The SHACKFORDS
William Shackford, born about 1640 moved from England to the "new land" settling in Bloody Point, New Hampshire, now known as Newington, New Hampshire around 1660. He had many occupations - as a housewright (a builder of wooden houses). a farmer or planter, a retail merchant, and was captain of the military company. He married Deborah Trickey, daughter of Thomas Trickey about 1671. Many of William's most immediate descendents were ship masters, or ship builders who lived in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. His grandson Samuel SHACKFORD fought in the American Revolution and some of Samuel's descendents document this service in their applications to the Sons or Daughters of the American Revolution. Others descendents became preachers, farmers, teamsters, and physicians. Most SHACKFORDs remained in New England but some moved west to settle in lands granted to them after serving in the military or to join the gold rush.
I started researching my SHACKFORD ancestors around 1988. When I got stuck with my direct ancestry, and realized that SHACKFORD was not a common name, I started trying to connect all the SHACKFORDs I could find. I wrote to every SHACKFORD I could find and was impressed with the wonderful responses to my letters. Later I started to e-mail SHACKFORDs and posted questions about SHACKFORDS on listserves. Many SHACKFORDs and SHACKFORD researchers openly shared information about the history of their families. I then added to my information via libary research at public libraries in Maryland, Michigan, and Texas, purchased books about counties in New Hampshire and Maine and reviewed countless copies of pages sent to me from other folks who were interested in the same family lines. I was able to connect my family ancestry directly to William but have some gaps in information about these families.
My project of connecting the SHACKFORDs and telling their story is a work in progress. I am hoping to use this WEB page and blog to document and share the genealogy, the stories, struggles, and successes of the SHACKFORD descendents. I also hope to learn more about formal genealogy research as I expand these WEB pages and use many of the proper tools to document my research.
I welcome input from anyone interested in this family history. Please share your comments in the blog or contact me via the Contact Me link.
I started researching my SHACKFORD ancestors around 1988. When I got stuck with my direct ancestry, and realized that SHACKFORD was not a common name, I started trying to connect all the SHACKFORDs I could find. I wrote to every SHACKFORD I could find and was impressed with the wonderful responses to my letters. Later I started to e-mail SHACKFORDs and posted questions about SHACKFORDS on listserves. Many SHACKFORDs and SHACKFORD researchers openly shared information about the history of their families. I then added to my information via libary research at public libraries in Maryland, Michigan, and Texas, purchased books about counties in New Hampshire and Maine and reviewed countless copies of pages sent to me from other folks who were interested in the same family lines. I was able to connect my family ancestry directly to William but have some gaps in information about these families.
My project of connecting the SHACKFORDs and telling their story is a work in progress. I am hoping to use this WEB page and blog to document and share the genealogy, the stories, struggles, and successes of the SHACKFORD descendents. I also hope to learn more about formal genealogy research as I expand these WEB pages and use many of the proper tools to document my research.
I welcome input from anyone interested in this family history. Please share your comments in the blog or contact me via the Contact Me link.
© 2012-2013 Joanne Shackford Parkes
