Dr. W. H. Shackford died at his home in Roanoke from injuries received a week ago when a negro boy accidentally threw a bale of hay on him from the third story of a livery stable. The boy ran away and has not been heard of since. Dr. Shackford was 52 years old and came from King and Queen County as the physician of the Norfolk and Western Protective Association, composed of about 1,000 organized shopmen. he leaves a widow, two daughters, and one son.
Dr William H Shackford was born December 1856 in Virginia,[i] the son of Rev John William Shackford and Martha C McLelland. His parents had seven children but lost four from diphtheria in 1862 and lost their oldest at age 18 in April 1865 at Five Forks during the civil war. In 1870 Rev John W Shackford, his wife Martha, their two remaining sons, Joseph W Shackford, age 23, and William, age 14 were living in Stevensville, King and Queen, Virginia[ii].
William obtained a medical degree at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Baltimore in 1878[iii] and was practicing as a physician in Pine Top Virginia by 1880.[iv] In 1883 he married Callie McClelland of Alabama (his cousin) and settled near Walkerton where he farmed and worked as a physician[v]. Their first child was born in September 1885 and only lived a short time but was followed by Ethel Fraser Shackford born in 1887. In July 1889, his sister-in-law died and his brother Joseph restarted a diary where he wrote about a rare cheerful day as he attending William's anniversary celebration on December 12th and mentions the recent addition of a new nephew Samuel Burnham Shackford (named after relatives in New Hampshire) who was 3 1/2 months old. Joseph also writes about assisting "Bro Willie about putting an addition to his barn".
In June 1900 William and his family were living in Stevensville, Virginia with his children and parents[vi] who were in their 80s. Both of his parents died later that year. The next year a newspaper article mentions that he treated victims of a serious accident at Wilson's saw-mill in Walkerton, Virginia including Nat Hill, a colored hand[vii]. Another newspaper mentions that he lost an election in 1901 for supervisor in Walkerton to a Mr Todd Henley by 90 votes[viii]. In August 1902, The Times announced that Dr William H Shackford was contracted as the physician for nearly 800 employees of the Norfolk and Western providing "his professional services at fifty cents per month".[ix] Unfortunately four years later, in July 1906, he died at his home in Roanoke after a bale of hay was accidentally thrown down from three stories above him[x]. He was only 52 years old. His wife Callie lived with her son Samuel and then daughter Ethel in the Richmond area.
We've found a picture of William's gravestone on FindAGrave and notice that it was erected by the N & W Employees Protective Association of Roanoke.
Children:
Female Shackford (1885-1885)
Ethel Fraser Shackford (1887-????) - married Robert Lamb Saville, real estate broker.
Samuel Burnham Shackford (1888-1949) - married Mildred Edna Wardian. His obituary mentions he was a WWI veteran, serving as a captain, with the government intelligence service, and then Pennslyvania Railroad[xi].
Callie B Shackford (1891-1910) - died young, age 19
I'd love to learn more about William's training as a physician and what type of care he provided in the early 1900s. His brother's diary mentions that he prescribed "broken doses of balsam copaiba" for what sounds like a serious urinary tract infection. Also it is interesting that he was contracted as a physician for a group of railroad employees.
REFERENCES
[i] 1900 United States Federal Census, King and Queen County, Virginia, population schedule, Stevensville District, enumeration district (ED) Enumeration District No 41, Supervisor's District No 1, Sheet No 4 (B), dwelling 51, family 51, William H Shackford; digital images, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 22 September 2013
[ii] 1870 United States Federal Census, King and Queen County, Virginia, population schedule, Stevensville Township, page 36, dwelling 232, family 237, John W Shackford; digital image, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 22 September 2013).
[iii] Directory of Deceased American Physicians, 1804-1929", database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 September 2013), William H Shackford; citing "Hafner, Arthur Wayne, ed. Directory of Deceased American Physicians, 1804-1929: a genealogical guide to over 149,000 medical practitioners providing brief biographical sketches drawn from the American Medical Association's Deceased Physician Masterfile (Chicago: American Medical Association, 1993
[iv] 1880 United States Federal Census, Middlesex County, Virginia, population schedule, Pine Top District, enumeration district (ED) Enumeration District No 50, Supervisor's Dist No 1, Pgae No 48 (D), dwelling 425, famiily 452, Wm H Shackford; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 September 2013).
[v] Johnston Joseph S, editor, The Diary of Joseph Wesley Shackford King and Queen County Virginia 1868-1893 (N.p.: Library of Congress, 1991), page 374
[vi] 1900 United States Federal Census, King and Queen County, Virginia, population schedule, Stevensville District, enumeration district (ED) Enumeration District No 41, Supervisor's District No 1, Sheet No 4 (B), dwelling 51, family 51, William H Shackford; digital images, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 22 September 2013
[vii] "SINGULAR ACCIDENT. Saw Broke-Colored Hand Badly Hurt," Richmond Dispatch, 22 September 2013; digital image, Library of Virginia (http://virgninachronicle.com : accessed 22 September 2013
[viii] "King and Queen," The Times, 25 May 1901; Library of Virginia (http://virginiachronicle.com : accessed 22 September 2013
[ix] "-Other Railroad News," The Times (Richmond, Virginia), 30 August 1902; digital images, Library of Congress Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov : accessed 22 September 2013).
[x] "Dr W. H. Shackford," The Mathews journal (Mathews CourtHouse), 11 October 1906; digital images, Library of Congress, Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov : accessed 26 July 2013).
[xi] "Local World War Vet Dies in Hospital," Derrick, 26 April 1949, Samuel B Shackford Obituary; Access Newspaper Archive (http://access.newspaperarchive.com : accessed 5 May 2013).
OTHER REFERENCES
Find A Grave, Find A Grave, digital images (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 22 September 2013), Dr William H Shackford, Find A Grave Memorial# 5145941.
Copyright 2014 Joanne Shackford Parkes