LEWIS SHAPARD (C.1773-1833) Preface and Intro

LEWIS SHAPARD (C. 1773-1833)

Lewis Shapard has been perhaps the most widely misrepresented and, therefore, misunderstood patriarch of our family. Genealogical sources over the last one hundred years have perpetuated information about him that is purely speculative or just blatantly false. Amid this ever increasing wave of misinformation flowing from one generation to the next, the truth was being obscured. In an effort to honor our forefather and restore him to his actual self, it became a mission of mine to sift the fact from the fiction. The journey to uncover the story of Lewis Shapard has taken almost a decade to achieve, involved countless hours of exhaustive research and tedious writing, as well as, the expenditure of thousands of dollars traveling to seven different states in search of information. The pages that follow will give the most precise and detailed narrative of the life and times of Lewis Shapard ever rendered. It is far from complete, but hopefully will be a significant steppingstone from which future Shapard historians may advance.

The Error of “Lewis Thomas Shapard”

The most damaging misinformation about Lewis Shapard occurred in the 1920s via a series of articles published in the William & Mary Quarterly Historical Magazine about the Shepard/Shapard family, namely “Shepard and Other Buckingham Families.” The author, Mr. William Shepard, falsely claimed that he had discovered a cache of Shepard/Shapard journals, documents and old letters from the 1780s through 1812. These articles, published from 1926 through the 1940s, were taken as gospel and referenced by genealogists for over eighty years, establishing the belief that: Lewis Shapard was born in 1759 in Gloucester County, Virginia; that his name was “Lewis Thomas Shapard;” that he was a soldier in the Revolutionary War; that he was the first to spell his name as “Shapard,” and that his father was Samuel Shepard.

            So what is the truth? The truth is that the William & Mary Quarterly articles about our family are all bogus history, fabricated from unrelated snippets of genealogical information in an effort to secure an impressive pedigree for the author. Even the name “Lewis Thomas Shapard” is in err… the author carelessly blended the names of two brothers (Lewis Shapard and Thomas Shapard) making one person! There never was a person named Lewis Thomas Shapard in our family, yet, even today genealogists continue to use this inaccurate name to reference our forefather. It’s a colossal error that modern genealogists should strive to correct. Surprisingly, in contradiction to the myth, the facts show that: Lewis was born circa 1773 in Cumberland County, Virginia (not Gloucester), that his name was Lewis Shapard (Thomas was his brother), that he was ten years old when the Revolutionary War ended (thus could not have been a soldier), that he was not the first to use the “Shapard” spelling (his father and grandfather used it), that his father was William Shapard (not Samuel).

           

INTRODUCTION

Lewis Shapard’s grandfather, Samuel Shapard (c. 1700-1752), was a planter from King and Queen County, Virginia, who had acquired wealth, land and slaves. Samuel appears to have had two children from a previous marriage before marrying Mildred Crockford (c. 1712-1781) about the year 1735. Samuel and Mildred were blessed with eight additional children, one being William Shapard (c. 1741-1807), father of Lewis Shapard. After the death of Samuel Shapard in early 1752, his widow Mildred remarried a few years later to Mr. John Townley, who moved the family to his large plantation in Essex County, Virginia, east of the present-day town of Millers Tavern. It was there where Lewis’ father William met, courted and married Miss Mary Booker (1746-1804) in 1762. Mary was the sixteen year old daughter of James (c.1720-1793) and Elizabeth Booker (1726-1760).

Shortly after their marriage, William and Mary Shapard migrated from Essex County, Virginia to Cumberland County, Virginia residing on a 300 acre plantation near the present-day town of Raines Tavern. William developed the land, during the next 23 years, with the use of slave labor, growing wheat, corn, oats and hay, along with a garden and fruit orchard. He also had livestock in the form of cattle, horses, chickens and hogs. Over the years William branched out on other business ventures, with the establishment of an “ordinary” (tavern) bordering Randolphs Road which passed through his property, as well as, creating a lucrative shipping enterprise utilizing his numerous horses, slaves and wagons to transport goods. Both of these businesses were in high demand, especially during the Revolutionary War.

