Today we begin our study of the third generation of the Shepard Family history....the grandparents. Charles G. Shepard was born on the 13th day of June in 1858 in the city of New London, Henry County, Iowa. Three years later, his parents made the move to the Tustison neighborhood in Allen County, Indiana close to the Ohio border. Charles was usually called Charley and the G. in his name is considered to stand for George by some of his relatives.
In the 1870 Federal Census, Charles and his family are located at Newville Twp. in Dekalb County, IN and by 1875 the Shepards are settled into life in Hicksville, Defiance, Ohio, where they lived for a number of years.
Charley and his best friend in Hicksville, L. E. Griffin, were involved in singing in a male quartet in their 20s. Charley was the tenor and Griffin was the bass. These two pals were also members of the Hicksville Masonic Lodge #478. I suppose that this quartet sang at many of the Masonic occasions and at local social gatherings as well.
The 1880 census shows that the Shepard family is living on Spencer Street in the city of Hicksville. But, Charles is working as a fire insurance clerk in Auburn, Dekalb, IN, age 22. At the end of December 1881, Charles and Fanny J. Huffman became man and wife.
Now, I want to explain, that a good deal of Charley's story was told by L. E. Griffin via Charley's funeral oration at the Masonic Lodge. After Griffin delivered this eulogy, the local Hicksville newspaper copied Griffin's speech and posted it. Therefore, since our relatives in Shelby, Ohio kept a copy of this news story, and my husband, Bob Shepard, made a copy of it, I am able to relate to you, in this epistle, many of the details that Griffin shared. For instance, below is a list about Charley's occupations:
In 1888, sold fire insurance in Auburn, IN
From 1889-1890, sold mill dogs for George F. Knight
From 1891-1893, was a restaurateur in Hicksville
From 1893-1898, was a salesman for Gold Leaf Baking Powder
From 1898-1899, was in the stave business for D. G. Sharp at Hicksville
From 1900-1904, was a salesman for the Tiffin Wagon Co., boss, Mr. Shelley
In 1904, was in partnership with John Hire at Mark Center, and at stave mills in New Washington, Battlecreek, and Toledo, Ohio.
L. E. Griffin said that Charles was at his happiest while he was building his big home in Shelby, Richland, Ohio. Griffin visited the Shepard family at their new residence in the early1900s. He said that Charley was ecstatic about having such a fine place for his big family to live. He was making great plans for the landscaping, a driveway up the hill to the entrance, and hoped to have a section in the backyard for a picnic area and a gazebo. The above photograph of their house was taken in May 2015.
Charley's descendant, Delight Shreffler Schirmer, mentioned to Bob and I in our recorded interview with her in 1997, that one of the reasons Charley moved to Shelby was because there was a Rail Road crossing in the center of town for the Big Four Rail Companies.
Around 1906, Charley's legs were causing him problems and the doctors described his disease as creeping paralysis. Charley sought help from many medical people who prescribed a variety of things to ease his distress. Unfortunately, Charley died of this disease on the last day of December 1908 in Hicksville, and was buried there at the Forest Home Cemetery.
CHARLES G. SHEPARD
BORN: 13 Jun 1858, New London, Henry, IA
MARRIED: 29 Dec 1881, Hicksville, Defiance, OH
DIED: 31 Dec 1908, Hicksville, Defiance, OH
BURIED: 2 Jan 1909, Forest Home Cemetery, Hicksville, OH
SOURCES: Federal census of 1860-1900; marriage certificate, death certificate, interview with Delight Shreffler Schirmer in 1997, in Tucson, AZ; newspaper funeral oration of Charles Shepard by L. E. Griffin.; photos of the Shelby, OH Shepard residence taken by Marj and Robert L. Shepard in 2015,
