Record #:

22907

Author(s):

Kammerer, Roger

Abstract:

Harper Donelson Sheppard, born 1868, was the son of William Henry Haywood Sheppard and Elizabeth Anne Neal Turnage. Sheppard, orphaned at a young age, helped his uncle oversee three plantations. Harper Sheppard married Henrietta Dawson Ayres in 1896 and later, became a wealthy man after the successful establishment of his shoe company. In 1929, Sheppard's nephew asked him to contribute to Greenville's library building fund. Sheppard contributed $50,000 under three conditions: (1) the town had to provide the site; (2) two of the three building committee members had to be his two nephews, Dr. R. L. Carr and Haywood Dail; and (3) future support had to come from Greenville citizens. With the conditions met, Harper Sheppard increased the total donation to $60,000 and the library opened in 1930.

Source:

Greenville Times / Pitt's Past (NC Microforms), Vol. Issue , Aug 19-Sept 1 1987, p10-11, il

Subject(s):

Libraries--Pitt County--Greenville; Sheppard Memorial Library (Greenville)