While the names of Charles' wife and daughter were not published in the obituary, we do learn them from his will - his wife's name was Myrtle Blow and their daughter was Myrtle Belle (Shackford) Keith.
Greenpoint Manufacturer Drops Dead in Home.
Charles W. Shackford died suddenly in his home at 128 Milton street Tuesday evening shortly after dinner. Five minutes before he was dead he seemed to be in robust health. He had eaten a hearty meal and was in his usual good humor. While strolling about the house he was suddenly stricken with pains about the heart. Home remedies were applied and he had just taken a hot drink when he fell to the floor, face downward.
Dr Edmund M. Devol was hastily summoned from across the street, but when he arrived there was nothing he could do. He said that death had probably come before the body struck the floor. The Coroner was notified and he gave Oscar A. Boch permission to prepare the body for burial. Arrangements for the funeral have not yet been announced.
Mr Shackford had been for a number of years general superintendent of the Chelsea Jute Mills at Manhattan avenue and Newtown Creek and was very highly regarded, both as a man and as an efficient factory executive, by his subordinates. He had been a resident of Greenpoint for more than twenty-two years.
When he left the big jute plant for home on Tuesday evening he stopped in at the real estate office of C. H. Appel to talk over matters connected with some property he owned. Stating that he would call again in a few days, he walked toward the house in Milton street with as firm a tread as ever, apparently in the very prime of life.
Mr Shackford was a native of Salesburg, New Hampshire and was fifty-four years of age last Washington's Birthday, February 22d. He was a great lover of the traditions of his native State, and maintained a farm house near Nashua, to which he made frequent pilgrimages. He often expressed his intention to end his days there.
Mr. Shackford is survived by his widow and one daughter, and they are widely sympathized with. The gentleman was prominent in Masonry and belonged to Manhattan Lodge; Tribune Chapter of Royal Arch Masons: New York Council of Royal and Select Masters; Columbian Commandery No. 2, Knights Templar, and Mecca temple of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He was one of the organizers of the Focus Club and at one time belonged to the Royal Arcanum. He was a trustee in the Home Savings Bank and took an especial pride in its welfare.
Mr Shackford was of a quiet, unobtrusive turn of mind, and was thoroughly domesticated. He was an ardent lover of the automobile and enjoyed frequent trips in his car. He had traveled many thousands of miles in this way and this seemed his greatest diversion."
Note: We believe that Mr Shackford was a native of Salisbury, New Hampshire, not Salesburg which appears to be a typing error in the newspaper article.
MORE ABOUT CHARLES
Charles Wilbur Shackford was born February 22, 1858 in Salisbury, New Hampshire to John Laurent Shackford, a machinist and Mary Jane Rollins. We believe he was the third of thirteen children. He married Myrtle Blow when he was 21 and when he was working on the Railroad but soon moved to a job working in a cotton mill. He moved to New York sometime before he turned 30 and began his career with the Chelsea Jute Mill which was later renamed the Chelsea Fibre Mill.
Charles' promotions at the Chelsea Jute mill were announced in the Brooklyn Standard Union and can be found by reviewing the telephone directories mentioning Charles. Also by reviewing these newspaper articles (thanks to Fulton History!), we also learn that in 1898, Charles was one of three men at the company who were seriously burned while walking through the plant for a routine inspection of a newly completed boiler -- we'll share more about the explosion in another article.
We'd love to hear from you if you know any more about Charles Wilbur Shackford, his family or the Chelsea Jute Mills.
SOURCES
"GREATEST RUG BARGAINS EVER ADVERTISED," Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, New York), 15 September 1901; digital images, Brooklyn Public Library (Brooklyn Public Library : accessed 22 August 2013), http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org
"Greenpoint Manufacturer Drops Dead in Home," Daily Star (Brooklyn and Queens Boroughs, New York), 1 May 1912; Fulton History (www.fultonhistory.com : accessed 6 May 2013
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jute
New Hampshire, New Hampshire, Marriage Records, 1637-1947, , Charles W Shackford and Millie Blowe, ; digital records, Family Search (http://familysearch.org : accessed 2 May 2013).
"Outlook for Factory Activity Is Promising," Daily Star (Brooklyn and Queens Boroughs, New York), 1907; Fulton History (www.fultonhistory.com : accessed 6 May 2013).
"SHACKFORD SUCCEEDS GRIFFIN AT JUTE MILLS," Brooklyn NY Standard Union, 1906 unsure of exact date; FultonHistory (http://www.fultonhistory.com : accessed 6 May 2013)
Uptington's General Directory of the Borough of Brooklyn City of New York Volume LXXXIV for the Year, 1907 (317 Washington St., Brooklyn Borough, City of New York: George Upington, 1907), p. 887, Charles W Shackford; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 May 2013
Copyright 2014 Joanne Shackford Parkes