Samuel and Susanna (Hobbs) Shackford of Duxbury, Vermont (1789-1831) (Blog 520)

April 3, 2024April 3, 2024 ~ Joanne Shackford Parkes ~ 8 Comments

We aren’t sure where Samuel Shackford of Duxbury, Vermont was born but according to Samuel Burnham Shackford’s Shackford Genealogy Manuscript, he was the son of John Shackford and most likely John’s second wife, Anna Hatch. The manuscript states he was born on May 25, 1789 and since John Shackford (1743-1827) was living in York County at this time, he was most likely born there. Samuel was living in Duxbury, Vermont at the age of 21 – we’d love to know what brought him to Duxbury.

We do know that Samuel married Susannah Hobbs, the daughter of Caleb and Sarah (Lucas) Hobbs on December. 2, 1810. She was born on December 18, 1792 in Bradford, Vermont so he was 21 and she was 17.

Duxbury Deed, Caleb Hobs to Samuel Shackford, Jan 10, 1811

On January 10, 1811, Samuel purchased land from Caleb Hobs [sic], his father-in-law for $175. The property is described as “fifty acres off the westerly end of Lot Number Twelve in the second division of Duxbury – land drawn to the right of Cora King.”

Three months later, on March 7, 1811, Samuel then sold property with the exact same description to James Hobs [sic], his brother-in-law for $1. We are unsure why someone would sell property they had just purchased for such a loss — perhaps Samuel owed money to his brother-in-law?

Samuel remained in Duxbury – he is listed in the 1820 census on the same page as his brother-in-law working in the field of agriculture. The census record shows that he had one adult and four children under the age of 10 living at the home. Samuel is also listed in the 1830 Duxbury census records. Although the family had six daughters under the age of 14 in 1830, only two are showing in this census, one age 10-14 and 1 under 5 although the family had eight girls at the time. We know from the Shackford Genealogy Manuscript that one daughter – Adaline, who would have been 9, was living with another family – perhaps many of the other Shackford children were also living with other families.

Samuel died at the age of 41 on February 6, 1831 and was buried in the Old Waterbury Center Cemetery in Waterbury, Vermont. A photograph of his gravestone can be seen at Find A Grave. He left a wife and eight daughters ages 19, 17, 16, 11, 11, 9, 6, and 5.

Samuel’s widow, Susannah married Rememberance Nash in Duxbury on July 28, 1833. We have not found much about this relationship other than an index card with the marriage information but believe it ended quickly as he moved alone to New York before 1840. Susannah moved to Waterbury, Vermont and married Ezra French in 1845, definitely before October 16, 1848 as a deed with this date reflecting land she purchased lists her with the last name of French — the land was adjacent to land that Nathaniel had already sold to Ezra. We find Ezra and Susanna living together in the 1850 Waterbury census which lists Ezra age 75 owning property valued at $300 living with Susanah, age 57. Ezra’s son Calvin from a previous marriage was also living in the home..

Ezra died on 18 Mar 1854 and was buried in the Waterbury Center Cemetery. Susanna then went to live with her eldest daughter Orilla who had married Samuel Woodard. She then sold the property that had been owned by Ezra and the property she had purchased for $150. It was described as “the place where myself and my late husband Ezra French formerly lived.”

She lived in Waterbury until her death at age 85 on February 21, 1878 and was buried in the Waterbury Cemetery next to Ezra. The gravestone can be seen at FindAGrave.

CHILDREN:

Orrilla Shackford (1811-1862) – married Ira Jewell, then Samuel Wells Woodward

Sarah D Shackford (1815-1903) – married David Hill, then Charles H Atkins

Rebecca Melissa Shackford (1817-1867) – married William Foster

John C Shackford (1819-1819)

Angeline Shackford (1820-1883) – married Williard Bainbridge Preston

Adaline Shackford (1820-1907) – married John Prentice Wallace Vincent, then Robert King

Lydia Shackford (1822-1840)

Rosana Shackford (1824-1910) – married Alfred York

Susannah Sabrina Shackford (1826-1924) – married Edwin Aldrich Lanfair

Note: The Shackford name ended in Duxbury, Vermont upon the marriage of Adaline in 1845. We never would have pieced this family together without Samuel Burnham Shackford’s Shackford Genealogy Manuscript or the staff at the NEHGS who pulled it from storage and allowed me to review it. Samuel and the other Samuel Shackford of Chicago who compiled Shackford research spent hours in libraries reviewing source material, writing letters to Shackford descendents, and incorporating the new information into their manuscripts. Today we are fortunate to have access to even more materials online and to be able to reach out quickly via phone and e-mail to others who are interested in this same genealogy research. But even then there is more research needed to verify past research.

