Oc­to­ber 9, 1868, Oua­chi­ta Par­ish, Lou­i­si­a­na.

May 29, 1937, Hous­ton, Tex­as.

Sheppard had on­ly 3½ months for­mal school­ing, and as a young man worked in farm­ing and saw­mills. Af­ter be­com­ing in­ter­est­ed in re­li­gious mu­sic, he taught him­self how to read shape notes, then began teach­ing sing­ing schools in Falls, Bell, and Mc­Lel­lan Coun­ties.

1. Call for Work­ers