Edgar Raymond Shepard Letters, 1900-1915

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Shepard, Edgar Raymond, 1880-
Title
Edgar Raymond Shepard Letters
Dates
1900-1915 (inclusive)
Quantity
0.05 cubic feet, (27 letters)
Collection Number
Consult repository.
Summary
The Shepard Letters were written by Oregon Agricultural College alumnus Edgar Raymond Shepard to his family. The letters describe his student activities and subsequent work in Georgia and Washington, D.C.
Repository
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu
Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

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 Shepard 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.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

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.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

Edgar Raymond Shepard Letters, Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by date written.

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.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • College students--Religious life.

Corporate Names

  • Oregon Agricultural College.
  • Young Men's Christian Association (Oregon Agricultural College)

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Shepard, Claiborne Lockley, 1883-1906. (creator)