20 Chapel St
John Alford Shepherd
Johnnie was born in Stewarttown on December 4, 1897, younger brother to Henry (WW1 and WW2). Their father John Henry and grandmother had survived the hardships and dangers associated with the “Underground Railroad” and escaped to Canada from the U.S., settling in Stewarttown. This family is reputed to be the first black settlers in the district. John’s mother Sarah Hartley was an indentured servant who had arrived to Stewarttown from England to work for the Murray family and this is where John Henry and Sarah met. When married they initially lived in a cabin on the Murray farm, later moving to live in the village of Stewarttown (on Trafalgar Rd. across from the old school house, which still stands) before moving in 1920 to Georgetown. The Shepherds raised six children at the home formerly occupying 20 Chapel St.: Violet, Henry, John, Flora, Johnetta and Jessie.
John enlisted with the 123rd Battalion in 1915 at the age of 20. He listed his mother Sarah Shepherd as his next of kin, his occupation as Barber and he stated that he had not previously served in the military. On September 7, 1917, at Lens, John suffered a gun a shot wound to his left thigh and on May 2, 1918 he was awarded one “Good Conduct Badge”. After serving in England and France he was discharged on January 21, 1919, due to “disability due to partial loss of function sugar metabolism (Diabetes). The 1931 Canadian Census shows John living on Victoria St in Georgetown at a house owned by his parents John and Sarah. He was 33 years old at the time and he listed his occupation as helper in a paper mill earning $800 per year. According to Halton Sketches Revisited he was a well-known member of the Georgetown Citizen’s Band.
Johnnie died on May 31, 1970 and is laid to rest at Greenwood Cemetery in Georgetown.
Truly a Canadian Hero. His story lives on.
Information taken from Canadiangreatwarproject.ca and Halton Sketches Revisited: Historical Tales of People and Events in North Halton
