Shep's Place Family Tree

Marriage: John Shepherd of this Parish, Bachelor, and Harriett Payne of this Parish, Spinster, were married in this Church by banns with Consent of ‎(blank)‎ this thirtieth day of March in the year One thousand eight hundred and thirty-four By me W Stewart. This Marriage was solemnized between us John Shepherd ‎(his signature)‎ and Harriett Payne ‎(her mark)‎. In the Presence of Sarah Shepherd and Robert Shepherd ‎(presumably John's father or brother)‎.

Either immediately or within two years, John and Harriet moved northeast to the small village of Steep near the town of Petersfield in Hampshire. There John worked as a miller and Harriet as a mother. Seven children ‎(four girls & three boys)‎ were born in Hampshire with at least five of them born in Steep. One child, a son named Edward ‎[possibly named in honour of his uncle Edward]‎, died in the winter of 1848, aged four and a half. The next year in 1849 the Shepherd family left Steep to emigrate to South Australia.

Passenger List of the Ascendant ‎(State Library Archives, Adelaide, 1980)‎:
14273 SHEPHERD
John 37 yrs Miller
Harriet 34 yrs
Esther 12
John 10
William 8
Harriet 3
Mary Ann 1
They ommitted Elizabeth 14 yrs, but she was on the second list.

"We hereby certify that the "Ascendant" took her final Departure from the Port of London at 11 o'clock a.m. on the 18th day of August, 1849, and is now on her way to Adelaide having on board the following Emigrants, who have embarked under authority from the Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners, or their officer"....

On the voyage 7 died and 4 were born, all boys.

The Master's name was R. Spencer. 562 tons per Register Aggregate number of superficial feet in the several compartments set apart for steerage and intermediate passengers = 3090. Total number of Adults the ship can carry legally = 206. Where bound = Port Adelaide.

On board there were 86 male adults & 80 female adults. Of the ages between 1-14 there were 39 males and 36 females. Under one year there were 5 males and 8 females.

Among the occupations of those on board were the following: agricultural labourer, carpenter, tin platemakers, servants, footman, saddler, housemaid, cow boy, tailor, butcher, bricklayer, plumber, brick maker, mason, shepherd, bootmaker, paper maker, smith boy, blacksmith, chair maker, baker, and "spinsters." They forgot "miller!"

The Ascendant reached Port Adelaide on 26 November 1849. According to Harriett's obituary, the Shepherds first lived on the LeFevre Penninsula ‎[near Port Adelaide and Semaphore]‎; however, their first Australian-born baby, Henry, was born on Christmas day 1850, when they were residing at Hindmarsh.

From The Adelaide Observer, Feb. 23, 1856
Quotations at the Mills
Thebarton Mill, Printz & Christen
Company's Mill, Stevens & Corr
Hindmarsh Steam Mill
Port Adelaide Steam Mills
Parkside Mills
Crown Steam Mills, Victoria Sq.
Union Mill, Gawler Town, Harrison Brothers
Crawford's Mill, Hindmarsh

Also in the newspaper that day were the following "Adelaide Retail Prices:"
Bread /6 the 2-lb loaf
Mutton 3/6 to 4/6 -quarter
Fresh Butter 2/ lb.
Milk /6 to /8 quart
Cabbages /1 to /6 each
Tomatoes /6 per lb.

Perhaps John worked at one of the mills in Hindmarsh. It was there that their seven months old baby daughter Maria died in the summer of 1856. After Hindmarsh, they moved to Aldinga in 1860. They were in Aldinga when they received news that their first child Elizabeth Cane, who had gone to England with her husband Charles and young daughter Emma, had died suddenly at Amersham, Berkshire, in January 1860. In 1862 their last child, James, was born in Aldinga. John was then about 50 years and Harriett 46. Over 26 years they had had twelve children.

By 1865 several of the young Shepherds had left home. Daughter Elizabeth had died in England; John Jr had married Maggie Muirhead in 1863; Esther had married William Mills in 1865; William married Louisa Croucher in Wellington, NZ, in 1865. That left Harriette ‎(20)‎, Mary Anne ‎(18)‎, Henry ‎(15)‎, Emilie ‎(12)‎, Charles ‎(7)‎ and James ‎(4)‎ at home.

