John Shepherd, Jr. was born about 1760 in Spotsylvania, Virginia as the second child of John, Sr. and Sarah Shepherd. About the age of 15, John Jr. left Spotsylania, Virginia with his parents. The family settled in the Reddies River area of Wilkes County, North Carolina about 1775. John Shepherd, Jr. is the great, great grandfather of brothers Grover and Harrison Shepherd.
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One of the first areas settled in Ashe County was along the South Fork of the New River in the Old Fields Community. In the late 1700's, some larger farmers living on the eastern side of the Blue Ridge Mountains (Reddies River and Lewis Fork areas) would drive herds of cattle across the mountain to graze in the summer. While John Shepherd, Jr. apparently never lived in Ashe County, he did own land in the Old Fields area. |
Married Phoebe... Who?
The most intriging mystery concerning John Shepherd, Jr. is the identity of his wife, whom he married about 1788. It has been proposed that her maiden name was Sartain, and that she was a daughter of James Sartain who lived near the Shepherds on Reddies River, but this is not clear.
Various internet sites list John Jr's wife as Pheba (Phoebe) Eseentrino. The surname of Eseentrino has not been definately confirmed. The person who identified Pheba as having the surname of Eseentrino is not known, nor is source document for this mysterious surname. The word "Eseentrino" does not exist anywhere except in references to the wife of John Shepherd, Jr on the internet.
The suffix "ino" in Essentrino perhaps suggests an Italian ancestry, but this is extremely speculative.
It has been proposed that Pheba was of Cherokee descent. Perhaps coincidently, the name "Eseentrino" is remarkably similiar to the name of a Cherokee tribe that lived in northwestern, South Carolina. Around the time John Jr. married, some people from the Wilkes Co., NC area were migrating to areas in the foothills of the Applachian Mountains in northwestern South Carolina and northeastern Georgia. In 1785, John Jr's brother, James, moved to northeastern Georgia after receiving grants for two tracts of land on Clouds Creek in Wilkes Co., GA near the Creek and Cherokee Nations.
This area is where the Esseneca Nation was located on the Keowee River at the mouth of Conneross and Seneca Creek on the present-day Clemson University property. Esseneca was destroyed and its people scattered by Major Williamson and his men on August 1, 1776 as part of an expedition to punish the Cherokee for attacking whites. Could John's wife have been a survivor of Esseneca?
Another possibility is that Pheba Essentrino may have been a melungeon. Melungeons, a people of a dark-skinned mixed heritage, lived in northwestern North Carolina during John Jr's time. According to Brent Kennedy, a noted Melungeon researcher, when the maiden name of a woman during this era is not known and Cherokee ancestry is claimed by descendants, the woman may very well have been a Melungeon. However, this too is speculative, and until the source document that identifies Pheba's maiden name as Essentrino is revealed, her ancestry will likely remain elusive.
A Successful Man
Evidently, John Jr. was 'well to do' for his time. At his death, he left an estate of 866 acres and 10 negroes. He also had a variety of livestock including horses, cattle, hogs, sheep, geese, and bee-hives. The inventory of John's estate includes a still, which was not uncommon for a family to possess in those days.
Although it does not appear that John Jr. ever lived in Ashe County, NC, he did own land along the South Fork New River in the Old Fields area of Ashe. At the time, only a trickling of settlers actually lived in Ashe County. Perhaps John Jr. was investing in frontier real estate, or he may have used the land to graze cattle. In John Jr's day, some Wilkes County famers used to take cattle over the Blue Ridge for summer grazing on open lands in the Old Fields area. As Ashe County began to become more populated, the practice of grazing herds in Ashe by Wilkes farmers began to create problems for Ashe settlers. On November 28, 1812, a Petition to the Assembly of the State of North Carolina was executed by residents of Ashe to create a law whereby residents of other counties could not drive or range their cattle through Ashe County. The petition reads in part:
TO THE ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, We your petitioners Humbely Sheweth that the inhabitants of the County of ASHE have for many years & do at the present Labour under a greavous which prooves a injurey to the Citizens of the said county for a very greate degree knowing that your petitioners inhabit a county of the most trasured & (blurred)? part of the State their living depending measurabely on raising of stock the inhabitants of other countys by fourcing larg Stock of cattle, Horses & hogs in our county it dount onely consooms our Range But it Brakes into the famrs of the inhabitants by which reason meany of our Citizens are much injured, which exasperates the inhabitants & great injury has bin dun to stock on that account. It is suposed that the Citizens of Ashe kills the stock of farmers & farmers return the compliment and goes on so far as to threaten the lives of each other & c. We therfore humbely petition your honourable Body to pass a law to prevent Stock Evil Proseedance (?) & from driving & ranging of stock in distinct counties where the mastor or owners is not a citizen.
A deed dated February 6, 1802, records John's sale of 110 acres of land along both sides of the South Fork New River to Henry Harain. John also mentions other Ashe County lands in his Last Will and Testament that are to be sold by his executors following his death.
Remained on Reddies River
While the majority of John Jr's siblings left Reddies River for the greener pastures of Kentucky, Illinois, or Missouri, John Jr. lived out his days on Reddies River and died May 7, 1812, leaving 14 children, including one son that was unborn at the time of John's death. John knew of his wife's pregnacy at the time he wrote his will. He specified that the unborn child be named Pheba if a girl, or Benjamin if a boy.
John Jr. and Pheba are suspected to be buried at the Deep Ford Hill Cemetery in Wilkes Co., NC.
Among John Jr. and Pheba's children, Larkin, Sarah, Lucy, Presley, Charlotte, and Lewis have many descendants still living in the Wilkes/Ashe County areas. Other than Shepherd, some of the more popular surnames descending from these children include Vannoy, Colvard, Whittington, Phillips, Dancy and Staley.
Fourteen Known Children of John Jr. and Pheba Eseentrino Shepherd:
Had three known children by Rachell Powell:
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Had six known children by Bernie White:
Had five known children by Goldie Sarah Harmon:
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Left to right: Denise Heath Shepherd, Brenda Lawrence Shepherd, Holly Marie Shepherd, Max Elliot Shepherd, Eric L. Shepherd, Dylan Theo Shepherd (on father's shoulders), Robert Edwin Shepherd, Sr., Hudson Parker Shepherd (on Robert's shoulders), Alexander Thomas Shepherd, Nancy Markovsky, and Robert E. "Rob" Shepherd, Jr. Photo taken June 2008 in Nassau, Bahamas. |
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Russell worked as an aircraft mechanic for McDonnell Douglas and Northrop Aviation. Billie was a homemaker, an accomplished seamstress and avid gardener. Seeking respite from the smog (pollution) and hustle and bustle of southern California, in March, 1965, the family relocated to southeastern Ohio, the place of his birth. A 120-acre homestead, just south of Rio Grande in Gallia County, complete with a barn and numerous outbuildings, was purchased at courthouse auction. In the mid- 70's a second home was acquired in Lakeland, Florida, where they eventually relocated permanently. Prior to fully retiring, Russell utilized his skills as a heavy equipment operator doing land reclamation for American Cyanamid's mines in central Florida. Had two known children born in Long Beach, CA:
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Four known children by Martha Ashley:
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Had one known child by Majid Kayhan:
Had five known children by Quentin Rosevelt Hart:
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Had two known children by Larry Lewis:
Had one known child by David Treadway:
Had one known child by James Badger:
Had one known child by Michael Greer:
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Had one known child by Juanita:
Had two known children by Mr. Powers:
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Had two known children by John Shoun:
Had nine known children by Rosa Johnson:
Had two known children by Mr. Strout:
