In my previous response I found names of former slaveholders associated with African Americans with Chiles surname in Caroline County. I just searched again for your Virginia family names French and Shepherd in the on-line marriage/cohabitation document for Caroline County, VA, 1866. This document also names children of these freed persons. In case you don't recognize the given names of these adults, you might recognize their offspring who are listed in a far right column, next to the date when their parents and/or step-parents married or began to cohabit. The name “Shepherd” has a few different spellings, so I searched the document for “Shep.” The slaveholder surnames most frequently associated with these freed persons were Dickerson/Dickenson, Gatewood, Green, and Broaddus.

Albert French, 50 (William J. Dickenson)
Ann French, 27 (William J. Dickerson)
Mary French, 50 (William J. Dickerson)

Benjamin Sheppard, 62 (Phil Gatewood)
Charity Sheppard, 57 (Philip Gatewood & Joseph A. Broaddus)
Gilbert Sheppard, 52 (James H. Broaddus)
Louis Sheppard, 27 (Cornelius Campbell)
Samuel Sheppard, 36 (Richard Green)
Woodford Sheppard, 24 (Philip Green)