Anna May Weythman and Martin Emor Shepard

MARTIN EMOR SHEPARD, son of SUSAN HESTER BALLOU and CHARLES FRANCIS SHEPARD, was born July 25, 1868 in Ashland, Saunders, Nebraska,²¹ and died December 27, 1946 in Lincoln, Lancaster, Nebraska.

He married ANNA MAY WEYTHMAN on March 26, 1890 in Ashby, Grant, Nebraska.²²⁸⁴ She was born in July, 1869, and died May 9, 1933 in Lincoln, Lancaster, Nebraska.²⁸⁶⁴

• Descendant Reports
  • Maturin Ballou Descendant Report (Ancestor of Martin E. Shepard)
  • Robert Pike Descendant Report (Ancestor of Martin E. Shepard)
  • Valentine Whitman Descendant Report (Ancestor of Martin E. Shepard)
  • Eleazer Arnold Jr. Descendant Report (Ancestor of Martin E. Shepard)
  • Eleazer Albee Descendant Report (Ancestor of Martin E. Shepard)
  • John Smith Descendant Report (Ancestor of Martin E. Shepard)
  • Captain John Whipple Descendant Report (Ancestor of Martin E. Shepard)
  • John Sayles Descendant Report (Ancestor of Martin E. Shepard)
  • Roger Williams Descendant Report (Ancestor of Martin E. Shepard)
  • Reverend Joshua Winsor Descendant Report (Ancestor of Martin E. Shepard)
  • Elisha Smith Descendant Report (Ancestor of Martin E. Shepard)
  • Pardon Davis Descendant Report (Ancestor of Martin E. Shepard)
  • Barent Van Buren Descendant Report (Ancestor of Martin E. Shepard)

Children of ANNA MAY WEYTHMAN and MARTIN EMOR SHEPARD:

1. PARDON BALLOU SHEPARD, b. June, 1891, Nebraska; m. COLLEEN ESTHER MCKINLEY on June 5, 1915 in Kearney, Buffalo, Nebraska²⁸⁶¹; d. June 21, 1930, Reid Lake, McPherson County, Nebraska.²⁸⁶⁸
2. ERNEST WEYTHMAN SHEPARD, b. June 17, 1894, Lincoln, Lancaster, Nebraska;⁶³²⁵ m. ESTHER MAY HUNT on November 20, 1912 in Lincoln, Lancaster, Nebraska⁷⁸⁹²; d. February 14, 1939, Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, Iowa.^{2863, 6325}
3. CECILE CAROLINE SHEPARD, b. September 1, 1897, Nebraska;⁵⁶ m. DR. GEORGE LEROY MCCLUN on September 12, 1931 in Lincoln, Lancaster, Nebraska²⁸⁸⁰; d. October 9, 1982.⁷⁸⁹⁴

Personal Information

• Martin Emor Shepard was a member of the Vine Congregational Church, Lincoln, Nebraska. ⁴²⁸⁹

Work History

Clubs and Associations

Newspaper Articles

Nebraska State Journal, July 24, 1938²⁸⁶²

M. E. Shepard Retires After a Half Century of Railroading

When Burlington Conductor Martin E. Shepard lands his passengers and turns over his train to the yard crew at Lincoln Monday afternoon at 2:50 p. m. he will have ended his career as an active railroader. He has served the Burlington railroad since 1884 in the capacity of section hand, messenger boy, section foreman, freight conductor, yardmaster and passenger train conductor. He is at this time at the top of the seniority list on the Lincoln and Omaha divisions of the road. The small picture was taken when Mr. Shepard was promoted to be a freight conductor in 1888 and the large one shows him as he is today.

In his 54 years of railroading and 47 years residence in Lincoln, Mr. Shepard has seen the railroad grow to more than double its mileage in Nebraska. He began railroading when the airbrake was not in use on the lines west, and when automatic couplers had not been perfected. He has seen great changes in the physical properties of the railroad. He was the first conductor on the Burlington Zephyr when it began its regular schedule out of Lincoln, the first streamlined train operated on that railroad.

