Alexander Robey Shepherd, 1835-1902

Biography

Tindall, William. “Sketch of Alexander Robey Shepherd.”
Records of the Columbia Historical Society v.14 p. 49ff

Career/Governorship

Lessoff, Alan. The Nation and its city: politics, “corruption,” and progress in Washington, D.C., 1861-1902. 
Johns Hopkins University Press, c1994. 
Some Locations 
Library of Congress:
F198 .L58 1994 
DC Public Library:
975.303/L641n 
Historical Society of Washington:
F198 .L58 1994 

Maury, William M. 
Alexander "Boss" Shepherd and the Board of Public Works. 
George Washington University, [c1975] GW Washington studies ; no. 3. 
Some Locations 
Library of Congress:
HD3890.D5 M38 
DC Public Library:
363.5097 M459 
Historical Society of Washington:
P2289 


Whyte, James H. 
The uncivil war: Washington during the reconstruction, 1965-1878. 
Twayne Publishers [1958] 
Some Locations 
Library of Congress:
F198 .W45 
DC Public Library:
975.3/W629 
Historical Society of Washington:
F198 W45


Cox, William Van Zandt. [Shepherd Memorial Committee (Washington, D.C.)]
The unveiling of a statue to the memory of Alexander R. Shepherd in front of the District Building Washington, D.C. May 3, 1909. 
Some Locations 
Library of Congress:
F203.4.S4 S4 
DC Public Library:
+E/SH476s cutter 
Historical Society of Washington:
P1544


Evans, George W. 
To the memory of Alexander Robey Shepherd, former governor of the District of Columbia, a native Washingtonian, the master mind and rebuilder of the nation’s capital; paper read before the Society of Natives of the District of Columbia, October 20th, 1922. 
Some Locations 
DC Public Library:
+E/SH476e cutter 
Historical Society of Washington:
F203.4 S4 E 9 (cataloged pamphlet)


Noyes, Theodore. Shepherd and the new Washington: address by Theodore W. Noyes at the unveiling of a statue to the memory of Alexander R. Shepherd in front of the District Building Washington, D.C. May 3, 1909. 
Press of Law Reporter Print. Co., [1909] 
Some Locations 
Library of Congress:
F198 .N95 
DC Public Library:
+E/SH476n cutter 
Historical Society of Washington:
F198 S54 (cataloged pamphlet)


[De Wintton, W.] 
Who is Alexander R. Shepherd? What are his works?--Will Congress sustain them?
[Washington, D. C., 1874] 
Some Locations 
Library of Congress:
F198 .S536

Shepherd, Grant.
The silver magnet, fifty years in a Mexican silver mine [by] Grant Shepherd. 
New York, E.P. Dutton & Co., inc. [c1938] 
Some Locations 
Library of Congress:
F1261 .S48 

 

District Investigation

United States. Congress. Joint Select Committee on Affairs of the District of Columbia.
Report of the Joint Select Committee of Congress appointed to inquire into the affairs of the government of the District of Columbia :
together with, the journal of the committee, answer of the governor, charges, arguments, and testimony.

Govt. Print. Off., 1874.
Submitted by W.B. Allison, to accompany bill S. 913, and ordered to be printed, June 16, 1874. 
G.S. Boutwell, chairman; A.R. Shepherd, governor of the District of Columbia. 
Report / 43d Congress, 1st session, Senate ; 453 

Some Locations 
Library of Congress:
F198 .U63 
DC Public Library:
+JW859/Un30r cutter

Nomination as Commissioner

Journal of the executive proceedings of the Senate of the United States of America, 43rd Congress TUESDAY, June 23, 1874. first page second page

Images

Nast, Thomas, 1840-1902, 
"Don't let us have any more of this nonsense. It is a good trait to stand by one's friends; but -" 
1874.
1 print : wood engraving. Note Summary: Woman symbolizing Justice(?) talking to Ulysses S. Grant, who is reaching for paper "Shepherd rejected by the Senate ...", which is lying on floor.
Illus. in: Harper's weekly, v. 18, no. 916 (1874 July 18), p. 593.
LC-USZ62-128380 DLC (b&w film copy neg.) Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA dcu Electronic File Info.: b&w film copy neg. cph 3c28380 
Illus. in AP2.H32 1874 (Case Y) -- Request in: Prints & Photographs Reading Room (Madison, LM337) LC-USZ62-128380 (b&w film copy neg.) -- Request in: Prints & Photographs Reading Room (Madison, LM337) P&P Catalog Link

Manuscript Materials

Alexander Robey Shepherd collection, 1869-1942. (MS 435).
finding aid/pdf 
Location Historical Society of Washington, D.C. (MS 435). 
 

