Levi Shepherd

Levi Shepherd (1744-1805) Winthrop Chandler (1747-1790) Oil on canvas

Levi Shepherd was an enterprising Northampton merchant and manufacturer. Born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1744, he was the son of James Shepherd and Sarah Hopkins Shepherd. His father, a successful merchant in Hartford, moved to Northampton in 1764, opening a shop there and in Worcester. Levi, who served an apprenticeship in an apothecary in Hartford, also moved to Northampton and began trading there in 1765. By 1768, Shepherd had a thriving business that was patronized by customers from a wide region.

In 1769, Shepherd entered into partnership with Dr. Ebenezer Hunt, a renowned local physician. Shepherd & Hunt erected a store on Main Street which was the first in a line of buildings which became known as "Shop Row." They dealt in drugs and medicines which they shipped directly from England, along with groceries and other items such as wines, dye stuffs, and painter's colours.

Levi married in 1771 to Mary Pomeroy, the daughter of Seth Pomeroy, a gun manufacturer who later became a renowned Revolutionary war general. Mary Pomeroy was the second cousin of Levi's partner Dr. Hunt. She was also a first cousin to Rachel Hunt who married Robert Breck, Martha Hunt who married Samuel Henshaw, and a second cousin of Caleb Strong. The Shepherds had four sons and two daughters. One daughter, Sarah, married Jonathan Dwight, 2nd, the son of the successful Springfield merchant, Jonathan Dwight.

In 1783, the partnership of Shepherd & Hunt was dissolved and Shepherd traveled to England to settle their pre-war debt. He returned with a shipment of dry goods and hardware which he then used to establish his own general store. From that time onward, Shepherd was the leading merchant in town. Several years later, Shepherd expanded his business interests by opening a rope and duck cloth manufacture which was very profitable. He invested in land in Vermont and was founder and first president of the Northampton Bank. Besides his interest in the Locks and Canals, Shepherd was proprietor of the Northampton bridge of 1803. In 1799, Levi brought two of his sons into the business, and the firm of Levi Shepherd & Sons continued in business until 1805 when Shepherd died at the age of 62. At his death, he was reputed to be the wealthiest man in town, with real property consisting of two houses, one store, a duck manufacture, several building lots, and 39 acres of land in town, as well as Shepherd's Island in the river and 200 acres of land in the country.

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