Moses Sheppard (1771 - 1857) was a

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

businessman, a Friend (Quaker), a

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, and founder of the now

Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital The Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital, known to many simply as Sheppard Pratt, is a psychiatric hospital located in Towson, a northern suburb of Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1853, it is one of the oldest private psychiatric ...

. Born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1771, Sheppard's family, loyal to England, lost a great majority of its property during the Revolutionary War, and Sheppard had to fend for himself at a young age. He began working as an errand boy and clerk for a merchant, John Mitchell. Within a few years he became a partner with Mitchell, eventually taking over the business upon Mitchell’s death,Scharf, J. Thomas (1881)
''History of Baltimore City and County''
p. 892. Louis H. Everts. a business he retired from in 1832. Like many Quakers of the time, he was active in the

abolitionism Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

movement and an active supporter of the Protective Society of Maryland to Protect Free Negroes, the American Antislavery Society, and the Society of Friends Indian Affairs Committee. He also helped in the payment for the education of several colored men that became important in founding of

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

, among them Dr.

Samuel Ford McGill Samuel Ford McGill (January 1815June 26, 1871) was a Liberian physician and politician who served as governor of Maryland in Liberia from 1851 to 1854. Born free in Baltimore, Maryland, he emigrated to Liberia in 1826. Early life and education ...

. Sheppard lobbied the Maryland General Assembly, stopping legislation that would have banished free African-Americans from the state. In Baltimore, as well as being a prominent merchant, Sheppard was also commissioner of the prison. Through this activity Sheppard became aware of the inhumane treatment accorded persons with mental illnesses, or "lunatics" as they were then called. Appalled by this treatment, and in accordance with the ideas of the Society of Friends, Sheppard sought to improve conditions for those suffering from mental illness. In 1851, he was visited by prominent social reformer

Dorothea Lynde Dix Dorothea Lynde Dix (April 4, 1802July 17, 1887) was an American advocate on behalf of the indigent mentally ill who, through a vigorous and sustained program of lobbying state legislatures and the United States Congress, created the first gene ...

, who enlisted Sheppard in her effort to establish a state institution for the humane care of the insane. Sheppard approached and obtained a charter from the Maryland General Assembly for the construction of an asylum to be located on a 340-acre (1.4 km²) farm in Towson, Maryland, just north of Baltimore. This facility, though, would be private, and not a state run institution. Moses Sheppard - founder of the now Sheppard Pratt Hospital - panoramio

Moses Sheppard - founder of the now Sheppard Pratt Hospital - panoramio

Upon his death in 1857, Sheppard dedicated his entire fortune to building the asylum.Sharfstein, Steven S., et al., eds. (2009)
''Textbook of Hospital Psychiatry''
p. 360. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. Sheppard stipulated the following: “Courteous treatment and comfort of all patients; that no patient was to be confined below ground; all were to have privacy, sunlight and fresh air; the asylum's purpose was to be curative, combining science and experience for the best possible results; and that only income, not principal would be used to build and operate the asylum.” Because of the financial restrictions that Sheppard put in place the asylum, designed by Calvert Vaux, did not open until 1891, almost 34 years after Sheppard's death. When opened the asylum was known as The Sheppard Asylum, though that name would change in 1896 to The Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital, after fellow Baltimore merchant Enoch Pratt bequeathed a substantial portion of his fortune to the project.

References

External links

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Moses Sheppard Papers
held b
Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheppard, Moses 1771 births 1857 deaths American merchants American Quakers Businesspeople from Baltimore Businesspeople from Philadelphia Philanthropists from Maryland