DGMShepard

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HARVEY N. SHEPARD 1848-1936

HarveyShepard1936.jpg

Deputy Grand Master; Acting Grand Master, 1893

MEMORIAL

FROM PROCEEDINGS, 1936

From Proceedings, Page 1936-101:

Right Worshipful Brother Shepard was born in Boston July 8, 1848, and died there April 14, 1936.

Brother Shepard was descended from Colonial stock on both sides of his family. He was educated in the Boston public schools, Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham, and Harvard College and Law School. He spent the whole of his long life in the practice of law, a profession which led him into much public service. He was a member and President of the Boston Common Council and a Member of the House of Representatives; First Assistant Attorney General; member and Clairman of the first State Forest Commissionl member and President of the Civil Service Commission; and a member of the Forest Commission of the United States Chamber of Commerce.

Brother Shepard took his Masonic degrees in St. John's Lodge in 1872 and 1873, was its Master in 1881 and 1882, and was District Deputy Grand Master for the First Masonic District in 1883, 1884, and 1885, by appointment of Most Worshipful Samuel C. Lawrence and Most Worshipful Abraham H: Howland, Jr. He was Deputy Grand Master in 1893. On the death of the Grand Master, Most Worshipful Richard Briggs, on July 29, Right Worshipful Brother Shepard succeeded to the direction of the Grand Lodge for the remainder of the year.

He was a member and Past High Priest of St. John's Chapter; a member and Past Illustrious Master of East Boston Council; and a member of Boston Commandery.

Brother Shepard prepared the History of St. John's Lodge which was published in 1917.

Brother Shepard was in every way an outstanding man, in the community which honored him;'in his profession which respected him; and in our Fraternity, which loved him. Although the weight of increasing years had much curtailed his activity of late, he will nevertheless be greatly missed from among us.

From Proceedings, Page 1936-250:

Past Grand Master Harvey N. Shepard died suddenly on the fourteenth day of April, 1936, at the age of eighty-four years. His funeral was held from his late home at 228 Townsend Street, Roxbury, Massachusetts, on Thursday, April 16th, 1936. A widow and three daughters survive him.

Most Worshipful Brother Shepard was born in Boston on July 8, 1848, the son of William S. and Eliza (Crowell) Shepard. He was descended from rugged English stock. His father's ancestors emigrated from England to Nova Scotia and his father came to Massachusetts in his early youth. His mother's ancestors also emigrated from England to Nova Scotia coming from Plymouth, England.

Brother Shepard was educated at the Eliot Grammar School of Boston, at Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham, Massachusetts, and at Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He was admitted to the Bar of Massachusetts in 1873, and actively practised his profession in Boston throughout his long life. For a period of fourteen years he was a member of the Faculty of Boston University Law School.

He early took an active interest in public affairs and held many important positions of public trust. He was elected to the Boston Common Council in 1878, 1879, and 1880, serving as President of the Council in 1880. He was elected Representative to the General Court in 1881 and i882. From 1883 to 1886, inclusive; he served as First Assistant Attorney-General of the Commonwealth by appointment of the Attorney-General, the Honorable Edgar J. Sherman.

He was a member of the First State Forest Commission from 1914 to 1920, and its Chairman from 1917 to 1920, and exerted a significant influence in the establishment of the State forests. He was a member of the Civil Service Commission of the Commonwealth from 1914 to 1920, and President of the Civil Service Commission of the United States and Canada in 1916. He also served on the Forest Commission of the United StatesChamber of Commerce in 1921. He was the Fourth of July Orator of Boston in 1885. He was President of the Appalachian Club in 1897, and was a Trustee of that organization from 1894 to 1932. He was also a Trustee of the Boston Public Library.

Brother Shepard's Masonic affiliations and activities were extensive. He was raised a Master Mason in St. John's Lodge, of Boston, and served as its Junior Steward in 1874 and 1875; as Senior Steward in.1876; as Senior Deacon in 1877 and 1878; as Junior Warden in 1879 and 1880. He was chosen Worshipful Master in 1881 and 1882. He was District Deputy Grind Master for the First Masonic District in 1883, 1884, and 1885, by appointment of Most Worshipful Brother Samuel C. Lawrence and Most Worshipful Brother Abraham H. Howland, Jr.

