I know that feeling! It all becomes a swirl at some point.

You might want to investigate the Eli Shepherd listed as John Shepherd's son in the 1860 Clay county enumeration that John Russell found for you. An Eli Shepherd died in 1926 in Benton County, Ark.; his death certificate lists John Francis Shepherd as his father, and Eli's buried in the same cemetery as Ermon Shepherd in Benton County--she's probably his stepmother. No find a grave citation for John Shepherd, though. John F and Eli are enumerated in Jackson County in 1850 and John's wife then was Mary, probably Eli's mother. So John F. Shepherd may have both Jackson and Clay county connections. Good luck.

Tom Jones