William Bostwick Sheppard

Who was William Bostwick Sheppard?

William Bostwick Sheppard was a United States federal judge.

Born in Bristol, Florida, Sheppard attended the University of North Carolina and read law to enter the bar in 1891. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Florida State Senate in 1888. He was a collector of customs at Apalachicola, Florida from 1889 to 1894 and from 1897 to 1901. He was in private practice in Apalachicola from 1891 to 1903, serving as mayor of Apalachicola in 1894. He was an unsuccessful candidate for state attorney general of Florida in 1896. He was the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida from 1903 to 1907.

On September 4, 1907, Sheppard received a recess appointment from President Theodore Roosevelt to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida vacated by Charles Swayne. Formally nominated on December 3, 1907, Sheppard was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 20, 1908, and received his commission the same day. Sheppard served in that capacity until his death, in 1934.