The obituary in the Nashua Telegraph reads as follows:
FRANK SHACKFORD DIES AT THE WEIRS
LACONIA, Nov. 8 (AP) - Frank Shackford of the The Weirs, for many years secretary of the New Hampshire Veterans Association, died today in Union, according to word received here. He was a widely known newspaperman for many years.
I had written about Frank Shackford's father, Nathaniel Shackford in an April 15, 2013 blog which mentions that Nathaniel, a civil war veteran, was the secretary of the New Hampshire Veterans Association and lived at The Weirs. Nathaniel and his wife Mary Jane Martin had one child named Frank Martin Shackford who had also lived in the Laconia area and had taken on the role of secretary of the New Hampshire Veterans Association when his father stepped down. I was confident that this obituary was describing the same Frank Shackford as no other Frank Shackford's lived in this area of New Hampshire.
I thought my Sunday article was done! However before publishing a blog, I always look at my database file and in this case noticed that I'd recorded a 1939 death date for Frank. I hadn't sourced the information very clearly so I reviewed Ancestry.com's New Hampshire, Death and Disinterment Records, 1754-1947 and found Frank's death certificate stating his date of death was August 21, 1939 which was four years after the original newspaper article. I also found another obituary dated Aug 22, 1939.
This seemed very odd so I double checked the date on the top of the two 1935 newspapers and verified that the original death notice that I'd clipped was from a Nov 8th 1935 edition. I looked for an apology for the incorrect notice in the next few newspapers but I didn't find one. There might be one that I just couldn't find -- the online collection is missing a few newspapers after Nov 8th and it is difficult to read a whole newspaper on my laptop. I'll continue to search for articles of apology as I continue to research Frank.
I wonder if Frank or his two living children, Edith May James or Ernest Ray Shackford read this newspaper article about his premature death. He would have been 82 when the article was published.
FRANK SHACKFORD DIES AT LACONIA
Laconia - Funeral services for Frank M. Shackford, 86, old-time newspaper reporter, who died Monday morning at a local hospital, will be held Wednesday afternoon. Mr Shackford had been in gradually failing health for some time.
Born in Franklin on April 21, 1853, the son of Col Nathaniel and Mary Jane (Martin) Shackford, Mr Shackford had resided at The Weirs for around 70 years. His first newspaper work was secured on the old Lake Village (now Lakeport) Times which he published for three years from 1884-87, in conjunction with Cong Martin A. Haynes, followiing an apprenticeship on the paper. He gave up this work, however to enter the reportial field.
More about Frank's life in a future blog!
Note: This was my first experience of personally finding a death notice of a Shackford (or anyone for that matter) that was published before the person's actual death. A big reminder of the need to do a thorough search (genealogy professionals call this a "reasonably exhaustive search") before blogging about Shackford Family History. Also a reminder to not only use two sources that can be traced back to the same source (in this case the two 1935 newspaper articles used identical wording). Today's blog also reminded me to plan a trip to New England so that I can do more than just online research. Okay - I also want to visit the "The Weirs" which sounds like a beautiful place full of wonderful history.
REFERENCES:
"FRANK SHACKFORD DIES," Lewiston (Lewiston, Maine) Evening Journal, 8 November 1935, page 2; online images, Google News (http://news.google.com/newspapers : accessed 14 September 2013). Note: Obituary notice is incorrect, Frank died in 1939 per death certificate
FRANK SHACKFORD DIES AT WEIRS," Nashua Telegraph (Nashua, New Hampshire), 8 November 1935, page 1,; digital images, Google News (http://google.news.com : accessed 11 March 2013). Note: This death notice was incorrect, Frank died in 1939 per his death certiificate
FRANK SHACKFORD DIES AT LACONIA," Nashua Telegraph (Nashua, New Hampshire), 22 August 1939; digital images, Google News (http://google.news.com : accessed 14 September 2013)
New Hampshire, Death and Disinterment Records, 1754-1947, , Frank Martin Shackford, ; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 September 2013); New England Historical Genealogical Society. Citing New Hampshire Bureau of Vital Records, Concord, New Hampshire
Copyright 2013 Joanne Shackford Parkes