The Shepheard Surname

Our family has what many consider an unusually-spelled surname. We don’t think so, of course; we think Shepheard spelled our way is quite normal. Over the centuries clerks and vicars in Devon, England, where our family originated, recorded members of the family under a great variety of spellings. Even today, many people and organizations persist in spelling our name differently. Overall, though, we have resisted the temptation to conform to what these erudite persons believed our name should be.

As far back as 1633 our name has been spelled with the double vowel. I suspect that it goes even further back but I have not yet found documents any older. In that year the name of my 7^th great-granduncle, John Shepheard, was entered into the baptism register of Cornwood parish, Devon. The baptism of his brother, William, was also recorded as Shepheard in 1638. William turned out to be a bit of a black sheep in the Shepheard family (no pun intended) when he tried to have a forged will of another brother, Sampson, put through probate in 1685 (see my blog post of November 26, 2013). Interestingly, on all the court records of that case the family name is shown as Shepheard as well – even the documents written in Latin.

 

Baptism entry in the Bishop’s Transcripts for Cornwood parish, Devon: “John Sonne of Nicholas Shepheard was baptized ye 20^th of June” 

(image courtesy of Plymouth and West Devon Record Office - PWDRO)

To me, the important records in establishing the spelling of our surname are those which contain actual signatures of family members or that can be relied on as accurate facsimiles, such as marriage entries, wills and other legal documents.

One case where several records exist with signatures concerns my 4^th great-grandparents, John and Jane Treby Shepheard. They were first cousins (their fathers were brothers) so we have documents that show both of their names as well as those of their parents. John Shepheard and Jane Treby Shepheard were married in 1791. The entry in the church register has both of their signatures as well as that for whom I believe was Jane Treby’s brother, William. All are clearly spelled their names as Shepheard. In fact, Jane Treby was quite emphatic when she signed her name, using very large letters.

 

Entry in the marriage register of Cornwood parish, Devon for John Shepheard and Jane Treby Shepheard; both bride and groom signed the register

(image courtesy of PWDRO)

On the marriage entry for Jane Treby’s parents, Nicholas Shepheard and Mary Barratt, Nicholas’ surname was accurately recorded by the parish clerk as shown by his signature. One of the witnesses to this marriage was Mary’s step-father, Arthur Jefferys. Mary signed her name as Barratt but it should be noted that there are other records where, again, those recording information about her used different spellings, most commonly Barret – but that’s another story.

 

Entry in the marriage register of Cornwood parish, Devon for Nicholas Shepheard and Mary Barratt; both bride and groom signed the register

 (image courtesy of PWDRO)

Often a clerk would write the surname the way he thought it was and the individual would sign his name the way it should have been recorded, such as on the marriage entry for John’s parents, Richard Shepheard and Mary Collins. The clerk wrote “Richard Shepard” for the groom but he signed his name “Richard Shepheard”.

 

Entry in the marriage register of Cornwood parish, Devon for Richard Shepheard and Mary Collins; both bride and groom signed the register 

(image courtesy of PWDRO)

Jane Treby, herself, was not so fortunate in always having her last name recorded properly. On her baptism she was identified as Jane Treby Shepard. In spite of the fact that her father demonstrated his surname through his signature, all of his children were recorded in the baptism register with different spellings: Nicholas Shepard in 1761; William Shepherd in 1763 (his burial record in 1796 has the same spelling but a document related to his will shows his name as Shepheard); Mary Shepherd in 1765 (her burial in 1766 was recorded as Mary Shepard); Amey Shepard in 1767; Jane Treby Shepard in 1769; Sampson Shepherd in 1771 (both his burial record and his death certificate also show Shepherd but on his marriage entry he signed his name as Samson Shepheard); Arthur Shepard in 1773 (the entry for his burial shows Shepherd); and Thomasine Shepard in 1775.

 

Entry in baptism record of Cornwood parish, Devon: “August 11. Jane Treby dr of Mr. Nicholas & Mrs. Mary Shepard” (image courtesy of PWDRO)

There is a reference to Jane Treby on a document concerning a property in Westlake, Ermington parish, Devon. Her name, along with that of her husband, John, and sister, Thomasin, are spelled out as Shepheard but Jane Treby is indicated as having made her mark. It begs the question of whether Jane Treby was completely literate and that perhaps she had practiced her signature before signing the marriage register in 1791.