In 1785, the Shapard family left Virginia and migrated to Granville County, North Carolina, where William flourished. By the year 1790, he had acquired an impressive 1,484 acres of land and had grown his slave holdings to at least 12 slaves, ranking him within the higher echelons of property holders in the county. Mary (Booker) Shapard died in 1804 in Granville County, North Carolina at the age of 57 years. William Shapard survived her by an additional three years, dying at the home of his daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth and Francis Royster, in the County Line District of Granville County about October of 1807.

William and Mary were blessed with twelve children during their 41 years of marriage:   

Samuel Booker Shapard was born on November 12, 1763 in Cumberland County, Virginia. He was named after his paternal grandfather, Samuel Shapard (c.1700-1752), and his mother’s maiden name of Booker. Samuel was educated in his youth and studied law under Judge John Holman of Cumberland County, Virginia. During the Revolutionary War, Samuel served two terms in the Cumberland County Virginia Militia as a substitute for his father. As compensation for his service, his father deeded him his entire estate. The deed was eventually renegotiated and Samuel settled for 200 acres and a slave as a more reasonable remuneration. After the war, Samuel taught school at Brown’s Church in Cumberland County while finishing his training to become an attorney. On November 2, 1788, Samuel married Susanna Holman, the daughter of his mentor, Judge John Holman. Records, thus far, have yielded no evidence if Samuel and Susanna had children. Records do show that they traveled frequently. In the late 1790s, Samuel left Virginia and was residing in Kentucky, acquiring land in Madison and Montgomery counties. By 1802, Samuel had relocated to South Carolina where his name is found in documents from Spartanburg and Laurens counties. Between February of 1806 and May of 1807, he was residing in Russell County, Virginia on a 100 acre tract of land on Copper Creek. Afterwards, he and his wife returned to Cumberland County, Virginia for many years before becoming a resident of neighboring Buckingham County, Virginia. By 1815, Samuel and Susanna Shapard had gone to “parts unknown” and literally vanished from the historical records. There is some evidence to suggest Samuel may have been residing in Buckingham County in 1820. Hopefully the remainder of their story will be discovered by a future Shapard genealogist. [Update: Samuel Shapard's children located! See 2021 post entitled, "Samuel Booker Shapard (1763-1836) and Buckingham County, Virginia."]    

Mildred Shapard was born circa 1765 in Cumberland County, Virginia. She was named in honor of her paternal grandmother, Mildred (Crockford) Shapard. On December 18, 1786, Mildred married Anderson Williams in Cumberland County, Virginia. Anderson was the son of Samuel Williams (1744-1823) and Susannah Ligon. Mildred and Anderson migrated from Cumberland County, Virginia, to Granville County, North Carolina, in the early 1790s, residing near the land of Mildred’s father, William Shapard, in the Island Creek District.  By 1798, they had migrated to Caswell County, North Carolina, living there until 1806, when they settled in Campbell County, Virginia. Anderson Williams was listed in the Campbell County, Virginia, census of 1830, his occupation being a ‘Wheelwright.’ Mildred died between 1840 and 1850, reaching and age of 75 to 85 years old at the time of her death. Her husband died sometime after 1860. Anderson and Mildred had seven children: Elizabeth (born circa 1786 and married Joesph Garrett), Susannah “Suckey” (born circa 1794 and married John Taylor), Nancy (married George Fox), Mary (born circa 1804 and married James Collins), Daughter (born circa 1806 – died circa 1810), Daughter (born circa 1808 – died circa. 1810), and Anderson (born circa 1810 and married Martha Finch in Campbell Co., Virginia).

