Lydia kept house while Leonard worked as a conductor and then was hired by the Cambridge police department. She had one child - Louise K Shackford born Sept 4, 1862. Leonard died in 1899 at the age of 86 after a long illness caused by a disease of the pancreas. Lydia lived twenty years longer at the same home that was kept in her family multiple generations. Her wonderful obituary was published in the Cambridge Chronicle on Jan 20, 1920
Lydia Shackford
Mrs. Lydia Shackford, widow of
Leonard Shackford, for 23 years a mem-
ber of the Cambridge police depart-
ment died last week Friday evening in
the Holy Ghost hospital of hardening of
the arteries. She was born in Edge-
comb, Maine, August 18, 1831, and had
lived in this city over 70 years. She
was the oldest attendant at the North
Congregational church, having held a
pew there for the entire period, 61
years. The day of her funeral was the
63rd anniversary of her moving into her
home at 20 Shepard street, which had
been in her family continuously since
1812. When she moved into it as a
bride on January 5, 1857, there was only
one home between there and Harvard
square, all of the surrounding territory
being pasture land. She was the last of
eleven children and is survived by one
daughter, Miss Louise K Shackford,
who lives on the home place as the sole
representative of the fourth generation.
In April of last year Mrs. Shackford
fell down stairs sustaining a fractured
right hip and arm, but made a good re-
covery from the accident.
The only surviving friend of her
young womanhood is Mrs. Susan H.
Bowker, aged 83 years, of 32 Bowdoin
street, who was present at the funeral,
which was held from her home Monday
afternoon at 2 o'clock. Services were
conducted by her former pastor, Prof.
Daniel Evans, of Andover Theological
seminary. Mrs. Eleanor Fox Allen sang
"Beautiful Isle of Somewhere." The
End of a Perfect Day" and "The Home
and" The burial was in Cambridge
cemetery.
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SOURCES:
1855 Massachusetts Census, Middlesex, Cambridge, population schedule, Ward 2, Dwelling 563, Family 647, Leonard Shackford; digital images, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 4 June 2013).
"Lydia L., widow of Leonard Shackford," Cambridge Chronicle (Cambridge, Massachusetts), 10 January 1920; digital images, Cambridge Public Library (http://cambridge.dlconsulting.com : accessed 27 July 2013).
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