Further Research needed regarding Samuel Shackford:

Review the notes that Samuel Burnham Shackford took from the family Bible mentioned by Sabrina Lanfair to see if there are any further sources to substantiate that this John Shackford listed is Samuel’s father. Hopefully there are some notes explaining why he moved to Duxbury Maine at the age of 21.

Look for probate records for Samuel’s father John who lived in Alfred, Maine and review any land records for John and John’s children for any indications as to Samuel’s parents.

Are there any records that show where Samuel and Susanah married? (probably not as records were not kept in 1810)

Are there any records showing where their younger children were in 1830?

Were there guardianship assignments of the children after Samuel’s death in 1831? We’ve reviewed the Washington, Vermont Probate Court Guardian records, 1821-1921 but have not found any records pertaining to this family.

All posts on this website are a work in progress. We’d love to learn of any corrections or additions to the information shared. Also we’d love it if you’d like the post here or at http://www.facebook.com/shackfordgenealogy) as that helps share the post with others. Thanks!

SOURCES:

1820 United States Federal Census, Washington County, Vermont, population schedule, Duxbury, Samuel Shackford; digital images, Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com : accessed 22 March 2024).

1830 United States Federal Census, Washington County, Vermont, population schedule, Duxbury, Samuel Shackford; digital images, Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com : accessed 22 March 2024).

1850 US Federal Census, Washington County, population schedule, Waterbury, page 649 (penned), dwelling 2008, family 2018, Ezra French; digital images, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 14 January 2015).

1860 US Federal Census, Washington County, population schedule, Waterbury, Page No 168, dwelling 1279, family 1353, Samuel W Woodard; digital images, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 10 June 2019).

“Duxbury Land Records, 1770-1876 Grantor and Grantee index to land records, v. 1-19,” digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/178010 : accessed 29 March 2024), Book 5, Samuel Shackford Caleb Hobbs; Image 161 of 927.

“Duxbury Vermont Land records, 1770-1876, Land records, v. 5-6 1800-1830,” digital images, FamilySearch (FamilySearch.org : accessed 2 April 2024), Property Sale Caleb Hobbs to Samuel Shackford; Film #008663953, Image 54 of 684.

“Duxbury Vermont Land records, 1770-1876, Land records, v. 5-6 1800-1830,” digital images, FamilySearch (FamilySearch.org : accessed 2 April 2024), Samuel Shackford to James Hobs; Film #008663953, Image 69 of 684.

“Duxbury Vermont Card index to births, T-Z, 1783-1997; bride index to marriages, A-Z, 1783-1997; groom index to marriages, A-Z, 1783-1997,” digital images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org : accessed accessed), Susanna Shackford; Film 007746234, Image 1028 of 2208.

Find a Grave, Find A Grave, digital images (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 1 August 2014), Samuel Shackford, Find A Grave Memorial# 53220057.

Find a Grave, Find A Grave, digital images (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 1 August 2014), Susanna Hobbs French, Find A Grave Memorial# 53220011.

“Shackford Genealogy Manuscript,” 13 October 1925; typed manuscript, SG SHA 5; Shackford collection by Samuel Burnham Shackford; New England Historical and Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts. (56) Desc. of William Shackford, #116, Samuel Shackford b 1761; source Family Bible from his daughter Susannah (Shackford) Lanfair.

Vermont, Vermont Vital Records, 1760-2008, , Samuel Shackford, 6 February 1831; digital images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 5 June 2013).

“Waterbury. Deeds 1862–1872,” digital images, FamilySearch (FamilySearch.org : accessed 12 March 2024), Nathl Woodman’s Deed to Susannah French.

“Waterbury. Deeds 1862–1872,” digital images, FamilySearch (FamilySearch.org : accessed 10 March 2024), Susana Hobbs (Shackford) French sells property; Image 296 of 616.

