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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Alan Shepard, Astronaut from Derry, New Hampshire

On 5 May 1961, fifty-one years ago, Alan Shepard became the second human in space when he flew in the Freedom 7.  His fifteen minute flight took him up to an altitude of 116 miles before splashing back down to earth.  In 1969 he was back in space onboard the Apollo 14, after being switched out of the ill fated Apollo 13 mission. This was the third flight to land on the moon, and Shepard was again famous, but this time for swinging at a golf ball!

The Shepard Family plot is located at the Forest Hill Cemetery in East Derry, New Hampshire.  This is quite appropriate since the Shepard family lived right down the street, and his dad played the organ for the First Parish Church right next door to the cemetery. As you can see, generations of Shepards have lived in Derry, and the plot is very large and full of dozens of graves.  I have only put a few photos here out of the many, many I took that day of the Shepard plot.

The Shepard Family Plot


THE SHEPARD FAMILY
JOHN SHEPARD OF HOLDERNESS, ENGLAND
AND HIS WIFE
ELEANORA GLASS OF GLASGOW, SCOTLAND
CAME TO AMERICA IN 1690
THEIR SON JOHN SHEPARD MARRIED ELLINOR ELLISON
BURIED AT CANTERBURY, N.H.
THEIR SON JACOB SHEPARD MARRIED JANE BLAIR
BURIED AT HOLDERNESS, N.H.
THEIR SON WILLIAM SHEPARD MARRIED LUCY HART BECK
BURIED HERE
----------------
SHEPARD

FREDRICK J. SHEPARD
1851 - 1931
ANNIE BARTLETT SHEPARD
1861- 1944
LT. COL ALAN BARTLETT SHEPARD
1891 - 1973
RENZA EMERSON SEPARD
1900 - 1993
---------------------
ALAN BARTLETT SHEPARD
1923 - 1998
---------------------
HENRY BRADBURY SHEPARD
1908 - 1988
FRANCES DUDLEY SHEPARD
1898 - 1998
----------------------
HENRY BRADBURY SHEPARD JR
1927 - 2002


WILLIAM H. SHEPARD
1816 - 1893
ROSINA JOHNSON SHEPARD
1817 - 1886
EDGAR H. SHEPARD
1844 - 1865
ALBERT H. SHEPARD
1849 - 1851 
--------------------
FREDERICK JOHNSON SHEPARD, JR
1889 - 1978
ELISABETH M. ARTHUR SHEPARD
1902 - 1992



WILLIAM SHEPARD            ISAAC R. SHEPARD
1779 - 1857                    1819 - 1897
LUCY HART SHEPARD       ELIZABETH A. SHEPARD
1782 - 1862          1824 - 1878
WALTER B. SHEPARD        EDGAR H. SHEPARD
1811- 1880        1866 - 1883
SAMUEL H. SHEPARD                                      
1826 - 1891
---------------
SHEPARD   
         


LOVE IS ETERNAL
RADM ALAN BARTLETT SHEPARD JR
*US NAVY*
AMERICA'S FIRST MAN IN SPACE
1998
HIS LOVING WIFE
LOUISE BREWER SHEPARD
1998


[this is the astronaut's father]

ALAN BARTLETT SHEPARD
NEW HAMPSHIRE
LT COL.  US ARMY
WORLD WAR I & II
SEPT 9 1891      FEB 6 1973

[note: Alan Shepard was cremated and his remains were scattered at sea.  This is just a cenotaph in his memory at the Shepard family plot]

Click here for a previous blog post about Alan Shepard's family and genealogy, including his Mayflower lineage: http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/11/astronaut-alan-shepard-of-derry-new.html

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ Alan Shepard, Astronaut from Derry, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted May 1, 2012, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/05/tombstone-tuesday-alan-shepard.html: accessed [access date]).
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6 comments:

  1. Epsom HistoryMay 1, 2012 at 8:44 AM

    Finally someone on your site in my line ! :)

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  2. John TewMay 1, 2012 at 10:11 AM

    Heather -- nice post on Alan Shepard! As you probably already know, Alan Shepard was also a Mayflower descendant from Richard Warren.

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    Replies
    1. Heather Wilkinson RojoMay 1, 2012 at 10:42 AM

      Hi, John! Yes, the New Hampshire Mayflower Society is currently framing his Mayflower application for display. Here is a link to his lineage: http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/11/astronaut-alan-shepard-of-derry-new.html

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  3. JohnMay 1, 2012 at 1:48 PM

    Thank you for that link! I am a descendant of Richard Warren so Alan Shepard's lineage is of interest for that reason too. I note from your article that he is descended from the Eaton family also and my maternal grandmother's middle name was Eaton from her descent from a branch of the Eaton's. I'll have to add that to my list of projects to pursue. I note that Alan Shepard counts the Delanos among his ancestors and since Franklin Delano Roosevelt is yet another descendant of Richard Warren, there must be a Shepard/Roosevelt connection through the Delanos.

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  4. mittensMarch 3, 2014 at 8:39 AM

    two errors, 1) Frederick J. Shepard, not Frederinck)
    2) William Shepard was probably not born in 1179, my records indicate 1779.
    This is, by the way, a godsend for me, as I have been looking in vain for several birth-death dates unavailable online. thank you.

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    Replies
    1. Heather Wilkinson RojoMarch 3, 2014 at 8:58 AM

      Thanks for catching the typos! My usual editor didn't find them. If you need more info on this family the Derry town historian, Rick Holmes, should be able to help you.

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