William is my 2nd great grandfather on my maternal side of the family. He was born in Hunnewell, Shelby county, Missouri on October 19, 1845. He married Nancy Ann Jenkins in LaGrange, Lewis County, Missouri on April 16, 1866. His date of death is probably December 17, 1925. I have one other source that indicates he died on October 3, but I trust the December date more as it was given by his son, Robert, on an application for a military headstone.
William served as a private in Company B, 69th Regiment, Enrolled Missouri Militia. They were not federal troops; they were under the control of the governor. It was formed in summer or early fall of 1862. They were mainly formed to deal with clashed between Union and secessionists forces in the county. Lewis County was somewhat divided between the two sides. There was not a lot of actual fighting according to a history of Lewis County, just off and on skirmishes here and there. I could not find William’s name in the list of Company B soldiers from Lewis County, but that application for a headstone by his son (Robert Shepherd) in 1925 has his company and regiment number along with the dates of his service. He served from April 30, 1864 until his discharge on December 1, 1864. Also the list in that county history book looks to be only officers- captains and lieutenants. William was a private. I am hoping to find that information in a book at the Family History Library this October (2015).
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| Guerrillas stealing horses |
The above picture depicts an example of the disturbances the militia might have to deal with, especially since there were divided loyalties in Lewis County. The threatening poster below was not from Lewis County but it shows how serious some people were about the two sides in the Civil War.
The two images above are from the State Historical Society of Missouri
Next: Charles N Percy of Kentucky
I have a blog about the paternal side of the family at schellseekers.blogspot.com
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