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Date: 11/3/2022
WESTFIELD — The Westfield Historical Commission received donations of multiple items that could have been owned or used by Gen. William Shepard himself more than 200 years ago.
Historical Commission Chair Cindy Gaylord said that the commission recently received a donation of four tables from one of Shepard’s descendants. After an examination by local historian Bob Brown, it was determined that at least two of the tables were from the time when the Revolutionary War general from Westfield was alive.
Whether the tables really belonged to Shepard is likely impossible to confirm, Gaylord said, but considering when they are believed to have been made, and who donated them, it is a good possibility.
Bill Shepard, 68, lives in Connecticut and works at Hartford Hospital as an optomic photographer. He is a direct descendant of William Shepard, and received the tables from his Aunt Betty Lou and Uncle John. It is said among his family that the tables and some other items had been passed down directly from William Shepard, who died in 1803 at the age of 79.
One of the tables that Brown believed to be from Shepard’s time period has inscribed on it the name “Dewey.” Shepard’s wife, whom he married in 1760, was Sarah Dewey.
“Never had a chance to talk to my aunt and uncle to see how far back the tables go,” said Bill Shepard, but he remembers the tables from his childhood, when he said he took for granted the historical significance of his ancestor.
“It wasn’t until I was older that I realized how important it was,” said Bill Shepard.
Gen. William Shepard served in the American Revolution, where he achieved the rank of colonel. He endured in the infamous winter at Valley Forge. He later served his community in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and then as a selectman in Westfield.
During his time as selectman he was called up, now with the rank of major general, to defend the Springfield Armory during Shays’ Rebellion, which wound up being a significant turning point in the development of the U.S. Constitution.
Shepard was born and died in Westfield, and a statue of his likeness now stands next to the Park Square Green in Westfield.
Bill Shepard said he has other items from that time period he may later donate, such as a mirror that was owned by William Shepard’s granddaughter, Bella.
Gaylord said that she is hoping that the tables can be put on display at the Westfield Athenaeum in the newly opened history room.
“It feels good to have these put in a place where they can exist in perpetuity,” said Bill Shepard.