Elizabeth Shapard was born circa 1767 in Cumberland County, Virginia. She was named after her maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Booker. In 1785, she migrated with her family to Granville County, North Carolina. On May 6, 1789, Elizabeth married Mr. Francis Royster (1768 – 1818) in Granville County. Francis was the son of William Royster (1730 – 1794) and Elizabeth Clarke (1735 - ?). Francis and Elizabeth seemed to have lived an affluent life in Granville County. By 1803, they had acquired 680 acres of land, and possessed eleven slaves, which they grew to eighteen slaves by 1810. Francis Royster developed a close friendship with Elizabeth’s brother, Thomas Shapard, as well as, earned the trust and respect of Elizabeth’s father. As evidence of this trust and respect, Elizabeth’s father, elected Francis Royster, along with Thomas Shapard, to be the administrators of his entire estate prior to his death in 1807. More importantly, Elizabeth’s father spent his final months of life at the Royster home, being cared for and nurtured by Elizabeth. Francis and Elizabeth remained in Granville County for the duration of their lives. Francis died in 1820, and Elizabeth, survived him for an additional 22 years, having never remarried. Elizabeth passed away on May 10, 1842, at the home of her son Banister, in Granville County, reaching an age of 75 years. Elizabeth and Francis Royster were blessed with many children who survived to adulthood: Banister, Robert, Willey, Lily, Martha (married Mr. Farrow), Stella, Mary B., Marcus (married Frances Webb in 1842), Emily and William.

James Shapard was born circa 1769 in Cumberland County, Virginia and was named after his maternal grandfather, James Booker. He was educated in his youth, migrated with his family to Granville County, North Carolina, in 1785, and pursued carpentry in his early twenties. In 1796, James Shapard left Granville County and moved to Caswell County, North Carolina, where his brother Lewis was already residing. In August of 1797, James married Frances Brooks, daughter of Richard and Ann Brooks. For a few years, James and Frances lived on a hundred acre farm bordering Lewis Shapard’s plantation in Caswell County. Then by 1809, James moved to Orange County, North Carolina, and resided on a 273 acre plantation that bordered the county line between Orange and Caswell counties at Stony Creek, until 1819; after which, he returned to Caswell County. James died on November 8, 1837, at the age of 68, being in possession of a small 75 acre farm and a few slaves. He was survived by his wife and nine children: Nancy “Ann” Shapard, Elizabeth Shapard (married Stephen Page), Mary Brooks Shapard (married Henry Powell), Francis Shapard (married Richard Smith), Joanna Shapard (married Archibald Campbell), Martha Shapard, Susan Shapard, William Shapard, and James Shapard.

William Shapard, Jr. was born circa 1770 in Cumberland County, Virginia and was named after his father. He was educated in his youth and migrated with his family to Granville County, North Carolina, in 1785. He became a skilled carpenter in his twenties. About 1798, William Shapard, Jr., left Granville County, North Carolina for opportunities elsewhere. His whereabouts are unknown until 1807, when he was reported as living in Richmond, Virginia, with his brother Robert. During that time, William had a beloved bulldog named ‘Thaddeus,’ that was stolen, in 1812, by a runaway slave.  In 1813, he donated $200 worth of gunpowder in support of the U.S. Army against the British during the War of 1812. William had a savvy business sense and entered the business community of Richmond as a commission merchant, initially under the firm name of ‘William Shapard & Co.,’ yet, from 1815 through 1821, he partnered with his cousin Lewis Webb under the name of ‘Shapard & Webb.’ Apparently, William became very successful in his business and acquired tremendous wealth. He resided on a 1,300 acre plantation known as ‘Westham Cottage’ on the north side of the James River on Big Westham Creek, which was worked by his 54 slaves. In addition, he also owned several lots in the city of Richmond in DuVal’s addition and on H Street near Monumental Church. William may have married in his youth, yet, no record of a marriage has been discovered. However, he did marry in 1816, at 45 years of age, to Mary Haywood of Granville County, who passed away in Richmond in 1818, apparently without bearing surviving children. William remarried in 1825, to Catherine Bridges, being the widow of James Bridges. William died on February 16, 1843, at the age of 73, and was buried in Shockoe Hill Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, where his towering stone obelisk remains standing to this day. At present, this is the only known grave marker still in existence from this generation of the Shapard family. William and Catherine had one daughter, named Willianna, born on March 4, 1826, who married Philip Mayo Tabb of Richmond, Virginia, in 1845.