The valuable services he rendered to his Lodge throughout his long life, were many and varied. He was ever a wise and. sympathetic counsellor to its officers, and always exhibited a lively interest in its welfare. For years he installed its officers with dignified and impressive ceremony. In 1883, he was Chairman of the Committee to celebrate the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Lodge; and in 1908 he was a member of the Committee in charge of the One Hundred and Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the Lodge. In 1917, he prepared and published the History of St. John's Lodge from 1733 to 1916. This History - a volume of 262 printed pages - was one of Brother Shepard's most valuable and distinctive contributions to his Lodge and Freemasonry.

He became a member of St. Andrew's Royal Arch Chapter, January 22, 1875, and served the Chapter as Captain of the Host in 1877 and 1878; as Excellent King in 1879 and 1880; and as High Priest in 1882 and 1883, He received the degrees in East Boston Council, Royal and Select Masters, in 1876, and served the Council as Deputy Master from 1884 to 1887, and as Illustrious Master in 1888. He became a member of Boston Commandery in 1883.

He became Deputy Grand Master of Masons in 1893 by appointment of the Grand Master, Most Worshipful Richard Briggs, and served in that office until July in that year when M. W. Brother Briggs died. Under the Grand Constitutions as they existed at the time, upon the death of the Grand Master, the Deputy Grand Master succeeded to the office, and Brother Shepard thus became Grand Master of Masons in Massachusetts and continued in that office until the end of the year 1893.

In November,1926, Brother Shepard was the recipient of the Veterans' Medal, presented by the Grand Master, to commemorate a membership of fifty years as a Mason; and in 1927,he was presented the Henry Price Medal in recognition of the high distinction of the position he had attained in the ranks of Masonry.

In all of the activities of his long life Brother Shepard displayed the high qualities of character and capability with which he was most generously endowed. In his Masonic service he gave of his devotion to the inculcating of high ideals in his fellow men of every walk of life. By virtue of his abilities and his spirit he rose to prominent position in this endeavor.

For over sixty years he practised his profession at the Bar of the Courts of the Commonwealth, and in this activity, he occupied many positions of trust. He attained eminence and won the respect of the Bench and Bar as well as that of his clients and the public. He was an adornment of his profession.

Trusted by many, he "comprehended his trust and to the same kept faithful with a singleness of aim." As a teacher of youth he won their respect and affection, and gave freely of his time and his talents to the training of young men for his own chosen profession.

In all the relations of life Brother Shepard acted upon strict ideals of performance of all the obligations imposed by the Society in which he lived and by the faith which he professed. His long life was crowded with active and valuable professional and social service. No call for service ever passed unheeded by him. His passing leaves an empty place in many lives and a splendid heritage of grateful remembrance.

The circumstances of his passing from us were in accordance with his own views of what was fortunate. Speaking in the Grand Lodge of Masons in September, 1893, of the passing of Grand Master Richard Briggs, he said: "If we might choose the way in which we.should go, nobetter lot than that of our beloved Grand Master will happen to any of us. He fell in the midst of life and while in the customary attendance upon the demands of his business, without long and lingering pain and suffering."

Thus, too, Brother Shepard passed from our midst leaving to those whose fortune it was to know him a loving memory; to his family a heritage of a spotless name and an unsullied reputation; to our Fraternity a grateful remembrance; and to the world that indefinable value of a life richly lived in the service of God and his fellow men.

Frank L. Simpson
Arthur A. Sondheim
Winthrop E. Nightingale

FROM NEW ENGLAND CRAFTSMAN, 1936

From New England Craftsman, Vol. XXXI, No. 8, April 1936, Page 156:

Harvey N. Shepard died at his home, 228 Townsend Street, Roxbury, Sunday. April 12. 1986. He was born in Boston July 8, 1818. the son of William S. and Eliza (Crowell) Shepard. He was educated at the Eliot Grammar School. Boston; Wesleyan Academy. Wilbraham; Harvard College and Law School. After college he practised law for (iO years until his death.

