PREFACE
This book is dedicated to my father, Edwin Jennings Shapard,
who traveled with me, sometimes willingly, on the many expeditions
to find information about Rev. E.R. Shapard and our family.
Thank you for always showing an excitement for my unique passions
and participating in the adventures of my life.
It always brought me great joy.
This is where it all started for me. Years ago, I felt the call to research an obscure paternal ancestor, named Rev. Edwin Ruthven Shapard, and unknowingly began an extraordinary genealogical adventure which would occupy the betterment of my free-time for the next decade of my life. Before me was an unexplored historical frontier steeped in mystery, scholarly study, expeditions to unknown locations and the excitement of the find - no matter how great or small. As the momentum of this work advanced, my passion became uncontrollable. All of my free time was focused on finding and preserving anything and everything I could about the life and times of Rev. Shapard. I tirelessly explored historical society archives, libraries, the internet, and the dusty old boxes held by every relative, near and distant. He was on my mind from the time I awoke each morning to the time I fell asleep. I truly believed that his spirit found me and beckoned me to seek out his life’s story, to bring life back to his forgotten memory and the memory of those he loved.
Before this, time had all but erased the known imprint of Rev. Edwin Ruthven Shapard’s life in this world. The faces from his era had all disappeared, their life’s achievements and struggles forgotten as others from succeeding generations had filled their places. They had slipped into obscurity and were being erased by the consequence of time. There were no recognized testaments attributed to Rev. Shapard’s life’s work, no knowledge of his extraordinary deeds, no bold link connecting the succeeding generations to him. He was perilously close to being erased from all known consciousness. He held on by a single faint memory from my childhood, whereby, my grandfather told me there was a minister in our family and “he taught the Indians.” Twenty years later that one memory was the kindling that set off this great bonfire of exploration and adventure, illuminating the traces of his life within the obscured cracks and crevices of recorded history where the vestige of his life had settled.
Over time, as this work came together, I had a great awakening, an awareness of the omnipresent influence that his life still exerted on the people and places of this time. I was his legacy in flesh and bone of his mortal existence, still able to do what he no longer was able. His influence as a minister became observable in the ever-enduring faith still practiced in the places where he resided and preached. It was suddenly apparent that a life, which had gone silent, could still resonate to those seeking to listen, even after 140 years. I was forever changed. By digging down to my roots, I saw what my family was made of - the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, the tragic and the heroic. It gave me an appreciation for the present moment, the choices we make, and especially a recognition of the importance of loving your children to your fullest potential. They are your greatest legacy. I found an appreciation in the fact that whatever struggles would come my way during my life, others before me had met with similar events and persevered. Life is given but once, however, through the legacy of your good works, you may continue to influence the future generations, and thus gain a lasting endurance of your life though that perpetual influence. This book is a tribute to Rev. Shapard and to all those noble men and women of a by-gone era, whom, through their good works and association with Rev. Shapard, deserve to be remembered and have their story told.
“The true worth of men is not estimated by the impression which they make while living – the influence they exert upon the future generations is the criterion of worth.” Rev. E.R. Shapard
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