Lewis Shapard, the subject of this book, was born circa 1773 in Cumberland County, Virginia. Although the name “Lewis” originated from the maiden name of Lewis Shapard’s maternal grandmother, Amy Lewis (1700-1751) who married James Booker (1695-1751), he was most likely named after his maternal uncle Lewis Booker. Lewis Shapard received an education in his youth and migrated, in 1785, with his family to Granville County, North Carolina. In 1795, he departed Granville County and migrated to Caswell County, North Carolina. In November of 1796, Lewis married Martha Paine, who had been widowed, a year earlier, by her first husband Michael Nicholson. Martha was the daughter of former North Carolina Senator and Revolutionary War Captain Robert Paine and Elizabeth Miller. Martha had three daughters from her previous marriage (Sally P. Nicholson, Polly Nicholson, and Elizabeth M. Nicholson). Lewis Shapard engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout his life. In 1810, he had amassed 16 slaves to work his 400 acre plantation in North Carolina. Lewis migrated with his young family to Tennessee in 1813. Tragically, that same year, his wife passed away. Lewis remarried in 1814 to Elizabeth Parrish who died circa 1818. Throughout the years, Lewis resided in the counties of Williamson, Wilson, Smith and Rutherford. Lewis died of cholera on June 16, 1833, at the home of his son James Shapard in Middleton, Rutherford County, Tennessee. Lewis and Martha had nine children: William Booker Shapard (married Margery Childress), Sophia Shapard (married Joshua Norman Harrison), James Paine Shapard (married Rebecca Sloss), Booker Shapard (married three times – Mary Clay, Sarah Broyles and Ann Leftwich), Robert Paine Shapard (married Parthenia Mitchell), Lewis Shapard, Jr., (married Thursa Burdette), Martha Shapard (married Joshua Wilson McCown), Thelia “Avilla” Shapard (married James Bone), and Thomas Paine Shapard (married Ann Hope).

Booker Shapard was born in Cumberland County, Virginia circa 1775, and was named after his mother’s maiden name. He was educated in his youth and migrated with his family, in 1785, to Granville County, North Carolina. In 1797, Booker left Granville County and joined his older brothers, James and Lewis, in Caswell County, North Carolina. He was skilled in wood working and molding, was well-educated owning numerous books, dressed fashionably and partook in spirits - especially brandy and whiskey. Booker resided on the 400 acre plantation owned by his brother Lewis Shapard. Unfortunately, in August of 1802, Booker became ill or was injured. As a result, he died in late September or early October of 1802. He was about 27 years of age and was not married. His brother Lewis was the executor of his estate and settled his affairs. As a tribute to his beloved deceased brother, Lewis Shapard named his next son, born in 1803, “Booker.”

Thomas Shapard was born on August 6, 1778 in Cumberland County, Virginia. He was educated in his youth and migrated with his family to Granville County, North Carolina, in 1785. Thomas had a passion and talent for farming and plantation management and, thus, developed a close relationship with his father. On his 21^st birthday, his father deeded him a three-hundred acre tract of land from his plantation in the County Line District of Granville County, North Carolina, as a gift of affection. Three years later, in August of 1802, his father deeded him an additional 165 acres, adjoining his previously deeded tract of land. By 1803, Thomas was flourishing on his 465 acre plantation, and had increased his slave holdings from two in 1802, to four slaves a year later. On April 11, 1811, Thomas Shapard, age 32, married Miss Fanny Bailey of Person County, North Carolina. Circa 1813, Thomas sold what remained of the old Shapard plantation in Granville County, and migrated to Person County, North Carolina, where he flourished and acquired wealth. In the 1820s and 1830s, Thomas owned two tracts of land, one being 600 acres and the other being 761 acres, which were worked by his 45 slaves. Circa 1837, he and his family migrated to Haywood County, Tennessee, with 31 slaves. Thomas died in November or December of 1840, at the age of 62. Thomas and Fanny had the following children: William Shapard, Sarah Jane Shapard (b. Nov. 17, 1813 married Charles Lewis Bullock), Arianna Shapard (b. c. 1815 married James Lewis Webb), Lewis Booker Shapard, Sr. (b. Sept. 13, 1817 married Catherine Clements Vaulx), Thomas Shapard Jr. (b. 1820 married Caroline Hurt), Yancy B. Shapard (b. 1825), Helen Shapard (b. July 26, 1829 in Tennessee) and John M. Shapard (b. 1830).

