I have recently made contact with a descendent of Charleston area
Sheppards. It would appear that the Sheppards came from Dorschester, England
arriving in South Carolina about 1678. They may have been Quakers in Dorset
rather than Separatists. This would indicate that the connection to Midway
is the Dorchester heritage rather than Thomas Shepard, first pastor of First
Church, Cambridge Mass. There is some indication that the SC Sheppards did
have ties to the Boston area. I have materials on order from the SC
Historical Society that may shed more light on this line of enquiry.
W. Hugh Tucker
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