Later life, death, and legacy
In 1892, the City University of New York gave Shepard a Master of Laws degree and the University of Omaha gave him a Doctor of Laws degree. On January 11, 1893, Shepard addressed the House Committee on the Columbian Exposition in an effort to convince the committee not to open the exposition on a Sunday - the Sabbath. Shepard himself attended, having spent $25,000 ($895,833 in 2025) on September 7, 1891, in reserving sixteen rooms with board at the Auditorium Hotel for six months during the fair.
Shepard died unexpectedly during the afternoon of March 24, 1893, at his Manhattan residence. Two doctors were attempting to remove a bladder stone from him. They instructed him to eat lightly, only well before the operation. They gave him the anesthetic ether at 12:45 p.m. For a few minutes Shepard did not seem to react, though soon afterward his color started changing and his respiration and pulse dimmed, so administration of ether was stopped, however not enough ether was given to continue with the operation. His condition started to worsen again; the doctors suspected food or vomit was blocking his windpipe or bronchial tubes. The doctors then administered oxygen, which helped temporarily; however, at 4:00 p.m. his pulse became steadily more feeble, he fell unconscious, and died at 4:10 p.m. His cause of death was edema and congestion of the lungs, after the administration of ether, but due to an unknown cause.
Many doctors considered the case to be unusual and debated the cause of death. Some, including family members, accused them of criminal negligence; that Shepard was fed well before the operation, which could have allowed him to choke on vomit. No autopsy was made, but an inquest was made by the coroner. The two doctors to perform the operation made a statement on March 28, 1893, that after prior examinations no diseases were found and his heart and lungs seemed healthy. A Tribune reporter met doctor William J. Morton, son of possible ether discoverer William T. G. Morton who had first used it in 1846. Morton said it was most improbable Shepard died of ether, ensuring its safety when properly used, and that deaths were one in 25,000. He recommended an autopsy.
The first funeral service was a small gathering of pallbearers and close friends of the family at the house; then Shepard's body was moved to their church. From the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, Shepard was moved to the Battery and then onto a ferry to Staten Island.
At the funeral, organizations that Shepard was part of sent representatives, including the Union League Club, the Republican County Committee, the Republican Club, the New York State Bar Association, the Presbyterian Union, the Chamber of Commerce, the American Sabbath Union, New York Sabbath Observance Committee, American Bible Society, St. Paul's Institute at Tarsus, the Union League of Brooklyn, the Republican Association of the 21st Assembly District, the Shepard Rifles, the New York Typothetae, the American Bank Note Company, the College of the City of New York, the Mail and Express, and the New-York Press Club. Those at the funeral included Albert Bierstadt, Noah Davis, Chauncey M. Depew, John S. Kennedy, John James McCook, Warner Miller, John Sloane, and John H. Starin. Notable family included his immediate family, as well as most of the living Vanderbilt family, including the majority of Margaret Louisa's siblings, their spouses, and Margaret Louisa's mother.
Shepard was first buried in the Vanderbilt mausoleum in Moravian Cemetery. On November 17, 1894, one of his daughters, his wife, and her brother George Vanderbilt oversaw the transfer of his remains and those of his daughter Florence to a new Shepard family tomb in the cemetery nearby.
Shepard's estate included the $100,000 Tarsus American College endowment, $850,000 in real estate and $500,000 in personal property for a total of $1.35 million ($48.4 million in 2025). His will distributed money and property to his wife and children, his brother Augustus, and religious organizations. Shepard funded a number of scholarships and prizes, including one at the City University of New York and New York University's annual Elliott F. Shepard Scholarship, and in 1888 he donated a large collection of books originally from lawyer Aaron J. Vanderpoel's library to the New York University School of Law. A year later, Shepard created an endowment for periodicals, necessitating the creation of the university's first reading room. In 1897, Shepard's wife donated his 1,390-volume collection of law books to the library.
When the wife of Chicago publisher Horace O'Donoghue read him the news of Shepard's death four days after the event, he picked up a razor and slit his throat. Although his suicide was first thought to be an impulsive reaction, it was later learned that the likely cause was O'Donoghue's large debts to Chicago publishing houses.
