First generation : William Shepherd & Catherine
William Shepherd was born in 1778 in Garstang. He and Catherine are believed to have had at least three children:-
- Ann Shepherd
- Joseph Shepherd 1804-1866
- Mary Shepherd b.1816 Salwick, m. Edward Woods of Farington
1. Ann was the mother of Richard who was born on 14 Sep 1821 and baptised the next day at St Mary RC, Salwick & Lea. (It seems in view of same day and next day baptisms that it was unlikely the child was taken to the chapel - still not a 'church' before Catholic emancipation in 1830 - but that the priest, who would have a horse, visited the parents. All that is known for sure in such cases is that the records are preserved with those of St Mary's.
3. Mary Shepherd and Edward had five sons, John (1845), Robert (1847), Thomas (1849), Henry (1851) and Edward (1853), the first two born in Treales and the others in Newton-with-Scales. In 1861 Edward, now a widower and given as aged 61 was living with his son John in Newton. He was then working on the railway.
Second generation : Joseph Shepherd & Mary
Joseph became a farmer and joiner at Lund where he was born. Perhaps Mary came from Liverpool as their first child was born there. Their address in 1851 was 'Kirkham Rd' which runs from the Blackpool Rd into Kirkham, so presumably their farmhouse was actually on this road. They had 5 children:-
- Ellen Shepherd b. 1834 in Liverpool
- Catherine Shepherd b. 1835, d. 27 Apr 1856, bur. St Andrew RC, Cottam, a dressmaker
- Alice Shepherd, b. 1837 in St Michael's on Wyre parish (probably Catforth)
- Isabella Shepherd b. JunQ 1845 St Michael's, (Catforth) m. William Hull (1833-1909), d. 7 Jun 1912 in Fleetwood
- Robert Shepherd b. MarQ 1849 in Lund, farm labourer in Salwick 1861
Joseph was almost certainly godfather to a Bernard Abbot, son of Peter Abbot & Alice Shepherd of Barton, on 9 Oct 1823 in Newhouse, being described as 'Joseph Shepherd of Salwick'. It would of course suggest that he also had a sister Alice.
In 1841 Joseph had an apprentice joiner, William 'Whalmely' (Walmsley?) aged 15 living in, and they also had two servants, Catherine Moxham, 20 and Mary Lates (Latus?) aged 13. The servant Richard Shepherd aged '15' was probably his nephew. In 1851 a William Knowles aged 16, b. Lund is listed as a farm labourer. His wife Mary died in the Jun Q 1858 in Preston [Preston Vol 8e p.323] and in 1861 Joseph, now 57, was living in the Day School at Salmesbury Mill, just across the river from Preston.
It was probably the same Joseph Shepherd who died recorded as dying on 4 Aug 1866 ,from a sudden apoplectic stroke aged 63 and buried at Cottam. There is still some uncertainty over both Joseph and Mary - other records could refer to Mary and her daughter Catherine, but none of these have been checked against other sources as yet.
4. Isabella Shepherd was born in the JunQ of 1845 in Catforth, (sometimes given as 'St Michael's', the civil parish which includes Catforth and many other villages). She is recorded in Lund on the 1851 and 1861 censuses but went to work as a farm servant at Crookalls Farm, Springfield in Fleetwood. She married William Hull on 26 Sep 1871 at St Mary's RC.
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Next generation : William Hull & Isabella Shepherd
to be continued.....
February 2005
