Francis Grierson

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Benjamin Henry Jesse Francis Shepard (September 18, 1848 – May 29, 1927) was a musician, composer and pianist, who also wrote under the pen name of Francis Grierson.

He was born in Birkenhead, England, but his family migrated to Illinois, United States while Jesse was still a baby. In early adolescence he had a love relationship with John C. Frémont, who took on the thirteen year old Shepard as his page, a role he filled for two years, until 1863. It is claimed that he chose Jesse to be his page because the boy was homosexual, and the two were constantly together, the boy displaying a great affection for Frémont.[1]

Shepard traveled in Europe, finding audiences even among royalty. Shepard impressed the French novelist Alexandre Dumas, fils to such a degree that he remarked "With your gifts, you will find all doors open before you."[2]

Shepard was involved with Spiritualism; he stated that many of his musical performances were the result of the spirits of famous composers channeling through him.

Shepard traveled through California in 1876 performing at several of the old religious missions founded by the Spanish.

He was invited to live in San Diego by a pair of real-estate developers, the High brothers, who enticed him by promising to build a mansion to his specifications. The result was the Villa Montezuma (named after the ocean liner which brought Shepard to America [1]).

Shepard announced he would be giving his last concert, and on May 29, 1927, after finishing at the piano, sat very still, as he often did, but this time, he was dead at 79.

[edit] Partial List of Works

  • The Valley of Shadows
  • Lincoln, the Practical Mystic
  • Modern Mysticism

[edit] References

  1. ^ Charley Shively, Drum Beat: Walt Whitman's Civil War Boy Lovers, pp.47-48, ISBN 0940567067.
  2. ^ Shively, op.cit. p.47-48

[edit] External links

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