Rev Henry Shedd was born in Jeffrey, New Hampshire, May 16, 1803. In 1819 he commenced study with a view of obtaining an education and while engaged in this pursuit, he united with the Congregational church. His studies were pursued at Dartmouth College, from which be graduated in 1828 in a class of 36. Just one half of the class, he among the number, became ministers. Mr Shedd graduated from the Theological Seminary of Andover, Massachusetts with a class of 34 in 1829. He was licensed to preach in April 1829 and ordained the following September.
In October of 1829, he and his wife began their journey to the then unsettled west. Traveling by stage, canal boat and carriage, they arrived at their destination after a duration of 3 weeks. Their location was in the eastern part of Marion county, at a point where Mt Gilead now stands, but at that time an unbroken wilderness save a small clearance here and there where a settler had erected his cabin. There were no roads only trails or paths to guide the traveler on his journey.
With heroic fortitude, he braved the dangers surrounding the life of a frontier minister and established the current Presbyterian Church in Mt Gilead. He was one of the oldest residents of Mt Gilead, when he died at the age of 83 on June 17, 1886.
