EShepard Guide to the Edgar Raymond Shepard Letters 1900-1915 Shepard (Edgar Raymond) Letters Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Oregon State University Archives 1996
121 The Valley Library Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 97331-4501 Phone: 541-737-2165 Email: archives@oregonstate.edu Web: http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/archives
Encoded by Erin Whitesel-Jones. 2004 Finding aid written in English Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections & Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 97331-4501 Phone: 541-737-2165 Email: archives@oregonstate.edu Web: http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/archives
Consult repository. Shepard, Edgar Raymond, 1880- Edgar Raymond Shepard Letters 1900-1915 0.05 cubic feet 27 letters 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. Materials in English. Biographical Note:

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.

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.

Arranged chronologically by date written.

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

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.

 Shepard, Claiborne Lockley, 1883-1906. Young Men's Christian Association (Oregon Agricultural College) Oregon Agricultural College. College students--Religious life. Oregon Colleges and Universities Religion