found. The two fishermen told Mr. Larco, the latter testified, that Shively and Newton had come into the bay and after had rowed out to the O. K., they asked if Journey and “Old John” had seen anything of Frank Nidever and on being told they had not the O. K. put out to sea again.
Intimations had come to the mainland that Shively and Newton appeared in China bay in an intoxicated condition, but in answer to questions Mr. Larco testified that Journey and “Old John” agreed there was no evidence that the crew of the O. K. was intoxicated.
Dangerous Cliffs
The cliffs above the point where the body was found, the witness said, dropped sheer into the water and it was regarded as on of the most dangerous points on the island. A heavy northwest wind was blowing when the men were last seen, he said.
A similar story was told by Capt. Clarence Libby who aided in the finding of the bodies of both Newton and Shively. He said the point where Shively’s body was found was about 500 yards to the west of where he had picked up the body of Newton. He had picked up, he said, wreckage of both the Eagle and the O. K. He described the weather on February 9 as “fairly rough” with a northwest wind blowing. The O. K., he said, had little holding gear and had its engine gone dead under Castle Rock the probabilities were it would not have been able to escape going ashore by dropping its anchor.
Sheriff James Ross repeated many details given by preceding witnesses, adding that in his talk with Journey and “Old John” he had learned the wind was so high on February 9 that the two fishermen had not ventured out to look at their lobster traps.
Much Wreckage Seen
Ross said that considerable wreckage was visible on the rocky shelves under Castle Rock but that even the sea as calm as it was Sunday the waves were so high at that point it had been impossible to go ashore and examine the timbers.
In addition to repeating much the same story as told by the other witnesses, Capt. Ira K. Eaton said the point near where the bodies of Shively and Newton were found was “one of the worst corners on the island when a northwester is blowing”. “It’s a regular little trap”, he added.
No Injuries Found
Dr. Stevens, as autopsy surgeon, testified that the puncture shown by the skin of the chest of the body was superficial and did not penetrate the muscular tissues. It was inflicted, is his belief, after death had occurred. There was no injury to the skull. The left arm and both legs below the knee showed superficial bruises that had been inflicted before death and the left hip was severely bruised. There was no evidence, he said, that these injuries had been inflicted by human agency and the lungs showed death had been caused by drowning.
Papers taken from the clothing of the dead man gave his age as 52 years and Oxnard as his post office address.
William H. Brown, a friend, said the dead man had no relatives living so far as he had been able to learn.
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| Jerry Shively Boat License Request |
Jeremiah "Jerry" Shively was the son of Isaac P. Shively and Sarah Clapper who lived in Dodge County, NE. See the census information in this article. Reviewing the genealogy records Jeremiah “Jerry” Shively did have at the the following siblings: Saloma Shively Lilly (1846-1931), Jonas Shively (1847-1863), David Clapper Shively (1851-1932), Amanda Shively Greves Stanley (1855-1916), Thelesta Shively (1855-1862) and Irene Shively Shomshor (1861-1944).
The following was found in The Morning Press, Santa Barbara, California, Wednesday, February 28, 1923, Page 6, Column 2:
Drowned Fisherman’s Brother Is Located After Funeral Held
Two hours after the body of “Big Jerry” Shively, fisherman, had been interred without funeral services, in the belief that he had no living relatives, it was made known to The Morning Press yesterday that a brother, David Shively, lives in Creston, San Luis Obispo county.
The Morning Press informant, who would not permit the use of his name, said the Shively family was related to the Birmingham family, prominent ranchers near Creston.
“Big Jerry”, as he was known among the fishermen of the Santa Barbara channel, was drowned off Castle Rock, Santa Cruz island while searching for his old fisherman friend, Capt. Frank E. Nidever, who was lost at sea in a storm.
