Moses Sheppard Papers

Moses Sheppard (1775-1857) was a Quaker humanitarian and businessman of Baltimore, Maryland. He was the son of Nathan and Sarah Shoemaker Sheppard, born outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After their property was confiscated during the Revolutionary War, the family settled in Maryland. Sheppard never married and devoted most of his life to a number of social reforms, including the treatment of the insane and the colonization movement. As a member of Baltimore Monthly Meeting, he was active in a number of committees, including that of Indian Affairs of Baltimore Yearly Meeting. He was also involved in the Maryland State and American Colonization Societies and believed strongly in colonization as a means of eliminating slavery in the U.S. At his death, his bequest established the Sheppard Asylum. The collection includes correspondence on the subjects of antislavery and colonization in Liberia, plans for a mental hospital, and on personal affairs. Also includes manuscripts relating to the Maryland State and Pennsylvania Colonization Societies and the Sheppard Asylum, material on the libel trial of William Lloyd Garrison, and other papers. Of particular note is the correspondence of Moses Sheppard with Henry Gassett of Boston on Freemasonry and with Benjamin F. Taylor of Loudon Co., Virginia, on anti-slavery issues and the “spiritual tyranny” of the Catholic Church. Other correspondents include Benjamin Hallowell, John Jackson, Joshua Dungan, Thomas Ellicott, Dr. Nathan Shoemaker, Elisha Tyson, and many others. Collection also includes a list of applicants for Liberia and correspondence from Joshua H. Stewart in Africa and Samuel Ford McGill, a Liberian physician who was sponsored by Sheppard.