Edgar Raymond Shepard Letters, 1900-1915
Shepard, Edgar Raymond, 1880-1957
.05 cubic feet (27 letters)
Scope and Content Note
Letters written by Edgar Raymond ("Ray") Shepard to
his family while he was a student at Oregon Agricultural College
(1900-1901), the University of Oregon (1901-1902), and Harvard
University (1904-1906) and while employed in Georgia and Washington,
D.C. The collection also includes a few letters written by his
brother, Claiborne Lockley ("Clay") Shepard, to his
parents.
The letters describe their activities as students at Oregon Agricultural
College and Ray Shepard's subsequent education and work. Of special
note are references to their involvement with the YMCA.
Biographical Note
Alumnus and faculty member, Edgar Raymond ("Ray") Shepard
attended Oregon Agricultural College for 4 academic years (1897/98
through 1900/01) and received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering
in 1901. He attended the University of Oregon for one year (1901/02)
and earned an M.S. degree from Harvard University in about 1906.
He worked in Columbus, Georgia for several years and then returned
to Oregon Agricultural College as an Assistant Professor in Electrical
Engineering from 1909 until 1914, when he began working for the
Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C.
Ray Shephard was the first of 7 brothers and sisters to attend
OAC. His brother, Claiborne ("Clay") Shepard graduated
with a degree in Agriculture in 1904. He was active in the campus
YMCA, served as the YMCA Secretary for 2 years after his graduation,
and was instrumental in raising funds for the construction of
a student building on campus. Clay Shepard died in 1906 of tuberculosis.
The student building was completed in 1909 and named Shepard Hall
in his memory.
The Shepard family lived on a farm near Zena, northwest of Salem,
Oregon. Another brother Ralph C. Shepard, who is referred to in
the letters, graduated from OAC in 1905 and returned to the Salem
area to farm.
Related Materials
Information about the YMCA is available in the Round Table Records
(RG 147). Additional information about Shepard Hall and the YMCA
is available in the Memorabilia Collection.
Shelf Location
SR 6/6/6/12
ALIGN="BOTTOM">Return to Manuscript Collections Page