Zephaniah Shepardson: Story of a Guilford Soldier

Zephaniah Shepardson came to Guilford when he was fifteen. He fought in the Revolutionary War when he was twenty years old. Zephaniah was sent to a company in Chesterfield New Hampshire where he was then sent to Lake Champlain in Canada. Other men had been trying to invade Canada but they didn’t have enough men. Originally Zephaniah was supposed to be going to New York, but plans changed so he and other men set up a fort in Canada. Their plan was to run the British out of Canada. Many people in New England were afraid that the British would invade New England and so this is why Zephaniah was there.

Unfortunately the British invaded the fort and took captives including Zephaniah. They already had over five hundred Indians, The British tortured the captives, and they took all of their clothes, didn’t feed them for eleven days, and After this Zephaniah got the small pox and became very sick. He was sent home to Guilford where he remained very sick for three years. He eventually became healthy once again. After his first wife died that he had five children with, he married his second wife that he had ten children with, and when he became much older he married his third wife that he had fifteen children with. Zephaniah Shepardson lived for a long time experiencing old age until he died.

Life in Guilford
Farming wasn’t easy in New England with unpredictable weather, but over 90% of families farmed in the Revolutionary War. It was hard and strenuous labor to start a farm. Mostly young bachelors and couples settled in places like Guilford. All members of the family helped run the farm.

Farms contained 100 to 200 acres of land. Barns, orchards, hay meadows, and fields took up over fifty acres. Stone walls were used as fences and later when the farm was settled they used split rail fences. They found the stones for the stone walls when they cleared the land for farms, houses etc. Farmers would build barns that would work for the time being and later build a strong permanent barn.

Women planted kitchen gardens that had a variety of different vegetables. There were usually orchards beyond that. The most common orchard was apple orchards because they were easy to store and can be made into cider.

Most families had horses, sheep, and cattle. Horses served as transportation, and pigs and cattle served as meat, ingredients for soap, candles, and hides for leather. Sheep served as wool and meat. Cows served as dairy products such as butter and milk. The items could also be sold for money or traded to families without dairy animals. The livestock and plants were essential to help the families survive. It put food on the table and served as a profit for money.

Everything a farmer did depended on timing. If a farmer didn’t have the right timing his family and farm are at stake. In May a farmer spent a majority of time haying for feed for the animals. In August a farmer harvested rye, barley, wheat, and oats. They harvested everything by hand; it was very hard on the body and very tiring. November and December was a time for butchering the winter meat. Then firewood had to be chopped, and the animals had to be brought indoors for the winter instead of the pastures. A farmer’s wife cooked, took care of the family, did the sewing, and cleaning. At an early age, children tended the livestock. A farming life wasn’t easy at all, but every Sunday the family did have time to rest. Sunday was when the family rested. It was when the community socialized and had religious meetings.


Copyright 2002 Guilford Central School