D. A. Sharpe Home Page
Updated June 30, 2009
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Link to Family Genealogical Page
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Link to Politics Page
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Links to Driving Directions to come to the Ranch
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Compare the Ages of Patriarchs
About Me: Dwight Albert Sharpe (Goes by D.A.): Born June 24, 1939 Privileged to have been born a fifth generation Texan, my lineage has solid roots going back early in America. I am a sixth generation descendant of an American Revolutionary soldier (Lt. George Sharp - New York Militia) and a 10th generation American (Gov. William Bradford who came on the Mayflower).
History: My primary ancestoral lines came to America in 1620, about 1692 and in 1710. We have information on both my parents' sides of the family which have roots to several Anglo-Saxon Kings, the earliest being Credic, crowned King of the West Saxons in 519 AD. Cerdic was a Saxon earldorman, leader of a nomadic Germanic tribe, who founded a settlement in 495 AD on the coast of what became known as Hampshire, England. Also connections exist to William the Conqueror (my 6th cousin, 27 times removed) and to his French and Norway ancestors back to about 800 AD. From 519 AM through today, our family has lateral relationships with British Monarchs for all but 80 years during those 1,489 years.. When my family immigrated from France to England, they didn't immigrate in the ordinary fashion. They conquered it! At the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror came roaring through in 1066 from what we now call Normandy, France. He was the first King of Royal blood to be crowned in Westminster Abbey. King William, who only lived about 21 years after that Battle of Hastings victory, managed to erect the first components of the Tower of London and Windsor Castle, both of which still stand and function for tourists today. (They actually made me, a family member, pay the entrance fee to see the places when we visited in the 1990's!). Unfortunately, several of our family members lost their heads later in that infamous Tower!
Family connections exist to the Lord Treasurer of England for the King in the 1400's; to the Lord Mayor of London in 1702; and to the first Treasurer of that new fledging Harvard College in 1650 in the English Colonies in America. There are family relationships to two of the most significant documents in the World having to do with the ideas of Democracy, human and civil rights and self-governing: The Magna Carta and the Mayflower Compact. See the link on the Genealogy Page of this web site for more light on that. My parents' folks migrated to Texas by 1841, 1853 and in 1895. My great uncle Alfred L. Sharpe was the first Republican elected in Texas to a state level office following the Days of Reconstruction of the War Between the States. Al was elected in 1904 to represent El Paso County. My current Representative to the Texas State Legislature, Mr. Phil King, is the husband to a cousin of mine, our sharing common ancestry through Gov. William Bradford of Plymouth Colony. Likewise one of our Texas Statewide-wide elected officials, Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones, married another descendant of Gov. William Bradford, thus making us cousins as well.
My birth was in Ballinger, Runnels County, Texas; my family later lived in the Texas cities and towns of Houston (1941-1951), Sweetwater (1951-1954), Dallas (1954-1957), Sherman (1957-1959), San Antonio (1960) and Austin (1960-62). I graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School, Dallas, 1957, and attended Austin College in Sherman, Texas, 1957-1959, graduating in 1962 from the University of Texas at Austin with a BBA degree in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations. .
Georgia-born and Mississippi-bred Suzanne Margaret Boggess came into my life when we met June 17, 1962 while we both were in our first post-graduate employments in New Orleans, Louisiana. We were married September 30, 1962, at the Canal Street Presbyterian Church. Our children, Taylor, Tiffany and Todd, were born 1965, 1966 and 1969 in New Orleans.
My daughter is married to Steve Westmoreland, and they have produced our grand daughter, Katherine Michelle (Katie), and our grand son, John David "Jack." In addition, they have twin daughters, Lily and Sarah. A fifth child is Samuel, who was born in June 2008. They live in Wise County, Texas, within three miles from our home. My two sons are Taylor and Todd. Taylor is single and lives in Dallas, Texas. Todd's wife is Carrie Maxwell Sharpe and their children, live in Caldwell County, Texas, just outside of Austin. Their son, Luke, was born in 2006 and their daughter, Brooke, was born in 2008.
Our family lived in Saint Louis 1972-1982. We moved to Dallas 1982 and have been in North Texas since then. It was a "coming home" for me, but new to my wife and children. In Dallas, my work has most recently been as Executive Administrator for the Senior Pastor at the Highland Park Presbyterian Church PCUSA. I retired from there in the fall of 2004 after 22 years of service on that staff. We have lived since 1999 on our little "ranch," 10 acres in Aurora, Texas in southeast Wise County. It is about 50 miles northwest from Dallas out state highway 114. It's 25 miles northwest of Fort Worth.
