David Evander Shapard, (Chapter 1) 1886-1887 Eufaula, Creek Nation, Indian Territory

Chapter 1

EUFAULA, CREEK NATION

INDIAN TERRITORY

1886-1887

 

David Evander Shapard was conceived in Fort Smith, Arkansas, approximately June of 1886, just before his father, Rev. Edwin Ruthven Shapard (1838-1889) left his residence, for a month-and-a-half long venture to his old hometown of Shelbyville, Tennessee, to visit his brothers David Green Shapard (1846-1919) and Evander Shapard (1843-1921). This was Rev. Shapard’s first trip back to his hometown in four years. Clearly the reunion with his brothers was fruitful and impressionable, indicating how and why David Evander Shapard received his name. Upon his return, Rev. Shapard’s wife Jennie Neely (Hall) Shapard (1849-1910) told her husband the joyous news of her pregnancy.

In October of 1886, Rev. E. R. Shapard became quite sick during the weeks just prior to attending the 41^st Annual Indian Mission Conference which was held in the Methodist Church at Eufaula, in the Creek Nation, on October 20-25, 1886. At the end of the conference, Rev. Shapard was appointed by the church to the Muskogee District (Creek Nation) at Eufaula, Indian Territory, to be the Superintendent of the Asbury Manuel Labor School. The Shapard family, consisting of Rev. E. R. Shapard, Mrs. Jennie H. Shapard who was approximately four months pregnant, and their children: fourteen year old Elizabeth Mitchell Shapard (1872-1931), eleven year old Sumner Samuel Shapard (1875-1935) and six year old Edwin Ruthven Shapard, Jr. (1880-1969), closed up their house on Lexington Avenue at Fort Smith, Arkansas, and prepared for the move to the Creek Nation in Indian Territory.

The Asbury Manuel Labor School was established on November 4, 1847, by the 4^th Annual Indian Mission Conference, for the education of Creek children. Rev. Thomas Ruble (1811-1876) was appointed by Bishop William Capers to initiate the endeavor and superintend the school. Rev. Ruble commenced on the task of selecting a site for the school.  Assisted by Colonel Logan, a U.S. Indian Agent for the Creek Nation, and Colonel Rutherford, the Superintendent of Western Territory, in January 1848, a site was selected about a mile and a half northwest of North Fork town. In the 1830s, the Creek Indians established the town of North Fork, which was located within the fork of the Canadian and North Canadian rivers, due to its location at the intersection of the Texas and California Roads. In 1855, future general, Robert E. Lee, camped at North Fork town which was a stopping place on the ‘Texas Road’ running from Missouri to Texas. The town site consisted of homes and businesses which flourished until 1872, when G. W. Stidham, Capt. Sam Grayson, G. E. Scales, D. B. Whitlow and J. D. McCoody paid $1000 to R. S. Stevens, the manager of the MK&T Railroad, which was being constructed, to bypass North Fork and build the train station at the present site of Eufaula, which is where these men had land interests. Over time the businesses fled North Fork for Eufaula.

The Asbury school grounds, in 1848, consisted of 80 acres, of which 30 acres were fenced. Other improvements included a twenty-foot by twenty-foot log house with a front porch and kitchen, a stable and a chicken house, and “a tolerable supply of fruit trees”. Plans were enacted to erect a school building 110 feet long, 34 feet wide and three stories high. Contracts were let to Webster and Reed of Ft. Smith, Arkansas, for the stone and brick work, and to J. J. Denny of Louisville, Kentucky, for the wood work. Materials and furnishings were shipped by boat from Louisville, up the Arkansas River, and then overland to the site by ox wagons. The corner stone was laid on July 19, 1848. The building was completed in October of 1849, at a total cost of $9,169. It contained 21 rooms, with spacious halls, and could accommodate 100 students, plus faculty.

During the Civil War, the smaller buildings of Asbury were burned, and the large building was put in much disrepair. Rev. Thomas Bertholf, who was Superintendent during the entire course of the War, was given the task of rebuilding and reestablishing the school. He began this work in 1866, and died at his labors in 1867, being buried at the school’s cemetery. Rev. John Harrell took up the work for the remainder of the Conference year and was relieved by Rev. T. B. Ruble in 1868. Rev. Ruble’s work was barely begun when fire destroyed the main building in 1869. In 1870, Rev. John Harrell returned to Asbury School, and before 1871, had rebuilt the buildings and restarted the school. Rev. Harrell died in 1876, and was buried alongside his wife, Eliza, at the Asbury cemetery which was located approximately half a mile north of the school.

