Shepler History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Shepler is a name whose history on English soil dates back to the wave of migration that followed the Norman Conquest of England of 1066. The Shepler family lived in Shepley is a village in the civil parish of Kirkburton, West Yorkshire. The name Shepler is believed to be of Anglo-Saxon origin and literally means "a meadow where sheep are kept".

Early Origins of the Shepler family

The surname Shepler was first found in the West Riding of Yorkshire where they were granted the lands of Shepley, originally spelled Scipelie (Scipeleia) in the Domesday Book. Early records show that village was also once named Scheplay. One of the first records of the name was Matthew of Sheplei who was knighted in 1217. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 have at least three listings of the early Scheplay spelling including: Katerine Scheplay; Joanna de Scheplay; and Adam de Scheplay. Shipley is a village in the south-east of Derbyshire which also dates back to the Domesday Book where Shipley Hall is mentioned by name.

Early History of the Shepler family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shepler research. Another 139 words (10 lines of text) covering the year 1769 is included under the topic Early Shepler History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shepler Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Shepley, Shipley, Shiplie, Skiplie, Schipley and others.

Early Notables of the Shepler family

More information is included under the topic Early Shepler Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shepler Ranking

In the United States, the name Shepler is the 16,352^nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Shepler migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Shepler or a variant listed above were:

Shepler Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Theodore Shepler, who arrived in New York, NY in 1847 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Shepler (post 1700) +

Captain William H. Shepler, American founder of Shepler's Mackinac Island Ferry, Michigan
Dwight Shepler (1905-1974), American naval officer and painter, President of the Guild of Boston Artists
Matthias Shepler (1790-1863), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio (1837-1839)
Stephen E. Shepler, American politician, Mayor of Elkins, West Virginia, 1989 3
Ralph S. Shepler, American Democratic Party politician, Mayor of Elkins, West Virginia, 1968-70 3
Matthias Shepler (1790-1863), American Democratic Party politician, Member of Ohio State Legislature; U.S. Representative from Ohio 18th District, 1837-39 3
Brigadier-General Shepler Ward FitzGerald (1884-1953), American Commandant of Army Air Force Radio School Number 4 (1943-1946) 4

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2012, February 29) Shepler FitzGerald. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/FitzGerald/Shepler_Ward/USA.html