Mary Elizabeth (Patterson) Shepherd (1878 - 1964)

Born 10 Feb 1878 in Qualla Township, Jackson County, North Carolina, United States

Ancestors

Wife of James Thomas Shepherd — married 20 Dec 1898 in Macon County, North Carolina

Descendants

Died 26 Dec 1964 at age 86 in Jackson County, North Carolina, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Pip Sheppard [send private message]

Biography

Mary (Patterson) Shepherd lived in Appalachia, in North Carolina.

Mary Patterson was born on February 10, 1878 in Qualla Township, Jackson County, North Carolina, United States. Her parents were Confederate veteran Jeremiah Patterson and Julia Ann Kerr.^[1] Mary was the first daughter and fifth child of her parents.

The first official documented record for Mary was the 1880 Jackson County, North Carolina, census, where she appears as a two-year-old on the farm of her father in Qualla Township. There were two older boys in the home, Maclin and Lon (an older brother died in infancy). For some reason, one of Mary's older brothers, William, was not listed in this census. The other (younger) brother, Jerry, Jr., was born the year of the census.^[2]

In 1895, when Mary was approximately seven years old, her parents and most of her siblings crossed through the Leatherman Gap into the Cowee Valley of Macon County, North Carolina.^[3] A few years after the move, Mary wed James Thomas "Tom" Shepherd on December 20, 1898, in the home of her future father-in-law, John Grandison Shepherd, in Macon County. Minister, P. R. Rickman performed the ceremony which was witnessed by Maggie Holbrooks, Kate Shepherd, and W. Holbrooks.^[4] Together, Mary and Tom would have eight children:

1. Infant Sheppard^[5]
2. Paul Shepherd^[6]
3. Pearl Shepherd^[7]
4. William Shepherd^[8]
5. John Shepherd^[9]
6. Anne Shepherd^[10]
7. Eula Shepherd^[11]
8. T. A. "Bill" Shepherd^[12]

Mary and Tom were living in the Cowee Valley. They had no children in the household, but one child had died the day he/she was born in 1899. Both Mary and Tom were literate and Tom was farming. There were several neighbors who were related to her husband, but Mary's family was not living nearby. Tom owned the farm where they lived.^[13] Mary's first surviving child, a son, William Don Shepherd, would be born approximately nine months later.

Like many families in the mountains of North Carolina, Mary and Tom moved to Gastonia, North Carolina, for a better economic opportunity. They are found there in the 1920 census with their eight children. Tom was working as a "house carpenter" while Mary remained at home with the children. Some of their progeny were working in the cotton mills. Don was employed in the carding room of a mill. Twins Pearl and Paul were spoolers. T. A. was also in the card room (it was the beginning a career in the cotton mills that would employ him until he retired). Wiley and Eula were too young to be employed.^[14]

By 1930, only son Paul remained with Mary and Tom. The couple had moved back to the mountains to Sylva, Jackson County, North Carolina. Tom was still in carpentry and presently employed, though neither Mary nor Paul (he was in college) had jobs. Mary and Tom owned a home worth $1000, yet they did not have a radio in the house. The home was not on a farm.^[15]

In 1940, Mary and Tom were still living in Sylva (in the same house as in 1935). Tom was working as a machinery helper in a tannery. Mary was home, and living with her was her grandson, Conrad Shepherd, the son of Don Shepherd. Roy Dills, the census enumerator, listed Mary as having finished six years of schooling.^[16]

On 27 January 1949, an article published in the Society News and Club activities section of the Sylva Herald and Ruralite reporting on their 50th wedding anniversary. The article stated that they had been residents of Sylva for 20 years. Their seven children were present for "tea" and other relatives dropped on through the afternoon.^[17]

She died of ovarian cancer 26 December 1964 at the C. J. Harris Hospital in Jackson County, North Carolina (the informant on her death certificate was her son, Wiley Shepherd),^[18] and was buried 27 December 1964 at the Shepherd Memorial Cemetery in the Cowee Valley of Macon County, North Carolina.^[19]

Research Notes

The late Nancy Aiken Shepherd told a story that Mary eloped to get married. Supposedly, Mary’s fiancée helped her “escape” from the home, and they were married in a lane. While the records don’t bear this out, it’s a great story. Apparently, the reason so many of Mary’s siblings never married is because their mother, Julia Kerr Patterson, didn’t think any of the neighborhood boys were good enough.^[20]

Mary’s grandson, Carl Sheppard, remembered her as a “hard driver.” He quoted her as saying, “If you’re going to eat at my table, then you’re going to work around here.” Carl stated that Mary canned hundreds of jars of vegetables. (Carl and his family lived with a Mary and her husband, Tom, for a while during the Depression.)^[21]

Another story told about Mary was that she swore she would never be buried at the Shepherd Memorial Cemetery, in Macon County, North Carolina, but she died before her husband, and he buried her there anyway.^[22]

