In 1880 we find Harry Shackford, age 5, living on Valley Street in Concord, New Hampshire with Mary, age 48. What is odd with this listing is that Mary is shown with a birth location of England and Harry's father is shown as born in Canada. Even with these discrepancies in birth locations, we're pretty sure this census record is for Walter Harold Shackford because the Concord Directory for 1880 shows Walter's oldest brother Henry G Shackford, quarryman boarding with Mary Shackford (his mother) on Valley street. We know Mary was born in Lowell so are not sure why the census shows her as being born in England.
In 1887 the City of Concord paid boarding costs of $43.50 for Walter to attend the State Industrial School - these charges were recorded in the Overseer of the Poor's annual report. The next year the state spent $33.00 to board Walter who was now age 14.
By age 19 Walter was working as a brakeman for the railroad and in 1893 was listed in both the Concord and Nashua directories. On July 31 of that year he enlisted in the U.S. Army. His enlistment document states that he had blue eyes, light brown hair, was 5 ft 6 1/2 inches tall and was headed to North Dakota. The Concord directory showed that his mother was now working as a nurse and also reflected that he had moved to Dakota. The Army register states that he was an excellent corporal at the time of his discharge on Sept 7, 1899 at Fort McHenry in Maryland.
Prior to his discharge, on July 29, 1899, Walter married Alice V (Hughes) DeMar, a widow with two children, Paul and Alice. The family moved to Phillipsburg New Jersey where Walter worked as a fireman for the railroad. Unfortunately Alice died on Feb 10, 1902. We believe her children went to live with Alice's family.
We're not sure when Walter moved but on Dec 27, 1905 he married Sophia May Milsaps in Macon, Missouri and by 1906 was living in Kansas City where he was working as a switchman on the rail road. In 1920 he was living in Rosedale, Kansas with his wife and two year old son John Rollyns Shackford. Oddly, on the census, Walter's parents are listed as having been born in France.
Walter was still in Kansas on Sept 17, 1923 when he filed for a military pension but by 1930 Walter and Sophia had moved to Montebello, California. On this census, his parents are both listed as born in New Hampshire. Walter died at the age of 62 in Los Angeles on May 18, 1937 and was buried at Rose Hills Memorial Park. His wife Sophia remained in Los Angeles where she died at the age of 77. She was buried with her husband at the Rose Hills Memorial Park.
CHILDREN:
John Rollyns Shackford (1907-1961) - worked as a machinist for the railroad, married Martha Louise Erickson
SOURCES:
1880 United States Federal Census, Merrimack County, population schedule, Concord, enumeration district (ED) Enumeration District No 170, Page No 38, Valley St, dwelling 332, family 421, Mary Shackforda; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 23 May 2015).
1887 The Thirty-Fifth Annual Report of the Receipts and Expenditures of the City of Concord, for the Year Ending December 31, 1887 Together with Other Annual Reports and Papers relating to the Affairs of the City (Concord, N.H.: Republican Press Association, 1887), page 195; digital image, Google Books (http://www.books.google.com : accessed 23 May 2015.
1888 The Thirty-Sixth Annual Report of the Receipts and Expenditures of the City of Concord, for the Year Ending December 31, 1887 Together with Other Annual Reports and Papers relating to the Affairs of the City (Concord, N.H.: Republican Press Association, 1888), Page 208; digital image, Google Books (http://www.books.google.com : accessed 23 May 2015; Walter H Shackford.
1893 The Concord Directory of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Manufacturing Establishments, Societies, Business, Business Firms, State Census, Map, Etc. (Boston, Mass: Littlefield Directory Publishing Company, 1893), Page 292, Mrs Mary J, Miss Mary A and Walter H Shackford; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 August 2015
1893. The Nashua Directory of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Manufacturing Establishments, Societies, Buiness Firms, State Census, Etc.: W. A. Greenough & Co., 1893), page 234, Walter Shackford; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 23 May 2015).
1895-6 The Concord Directory of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Manufacturing Establishments, Societies, Business, Business Firms, State Census, Map, Etc. (Boston, Mass: Littlefield Directory Publishing Company, 1895), page 249, Walter Shackford; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 23 May 2015
1920 United States Federal Census, Graham County, Kansas, population schedule, Rosedale City, enumeration district (ED) Enumeration District No 200, Sheet No 30B, 1418 High St, dwelling 175, family 181, Walter H Schackford; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 July 2015).
1930 United States Federal Census, Los Angeles County, California, population schedule, Montebello, enumeration district (ED) Enumeration District No 19-1177, Sheet No 6A, 1452 Bonnie Beach Dr, dwelling 147, family 149, Walter Shackford; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 July 2015).
The Concord Directory, for 1880-1 Containing a General Directory of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Public Offices, Business, Societies, Map, Etc., Etc. (N.p.: Greenough & Co, 1879), page 147, Mrs Mary Shackford; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 May 2015).
"District of Columbia Deaths and Burials, 1840-1964," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 17 July 2014), Alice V Shackford
"District of Columbia Marriages, 1811-1950," indexed items, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 27 March 2014), Walter H Shackford m Alice V Demars
Missouri, Missouri Marriage Records, 1805-2002, , Walter H Shackford m May Millsaps, 27 December 1905; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 November 2013).
Thirty-Sixth Annual Issue 1906 Hoye's Kansas City Directory (N.p.:n.p., 1906), page 414, Walter H Shackford; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 June 2015
"U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007," database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 August 2015), Walter Harold Shackford.
"United States General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934," digital image, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 18 May 2014), Walter H Shackford
"United States Registers of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914," digital images, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 22 April 2014), Walter H Shackford; citing https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QJDR-HSWW
"United States Registers of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914," digital images, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 22 April 2014), Walter H Shackford; citing https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QJDR-H7PF