The Asbury School hosted the Annual Indian Mission Conference in 1855 and 1874. It was noted that the approach to the school led through a beautiful timbered field with a wide lane that separated the fields of corn, wheat and oats. There were vegetable gardens near the buildings. They had hogs, chickens, cattle, and horses. The main building, located in a grove of forest trees, was an east-facing three-story brick school with a porch that ran the entire length of the front. The basement level was constructed of stone and the rest of the exterior walls were brick. Asbury Manuel Labor School burned 1881, and again in 1886, under the superintendence of Rev. E. R. Shapard, and was not rebuilt. The school grounds and all remaining property within were sold on March 17, 1888. In 1892, Eufaula Boarding School, known first as Eufaula High School, was established at a different location to continue the work so nobly begun by the Asbury School.

In 1946, congress approved the establishment of a large lake in the vicinity of Eufaula. The graves at the Asbury school cemetery were relocated to Greenwood Cemetery at Eufaula. Stones from the foundation of the Asbury School were moved to the Greenwood Cemetery to establish the Asbury Memorial, which stands near the graves and honors the memory of those pioneer ministers. A dam was constructed and on September 25, 1964, the area was officially flooded, creating Lake Eufaula. Today the location of the school grounds and the town of North Fork lies deep beneath the waters of the lake.

After the Conference in October of 1886, the Shapard family collected their belongings and made the move to Eufaula, Creek Nation, residing at the Asbury Manuel Labor School. Rev. Shapard assumed his position as Superintendent and two teachers were employed to help educate the students. In addition, there were a variety of hired hands to help run the institution. Mrs. Shapard was in charge of the kitchen, overseeing all the meals. The school had an abundance of corn, hogs and cattle to feed the students and faculty for the year, as well as, a good array of tools for farming.

While the family prepared their quarters, Rev. Shapard wasted no time in beginning his work. He preached the first sermon of his new appointment to the students and faculty at the Asbury Manuel Labor School on November 3, 1886.

The Shapard family had only been there less than a month when tragedy struck. On the evening of November 26, 1886, as the faculty and students were assembling for evening prayers, the Asbury School caught fire. The flames started on the third story by the carelessness of one of the students. This was the third time the building had burned in its history. The tragedy was extensive and turned the Superintendent and 80 students out-of-doors and the school was suspended until December 14^th, when the Trustees rented a house, the residence of Judge G. W. Stidham, as a temporary school building.  Rev. Shapard immediately went to work arranging the move. By the authority of Bishop Charles B. Galloway and Mission Board, the school was reopened again with 40 pupils. After the burnout, the Trustees and the Chief of the Nation renegotiated the financial appropriation allotted to the school by a lesser amount. Rev. Shapard consulted with Bishop Galloway and determined to run the school for as long as the money ($2,852.50), allowed by the authority of the Nation, would last. Rev. Shapard further supplemented this amount by $358.54 through the sale of livestock. The term ended on June 17^th, which was just short of the normal time of dismissal, being June 30^th.

Due to the fire, the Shapard family was forced to move quarters again. Their new residence at the two-story Stidham house was apparently in need of great repair. Some of the windows needed glass which had allowed dirt dauber wasps, to cover the walls with their nests. The flue on the stove or chimney was faulty and filled the house with smoke when initially lit. Water had to be transported in, as the local water source was some distance away. One can only imagine the toll this event, and the new living arrangements, took on Mrs. Shapard, who at this time was approximately 5 months pregnant.

In late November or early December of 1886, Rev. Shapard’s 14-year-old daughter, Miss Lizzie Shapard, had been added to the number of boarding students at the Harrell Institute in Muskogee, Indian Territory. Rev. Shapard advised his daughter upon attending school, “I want you to do the best you can in studying, study hard, and even study those books which you may not be called upon to recite if it is for your good. - One great object which I have in sending you there is that you may learn music. - While I want you to carry up your other studies - As soon as I am able I will send you off to the States some-where - I want to qualify you for work in this country as a teacher or in whatever capacity the church may need you for. Be sure to take care of your health - And above everything else live the life of a Christian. Do not be ashamed to answer questions with regard to Christian experience. Try to make your prayers not only formal but spiritual.”