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Harvey N. Shepard

Brother Shepard filled many important positions in the civic and frater-nil life of the community. He was a member of the Common Council of Boston 1878, 1879, 1880, its president in 1880; Mass. House of Representatives 1881-1882; First Assistant Attorney Genera] 1883 to 188(5; First States Forest Commission 1911-30; president Civil Service Commission United States ami Canada 1916; Forest Commission of Chamber of Commerce United States and Canada in 1916; Forest Commission of Chamber of Commerce of the United States in 1921 and president of the Appalachian Mountain Club and Massachusetts Forestry Association.

His father's ancestors emigrated from Boston, England, to Nova Scotia, and the family came to Boston in his early youth. The name of an ancestor, William Shepard, appears in the cemetery in the north end of Boston. England. His mother's ancestors emigrated with a company of Plymouth in ople to Barrington, Nova Scotia, and the record of her descent may there be seen.

Masonic Record: He received the E. A. degree June 21. 1872 in St. John's Lodge. Boston: F. C. degree June 9, 1873 and M. M. degree October 6, 1873. becoming Junior Steward in 1874-1875, Senior Steward 1876, Senior Deacon 1877-1878, Junior Warden 1879-1880 and Worshipful Master 1881-1882. In Grand Lodge he held the offices of District Deputy Grand Master, Deputy Grand Master and Most Worshipful Grand Master (Acting) (1893). He received the Royal Arch Degree January 22. 1875 in St John's R. A. Chapter, at East Boston. Offices held in Subordinate or Grand Chapter were, captain of the host 1877-1878; excellent king 1879-1880: High Priest 1882-1883. He received the Super Excellent Degree in the Council April 11, 1876 in East Boston. Other offices held in Subordinate or Grand Council were: principal conductor, December 12, 1882-1883; deputy master, December 9. 1884-1887; Thrice Illustrious Master, February 8, 1888.

He received the Order of the Tempi July 18, 1883. in Boston Commandery. He was Commander of St. Bernard Commandery No. 12, Boston, to which he had transferred in 1908.

Thus it will be seen that Brother Shepard lived a full life. A man of high integrity, great ability and rare charm, he left a mark upon his day and generation which is unique. He was a classmate (Harvard 1871) of Bishop William Lawrence, who like wise distinguishes his generation.

Funeral services were held at his home, 228 Townsend street, Roxbury, followed by brief committal services in Pine Hill Cemetery.

SPEECHES

AT 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF STAR OF BETHLEHEM LODGE, NOVEMBER 1893

From Proceedings, Page 1893-105:

I have listened with delight, Worshipful Master and Brethren, to the portrayal of your history by the Reverend Brother, the charm of whose eloquence yet lingers in our ears. He has taught us by his words and inspired us by his zeal. A vain and idle repetition would it be for me to try to follow with unequal steps in the path on which he has trod so acceptably and well.

Fifty years, though they seem only a day when from the end we look back to the beginning, are enough for the working of great and important changes. In fifty years the map of Europe has been made anew. The ancient kingdom of Poland has lost its place upon it. Their traditional enemy, the Hungarians, have re-appeared and become an equal part of a new empire. The petty states of Germany have come. together and seized upon the chief leadership in the affairs of the old world. Across the Rhine, France has been a kingdom, a republic, an empire, and now again a republic, with shorn strength and diminished territory. On this side of the Atlantic, fifty years have seen the provinces to the north of us become the Dominion of Canada, and our own country take in Texas, (big enough in itself for an independent nation), and stretch across the table-lands of the far West, called by Daniel Webster the worthless wastes where no man can live, though now crossed and re-crossed by iron highways; on which is heard the ceaseless roar of moving traffic, even to the golden mountains of California, and the deep waters of the Pacific ocean; and yet once more so far toward the sinking sun that the brightness of his rising already illumines the forests of Maine ere yet the crimson glory of his setting has been lost on the ice-girt islands of Alaska.

