Notes for: John SHEPPARD
Born of Scotch parents. Died in Kirkwood Township, Belmont County, Ohio, near the home of his son James. He died "on a hot day while sitting in the shade of a pear tree which had been planted after settlement had been made." He was buried there on the farm, but the exact location is unknown. However, the general belief is that it was on a high knoll on the west side of the farm which later became a family burying ground and was near the site where the brick residence was later erected. While the Salem Cemetery had been established, It was the custom with many folks to bury near the cabin so that the grave might be guarded from attack by vicious scavenger animals of the Forest. Married Mary c1773-1775. Tradition has it they married in Ieland, possibly Belfast; however, All efforts have proved futile in locating any such record. It's possible they married aboard their ship while en route to America and it wasn't recorded elsewhere. In 1777, the State of Maryland had for the first time required a license for marriages. On August 8, 1777, John Sheppard obtained a license to marry Mary Hudson, and theceremony was performed by Rev. William Thompson, a Presbyterian minister. Their names appear on Page One of Cecil County Marriage Licenses and are Number 9 on the list. John and Mary were weavers by trade and wove woolen cloth for the American soldiers during the Revolutionary War. Their twelve known children were all born in Cecil Co., Maryland, the order of their births is not known except that James is the oldest and Hudson the youngest. Mary Ann died shortly after the birth of their youngest, son, Hudson, born in 1804.
John was listed in the 1800 census for Cecil County. John's eldest son, James migrated to Belmont Co., Ohio in 1809. John and his other eleven children followed suit in 1812.