Memberships:
Eagle Mountain International Church, Fort
Worth, Texas
Ex-Students Association of the University of Texas - Life Member #742
Sons of the Republic of Texas #7,961
Ephraim M. Doggett Fort Worth Chapter #36 of Sons of Republic of Texas
Sons of the American
Revolution #131,981
Texas Society of the Sons of the American Revolution #6,157 -Dallas Chapter
The Texas Society of Washington, D.
C.
Dallas Genealogical Society -
Life Member #2,245
Boggess Family Association
Chapman Family Association
Sharp Family Association
Noxubee County
(MS) Historical Society
Wise County (TX) Historical Society
Admiral in the Texas Navy
Member of the Texas Navy Association
Charter Member, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Squadron of the Texas Navy
My Online Life: I use online access for e-mail, both personal and extensively in my community and political work; to do research, particularly in history and genealogy; and to keep apprised of the news.
My Interests: My Hobby is genealogy. Information has been developed in my recordings on over a dozen family lines going back to Europe, both on my side of the family and on Suzanne's side. Five of them entered in the 1600's, and the last, the Sharpe family entered in the 1700's. My earliest ancestor in America was Plymouth Colony Gov William Bradford, my seven times great grandfather, who was a leader among the Mayflower Pilgrims and who served as Governor of the colony for 30 of the first 33 years here. He is considered by some historians as the Father of American History, at least of the 1600's. His writings are the only major surviving historical reports of that New England American era. He was a participant in the composition of the Mayflower Compact, the first document of the New World that laid out the system of a type of self governing democracy. He issued the first proclamation by a government official for the people to celebrate Thanksgiving in America.
I have political interests and have served various roles in and for the Republican Party, in Missouri and in Texas, including being an elected Precinct Chairman in two different precincts in Dallas County, Texas, and elected to numerous Senatorial and to Republican Conventions in both Missouri and Texas. I have served as an Election Judge or have had other election responsibility for most elections where living since 1974. It was my privilege to be elected delegation leader from Wise County, Texas to the Republican State Convention in 2000, 2002, 2004, and in 2006. Also, it has been my privilege to be elected Chairman of the Wise County Republican Party to two year terms in 2000, 2002, 2004 and in 2006. In that role, Suzanne and I have been able to participate in the festivities of the 2001 and the 2005 Presidential Inaugurations of President George W. Bush. and the 2002 and 2007 Gubernatorial Inaugurations of Gov. Rick Perry. Our elected roles have enabled us to enjoy Christmas receptions in our Texas Governor's mansion in 2001 and 2005. Current I serve by the Governor's appointment and by Senate confirmtion to a regulatory agency, the Texas Board of Examiners of Dietitians.
Even though we are Republicans, my wife and I attended the January 20, 2009 Inaugration of the newly elected President, Barack Obama.
| Brief Biographical Sketch:
D. A. Sharpe is a native Texan with long American heritage. He was a member of Highland Park Presbyterian Church, Dallas, Texas and served that church for over 22 years as an Administrator before retirement in 2004. He and his wife, Suzanne are members of Eagle Mountain International Church of Fort Worth, Texas, near their home. He is a fifth generation Texan, a sixth generation descendant of an American Revolutionary soldier and a tenth generation American. He has distant non-lineal relationships with 16 of our 43 United States Presidents, as well as to most of the Monarchs of England. He is a member of the Sons of the Republic of Texas and of the Sons of the American Revolution. He is an Admiral in the Texas Navy, as commissioned by the Governor of Texas, and is a charter member of the Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Squadron of the Texas Navy. He is a Life Member of the Dallas Genealogical Society. Mr. Sharpe was born in Ballinger, lived in Houston, Sweetwater and Dallas, graduating in 1957 from Woodrow Wilson High School. Mr. Sharpe attended Austin College in Sherman, Texas, and is a 1962 BBA graduate of the University of Texas in Austin. His children are the third generation of his family to graduate from Texas, including both of his parents who graduated in 1926. He and his wife have three adult children, Taylor, Tiffany (Westmoreland) and Todd. They have seven grandchildren. His interest goes beyond his family and church to community civic activities, genealogical pursuits and political involvement. He is a consultant in organization and gives much effort in the political and historical realms. He and his wife live in Aurora, Wise County, Texas, about 25 miles northwest of Fort Worth. |
Some Fun Links:
Eagle Mountain International Church
[Where we are members]
Kenneth Copeland Ministries
Highland Park Presbyterian
Church
[Served on staff for 22 years]
Putting God in the Center of Things
An Explanation of God
Rebekah is like the Church
What is a Southern Girl and GRITS?
Is the Peace Symbol Anti-Christian?
Why is Texas so great? Click Here!
Here is an Interactive Aerial Map of where the Ranch House is located.
Photos
CosbyInvite