Violet (Charnould) Shepard (abt. 1596 - 1649)

Born about 26 Sep 1596 in Mistley, Essex, England

Wife of Edward Shepard Jr. — married before 1627 in Erwarton, Suffolk, England

Descendants

Died 9 Jan 1649 at about age 52 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Katharine Ortloff [send private message], John Putnam [send private message], and Margaret Cook [send private message]

Biography

Name Controversy

Violet CHARNOLD has been referred to over time as Violet Stanley or Violet Wolverton. The better evidence favors Charnold. In 1989, Lawrence Shephard published a series of articles in Heritage Quest establishing that the name of EDWARD's wife as VIOLET CHARNOULD, daughter of JOHN and JOANE CHARNOULD of Mistley Parish, Essex, England. It refutes some of the information published in Volume 32 of the New England Historical and Genealogical Register. ^[1]

Among the evidence cited in the HeritageQuest article was:

• The baptisms for Violet and Elizabeth and the marriage to Edward are the only IGI events found with the name Violet connected to a Shepherd.
• Mistley and Erwarton are just across the river from each other - a river that leads to several major ports. Edward was a mariner, a master by 1648.
• An Edward Shepherd was master of the Samuell of Manningtree ~1624-1633, a small vessel used in coastal trade.
• Edward Shepherd was assessed on the tax rolls of 1636 in Lawford, Essex.
• Parish records for Lawford list Edward’s children with father William and mother Violet, but there is no William that this could be.
• A search of nearby parishes for Edward Shepards revealed a birth record and connected wills in Elmstead, a parish in far northeast Essex.

(See also the discussion on Edward's page.)

There has been a lot of controversy over Violet’s last name. Early speculation for Violet’s last name included Stanley and Wolverton. Wolverton because her children John and Elizabeth are deeded land by G.W. Wolverton. John refers to Geoffrey as “uncle.” Stanley was another interpretation of “uncle.” Shepard’s research did not reveal a definite connection. However, John Charnold was a tanner, as was Geoffrey Wolverton. The other men involved in the wills were all from the same area in Essex. It’s possible that Wolverton was an apprentice to Charnold, which would explain a close family connection, whether or not it lead him to marry a Charnold daughter and become a literal “uncle.”^[2]

Violet's name is found spelled Charnold and her death date is also found as 1 Nov.

Christening

Violet was christened on 26 September 1596 in Mistley Parish, Essex, England. ^[3]

Marriage

Violet married Captain Edward Shepard on December 6, 1620 in England. Edward was the son of Edward Shepard Sr. & Katherine Becham. Violet was 24 years old.^{[1] [4][5]}

To this union, 5 children were born.

Violet and Capt. Edward Shepard emigrated on 10 May 1643 from England.^[6]

They were among the first settlers of Cambridge, Mass., and there spent the remainder of their days.^[7]

Children

Children of Violet and Edward Shepard

1. Elizabeth Shepard (4 Nov 1621 - )
2. John Shepard (2 May 1627 - 12 Jun 1707)
3. Abigail Shepard (a 1631 - 4 Jul 1661)
4. Deborah Shepard (a 1633 - 7 Sep 1705)
5. Sarah Shepard (a 1636 - 15 Jan 1679/80)

PIONEERS OF MASSACHUSETTS

Capt., mariner. Bought house & lands from James Herring; deed recorded 1639. Admitted church with first wife Violent and minor children Abigail (12), Deborah (10), Sarah (7) 1658. Will written 1 Oct 1674, probate 20 Aug 1680. Bequests of wife Mary, children John, Elizabeth, Deborah, Sarah & their children, children of deceased daughter Abigail. Son John's will mentions Uncle Gregory Winterton.^[8]

Death

Violet died on Saturday, 9 January 1648/49 in Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, at age 52 years, 3 months and 14 days.^[9][10][11]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} See Shepherd, Lawrence. Search for the Origins of Edward Shepherd. Heritage Quest. 22:60-67 (May/June 1989; 23:48-54, 61 (Jul./Oct. 1989); 38-40 (Sep./Oct. 1989).
2. ↑ Edward Shepard and Violet Charnould, Morrow/Porter/Sanders Connections, [1]; see also WeRelate profile for Violet
3. ↑ "England, Essex Parish Registers, 1538-1997"
   citing , Mistley, Essex, England, Essex Record Office, England; FHL microfilm 560,909.
   FamilySearch Record: QJDW-9LB5 (accessed 30 March 2023)
   Violet Charnculd baptism on 26 Sep 1596, daughter of John Charnculd, in Mistley, Essex, England.
4. ↑ Gozzaldi, Mary Isabella; Paige, Lucius Robinson. History of Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1630-1877: With a Genealogical Register. ( Cambridge historical society, 1930.) Page 654
5. ↑ "U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700"
   Genealogical Publishing Co.; Baltimore, MD, USA; Volume Title: New England Marriages Prior to 1700
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 3824 #166887 (accessed 30 March 2023)
   Violet Shepard marriage to Edward Shepard in 1625 in England.
6. ↑ Crane, Ellery Bicknell. Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts. New York: The Lewis Publishing Co., 1907.
7. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images : accessed 02 August 2019, memorial page for Capt Edward Shepard, Jr (27 Jun 1596–1 Oct 1674), Find A Grave: Memorial #41895643, ; Maintained by Sandy VanderTol (contributor 47946311) Unknown.
8. ↑ Kathleen Thurston Choi, For the Choi Children's Children Ancestors of Leila Mae Thurston, (no longer online, but presumably quoting Pope, Charles Henry. Pioneers of Massachusetts, originally published in 1900).
9. ↑ Gozzaldi, Mary Isabella. History of Cambridge, Massachusetts 1630-1877 with a Genealogical Register - Supplement and Index. 1930. Reprint Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, 1986.
10. ↑ Cambridge, MA Vital Records to 1850, Compiled by Thomas W. Baldwin, Boston: NEHGS, 1915.
11. ↑ Vital Records from the New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (Compiled from articles originally published in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register.) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB522/rd/21073/169/1427080652

See also:

• Shepard, Gerald Faulkner The Shepard Families of New England (New Haven, Connecticut, 1973); Vol 2, Page 1 (accessed 30 Mar 2023)
• MARRIAGE: Daniel Pond & His Descendants pg 6
• Lawson, Stephen M.. "Fairbanks Ancestory of Stephen Lawson. no longer Online sml.simplenet dot com/smlawson/fairbank.htm. Printout dated 12 March 1998.
• Holm, Howard D., Family History of Howard Holm
• Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s Gale Research
• http://www.genealogyofnewengland.com/b_s.htm
• Shepherd, Lawrence, “Search for the origins of Edward Shepherd,” Heritage Quest, 1989 Vol. 22-25, continuing.
• Shepard, James, “Descendents of Edward Shepard, Mariner, of Cambridge, Mass. 1639,” NEHGR, Vol. 32: 322-8, July 1878.
• http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Edward_Shepard_(4)
• http://jfredpeterson.com/tree/g12shep.htm
• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~amorrow/fg03/fg03_374.html