When Samuel turned 16, he was required by the courts to select a guardian. He chose his father's younger brother, his uncle Jacob, a sea captain who was married to Eliza Pearce. Samuel followed his family career in sailing and obtained a seaman certificate in Philadelphia in September 1848. In the 1850 census he is living with his mother Elisa Appleby listed with an occupation of shipmaster. The next year he married Mary Maria Tinkham, the daughter of Abiel Wood and Charlotte (Illsley) Tinkham in Eastport on July 22, 1851.
We have not yet discovered what ships Samuel Shackford sailed on or which for ships he was a captain. Multiple books state that he moved to Chicago in either 1853 or 1858. They describing him as a sea captain in the coasting trade or "an old-time shipmaster".
In the publication Captain John Shackford and Family, which Samuel wrote, he states that he "engaged in mercantile pursuits and was one of the early members of the Board of Trade". A review of the "Album of Genealogy and Biography, Cook County, Illinois with Portraits, 3rd ed." states that he also served in the City Council, was on the Cook County, Board of Supervisors, served on the Chicago Board of Education, and was a Trustee on Rev. Robert Collyer's church in Chicago.
In the January 16, 1860 Press Tribune, we learn that Samuel was a partner with George M. How and A. S. Chadbourne in the Produce Commission business. He broke up the partnership with Mr Chadbourne maintaining his partnership with Mr G. M. Dow.
We have not yet found Samuel in the 1860 census but in 1870 we find him listed as a grain dealer with a very expensive home. We're still looking for source information to learn more about his early life in Chicago.
In 1871 Samuel moved to Winnetka where he became involved in the town, served as selectman., and may have been a judge. In 1880 he is in Winetka with no occupation.
Samuel was also a renowned genealogy researcher who published articles about Shackford, Abraham Lincoln, and other families. His research of his ancestor John Shackford became a chapter in William Henry Kilby's Eastport and Passamaquoddy and his research his wife's Lincoln line was published as The Lineage of President Lincoln was published in the April 1887 New-England Historical and Genealogical Register and his research was recognized in the 1883 Bi-Centennial Anniversary of the New Jersey Legislature where he was described as an "infatigible researcher" who traveled to many states looking for source material.
Samuel and Mary Maria (Tinkham) Shackford had two children:
Elizabeth Lincoln Shackford (1857-1947) - published poetry, member of school board, President of School Board, married William Augustus Otis, a prominent architect who also published A Genealogical and Historical Memoir of the Otis Family in America in 1924.
Frederick Lincoln Shackford (1861-1862)
We plan to continue researching Samuel Shackford's mariner life and his early life in Chicago. We would love to know if he left his genealogy records with any particular library as they would be a wonderful source for continuing his excellent research on the Shackford family history. Also we're hoping there is a photograph of Samuel somewhere!
REFERENCES
1850 United States Federal Census, Washington County, Maine, population schedule, Eastport, page 486 (penned), dwelling 266, family 350, Eliza Appleby; digital images, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 23 June 2014).
1870 United States Federal Census, Cook County, Illinois, population schedule, Chicago, 19th Ward, Page No 58, dwelling 413, family 412, Saml Shackford; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 November 2014).
"DISSOLUTION OF CO-PART," The Press Tribune (Chicago, Illinois), 16 January 1860; digital images, Fulton History (http://fultonhistory.com : accessed 111/16/14).
Kilby William Henry, Eastport and Passamaquoddy: A Collection of Historical and Background Sketches (Eastport, Maine: Edward E Shead & Company, 1888), ; digital images, Google eBooks (http://books.google.com : accessed
The Essex Institute Historical Collections Vol XLVI-1910 (Salem, Mass: The Essex Institute, 1910), page 137; digital images, Google eBooks (books.google.com : accessed 9 January 2014
Maine "Maine, Marriages, 1771-1907," database index, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 16 November 2014), Samuel Shackford m Mary Maria Tinkham
Maine, Washington County, Probate Case Files, Samuel Shackford; "Maine, Washington County Courthouse Records, 1795-1950," digital images, FamilySearch (FamilySearch.org: accessed 14 June 2014); Probate records, Probate, 1835-1839, v. 9 (p. 1-400), page 181, Image 183
Otis William A, A Genealogical and Historical Memoir of the Otis Family in America (Chicago: 1924), page 377-379; digital images, Hathi Trust (http://babel.hathitrust.org/ : accessed 15 November 2014
"RootsWeb," database, RootsWeb (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ilbiog/sshackford.htm : accessed 9 January 2014), Capt. Samuel Shackford; extracted from Album of Genealogy and Biography, Cook County, Illinois with Portraits (Chicago: Calumet Book, 1895).
"U.S., Seamen's Protection Certificates, 1792-1869," digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 November 2014), Samuel Shackford, Certificate No 40189.