Patsy Cline
Submitted by: Larry Shifflett lfsofva@hotmail.com and
Kim Morris kimorris@gte.net
Many of our Shifflett cousins may not know the following tidbit of Shifflett history:
PATSY CLINE, the famed county music star was a Shifflett cousin. She was born Virginia Patterson Hensley and was the daughter of Samuel and Hilda 'Patterson' Hensley. Patsy was born September 8, 1932 and married Gerald Cline on March 7, 1953. After they divorced , she married Charlie Dick, who was very influential in her music career. She was killed in an airplane crash in 1963, but the timeless quality of her music has made her a legend in the history of country music.
Patsy's father was Samuel Lawrence Hensley, who was the son of Solomon Job Hensley and Elizabeth Margaret 'Shifflett' Hensley. After Samuel's first wife Ynona Jones died in 1927, he married Hilda Virginia Patterson, who was Patsy's mother.
Her grandmother, Elizabeth Margaret "Maggie" Shifflett was born on July 2, 1859, and died June 22, 1938. She was the daughter and 12th child of Solomon and Frances 'Collier' Shifflett. Solomon was the youngest child of Stephen aand Joanna 'McDaniel' Shifflett. Solomon was born ca. 1818 and died in Rockingham Co., Va. in 1903. He married first, Frances Collier, daughter of Martin and Fannie 'Marshall' Collier, on October 17, 1838 in Greene Co., Va. Frances died on June 12, 1889 and is buried in the Baugher Family Cemetery in Beldore, Va., near Swift Run Gap. He married second, Matilda 'Shifflett' Atkins, daughter of David and Lucinda Shifflett.
Solomon's father was Stephen Shifflett who was born ca. 1775 and died in Rockingham Co., Va., in 1865. Stephen was apparently born in Orange Co., Va., and moved to Hightop Mountain in the Blueridge Mountains between 1800 and 1810.
Kim Morris also adds the following:
Wynonna (Ynona above) Jones, Samuel's first wife, was born1 Feb 1892, and died 19 Feb 1927 in an automobile accident while pregnant with her third child. She was the daughter of Chester Edward and Ora Ella [nee Shiplett] Jones. Ora Ella Shiplett was born 22 Oct 1868 in East Point, Rockingham Co., VA; and died 5 Dec 1927 in East Point, Rockingham Co., VA. and was the daughter of Philip Penelton and Jennetta A. [nee Dovel] Shiplett. Philip Penelton Shiplett born 29 Oct 1837 died16 March 1919. Philip was the son of Isaac and Susan [nee Jordan] Shiplett/Shiflett. Isaac was born c.1807 in Albemarle Co., VA. See his chart. I do not know who Isaac's parents were.
After Wynona died, Samuel traveled about looking for work. He left his two children (by Wynona) with an unmarried music teacher by the name of Sally Mann. According to one biography of Patsy Cline, it was rumored that Sally was in love with Sam Hensley and had every hope that he would return to her. Needless to say, he did not, for he met Hilda Patterson near Gore, VA. and married her just weeks before Patsy's birth in Winchester, VA. Hilda was the d/o Benjamin Patterson. Sally Mann raised the two children into adulthood. I will respect their privacy and therefore can not release their names as they are still living. There is a picture of Sally Mann's Music Class (early 1930's) in “Across the Alley” by Hobby Robinson, 1990 on page 18.
Shirley Fritz GLITZ01@aol.com adds the following:
MOTHER OF PATSY CLINE DIES
Tuesday December 15, 1998
Winchester, Va (AP)--Hilda Hensley, the mother of country music singer Patsy Cline, has died. She was 82. Hensley was 16 when she gave birth to the future singing star in 1932. In a 1989 interview, she said they grew up together, more like sisters than like mother and daughter. Cline was best know for hits such as “Crazy” and “Sweet Dreams”.
This page is part of the Shiflet Family Genealogy Website and is maintained by:
Julia Crosswell / Fort Worth, TX / 1999 - 2006
Robert Klein, Pasadena, MD / 2008 - present