Elliott Fitch Shepard

Elliott Fitch Shepard (July 25, 1833 – March 24, 1893) was a New York lawyer, banker, and newspaper owner. He was the husband of Cornelius Vanderbilt's granddaughter Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt Shepard. His Briarcliff Manor residence Woodlea and the Scarborough Presbyterian Church, a church he founded nearby, are contributing properties to the Scarborough Historic District.

Shepard was born in Jamestown, New York, and was one of three sons of a president of a bank note engraving company. He attended school at the City University of New York and practiced law for about 25 years. During the American Civil War, he earned the title Colonel and served as a recruiter for the Union military. He later served as a founder and president of the New York State Bar Association, founded the Scarborough Presbyterian Church, and built a large estate in Briarcliff Manor's hamlet of Scarborough-on-Hudson; the property is now part of Sleepy Hollow Country Club.

Early life
Elliott was born on July 25, 1833 in Jamestown, New York. He was the second of the three sons of Fitch Shepard and Delia Maria Dennis; the others were Burritt Hamilton and Augustus Dennis. Fitch Shepard was president of the National Bank Note Company (later consolidated with the American and Continental Note Companies). Elliot's brother Augustus D. later became president of the American Bank Note Company. Fitch, son of Noah Shepard, was a descendant of Reverend Thomas Shepard, a Puritan minister, Major James Fitch, son-in-law of William Bradford, and Robert Dennis, who emigrated from England in 1635. Elliott was noted to be prominent by birth and ancestry. He attended public schools in his town and graduated from the City University of New York in 1855.

Career
Three years after graduation, Shepard was admitted to the bar. He became a partner to Judge William Strong in the firm Strong & Shepard. At the advent of the American Civil War, Shepard became aide-de-camp of Governor Edwin D. Morgan, and received the title "Colonel". Shepard never entered the field, but was involved in recruiting. He had not visited Jamestown from infancy until 1862, when he came as Colonel to inspect, uniform, and quip the Chautauqua regiment of volunteers; many citizens assembled to welcome him to his birthplace. He organized the 51st Regiment, New York Volunteers, which was named the Shepard Rifles as a compliment to him. George W. Whitman, brother of the poet Walt Whitman, was in the regiment at the time. Shepard informed George of his promotion, and may have influenced his promotion to the rank of major. Shepard was also involved in correspondence with Walt.

Shepard later was put in charge of the recruiting station in Elmira, and enlisted 47,000 men from Western New York. President Lincoln had offered him a brigadier's commission, which Shepard declined due to his awareness of other officers who had seen field service. In 1864 for the New York Metropolitan Fair, Shepard was a member of the Executive Committee and chairman of its Committee on Contributions from Without the City. He was the chairman of lawyers' committees for disaster relief, including in Portland, Maine and Chicago after the Great Chicago Fire; he served on the municipal committee for the benefit of sufferers by the Johnstown Flood.

In 1867, Shepard was presented to Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt, at a reception given by Governor Morgan. Their courtship had obstacles; yet a year later, on February 18, 1868, Shepard married Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt in the Church of the Incarnation in New York. Upon the death of Margaret Louisa's father William Henry Vanderbilt, she inherited $12 million ($ today). The family lived at 2 West 52nd Street in Manhattan, one of three houses in the Vanderbilt Triple Palace. The houses were built in the 1880s for William Henry Vanderbilt and his two daughters. After Elliott's death, Margaret transferred the house to her sister's family, who remodeled their two houses into one. The houses were eventually demolished; the nine-story De Pinna Building was constructed there in 1928 and demolished around 1969. 650 Fifth Avenue is the current building. Shepard continued in law practices for the next 25 years; he later served as a founder of the New York State Bar Association and served as its fifth president, in 1884. In 1880, the New York City Board of Aldermen appointed him to codify the city's municipal ordinances along with Ebenezer B. Shafer. In the 1880s, he was involved in banking, and was a founder of the American Savings Bank, the Bank of the Metropolis, and the Columbian National Bank. In 1888, Shepard purchased the Mail and Express newspaper from Cyrus W. Field, which was said to be worth $200,000 ($ today); Shepard paid $425,000 ($ today) for it. He was strongly religious, and changed the paper to have a Bible text at the head of each paper's editorial sheet. Shepard was the newspaper company's president until his death, and every important decision or policy in the company required his approval. He became the controlling stockholder of the Fifth Avenue Stage Company to force it to suspend work on Sundays. After a trip to Tarsus, Mersin in 1868, Shepard became a founder and major financial contributor to Tarsus American College. He agreed to pay $5,000 a year and to write in his will to leave an endowment of $100,000 ($ today) to the school.

