Captain Thomas Sheppard Family
This page is devoted to all of the documents and records collected for the Thomas Sheppard family. There has been considerable debate ove the origins of Thomas Shepherd as well as the identity of his wife. He was born in England certainly and is oftern attributed to Shropshire. He was a devout Baptist and became part of Cromwell's army. In the late 1640's and early 1650's, he went with the army to Ireland, to retake it.Their pay was to be confiscated lands. By the time the conflict had ended, Thomas had served briefly as Military Governor of New Wexford. He was also paid 5 Pounds for accompanying a priest to prison.
At the conclusion of the war, he was paid by being given 1400 acres of land in Tipperary through the Act of Settlement. He also ended up with the castle known as Castlejohn. The story is that he traded for it by offering a white horse. Thomas was one of the 20% of the soldiers who stayed in Ireland following the conflict.
One of the biggest areas of confusion surround his emigrant descendants. Were they his sons or grandsons ? There is no definitive proof (I believe) which settles the matter. I go by the supposition that the emigrants were some of his children but await more clarity. The American Shepherds ARE certainly descendants of Thomas Sheppard.
Captain Thomas Sheppard Family Group Sheet
Letter to Parliament - Shepherd was called with several other officers to Parliament. The Army was resisting disbanding and demanded back pay etc. This was in 1647. This is from
a contemporary transcript.
Paragraph from book which mentions the castle at Castlejohn
Map of Castlejohn and surrounding territory.
Probate - The 1922 fire at the records office destroyed this record along with millions of others. All we have left is the index.
Children :
Updated on 23 December 2022
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