In fifty years the first cable has been laid beneath the sea from Dover to Calais, beneath the Atlantic, again and again, from Ireland and France to Newfoundland, Canada, and the United States, and beneath the classic water of the Mediterranean, the historic Red Sea, and the warm waves of the Indian and Pacific oceans to remote Australia and New Zealand. In fifty years electricity has become our obedient servant, not only in the air and under the water, but by it we may talk a thousand miles as though face to face, and put away for future ages not only the words we speak, but also the very tone of voice we use. The mysterious current furnishes us also with light and power and heat, and how much more it will do for us is beyond the highest - flight of fancy.

The changes in the public standing of our Fraternity are not less great and important. Fifty years ago it was just beginning to struggle up into light from the dark valley of depression into which it had been thrown by the great wave of passion and prejudice which swept over the land in the time of the anti-Masonic excitement.

In the beginning of the history of our country as a nation, Freemasonry held a most prominent place. George Washington and most of his generals were of our Brethren, as also were many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Very much of the inspiration of the early patriots of this vicinity was kindled at the altars of our Lodges, and the names of Dr. Joseph Warren and of Paul Revere are held in reverence and honor, not only by our countrymen as eminent citizens, but also in our Fraternity as distinguished Masons. Only a half century went by when the change in public opinion was so great that it drove De Witt Clinton from the governor's chair of the State of New York, and contributed to the defeat of John Quincy Adams as President of the United States. Many of our Lodges surrendered their Charters, and when our Brethren did come together, it was in private houses, and at the peril of their social standing, and even of their property and persons. While many fell by the wayside, a loyal host yet remained true, holding the principles and virtues of our Craft, until at last the people began to recognize and admit their error, and Lodges once more came into life. About the time of your own Charter, there were eight others granted; of which number, however, yours alone survives until the present.

It is something, Brethren, to belong to a Fraternity which in its ceremonies and symbols is closely allied to the mysteries, philosophies, and religions of the past. As we in our three degrees are searching ever for more and more light, so do we find that in the history of man he has been ever struggling upward,- and yearning for light. This is the explanation of 'the ruins we find of tall towers and lofty temples upon the plains of Chaldea, where men in the most remote ages studied the motions of the stars, in order that they might look into the blue expanse of the heavens and discover the Creator who had given to them their being, and established the laws of their orbits.

There is in India a rock sculpture of Buddha, with the figure in an attitude familiar to Masons. Upon the obelisks, some of which yet stand on the eastern banks of the river Nile, as types of the morning sun, are engraved symbols very like those which we make use of in our Lodges. There came together at stated periods, upon the sacred plains of Elis, in Greece, the appointed priests and others, who gave to initiates, after examination and proper qualification, the degrees which represented, even as ours do, the constant dawn of life after the blackness of night, and the immortality of the soul springing from the death and decay of its earthly house.

From Greece, or it may be from the yet older mysteries of Egypt, these rites, with some changes, were introduced into the beautiful city of Pompeii in southern Italy, and the ashes which belched forth from Vesuvius at the great eruption, in the early part of the Christian era, buried from sight for eighteen hundred years a temple, wherein the tourist now may find three pillars — in the East, West, and South — of the same orders of architecture as those in this Hall.

Sometimes, Brethren, we have watched a ship go out from our harbor, and our eyes followed the receding sails until they were lost beyond the curve of the horizon. The darkness of night has settled upon the deep, the storm has arisen in its wrath, the fierce winds howl through the sails, and the great waves break upon the decks; but in the glad light of the morning the ship has held on in her course, safe and unharmed. So it is with our Fraternity. Some of the timbers are old, the waves of passion and prejudice have beat upon them, and the tempest of ignorance and calumny has driven her as if to the very verge of wreck and ruin; but she sails on to-night stanch and strong, with all canvas spread to the favoring breeze, and at the mastheads her proud banners with those time-honored mottoes: Faith, Hope, and Charity, but the greatest of these is Charity.

AT 175TH ANNIVERSARY OF ST. JOHN'S LODGE, OCTOBER 1908


Distinguished Brothers