Skip to main content

Charles M. Shepherd Papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS 0041

Scope and Contents

This collection contains photocopies of a diary kept by Charles M. Shepherd, which documents his farming and hunting activities, trips to Springfield, and the weather. Also included are short histories of Charles Shepherd and the Strawbridge-Shepherd House, photographs of the house and family members, correspondence, and a sketch of the house. Arranged chronologically.

Dates

  • 1878-2007

Creator

Access

The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the University of Illinois-Springfield (UIS).

Copyrights

Copyrights to this collection are held by UIS.

Biography

Charles Miller Shepherd was born on November 18, 1841 to Thomas C. Shepherd IV and Ellen Miller Shepherd. Thomas Shepherd owned a farm in Sangamon County, six miles south of Springfield.

Shepherd attended local schools and Illinois University in Springfield until 1861, when he enlisted in the Missouri Infantry during the Civil War. He was honorably discharged on August 5, 1864, and returned to Sangamon County to his father’s farm. He married Sarah E. Ford in November 1867, and in 1883 purchased land from the estate of Thomas Strawbridge. The site later became home to the University of Illinois at Springfield. Charles M. Shepherd passed away on June 16, 1910.

Extent

.25 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Provenance

The original diary was loaned to the archives by Shepherd’s family in 1980 for copying. Other materials were created or acquired by the archives between 1975 and 2007.

Property Rights

UIS owns the property rights to this collection.

Processing Information

This collection was reprocessed in August 2025.

Title
Finding Aid to the Charles M. Shepherd Papers
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the UIS Archives/Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Archives/Special Collections LIB 144
One University Plaza, MS BRK 140
Springfield IL 62703-5407 US
217-206-6520