Rice Sheppard

Rice Sheppard (April 2, 1861 – August 26, 1947) was a politician and farmers' activist in Alberta, Canada. He served on Edmonton City Council for many years, ran for mayoral, provincial, and federal office, and was an executive member of the United Farmers of Alberta.

Early life

Sheppard was born April 2, 1861 in Lambourn, Berkshire, England and was educated at the Wesleyan School. His father was James Sheppard, who was married to Louisa (née Barrett) Sheppard and in total they had 13 children. Family stories say that the Sheppard family was thrown out of Lambourn by the Squire for not being Church of England, although this would have been unlikely as there were many non-conformists in the town by this time, and there was no effective 'squire' anymore. James and Louisa moved to Essex, England. Rice took his first job when he was ten years old, working at a store. At the age of twenty-one, he opened a bakery in Clapham; this business expanded to four shops by the time that he sold it in 1897. In 1883, he married Elizabeth Mary Major (she died in 1929, after which Sheppard married Henriette Rattan). He emigrated to Canada in 1897, and took up farming near South Edmonton (Strathcona, Alberta). They ultimately had 14 children, some in Britain and more in Alberta.