ROBERT PAINE SHAPARD (1805-1871) Introduction

ROBERT PAINE SHAPARD

                                              INTRODUCTION

Lewis Shapard, father of Robert Paine Shapard, was born circa 1773, in Cumberland County, Colony of Virginia, and was the child of William Shapard (b. circa 1741 – d. circa October 1808) and Mary Booker (b. September 4, 1746 – d. 1804). Mary was the daughter of James Booker, Jr., (b. circa 1720 – d. 1793) and Elizabeth (Howlett?) (b. 1726 – d. March 29, 1760) of Essex County, Virginia, and the granddaughter of James Booker, Sr., (b. 1695 – d. 1751) and Amy Lewis (b. 1700 - d. 1751) of Gloucester County, Virginia.  Lewis Shapard’s name was derived from his uncle Lewis Booker (b. May 21, 1754 – d. December 23, 1814). Lewis Shapard’s father, William Shapard, was a wealthy plantation owner, who had migrated in 1762, from King and Queen County, Virginia, to Cumberland County, Virginia; and then in 1785 to Granville County, North Carolina. William owned about 1,500 acres of land in Granville County, and developed it with the use of slave labor.

In 1780, during the time of the American Revolution, when Lewis Shapard, was 7 years old, his older brother Samuel went off to war. Samuel was 17 years old, and during the course of the war served two tours in the Virginia Militia as a substitute for his father, representing the Shapard family. Although Lewis was too young to fight, he did witness the vast array of armies, cavalries and soldiers that marched through Cumberland County. The Shapard plantation was located along the main road through Cumberland County, and Lewis’ father had established an “ordinary” (tavern) on their land from 1779 through 1781, which was frequented by the State Militia and Continental Soldiers needing a place to eat and rest. Throughout his youth, Lewis would have heard tales of battles and bravery from the actual soldiers themselves fresh off the front lines. The war ended in 1783, when Lewis was 10 years of age.

After the war, it was a new and exciting world, and Lewis Shapard was residing in Granville County, North Carolina, when the Constitution was ratified in 1788, the Bill of Rights was adopted in 1789 and George Washington, a Federalist from the State of Virginia, was elected President. Lewis left Granville County in 1795, and moved with his brothers, James Shapard and Booker Shapard, to Caswell County, North Carolina.

Over time, just like his father, Lewis became engaged in agricultural pursuits, purchasing large tracts of land and developing it with the use of slave labor. In the early 1800s, he was farming 300 acres in North Carolina with his 8 slaves. He was very successful in his endeavors and, by 1810, he had acquired 16 slaves and pursued an array of business ventures beyond the plantation. In 1813, Lewis moved his family from Caswell County, North Carolina, and migrated to Tennessee; living in Williamson County, Wilson County, Smith County, and Rutherford County. Lewis’ grandson, Rev. Joshua H. Shapard, reported that Lewis settled near Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where he continued to engage in agricultural pursuits for the remainder of his life. It appears that Lewis Shapard died of cholera at the house of his son, James Paine Shapard, in June of 1833, in the town of Middleton in Rutherford County, Tennessee.

Lewis married Martha Paine (b. November 17, 1773 – d. June 16, 1813) on November 22, 1796, in Caswell County, North Carolina. At the time of their wedding, they were both 23 years old. Martha had been widowed, in July of 1795, by her first husband, Michael Nicholson, who had been engaged in agriculture as a tobacco planter in North Carolina. From her previous marriage in 1790, Martha had three daughters; Sallie (b. 1791), Polly (b. 1793) and Elizabeth (b. 1795), of whom Mr. Lewis Shapard became guardian. Martha was born on November 17, 1773, and was the granddaughter of Dr. James Paine and Mary Hardin and the daughter of Robert Paine (b. March 3, 1748 – d. January 1808) and Elizabeth Miller. Her father had been the Captain of a company during the Revolutionary War. He later served in the Legislature of North Carolina as a State Senator from 1788-1790. Martha was also the aunt of Rev. Robert Paine who would become one of the most widely-known and influential Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Through the union of Lewis Shapard and Martha Paine, nine children were born: William Booker Shapard, Sophia Shapard, James Paine Shapard, Booker Shapard, Robert Paine Shapard, Lewis Shapard, Jr., Martha Shapard, Thelia Shapard, and Thomas Paine Shapard.