James Edward Shepherd

Professional career

• James Edward Shepherd (1847–1910) was an American lawyer and jurist who served on the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1888 to 1895, including three years as Chief Justice.
• Following the death of Chief Justice Augustus S. Merrimon in 1892, he was appointed Chief Justice, serving until 1895 when he was defeated for re‐election
• In 1888, Shepherd was elected an associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
• He became Inferior Court judge in Beaufort County in 1876, then Superior Court judge in 1882

Education

Additional information

• An Episcopalian, Democrat, and Freemason, he died 7 February 1910 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery.
• The University of North Carolina awarded him an honorary LL.D. in 1889.
• Active in politics, chairing the Beaufort County Democratic Party and serving as a delegate to the 1875 North Carolina Constitutional Convention, where he authored a county government provision.
• Shepherd married Elizabeth Bowen Brown in 1871.
• Admitted to the bar in 1869, Shepherd practiced in Wilson and later Washington, North Carolina.
• He attended Murfreesboro Academy in North Carolina and studied law at the University of North Carolina in 1867–1868.
• Shepherd was born 26 July 1847 at Mintonville, near Suffolk, Virginia, the son of Thomas Swepson Shepherd and Ann Eliza Browne.
• Orphaned at age 10, he was raised by his brother William S. Shepherd.
• His portrait hangs in the North Carolina Supreme Court.
• Notable fact: He is sometimes confused with James E. Shepard, founder of North Carolina Central University.
• Birth place: Suffolk urban area