He supported the Republican Party, giving $75,000 ($ today) to the 1888 Presidential campaign fund and $10,000 ($ today) to the State Committee in the Fassett campaign. He furnished Shepard Hall, at 6th Avenue and 57th Street, and gave it rent-free to the Republican Club.

Shepard and his family took a world tour from 1884 to 1887; after visiting Alaska in 1884 and realizing opportunities for church work there, Shepard founded a mission and maintained it with his wife, spending about $20,000 ($ today) a year. For some time. his church was the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church under Reverend Dr. John Hall. He was president of the American Sabbath Union for five years.

Briarcliff Manor developments
Shepard came to the Briarcliff area in the early 1890s, and purchased the Victorian house of J. Butler Wright, named Woodlea. Shepard kept the house and had a mansion built to its south, facing the Hudson River. He ordered improvements to the grounds of the new house, which he had named Woodlea after Wright's house. Construction on the mansion began in 1892, and it was completed in 1895. Shepard died in 1893, leaving his wife Margaret to oversee the completion of Woodlea. The house had between 65,000 and 70000 sqft, making it one of the largest privately-owned houses in the US.

After his death, his wife Margaret Shepard lived there only during spring and autumn, with less and less frequent trips. By 1900, she began selling property to Frank Vanderlip and William Rockefeller, and she sold the house to the two men in 1910. The men assembled a board of directors to create a country club. Their first meeting took place at Vanderlip's office at 55 Wall St., the National City Bank Building (Vanderlip was the president of the bank at the time), and Sleepy Hollow Country Club was founded, with Woodlea remaining as the clubhouse and the J. Butler Wright house serving as the club's golf house.

Shepard established a temporary chapel on his Briarcliff Manor property and founded the Scarborough Presbyterian Church on October 13, 1893. The church building and manse were donated by his wife Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt Shepard. It was dedicated on May 11, 1895 in memory of the Colonel, who had died in 1893. The church was completed in 1895 and designed by Augustus Haydel (a nephew of Stanford White) and August D. Shepard, Jr. (a nephew of Elliott Shepard and of William Rutherford Mead).

Later life, death, and legacy
In 1892, the City University of New York granted him a Master of Laws degree; in the same year, the University of Omaha gave Shepard a Doctor of Laws degree.

After no signs or mention of health issues to family or others, Shepard died on March 24, 1893 at his Manhattan residence. He was being examined by doctors after indicating health issues; the doctors administered ether, which worsened his condition. At 1 o'clock, the doctors gave him more oxygen, which helped, although he died within twenty minutes. The cause of death was stated to be edema of the lungs. Shepard was first buried in the Vanderbilt mausoleum at the Moravian Cemetery. On November 17, 1894, George Vanderbilt, Margaret Louisa, and a daughter oversaw the transfer of his body to the new Shepard tomb; at the same time, the remains of his daughter Florence were also transferred.

His will included the $100,000 Tarsus American College endowment, $850,000 of real estate ($ today), and $500,000 worth of personal property ($ today), making his estate worth $1.35 million ($ today). The will distributed property and money to his wife and children, religious bodies, and his brother Augustus.

Four days after Shepard's death, the wife of Chicago publisher Horace O'Donoghue began reading the news of the event to him; he meanwhile picked up a razor and cut his throat, killing himself. Initially his death was rumored to be due to a sudden impulse after hearing of Shepard's death, although later it was revealed that O'Donoghue was involved in large financial embarrassments involving Chicago publishing houses.

While New York University's Elliott F. Shepard Scholarship was annually awarded from funds given by Shepard. Shepard also donated a large collection of books from lawyer Aaron J. Vanderpoel's library to the school's Law Library.

Family and personal life
With Margaret Louisa, he had five daughters and one son: Florence (1869–1869), Maria Louise (1870–1948), Edith (1872–1954), Marguerite (1873–1895), Alice (1874–1950) and Elliott Fitch Shepard, Jr. (1877–1927).

Shepard was described to be tall, well-built, and often having pleasant expression and manner. The New York Times named him the "perfect type of well-bred clubman". He had thick hair, manicured nails, a well-trimmed beard, and an athletic figure. Shepard disliked antisemitism; he attended dinners publicizing the plight of Russian Jews, and he regularly addressed Jewish religious and social organizations that others shunned. He was known to be strict with his children; he beat his son, who was described to be as wild as his father was rigid and moralizing. Shepard strove for political importance; he decided to build Woodlea as a symbol of power and influence.

For his family, Shepard employed a private chef, and hired governesses and tutors for the children. He rented pews in many New York churches, supported about a dozen missionaries worldwide, and was a liberal donor to hospitals and charitable societies. His children attended Sunday school and church. Shepard had horses and carriages which the family rode through parks; Shepard was most proud of his riding ability over his other strengths.