Sources

1. ↑ Jeremiah Monroe Patterson Bible, in the possession of Living Shepherd of Macon County, North Carolina.
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCX3-24Q : 11 September 2017), Mary E Patterson in household of Jerry Patterson, Qualla, Jackson, North Carolina, United States; citing enumeration district ED 102, sheet 251B, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 0969; FHL microfilm 1,254,969.
3. ↑ Nancy Aiken Shepherd, Jerry M. Patterson Family, The Heritage of Macon County (Franklin: The Macon County Historical Society, 1987) p. 377.
4. ↑ Ancestry.com. North Carolina, Marriage Records, 1741-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC. Image at: https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/60548/42091_334974-00196?pid=12339686
5. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVL-HQ4N : 27 July 2019), Infant Shepherd, 1899; Burial, Franklin, Macon, North Carolina, United States of America, Shepherd Memorial Cemetery; citing record ID 19692944, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
6. ↑ "North Carolina Birth Index, 1800-2000," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VHPL-4D4 : 8 December 2014), Paul Franklin Shepherd, 08 Nov 1902; from "North Carolina, Birth and Death Indexes, 1800-2000," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing vol. 6, p. 356, Macon, North Carolina, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh.
7. ↑ "North Carolina Birth Index, 1800-2000," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VHP2-BHP : 8 December 2014), Pearl Shepard, 08 Nov 1902; from "North Carolina, Birth and Death Indexes, 1800-2000," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing vol. 18, p. 103, Macon, North Carolina, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh.
8. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images (accessed 04 October 2018), memorial page for William Donald Shepherd (31 Mar 1901–24 Oct 1974), Find A Grave: Memorial #17305343, citing Hollywood Cemetery, Gastonia, Gaston County, North Carolina, USA ; Maintained by JoAnn Welch Coon (contributor 46853486).
9. ↑ "North Carolina Birth Index, 1800-2000," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VHPL-4ZF : 8 December 2014), John Wiley Shepherd, 15 Jul 1909; from "North Carolina, Birth and Death Indexes, 1800-2000," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing vol. 12, p. 96, Macon, North Carolina, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh.
10. ↑ "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MLSV-QLW : accessed 1 October 2019), Anna Shepherd in household of Thomas J Shepherd Jr., Cowee, Macon, North Carolina, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 108, sheet 2B, family 39, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1121; FHL microfilm 1,375,134.
11. ↑ "North Carolina Birth Index, 1800-2000," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VHPL-482 : 8 December 2014), Eula Lee Shepherd, 11 Nov 1911; from "North Carolina, Birth and Death Indexes, 1800-2000," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing vol. 4, p. 219, Macon, North Carolina, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh.
12. ↑ North Carolina State Archives; Raleigh, North Carolina; North Carolina Death Certificates. Image at: https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/1121/S123_1187-1957?pid=600059714
13. ↑ "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MLSV-QL9 : accessed 1 October 2019), Mary E Shepherd in household of Thomas J Shepherd Jr., Cowee, Macon, North Carolina, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 108, sheet 2B, family 39, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1121; FHL microfilm 1,375,134.
14. ↑ "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZ24-K4N : accessed 1 October 2019), Mary Shepard in household of Thomas Shepard, Gastonia, Gaston, North Carolina, United States; citing ED 80, sheet 5B, line 62, family 104, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 1300; FHL microfilm 1,821,300.
15. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X33G-M3M : accessed 1 October 2019), Mary Shephard in household of Thomas Shephard, Sylva, Jackson, North Carolina, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 18, sheet 6B, line 78, family 137, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1701; FHL microfilm 2,341,435.
16. ↑ 1940 Census: Sylva, Jackson, North Carolina; Roll: m-t0627-02932; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 50-18. Image at: https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2442/m-t0627-02932-00462?pid=152928065
17. ↑ The Sylva (North Carolina) Herald and Ruralite, 27 January 1949, p. 5. Accessed 10 October 2019 at the North Carolina Digital Archives (http://newspapers.digitalnc.org)
18. ↑ "North Carolina Deaths, 1931-1994," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FG15-Q2T : 18 July 2017), Mary Elizabeth Shepard, 26 Dec 1964; citing Sylva, Sylva, Jackson, North Carolina, v 38B cn 38709, State Department of Archives and History, Raleigh; FHL microfilm 1,953,568.
19. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVL-HQHM : 11 July 2016), Mary Patterson Shepherd, 1964; Burial, Franklin, Macon, North Carolina, United States of America, Shepherd Memorial Cemetery; citing record ID 19686795, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
20. ↑ Story told to Pippin Sheppard by Nancy Aiken Shepherd (daughter-in-law of Mary Patterson), 1999.
21. ↑ Story told by Carl Sheppard in the 1970s to his son, Pip Sheppard.
22. ↑ Story told by Mary’s grandson, Living. Shepherd, in the 1990s to Pip Sheppard.