INCLUDING: Author: Shepherd, Alexander Robey, 1835-1902. 
Deed, 1868 Nov. 6. 
1 item.
Deed from Shepherd and his wife, Mary G. Shepherd, to William Wall for property in Washington.
Location Historical Society of Washington, D.C. (MS 231). 

Certificate of Appointment of Alexander Shepherd as Governor of D.C., 1873
Location Historical Society of Washington, D.C. (MS 358). 

Alexander Shepherd Company Bill, July 1865.
The Alexander R. Shepherd Company Bill, July 1865, is a bill from the firm of Alexander R. Shepherd, Plumber, Gas and Steamfitter, to the Metropolitan Railroad Company, which documents purchases made between May 21 and June 28, 1865. The bill notes that payment was made September 8, 1865. 
Location Historical Society of Washington, D.C. (MS 512). 

Peck, E. (Edward), fl. 1871.
Letter, 1871 Feb. 24. 
1 item.
Resident of Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Letter to Pres. Ulysses S. Grant recommending the appointment of Alexander Shepherd as territorial governor of the District of Columbia. 
Location Historical Society of Washington, D.C. (MS 204).


Shepherd, Alexander Robey, 1835-1902.
Alexander Robey Shepherd letterbook : ms., 1895-1903. 
Originals : 1 v. ; 31 cm. Copies : 1 microfilm reel : negative (BNEG Box 2017) and positive. Letterpress copybook containing copies of Shepherd's outgoing correspondence. 
Concerns silver mining operations near the village of Batopilas, Chihuahua State, Mexico.

For background information, see Grant Shepherd, The silver magnet (New York : Dutton, 1938). 
RESTRICTED ORIGINAL. USE MICROFILM COPY ONLY. 
Use of orginal only by permission of the appropriate curator. 
Inquiries concerning these materials should be directed, in writing, to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library. 
Also available on microfilm with call number BANC FILM 2069. 
In Spanish. 
LocationThe Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-6000. Control No.: CUBUGLAD184549666-A


Note: Both House and Senate Congressional committees on the District have useful records at the National Archives for many aspects of Washington, D.C. history. 
Records Of The Committee On The District Of Columbia 1816-1972
Records Of The Committee On The District Of Columbia 1816-1972 
(554 ft.)
The Committee on the District of Columbia was established on December 18, 1816, following approval of a resolution proposed by Senator Armistead T. Mason of Virginia, who was then appointed chairman. Jurisdiction of the committee grew from consideration of matters relating to the District of Columbia generally to include such specific subjects as public health, regulation of sale of intoxicating liquors, adulteration of food and drugs, taxes and tax sales, insurance, wills, divorce, municipal and juvenile courts, incorporation and organization of societies, and the municipal code and amendments to criminal and corporation law. 


Records of the Committee on the District of Columbia (1801-1968)
Records of the Committee on the District of Columbia (1801-1968) Committees discussed in this chapter: 
Committee on the District of Columbia (1801-1968)
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution gives the U.S. Congress power to exercise exclusive legislative control over the seat of Government. Until the 10th Congress (1807-09) specific matters relating to the District of Columbia either were handled in the House of Representatives by select committees or were referred directly to the Committee of the Whole House. On January 27, 1808, however, the House adopted a resolution proposed by Representative Philip Barton Key of Maryland to establish a seven-member standing committee for the District whose duty was "to take into consideration all petitions and memorials relating to the affairs of the District of Columbia, and referred to them by the House; and to report, from time to time, to the House."1 In establishing this standing committee, the House sought "to simplify the District business, to save the forming of many committees, and to promote consistency and uniformity in the laws relating to the District."2 The committee is third in seniority after Interstate and Foreign Commerce (1795) and Ways and Means (1802) among House committees that have survived unchanged to the present day. 
LocationNational Archives National Archives

