Thanks to the Library of Congress we Know More About “Shackford’s Connections” (more appropriately called Shuckford’s Connections”)! (Blog 514)

We contacted the Rare Book and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress yesterday to see if they had a copy of the book “Shackford’s Connections” which we blogged about last month. This morning we had a very detailed and helpful response from their fabulous Reference Librarian!

The book is actually called The Sacred and Profane History of the World, connected from the creation of the world to the dissolution of the Assyrian empire at the death of Sardanapalus, and to the declension of the kingdom of Judah and Israel, under the reigns of Ahaz and Pekah. It was written by Rev Samuel Shuckford, D.D. and published in 1728. Samuel who was the son of Samuel Shuckford was born about 1694 in Norwich received a solid education in his hometown of Norwich and then Botesdale, Suffolk. He then attended Caius College in Cambridge and received his doctorate. Samuel was a deacon, a priest, a vicar and may have been a chaplain to King George II. He died on July 14 1754, and was buried in Canterbury Cathedral. A short biography with more details of his life can be found at the wiki Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 52.

The librarian explained that while they don’t have a copy of the 1728 edition of his book and are unsure if anyone does, they do have a copy of the 1824 edition, the American edition which was edited by James Creighton. She also gave me a heads up that a digital copy of the 1824 edition is available at Hathi Trust. Here’s an image from the front cover of the 1824 edition. I quickly skimmed the book and it appears to be a very detailed review of the Bible with a focus on the formulation of languages, followed by early history of events mentioned in the Bible.

We don’t know if this Samuel Shuckford is related to the immigrant William Shackford whose descendents we research – at this time we can’t find yet him in FamilySearch Family Tree but have found two sources in FamilySearch that are not yet linked to a person. In Ancestry, his gravestone is referenced in the UK and Ireland Find a Grave and lists a wife Mary Shuckford and a child Ann Betts. There are other references from the UK which I can only access while at a FamilySearch center. More research as to his genealogy may be warranted in the future after we finish our review of the many descendents of William.

Meanwhile thanks to the Library of Congress and their excellent Reference Librarians for the assistance helping us learn more about this impressive researcher – Samuel Shuckford.

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SOURCES:

e-mail from Library of Congress Reference Librarian, Rare Book & Special Collections Division, March 7, 2024

Shuckford, Samuel and James Creighton; The sacred and profane history of the world connected, from the creation of the world to the dissolution of the Assyrian empire at the death of Sardanapalus, and to the declensions of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel under the reigns of Ahaz and Pekah : including the dissertation on the creation and fall of man; Philadelphia, W. W. Woodward, 1824., digital copy at HathiTrust.org

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