Lizzie seemed to fair well at the school as she was elected Secretary of the Juvenile Mission Society and elected Secretary of the Parsonage Society of Muskogee. She was also appointed as a librarian for the McGavock Library which was located at the school. Rev. Shapard may have donated 9 volumes of the ‘new’ Washington Irving to the school’s library, as he was known to have a large personal library. The books were donated, shortly after Lizzie appointment as librarian, by one of the ‘Harrell Institutes best friends” of which they were not at liberty to reveal.

On December 13, 1886, the Trustees of Asbury Manuel Labor School met at the Shapard home to decide which of the students would be allowed to stay. Because of the lack of housing and funds only 40 boys were allowed to remain to continue their education. Mrs. Shapard remarked, about the lack of space in the temporary school quarters, that, “we are so crowded in the dining room, when we get in we can’t get out, unless we go around the home.” Classes resumed on December 14^th and despite a noble effort by Rev. Shapard and the faculty, the crowded living conditions and disruption during the year hindered the proper advancement of the pupils.

In early January, 1887, the weather became extremely cold. Rev. Shapard could not send the Asbury students out to work and they did nothing but cook and eat. Nevertheless, several of the students became very sick from exposure to the winter weather. Later that month, Rev. Shapard traveled to Muskogee to attend a series of bible study meetings with 17 other ministers. For a week they had daily Bible readings, study, prayer and experience meetings, with regular sermons every evening. While in Muskogee, Rev. Shapard visited his daughter Lizzie at the Harrell Institute. When Rev. Shapard attended his meetings, Lizzie was excited to look after her little brother, Edwin Jr., who had traveled to Muskogee with his father.

On March 22, 1887, at Eufaula, Creek Nation, Indian Territory, David Evander Shapard was born. The turmoil of tragedy and displacement prior to his birth was sadly only a foreshadowing of much of what would await him in life. He was fittingly named ‘David,’ not only a biblical name bestowing the attributes of overcoming the impossible, but also the name of his father’s younger brother David Green Shapard (1846-1919). The name, ‘Evander’, was also derived from his father’s younger brother, and former Confederate soldier, Evander Shapard (1843-1921). Interestingly, both David Green Shapard and Evander Shapard were stewards of the First Methodist Church in Shelbyville, Tennessee, and remained very close with their brother Rev. Edwin R. Shapard throughout their lives.

On June 17, 1887, the Asbury Manuel Labor School closed its doors permanently and Rev. Shapard turned over the remaining property of the school to the Trustees. The Shapard family moved into the town of Eufaula, renting a small house, to spend the summer. That same month, E. R. Shapard attended his daughter’s graduation at the closing exercises of the sixth annual term of the Harrell Institute, which included student recitations, compositions and dialogues, examination of classes and a musical concert. After the summer, Lizzie Shapard was sent to ‘the States’ for a better education. She attended the Brookhaven Mississippi Female Institute from September, 1887, through June of 1888. This institute became the current-day Whitworth College. From 1859-1928, the school operated as a 4-year women's college which was affiliated with the Mississippi Methodist Conference.

On September 23, 1887, Rev. Shapard wrote to his daughter Lizzie, who was attending Brookhaven, and stated, “We are all well. Sumner is getting fat. Brother Brewer, your mamma, Sumner, Edwin, David and I took dinner at Dr. Cutler’s on yesterday. I have no idea where I will be next year, or at least no more idea than I had when you left.” This is the earliest document found mentioning David Evander Shapard, who at the time was only 6 months old.

The 42^nd Annual Indian Mission Conference was held at Vinita, in the Cherokee Nation, on October 12-17, 1887. At the end of Conference, Rev. Shapard was appointed to the Choctaw District; Railroad Circuit. The members of the church at Eufaula remarked that, “In parting with E. R. Shapard our minister for the last year, Eufaula loses one of the most zealous and earnest laborers in the Lord’s vineyard, who has ever had charge of this station.”