As
I indicated in a previous post, my grandfather, James Pearson Shepheard, was
born in Torquay, Devon, England on March 12, 1891 and came to Canada in 1907. He spent a short
time working on a farm in Ontario, presumably to pay off his fare over to
Canada, and then moved west to settle in Alberta.
With
his familiarity with horses – he had helped out with his uncle’s dairy business
in Torquay, Devon and Taunton, Somerset – he ended up as a ranch and farm hand in
Eastern Alberta. As my cousin, Betty Thompson wrote in the family memoirs in
2005, “Jimmy was a respected and locally renowned horseman, also noted for
becoming the master over any and all mean broncos. He was hired during the
first years the family was at Keoma, enjoying a good life as one of Newton
[Isaac Thompson]’s cowboys. Whether Jimmy or Newton’s daughter, Carrie [Jane
Thompson], had eyes for the other one first, is lost in history, but whichever
way the romance started, the attraction grew into love and they were married on
April 8, 1914.”
Carrie
was, at the time of their marriage, living at home in Irricana. She was the
local “Central” which title was later changed to Telephone Operator. Jimmy
worked farms in a number of areas in the Irricana-Keoma area. With the help of
his friends, neighbours and brothers-in-law he built a new farm house for his
family on lands originally purchased by his father-in-law, Newton Thompson just
east of Keoma – the Northeast of Section 17, Township 26, Ranges 26, West of
the 4th Meridian.
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The Shepheard farm house east of Keoma, Alberta, ca
1923
Carrie
and Jim had five children, all born in the Irricana area. Unfortunately two
little died in infancy and are buried in the Irricana town cemetery. Surviving
children were Bill (born 1914), Ted (born 1916) and Ethel Mae (born 1935).
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Shepheard
“men” at work on their farm near Keoma, Alberta, with a steam driven tractor
and threshing machine – left to right: James Shepheard (1865-1940), James
Pearson Shepheard (1891-1965), Edward Newton Shepheard (1916-1997) and William
Calvin Shepheard (1914-1983)
Carrie
and Jimmy were both active in the community. He had a large part in developing school
and community facilities, served on the local school board for many years and
was a member of the Oddfellows Lodge. He was a great singer and entertainer and
headlined many shows for fund-raising events. Besides running his farm, Jimmy
and some of his neighbours spent time hauling grain to market using a train of
wagons hitched to multiple teams of horses – up to eight pairs abreast. Carrie
assisted with activities organized by the local ladies group and for the local Red
Cross during the First World War.
In
1944 Jimmy retired and they moved to Nanaimo, British Columbia. Carrie died on
August 29, 1959 and Jimmy on September 12, 1965. Both are buried in Port
Alberni, BC.
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Shepheard home in Nanaimo, British Columbia, 1945
Wayne
Shepheard is a volunteer with the Online Parish Clerk program, handling four
parishes in Devon, England. He
has published a number of articles about various aspects of genealogy and is a
past Editor of Chinook, the quarterly
journal of the Alberta Family Histories Society. Wayne also provides
genealogical consulting services through his business, Family History Facilitated.