After working as a section hand for about a year, and beginning the work when he was three months under 16, Mr. Shepard became a messenger at the depot in Lincoln. A few months later he was transferred to Ravenna as a section foreman, where he remained for two years. In 1887 he went into the train service as a brakeman at $45 a month. In June, 1888, he was promoted to a freight conductor. Prior to 1904 he was yardmaster at Lincoln for a short time. In April 1904, he was made a passenger conductor. For the past 18 years he has been running between Omaha and Lincoln. In his 54 years he has traveled considerably over 2 million miles, and most of that traveling has been in Nebraska.

When Mr. Shepard began railroading at Lincoln, D. E. Thompson was the division superintendent. He has served under every division superintendent since that time. When he began in the train service the end of the track on the Billings line was at Whitman. He went to Alliance as a brakeman on the first regular passenger train. That train carried a great crowd going there for the sale of town lots. In his many years on the railroad Mr. Shepard was never in a serious accident.

He will continue to make his home in Lincoln.

Obituaries

Lincoln Star, May 11, 1933²⁸⁶⁴

Mrs. M. E. Shepard Dies: Resident of Lincoln 42 Years

Mrs. Anna May Shepard, 64, resident of Lincoln for forty-two years, died at 11:30 o'clock Tuesday morning at her home, 645 North Twenty-fourth street. She had been in frail health for several weeks.

Mrs. Shepard was the wife of Martin E. Shepard, Burlington conductor. She was a member of the Vine Congregational church and of Lincoln chapter, O. E. S.

Besides her husband, she is survived by a daughter, Mrs. George L. McClum of Bennet, a son Ernest W. Shepard of Lincoln, a brother, Will H. Weythman in Pennsylvania, and six grandchildren.

The body is at Hodgman's mortuary.

Lincoln Evening Journal, December 28, 1946⁴²⁸⁹

M. E. Shepard Dies; Veteran Railroad Man

Martin Emor Shepard, 78, 2319 A, a retired railroad man who lived in Lincoln for 55 years, died Friday afternoon.

Shepard was born at Ashland and in 1884 he began a 54 year career with the Burlington route, starting first as a section hand. After a year he became a messenger at the Lincoln depot and a few months later was transferred to Ravenna as a section foreman where he remained for two years. In 1887 he worked as a brakeman and in 1888 became a conductor. Later he became a yardmaster at Lincoln. In 1904 he was appointed a passenger conductor, a position he held for 18 years. His run was on the Omaha-Lincoln line.

BEFORE RETIRING in July 1938, Shepard was at the top of the Burlington Omaha-Lincoln seniority list. At that time he was one of nine railroad employes honored at a testimonial dinner given by the Claude Champion division No. 227 of the Order of Railway Conductors.

During his employment by the Burlington, railroads in the state more than doubled their mileage. At the beginning of his employment the airbrake was not used on western lines and automatic couplers had not been perfected. Besides seeing many physical changes in the railroads, he was the first conductor on the Burlington Zephyr when it began its regular schedule out of Lincoln. Shepard had estimated that he had traveled considerable over two million miles, most of them in Nebraska.

HE BELONGED to Lodge No. 210, A. F. & A. M., the Shrine, O. E. S. No. 148, the Order of Railway Conductors, and the Vine Congregational church.

His wife, Anna May Shepard, preceded him in death. He is survived by his daughter, Mrs. Cecile C. McClun of Louisville, Neb.

Census Records

Date	Location	Enumerated Names
June 21, 18802436	Waverly, Lancaster, Nebraska	Charles Francis Shepard Susan Hester Ballou Martin Emor Shepard Charles Ernest Shepard Susan Hester Shepard Pardon Ballou Shepard Etta Mae Shepard
June 16, 1900177	Lincoln, Lancaster, Nebraska	Martin Emor Shepard Anna May Weythman Pardon Ballou Shepard Ernest Weythman Shepard Cecile Caroline Shepard
April 19, 1910176	Lincoln, Lancaster, Nebraska	Martin Emor Shepard Anna May Weythman Pardon Ballou Shepard Ernest Weythman Shepard Cecile Caroline Shepard
January 3, 1920316	Lincoln, Lancaster, Nebraska	Martin Emor Shepard Anna May Weythman Cecile Caroline Shepard
April 3, 1930315	Lincoln, Lancaster, Nebraska	Martin Emor Shepard Anna May Weythman Cecile Caroline Shepard
April 17, 19402635	Lincoln, Lancaster, Nebraska	Martin Emor Shepard