William Bell Shackford, the son of Benjamin Franklin and Grace Grizzela (Watson) Shackford was born on December 6 1860 in Boston, Massachusetts. He was living with both parents in Chealsea in 1870 but lost his father in 1879. In June of 1880 he was 19 and was the oldest of five siblings living with his 39 year old widowed mother. He and his 14 year old brother Fred were both working to support the family. William must have started before this time working for the regional grocery store chain Cobb, Bates, Yerxa Company where his father had worked and where he spent his entire career as a driver and clerk.
On March 9, 1884, William married Mary Eliza Howe and had a daughter, Lizzie May Shackford born on August 3, 1884. The relationship didn’t last long as William published a notice in the Boston Daily Globe on October 20, 1885 stating the he would no longer would not pay any bill contracted by his wife from Oct 17 forward. Also both Mary and her daughter Lizzie were living with Mary’s father William T Howe in June when the 1900 census was taken so perhaps they separated or divorced – she is listed as widowed in the census but William was still living and in the same job. Mary who had been working as a nurse died on Feb 8, 1907 following complications from a hysterectomy.
We find William at age 40 in the 1900 census at 101 Lincoln Street with two year old son Harry and a wife who is listed as Mary B but has a birth date that matches his second wife Hannah. The census also says it was his first marriage at age 19 which does not match either spouse. At the age of 46, William was driving his horse drawn carriage for Cobb, Bates & Yerxa when he collided with a car knocking the grocery wagon down and causing considerable damage to the horse and wagon. Fortunately, William was not injured.
We find William and Hannah in the 1910 and 1920 census at 71 Prentiss Street in Chelsea with children Harry and Louise. He was working as a clerk and driver of the grocery wagon.
William died at age 61 on July 1922. His obituary was published in the Cambridge Chronicle on 12 Aug 1922 and a notice was also published in the Boston Globe on Aug 1, 1922. Interestingly there is no mention of his first daughter Lizzie who was still living. William’s wife Hannah who was still living at 91 Prentiss died on April 1, 1932.
Funeral services for William Shackford were held last week Wednesday at his home, 71 Prentiss street. He had been a resident of this city for many years and had been employed by Cobb, Bates, Yerxa Co., for the last 49 years. He leaves a wife and two children. Burial was in Cambridge cemetery.
CHILDREN:
with Mary
Lizzie May Shackford (1884-1984) – married William H Burke
with Hannah
Harry Francis Shackford (1897-1958) – married Ethel Elizabeth Gay and Margaret E Curran, lived in Somerville
Louise Lillian Shackford (1902-????) – married John Willy Holloway from Georgia, lived in Somerville
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SOURCES:
1870 United States Federal Census, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Chelsea, dwelling 1488, family 1640, Benj J Shackford; digital images, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 19 June 2017).
1880 United States Federal Census, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, population census, Chelsea, enumeration district (ED) 787, Page No 40, dwelling 306, family no 436, Grace Shackford; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 June 2017).
1900 United States Federal Census, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, population schedule, Cambridge, enumeration district (ED) 682, Sheet No 7, dwelling 63, family 147, William B Shackford; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 April 2017).
1910 United States Federal Census, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, population schedule, Somerville, enumeration district (ED) 1009, Sheet No 5B, dwelling 93, family 93, William Shackford; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 April 2017).
1920 United States Federal Census, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, population schedule, Somerville, enumeration district (ED) 441, Sheet No 4B, dwelling 43, family 74, William Shackford; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 April 2017).
“NORTH CAMBRIDGE,” Cambridge Chronicle (Cambridge, Massachusetts), 12 August 1922; digital images, Cambridge Public Library (http://cambridge.dlconsulting.com : accessed 30 April 2017).
“NOTICE,” The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts), 19 October 1885, William B Shackford; digital image, My Heritage (https://www.myheritage.com/ : accessed 12 June 2020).
Massachusetts “Massachusetts, Death Index, 1901-1980,” index book, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 September 2013), Shackford William B Somerville, 1922 Vol 72, Page 496.
“MAY HAVE TO KILL HORSE BADLY INJURED BY AUTO,” Boston Post (Boston, Massachusetts), 19 December 1906; digital images, Newspapers. com (http://www.newspapers.com : accessed 17 January 2023).
“SHACKFORD,” The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts), 1 August 1922, William B Shackford; digital image, Newspapers.com (http://www.newspapers.com : accessed 13 December 2020).
“U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995,” database, Ancestry.com (www/ancestry.com : accessed 30 April 2017), Shackfords in Somerville 1919.
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SHACKFORD Family History 