 

Part of a release document concerning a property in Westlake, Ermington parish, Devon in which are named John Shepheard, Jane Treby Shepheard and Thomasin Shepheard, all of whom received a payment of £20 from Sampson Shepheard, brother of Jane Treby and Thomasin, upon his assuming ownership of the property (image courtesy of PWDRO)

As a general observation, where family members could read and write, they invariably spelled their name Shepheard. Many individuals were not literate and accepted whatever spelling the clerk or vicar used in the baptism or marriage registers. There are many examples of quite different spellings used for the same individual at different times of their lives.

All images reproduced here are used with the kind permission of the Plymouth and West Devon Record Office (PWDRO). 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.

The Mystery of Anne Hughes

A number of years ago, as the Online Parish Clerk for Cornwood Parish in Devon, I was asked if I could find information on an individual by the name of Anne Hughes Phillips. The family believed she was related to their mother, Jessy Blight. They thought Anne’s father was named Roger Charles Phillips who apparently had been a resident of a place called Colza Farm. That seemed relatively straight-forward.

I did a quick look through my parish records and found the family, including the baptisms of the two sons of Jessy Anne (Phillips) Blight, Bennett Clive and Roger Stanley. In fact, I was able to find several generations of the Phillips family in the parish registers. Anne Hughes Phillips turned out to be a great-aunt of Jessy, who had been baptized as Jessy Anne Hughes Phillips. This also opened up the story of a namesake of them both.

There is a story in the Phillips family lore about an Anne Hughes who married a Phillips man in Cornwood parish, against the wishes of her own family. As a result, according to descendants, “she was disinherited and only allowed to take with her six silver teaspoons, engraved with her initials, and a small teapot and sugar bowl. It is assumed from their nature and value that the spoons were a Christening present which would explain why they were retained. The hallmarked date for the spoons seems to be 1802 or 1803.”

 

Set of six spoons engraved with initials AH presumed to have belonged to Anne Hughes of Cornwood, Devon

Bowl and Teapot presumed to have belonged to Anne Hughes of Cornwood, Devon

It was speculated that Anne was born in or around Cornwood parish about 1800, near the hamlets of Yondertown or Lutton or possibly near Sparkwell, in adjacent Plympton St. Mary parish. She was apparently held in high esteem and at least two members of the family, mentioned above, bear the name Anne Hughes as part of their own: Anne Hughes Phillips, born in 1839 in Cornwood; and Jessy Anne Hughes Phillips, born in 1911, also in Cornwood.

Having found several Phillips family members, I was then asked if I could find any reference to Anne Hughes, herself, to confirm the story. Her name was not in any records for Cornwood, Plympton St. Mary, Plympton St. Maurice, Harford or Ermington parishes although all of them had many representatives of the Phillips family. In fact, there were no Hughes families living in the area at all during the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries; so that was a dead end.

The only individual close in name was Anne Frances Hayes, daughter of Treby Hele Hayes, Esq. and his wife, Susanna, a major land-owner and occupant of Delamore manor. It certainly would have been frowned upon by this family had their daughter married one of the “common” people. But Anne Frances ended up marrying another nobleman by the name of William Mackworth Praid in 1831. So that was another dead end.

It is possible that Anne Hughes was born in a parish far removed from Cornwood, however, no marriage between an Anne Hughes and a man with the Phillips has yet been found for the relative time frame anywhere in Southwest Devon.

This is one of those family stories that cannot, or at least has not yet been supported by documentation. While they may yet be found a connection for the time being the existence of Anne Hughes will remain a mystery.

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.

Family Dynamics Revealed From Parish Registers and Other Records

Often what is on baptism records tells you a lot about family dynamics. Take the family Hannah Edwards (nee Dodd) in Shropshire. She was the 2^nd great-grandmother of a friend of mine who I was helping with family history research.