Ream, Vinnie, 1847-1914.
R. L. (Richard Leveridge), 1844-1930. 
Papers of Vinnie Ream and Richard Leveridge Hoxie, 1853-1937 (bulk 1853-1914) 
2500 items. 10 containers plus 1 OVSD. 5 microfilm reels. 6 linear feet. 
Sculptor and wife of U.S. Army officer Richard Leveridge Hoxie (1844-1930). 
Correspondence, memoranda, commissions, essays, poetry by Vinnie Ream and Albert Pike, reports, notebooks, biographical data, scrapbooks, clippings, printed material, and memorabilia pertaining chiefly to Ream's work following her commission to execute the statue of Abraham Lincoln now standing in the U.S. Capitol rotunda. Other topics include racial conditions after the Civil War and social life in Washington, D.C., during Reconstruction. 
Papers (1853-1937) of Ream's husband Richard Leveridge Hoxie include two diaries (1872-1873) kept while serving on the Geographical Surveys West of the 100th Meridian led by George M. Wheeler and material pertaining to Hoxie's Civil War service and career in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Correspondents include George Caleb Bingham, Elias A. Boudinot, Georg Morris Cohen Brandes, Olivia Briggs, Ezra Cornell, Elizabeth Bacon Custer, Jubal Anderson Early, G. P. A. Healy, Joaquin Miller, Crosby Stuart Noyes, Albert Pike, David D. Porter, James S. Rollins, Edmund G. Ross, Alexander Robey Shepherd, William T. Sherman, Thaddeus Stevens, and Daniel W. Voorhees. 
Microfilm from originals in the Manuscript Division Washington, D.C. : Library of Congress Photoduplication Service, 1995. 
Microfilm of originals in the office of the U.S. Architect of the Capitol. Washington, D.C. U.S. Architect of the Capitol, Washington, DC 
Architectural drawings and some photographs transferred to Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. 
Broadside transferred to Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division. 
Sheet music transferred to Library of Congress Music Division. MSS26674 
Finding aid available in the Manuscript Reading Room. 
Location Library of Congress
Microfilm edition (conts. 1-3, 8) available, no. 21,139. 
Local Call/Shelving: 0459C OVSD 4:4 Microfilm 8,090-1N-1P (Vinnie Ream Hoxie file from the office of the U.S. Architect of the Capitol) 
Microfilm 21,139-4N-4P (conts. 1-3, 8) Repository: Library of Congress Manuscript Division Washington, D.C.

PHOTOGRAPHS:


 

Portraits of Shepherd in Portrait Collection
CHS 297, Alexander Shepherd statue in front of District Building in 1300 block of Pennsylvania Avenue NW.
CHS 2752, Alexander Shepherd statue in 1300 block of Pennsylvania Avenue/E Street NW
CHS 3155, Three-story brick townhouse at 1125 10th Street NW, once the home of Alexander Shepherd
CHS 3062, Shepherd's Row between 17th Street and Connecticut Avenue on K Street; Shepherd house at northeast corner of Connecticut Avenue
CHS 3061A, Alexander house on northeast corner of Connecticut Avenue and K Street NW, part of Shepherd's Row.
CHS 3061B, Shepherd's Row viewed from Connecticut Avenue down tree-lined K Street NW.
CHS 3063, Reception in home of Alexander Shepherd on northeast corner of Connecticut Avenue and K Street NW, part of Shepherd's Row
CHS 3285A, Adm. David Farragut statue with Shepherd house and Connecticut Avenue in background
CHS 5843, House at unidentified location, showing effects of street grading during Alexander Shepherd's renovation of Washington CHS 11177, Shepherd statue in front of District Building; buildings on west side of 14th Street NW.
CHS 11184-11186, Bleak House, once home of Alexander Shepherd
CHS 11246, 11384, Tomb of Alexander Shepherd in Rock Creek Cemetery
Location Historical Society of Washington, D.C.

There will be some images of Shepherd in the Washington Historical Image Collection: Photo Research and Photograph Collections in the Washingtoniana Division

Locations: Websites for further information or online catalogs

DC Public Library=District of Columbia Public Library [catalog]
Historical Society of Washington, D.C.=The Historical Society of Washington, D.C. [website]
Library of Congress=Library of Congress [catalog]

Matthew Gilmore, 2/2005,1/2004,1/2002
with the assistance of Michelle Krowl, HSW