The Adelaide Observer, Sat. November 9, 1867, page 3:
ALDINGA.
‎(From a Correspondent.)‎
On Tuesday evening October 24, about 8 o'clock p.m., signal rockets were seen being discharged from some vessel going up the Gulf opposite the Lagoon, supposed to be the Galatea. However on Wednesday morning the expectations were confirmed by the firing of the signal-guns. This put the people here on the move, and soon after sunrise flags were seen flying. At about 2 o'clock Messrs. Loud, Stewart, Pethick, McRae, Shepherd, McCullum and other volunteers met at the pile on Loud's Hill to erect a large mainsail, kindly lent by Mr. Butterworth, as a breakwind. At 5 o'clock a very large concourse of people had arrived from far and near, and at that hour tea, cake, wine, and solid eatables of various sorts were handed around by the Committee. Great praise is due to the young ladies of Aldinga for the provisions they provided in so short a time. As soon as the rockets were seen fired from Mount Lofty the huge pile was lit by Mrs. Loud, she being the longest resident lady in the district. Within 10 minutes the whole was in a mass of flames, showing the skilfulness with which it had been prepared. Its appearance was both picturesque and brilliant, as it was erected on one of the most prominent views in the colony. Three cheers were given for the Duke of Edinburgh; after which they sang the National Anthem. Music, dancing, and other amusements were kept up till about 9 o'clock when the company quietly retired, and it was considered by those present to be one of the largest and most pleasant gatherings ever known in the district. Three cheers were given to the Committee and duly acknowledged. ‎[This was to celebrate the birth of Queen Victoria's son, the Duke of Edinburgh.]‎

By 1869 the Shepherds were living in Mclaren Vale. We know from a letter written from Ashurst Mill, Kent, by Mary Shepherd Caffyn to her younger sister Emilie in 1869 that the Shepherds had a piano and enjoyed music and that they had cats. The letter is transcribed in Mary Shepherd's biographical notes. Mary and William Caffyn traveled back to England shortly after their marriage. Mary died there of tuberculosis of the lungs in September 1869, only 18 months after her marriage. Another sadness for the Shepherds.

On March 13, 1885 John made his will.
"THIS IS THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT of me John Shepherd of Carrondown Hindmarsh in the Province of South Australia Miller I revoke all prior Wills and appoint William Smith Mitton of Hindmarsh aforesaid Plumber and Joseph Aston of Hindmarsh aforesaid Accountant...of this Will I bequeath to my son Henry Shepherd my violin and my music books I bequeath to my son William Shepherd my family bible containing the register of the births deaths and marriages of my children. I bequeath to my said trustees all my household furniture books prints pictures linen and other articles of household use in trust to permit my wife Harriett Shepherd to use and enjoy the same during her life and after her death to sell and convert the same into money and to divide the proceeds to arise from such sale and conversion among my children and grandchild Emma Cain ‎[daughter of Elizabeth, deceased]‎ in equal shares as tenants in common...I direct that if any child of mine shall die in my life time having a child or children age of twenty one years or being a daughter or daughters shall attain that age or marry then and in every such case the last mentioned child or children shall take and if more than one equally among them the share which is her or their parents would have taken...I desire that my body may be buried in the same grave as my wife if she shall predecease me...."
John Nicholson Solicitor Adelaide.
Arthur Boulden his Clerk Adelaide.

This will was written during the Victorian era when inheritance and property were generally given to the males. John provided well for his wife, then left everything to be equally divided among all his children plus Emma Cain, his granddaughter in England. John died on 1 November 1891, and his will was probated on November 20, 1891, "sworn not to exceed 850 pounds."

John Shepherd's violin was inherited by his son Henry. Later, two of Henry's sons, Wilf and Clem, vied for the violin. Wilf won. Now ‎(2005)‎ Wilf's son Peter Shepherd of Mount Barker has the violin, or perhaps it has been handed down to Peter's musically talented daughter Kate. The Bible which belonged to John and Harriett was given to their son William. William passed it on to his son Frederick William Shepherd whose daughter Winnie gave it to her son Gerald Keith Wild of Western Australia.

From an Adelaide newspaper ‎(not identified)‎:
SHEPHERD.--On the 1st November, at his residence, Coglin-street, Carrondown, John Shepherd, aged 80 years. A colonist of 42 years.

DEATHS AT HINDMARSH.-- Mr. John Shepherd, a colonist of forty-two years, died at his late residence, Coglin-street, Carrondown, Hindmarsh, on Sunday morning, at the age of eighty-two. The deceased came to South Australia in the ship Ascendant in 1849. He was a miller by trade, and from 1860 to 1863 was in business for himself in the Aldinga district. He afterwards settled at Hindmarsh, and remained there until his death. Though of a retiring disposition he was highly esteemed by all who knew him. He leaves a widow, five sons, three daughters, and twenty-three grandchildren. The interment will take place in the Hindmarsh Cemetery on Tuesday.

There is an old photograph of the Shepherd's tombstone in Hindmarsh Cemetery. The headstone and fence have long since gone. Baby Maria is buried in the same grave with John and Harriett.

Harriett out-lived John by 21 years. She was 96 years old at her death on January 4, 1912. She lived longer than four of her daughters and one of her sons.

In the cemetery records we see that the date of lease was November 3, 1891. He was buried to ten feet by gravedigger, Twist Stearne. It cost 14 shillings for the burial least, which was a usual rate at the time.