The 1851 England census, for Wenlock parish, Shropshire, showed that Hannah Edwards, age 40, was a widow with three young children still living at home: Mary, age 8; Richard, age 6; and John, age 1. A brother, Richard Dodd, also was in the same house. All of the individuals had been born in Wenlock parish. From this record we had indications of Hannah’s year and place of birth, her maiden name and the possible time of her marriage (before 1843) if they had not had any children prior to Mary. We could also assume that her husband had died within a year or so, given the age of the youngest child. I did, in fact, find death and burial records for the husband and father, Richard Edwards. He died at the age of 41, on March 21, 1851, just a week before the census was taken, and was buried in Wenlock on March 25^th.

 

Portion of 1851 England census for Wenlock parish showing family of Hannah Edwards, widow 

(image accessed from Ancestry October 19, 2013, copyright The National Archives)

But what other information could we find about Hannah, her parents and siblings, her marriage and her children.

Ancestry had other census records. FamilySearch and FreeBMD were helpful in identifying possible birth, marriage and death records. From that information pertinent BMD certificates for post 1837 events could be ordered from the General Record Office. Fortunately many of the Shropshire parish records are now available on FindMyPast courtesy of the Shropshire Council. I was able to find the images for the baptisms of most of Hannah’s children.

Hannah’s first child, Elizabeth, was baptized on December 4, 1841. The baptism entry showed the surnames of both Richard and Hannah; so there was a question about whether they were, in fact, married at the time. Elizabeth does not appear to be listed on the 1851 census and may have died prior to when the census was taken.

The baptism record for daughter Mary has not yet been found. Son Richard was baptized on December 30, 1844 although the entry shows his mother’s name as Susannah, not Hannah. The date does fit with the 1851 census information, however, so this entry may be the right one and the name recorded for the mother may have been an error. Another son, Nicholas, was baptized on January 24, 1847 but apparently died in 1849. John, the youngest child, was baptized on November 11, 1849 which information fits with the 1851 census of him being only one year old on his last birthday prior to when the census was taken on March 30^th. His father was shown on the baptism entry indicating he was probably alive at the time of the baptism.

I did end up finding their marriage information – December 23, 1844, just a week before Richard Junior’s baptism. It appeared they had two children together prior to their marriage – almost three!

 

Marriage certificate for Richard Edwards and Hannah Dodd, December 23, 1844 at Linley parish, Shropshire (certificate acquired from General Record Office)

Hannah Edwards appeared on the 1851, 1861 and 1871 England censuses, living in Much Wenlock parish, Shropshire although on the last one she is shown aged 50, rather than 60. I am quite sure this is the same person, though. She died in 1879 and was buried in Much Wenlock.

Finding other personal information for Hannah also posed some problems. The marriage record did not show her father’s name so it was not known whether he was alive, dead or estranged at the time of the marriage. Other information would be needed. The censuses all indicated she was born in Wenlock. A search was made for a Hannah Dodd, born about 1811. The only data that fit was an 1812 baptism in the Much Wenlock Parish register for a base child born to Sarah Dodd, a widow. This precise wording on the baptism entry establishes important facts about the family. The status of Hannah’s birth is entirely missing from indexes of the event.

Later searches revealed that Richard Dodd had married Sarah Browne in 1796 and that they had at least five children: Joseph, born in 1796; William, born in 1799; Anne, born in 1798; John, born in 1803; and Richard, born in 1804. The eight-year gap between Hannah and the last child is interesting. With Sarah indicated as being widowed, along with the illegitimate designation for Hannah, the possibility is raised that her mother was perhaps involved with someone other than Richard Dodd at the time of Hannah’s conception and may explain why Hannah chose to not show a father's name on her marriage record. There is a burial record for a Richard Dodd in Much Wenlock parish dated October 14, 1803, which is five months before the birth of Richard Dodd Junior. The baptism record for Richard Junior does not indicate the father was deceased but this is the only record of death in the parish for someone of that name and that fits the time frame.

Lots of questions still surround the life of Hannah (Dodd) Edwards but I believe I have found much of the pertinent information. The question that may never be answered is who her father actually was.

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.