John Calhoun Sheppard

John Calhoun Sheppard ( born July 5, 1850, Edgefield County, South Carolina; † October 7, 1931 ) was an American politician and in 1886 for a short time Governor of the State of South Carolina.

Early years and political rise

John Sheppard attended Bethel Academy in Edgefield and studied at Furman University law later. In 1871 he was admitted to the bar. He then worked as an attorney for various law firms. Sheppard was a member of the Democratic Party and was from 1876 to 1882 deputy in the House of Representatives from South Carolina. Since 1877, he was even Speaker of the house. In 1882 he was elected lieutenant governor of his state.

Governor of South Carolina

On 10 July 1886, the Acting Governor Hugh Smith Thompson resigned from his position to become Deputy Secretary of the Treasury in Washington. This Sheppard had to take over the vacant governorship and terminate the opened term. In the few months of its terms, he had to deal with the aftermath of an earthquake that had ravaged Charleston, and in the next 92 dead also large property had been damaged. Sheppard tried to be nominated by his party for the upcoming end of 1886 gubernatorial elections. There, however, the decision was a majority for John Peter Richardson.

Further CV

After his governorship was Sheppard President of Edgefield Bank of South Carolina. In 1895 he was a delegate at a convention to revise the Constitution of South Carolina and a member of the Pardon and Parole Board. Between 1898 and 1904, and again from 1919 to 1920 he sat in the Senate of South Carolina and was at times even President of that body. Sheppard was also President of the Law Society of South Carolina. He died in October 1931 and was buried in Edgefield. John Sheppard was married to Helen Wallace. The couple had seven children.