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Record Creator: | Shepard, William Orville |
Title: | William Orville Shepard Papers |
Date Span: | 1895-1926 |
Abstract: | William Orville Shepard (1862-1931), a Methodist Episcopal Bishop, was born at Sterling, Illinois, on April 11, 1862. Shepard was ordained in the Methodist Episcopal Church and joined the Rock River Conference in 1886 and was elected bishop in 1912. He died November 30, 1931 at the age of 69 and was buried in Mount Hope, Chicago. |
Extent: | 0.66 cubic feet |
Identification: | gcah.ms.gcah586 |
William Orville Shepard (1862-1931), Methodist Episcopal Church bishop, was born at Sterling, Illinois, on April 11, 1862. He graduated from Jennings Seminary (Aurora, Illinois), DePauw University, A.B., 1885; S.T.B., 1886; then A.M., 1888; D.D., 1896; LL. D., 1912; Syracuse University, Ph.D., 1895 (hon. D.D. and LL.D.). Shepard was ordained in the Methodist Episcopal Church and joined the Rock River Conference in 1886. He held pastorates at Blue Island, Elgin (First Church), Rockford (Court Street), Chicago (Oakland), Evanston, and Englewood (Chicago), between 1886-1909. He served as district superintendent of the Chicago Northern District from 1909 to 1912.
Shepard was elected bishop in 1912, and his episcopal areas were: Kansas City, Kansas, 1912-1916; Wichita, Kansas, 1916-1920; and Portland, Oregon, 1920-1928, an area which included Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska. In 1928, Shepard was assigned to Paris, France. This assignment encompassed France, Spain, Italy, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, North Africa, Madeira Islands, and Liberia. He made trips to South America in 1916 and 1924, and to Europe in 1920, in order to survey post-war conditions and needs. He also made two trips into the Congo region.
William Orville Shepard married Emily Odell on August 15, 1883. The couple raised four sons. Shepard was considered a spokesman on moral questions, and in 1897 he published a book of sermons entitled "Oakland Sermons." He died November 30, 1931 at the age of sixty-nine and was buried in Mount Hope, Chicago.
This collection is comprised of William Orville Shepard's sermons, sermon notes, speeches, Episcopal Book of Discipline, scrapbook, personal publication, and certificate of election to the office of Bishop.
Materials have been arranged in the following manner.
Collection is arranged by record type.
When citing material from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file folder, William Orville Shepard Papers, United Methodist Church Archives - GCAH, Madison, New Jersey. Do not make use of the item's call number as that is not a stable descriptor.
There are no restrictions regarding this collection.
Detailed use restrictions relating to our collections can be requested from the office of the archivist at the General Commission on Archives and History. Photocopying is handled by the staff and may be limited in certain instances. Before using any material for publication from this collection a formal request for permission to publish is expected and required.
Papers of Bishop John McKendree Springer.
Microfilm Edition of the Administrative Files Series of the Board of Missions of the Methodist Church.
Microfilm Edition of the Mission Biographical Reference Files.
Joseph Crane Hartzell Papers.
Call Number | Folder Title | Date(s) |
1305-4-5: 01 | Sermons: Old Testament | Undated |
1305-4-5: 02 | Sermons: New Testament | Undated |
1305-4-5: 03 | Sermons: New Testament | Undated |
1305-4-5: 04 | Sermons: Miscellaneous | Undated |
1305-4-5: 05 | Sermons: Published | 1897 |
1305-4-5: 06 | Speeches | 1895-1896 |
1305-4-5: 07 | Speeches | 1896-1905 |
1305-4-5: 08 | Certificate | 1912 |
1305-4-5: 09 | Scrapbook | 1920-1926 |
1305-4-5: 10 | Discipline | 1916 |
1305-4-5: 11 | DREW: Letter and Photograph | 1916 |