Reginald James Watts Shepard 1886 – 1951
Reginald James Watts Shepard was born in Winterborne Herringston 05/03/1886 recorded as Dorchester Q2 1886 vol 5a page 338
Reginald was the youngest of six children. In the 1891 census he is living in West Stafford which is four miles east of Dorchester with his older brothers and sisters.
Following the death of his mother in 1891 and his father in 1892 the orphaned children were split up with two of the boys living with their uncle Amos in Stratton. The remaining girls moved to Ottery St Mary in Devon.
The 1901 census shows two of the Shepard children living with their uncle Amos in Stratton which is just north of Dorchester. The property in Stratton is shown in the census as almost next door to the Bull Inn with one building intervening identified as ‘Institute’. In the photograph below the Shepard property is just to the right of the thatched building which is the Bull Inn. The inn no longer operates but on the map Bull Close is clearly shown on the north side of the old Dorchester Road immediately opposite the church.
It is interesting that the domestic shown in the 1901 census is Mabel A Hawker aged 17 which is about the same age as Reginald’s sister Mabel Ann. Initially I was uncertain who this was but subsequent research has confirmed that she is not in fact Reginald’s sister but the daughter of Sabina Shepard and her first husband George Hawker. Both her parents were dead by 1901 and the children were scattered. I have explored the situation regarding Reginalds brothers and sisters in the section on The Other Shepard Children.
The census for 1911 is shown under Edith Alice Benham 1890 – 1980
Reginald Shepard married Edith Alice Benham on 26/12/1911 in Dorchester Q4 1911 vol 5a page 827
It is interesting that the domestic shown in the 1901 census is Mabel A Hawker aged 17 which is about the same age as Reginald’s sister Mabel Ann. Initially I was uncertain who this was but subsequent research has confirmed that she is not in fact Reginald’s sister but the daughter of Sabina Shepard and her first husband George Hawker. Both her parents were dead by 1901 and the children were scattered. I have explored the situation regarding Reginalds brothers and sisters in the section on The Other Shepard Children.
The census for 1911 is shown under Edith Alice Benham 1890 – 1980
Reginald Shepard married Edith Alice Benham on 26/12/1911 in Dorchester Q4 1911 vol 5a page 827
Reginald Shepard died in Dorchester 09/05/1951. He is buried in the cemetery in Dorchester with his wife Edith Alice.