Mary “Polly” Shapard was born circa 1780 in Cumberland County, Virginia and migrated with her family to Granville County, North Carolina when she was about five years old. Mary never married and was living in Caswell County, North Carolina, in 1811. She spent a great deal of time with her brother James and his family. Mary eventually migrated to Person County, North Carolina, where she died circa 1829, at 49 years of age. In her last Will and Testament, she bequeathed her five slaves to her brother James Shapard and his children.

John S. Shapard was born in 1782 in Cumberland County, Virginia. He migrated with his family to Granville County, North Carolina when he was three years old and was educated in his youth. John married Elizabeth Vass, daughter of Philip and Elizabeth (Webb) Vass, on October 15, 1808, in Person County, North Carolina. Before 1811, they moved to Halifax County, Virginia, to be near her parents. John supported his family through farming and carpentry; however, he never gained much wealth and the family had only one slave. By 1816, John’s father-in-law, Philip Vass, had written him out of his will, on account of Mr. Vass believing that John was a drunkard and would squander his inheritance. Instead, the inheritance went directly to Elizabeth and her children. Elizabeth died between 1840 and 1850 in Halifax County. John S. Shapard died on October 14, 1857, in Halifax County, Virginia, at the age of 75 years. John and his wife had five children all born between 1808 and 1820: Samuel Vass Shapard, Mary Elizabeth Shapard (married Richard Carter), Martha T. Shapard, Philip P. Shapard (married Parthenia Dodson), and Emily B. Shapard (married Joseph Haden).

Anne Shapard was born circa 1784 in Cumberland County, Virginia and migrated with her family, in 1785, to Granville County, North Carolina. On May 2, 1804, Anne married Mr. Joseph Barnett of Granville County. Joseph was son of Thomas and Sarah (Graves) Barnett, who lived on a large estate, in the Island Creek District, adjoining the Shapard plantation to the west. It appears that Joseph and Anne remained in Granville County for the duration of their lives. By 1810, the family had three slaves. Records suggest that Anne predeceased her husband, as she is not listed in his probate records from 1829. In the 1940s, the headstone of Joseph Barnett, born October 29, 1778 and died December 23, 1828, was uncovered by a WPA worker in a heavily overgrown family cemetery located in upper Vance County, North Carolina, one mile from Townsville. Among the four other headstones discovered, two were his children: Martha Hix Barnett, born November 1814 and died July 1829, and William Barnett, born November 4, 1806 and died December 9, 1845. No headstone was found for his wife Anne, though it is highly probable she is there.  Joseph and Anne’s children were: Thomas Barnett, James Barnett, Matilda Barnett, William Barnett, Mary Barnett, Elijah Barnett, Elizabeth Barnett, Ann Barnett, Jane Barnett, Martha Hix Barnett, Robert Shapard Barnett, and Joseph Worrell Barnett.

Robert Shapard was born circa 1786 in Granville County, North Carolina. Robert appears to have remained in Granville County until about 1806 when, at 20 years of age, he moved to Richmond, Virginia, to be near his older brother William Shapard, Jr., who was establishing himself as a merchant in the city. By 1819, Robert had established a hardware store in downtown Richmond, between 14^th and 15^th Street, and his older brother William, Jr., had become highly successful as a commission merchant. Robert and William, Jr., remained very close during their time together, helping each other when able and continuing the bonds of brotherhood. Unfortunately, on January 1, 1828, Robert Shapard died in Richmond, Virginia, at 42 years of age. At present, very little information has been found on Robert. It is unknown if he married or had children, though a continuation of his line is highly possible, and may be discovered by a future researcher.