JC Shepard

History & Genealogy

• Check out Rootsweb for links to WorldConnect global family tree, message boards, and the USGENWEB state & local websites.
• Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet is a great resource.

Michigan

These families ended up in Michigan:

• Surnames: Shepard (from NY c.1840), Williams (NY), Woodbury (NY), Atherton (NY<PA), Norris (NY<NJ<MA<England), Pugh, Brown (NY); Squire (IA); Storie (NY<Midlothian, Scotland), Turnbull (NY<Roxburghshire, Scotland), Taylor (NY), Maloy (Powell, WY; Rossie, NY<Co. Roscommon Eire), Leddick (NY), Hurlbut (NY<CT), Richardson (NY<CT), Woodman (VT<NH<MA<England), Tillstrom & Olsson (Sweden)
• The Civil War Diary of Pvt Orrin Brown (transcribed).

Minnesota

I live in Minnesota now.

• Minnesota Historical Society has some records indexed online.
• Murray County Historical Society & Museum is in Slayton, MN.

These families ended up in Minnesota, too:

• Surnames: Culver (England), Carlbom (Sweden), Ham (ME), Hurlbut (PA<NY<CT), Woodman (MI<VT<NH<MA<England)

Montana

These families ended up in Montana:

• Surnames: Habets (from Holland), Slezak (Silesia, Austria-Hungary), Carlbom (MN<Sweden), Franklin, Daly (PA< Eire).

All Things Shepard

I saw somewhere that the spelling "S-H-E-P-A-R-D" is the most phonetically correct version of this ancient term for them that tend sheep--the Sheep Herd. Shepherd, the pastoral or as I call it the Biblical term, is the more common. Sometimes I'll enunciate the "ph" as "f" ("Sheferd") when I'm annoyed. We've seen other spellings too: Shephard, Sheppard, Shepperd. I think our Soundex is S163. Census Bureau says Shepard is the 778th most common surname in the USA. Shepherd is 569, Sheppard 710, Shepperd way down there at 21238.

In German, the name would come out Schaefer or Shafer, even Shaver. Shouldn't the dogs be German Shafers then? And if we're related to Billy Joe Shaver, maybe he'd comp tix to his show, or send a CD? I never asked Kenny Wayne Shepherd, but that would be cool.

The simple black and white Shepherd's Check was one of the first tartan patterns developed, from undyed white and black wool of the sheep grazing along the borderlands where England and Scotland meet. In early records writtin in Latin, it is said that the name "Scyphard" appears as early as 1363 in Elgin. They that tend sheep tend not to be them that owned the land, so ancient records are not likely to be found.

I have no idea where my particular line of male descent came from before Revolution-era New York, if my family is entitled to the tartan or not. I like it no matter.

Shepard Google

As of September 2005, google gives us on the net about 10,700,000 hits, including:

1. 1. Matthew Sheppard Foundation, created in December 1998 to honor the man brutaly murdered in Laramie.
2. 2.. Aaron Shepard's Home Page. No idea who this guy is, "award-winning American children's author.
3. 3. OBEYGiant. Shepard Fairey's wierd-o graffic stuff out of LA. Inc. magazine calls him our generation's "Buzz Guru".
4. 4. Sam Shepard. Overview of the playwright's works, at Bucknell U.
5. 5. Slower.net. Eliot Shepard, some digital photographer out of Brooklyn, NY. Photos aren't that slow to load.
6. 6. Shepard's Legal Citation tool, from LexisNexis.com.

Shepard Hall of Fame

Who are the famous, and the in-famous, who have shared our Shepard surname?

• Rear Adm. Alan B. Shepard, Jr. Mercury astronaut. I got one of his patches when we went to Houston as a lad. We brought home seashells from Galveston. It was January and it was cold.
• Ernest H. Shepard illustrated the original AA MilneWinnie the Pooh books.
• JC Shepard, your author.
• Jean Shepard, the Grand Lady of the Grand 'Ole Opry, the first lady in country music to sell a million records (b.1933 in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, as "Ollie Imogene Shepherd").
• John Shepard is Associate Director of the Sonoran Institute in Arizona.
• John Shepard played an FBI pilot in Patriot Games. He was on Quantum Leap episode #29 as Bo Parsons (b.1932 Huntington Park, CA)
• John Shepard III, Boston radio pioneer. WNAC signed on 31 July 1922. (1886-1950).
• Lucius Shepard is an author of fiction, mostly sci-fi (b.1942, Lynchburg, VA).
• Sam Shepard is an internationally known playwright and actor (b.1943 Fort Sheridan, IL). He's doing a Jesse James movie in 2006.
• Vonda Shepard is a singer. She did the Ally McBeal soundtrack.

Some like Shepard so much, they give it to their kids for a given name:

• Shepard Fairey, the OBEY Giant guy (see above).
• John Shepard Reed, Citibank exec.
• Shepard Smith, annoying anchor/commenttor on FOX News (b. Holly Springs, Mississippi).

What about the variant spellings?

Shephard

• Ben Shephard is an actor from England (b.1974 Essex) who just had a son, Sam, on 28 May 2005. He's been on MTV... Ben, not the kid, at least imdb.com didn't credit him yet.
• Gillian Shephard is a British Conservative politician, former MP and Secretary of State for Employment and Education; created Baroness of Nothwold in 2005. Born Watts in 1940.

Shepherd

• Cybill Shepherd, actress (b.1950 Memphis, TN).
• Jean Shepherd, WOR NY radio guy and author of "A Christmas Story", that 1983 movie with the kid who will shoot his eye out with a BB gun. (1921-1999).
• Kenny Wayne Shepherd, guitarist. amazing.
• Martin Shepherd, English lutier.
• Morgan Shepherd, NASCAR cup series driver (N.C.)
• Capt.William M. Shepherd, astronaut on the International Space Station (b.1949 Oak Ridge, TN).

Sheppard

• Nathan Sheppard, Americana singer-songwriter out of Atlanta, Georgia.
• TG Sheppard, Country singer.

Shepperd

• Maj. Gen. Don Shepperd, retired US Air Force. CNN military analyst.
• dunno any others?

JC SHEPARD HOME or email me at Yahoo.

10.09.05