John Shackford was the son of John Josiah Shackford and Deborah Seaward. We have a birth date of August 28, 1761, found in Samuel Shackford's manuscript Shackford - William of Newington, N.H. with no other source information yet found. From the same source, we believe that John was only three years old when his father died at sea when he was only 29 years old - sadly John followed the same fate but at age 38.
John married Amelia Moore of Kittery, Maine on December 26, 1785 and is most likely the John Shackford found in the 1790 census in Kittery, Maine. He is also most likely the John trying to sell a new house, partially finished on the north side of Daniel Street in Portsmouth near the town wharf in 1792. We assume that he was the captain of the Little Cherub on it's trips listing a Captain Shackford to New Providence in September 1798, arriving in Boston from Havannah in May 1799, arriving in Portsmouth from the West Indies in Nov 1799. We know that he was aboard the Little Cherub when he died in May 1800 and are so glad that this wonderful obituary recognized his life.
John's children were ages 6 months to 14 when he died. We're not sure who Amelia relied upon for help after John's death but do know that their third child went to sea at age 15 - perhaps the other sons also left home early to help earn an income. John's estate inventory included an unfinished dwelling house on Daniel Street and Mulberry Canal which was valued at $1,600, some molasses worth $331, another substance worth $183 and household furniture. Interestingly his estate inventory does not mention any nautical items.
Children:
John E Shackford (1786-1837) - married Jane Smallcorn, seaman, then moved to St Louis,
Benjamin Shackford (1797-????) - died at sea
William Moore Shackford (1798-1875) - seaman, then managed his brother John's extensive finances, bank manager. Married Joanna Chauncy Moore.
George Shackford (1791-1808) - drowned at age 17 or 18.
Samuel Smallcorn Shackford (1792-????) - died in infancy
Samuel Shackford (1797-1842) - seaman for a while, then settled in York County, Maine, married Mary Cottle (1), then Sarah Cottle (2)
Henry Shackford (1799-1822) - died at sea age 23
(Note: The only sources for some the children's birth dates are thanks to David who has reviewed Samuel Shackford's manuscript - at this time we have no other sources for information about these children other than the fact that John's obituary mentions that there were six children living when he died.)
REFERENCES
For Sale, A New House," The New Hampshire Gazette (Portsmouth, New Hampshire), 1 November 1792; digital images, America's Historical Newspapers (http://infoweb.newsbank.com : accessed 23 April 2014
"Died at sea, on board the brig Little Cherub, Captain John Shackford, of this town," The United States Oracle of the Day (Portsmouth, New Hampshire), 7 June 1800; digital images, Godfred Memorial (infoweb.newsbank.com : accessed 24 September 2013), America's Historical Newspapers
"DIED," New Hampshire Gazette (Portsmouth, New Hampshire), 3 June 1800; digital images, NewsBank (infoweb.newsbank.com : accessed unsure), America's Historical Newspapers.
"DIED," Portsmouth Oracle (Portsmouth, New Hampshire), 26 November 1808, George Shackford; digital images, America's Historical Newspapers at Godfrey Memorial (http://infoweb.newsbank.com : accessed 29 April 2014
Federal Fire Society of Portsmouth, N. H.: Organized March 6, 1789 (Federal Fire Society, 1905), page 60; digital images, Archive (Us.Archive.org : accessed 16 September 2013
"MARINE REGISTER.," New-York Price-Current (New York, New York), 11 May 1799; digital images, America's Historical Newspapers (http://infoweb.newsbank.com : accessed 10 June 2014).
"MARINE REGISTER," New-York Price-Current (New York, New York), 16 November 1799; digital images, America's Historical Newspapers (http://infoweb.newsbank.com : accessed 10 June 2014).
"Married.," Dover Gazette & Strafford Advertiser (Dover, New Hampshire), 26 May 1829; digital image, Godfred Memorial (http://godfred.org : accessed 20 August 2013), 19th Century U. S. Newspapers.
The New England Historical and Genealogical Register 1909 Volume LZIII. (Boston: The Society, 1909), page 174, April; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 December 2014; York County Marriage Records
New Hampshire, County Probate Estate Files, John Shackford Case No 6708; "New Hampshire, County Probate Estate Files, 1769-1936," digital images, Family Search (http://www.familysearch.org: accessed 15 December 2014); >Rockingham>Case no 6644-6749 1800>Image 673
"PORTSMOUTH," New-York Price-Current (New York, New York), 1 September 1798, page 4; digital images, America's Historical Newspapers (http://infoweb.newsbank.com : accessed 10 June 2014).
Samuel Shackford, "Shackford - William of Newington, N.H.," [Page]; , Winnetka Library, 768 Oak Street, Winnetka, Illinois