Lydia Shackford of Waterbury, Vermont (1822-1840) (Blog 519)

March 24, 2024April 3, 2024 ~ Joanne Shackford Parkes ~ 1 Comment

We know of Lydia Shackford because she is mentioned in Samuel Burnham Shackford’s Shackford Genealogy Manuscript, has a death record, and has a marked gravestone in Waterbury, Vermont.

The manuscript tells us that Lydia was Samuel and Susanna (Hobbs) Shackford‘s ninth child and was born on Oct 26, 1822. She would have been eight when her father died and her mother was left caring for seven or eight girls (at least one sister may have been cared for by another family). We don’t know much more about Lydia’s short life — we presume she and the rest of her family worked hard on the family farm.

Lydia’s death record says that she lived 19 years and one month and died Oct 29, 1840. The birth date shown in Samuel Burnham Shackford’s manuscript and places her at 18 years and 3 days. This date was apparently copied from a family Bible – am unsure if we will find more source information to clarify this slight discrepancy. We do hope to get back to the New England Historical and Genealogy Society someday to review Samuel’s source documentation — perhaps the answer is there.

Lydia is buried in Waterbury Center Cemetery. A picture of her gravestone which was taken by Barb Destromp can be found at Find A Grave.

SOURCES:

Find a Grave, Find A Grave, digital images (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 1 August 2014), Lydia Shackford, Find A Grave Memorial# 53220643.

Vermont, Vermont Vital Records, 1760-2008, , Lydia Shackford, 29 October 1840; digital images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 5 June 2013).

Where is Susannah Sabrina (Shackford) Lanfair’s Family Bible? (Blog 479)

October 8, 2018April 3, 2024 ~ Joanne Shackford Parkes ~ 5 Comments

This past week I had a very small DNA match on Ancestry to someone whose tree showed that they descend from Susanna Sabrina (Shackford) Lanfair. There is no guarantee that the match is from my Shackford line (it’s small and could just be noise or could be a match from a different line). However finding this match gave me the incentive to review Susanna Sabrina Shackford and find more information about her ancestors in case I find other shared DNA matches with this person.

Graveston Susannah Sabrina Shackford Lanfair FindAGrave photo by psc, notes state can use the photograph as needed — Photo from FindAGrave thanks to psc who gives permission for use of this photo

Susanna Sabrina Shackford was the daughter of Samuel Shackford and Susanna (Hobbs) Shackford). Her birth and death dates (Nov. 28, 1826-Feb 29, 1924) are clearly shown on her gravestone. Her Dec 14, 1843 marriage to Edwin Lanfair was recorded in the Vermont Phoenix on Dec 22, 1843 and documented in Vermont Vital Records. There was also a notice in The Franklin Democrat on Jan 23, 1844 stating she had left Edwin but she returned as she had six children with him and they are recorded in the 1850, 1855, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, and the 1920 census. We have not obtained a copy of her death record.

Susanna’s father died in 1831 when she was 5 and two years later her mother took a second husband, Rememberance Nash followed soon by a third husband, Ezra French. We’ve learned about Sabrina Shackford’s ancestors, from Samuel Burnham Shackford’s, Shackford Genealogy Manuscript which I had reviewed in 2016. Susanna Sabrina is listed on a page with ID #253 which lists the details of her children and lists her parents as Samuel Shackford and Susannah Hobbs. This page of the manuscript includes two sources: Sabrina S. Lanfair and History of Deerfield 2-229. This means that Samuel Burnham Shackford either spoke to or corresponded with Susanna Sabrina and there may be additional source information from the conversations or correspondence in the many boxes of materials at the New England Historical and Genealogical Society!!! Yes, this means a road trip back to Boston is in the future – well not the near future but someday in the future…

Samuel Shackford Shackford Genealogy Manuscript, 13 October 1925; typed manuscript, SG SHA 5; Shackford collection by Samuel Burnham Shackford; NEHGS, Boston, Massachusetts. (56)

Samuel Burnham Shackford’s manuscript describing Susannah Sabrina’s father #116 lists her siblings and Samual’s ancestors and includes a source: Family Bible per Sabrina Lanfair. This has us wondering what is included in the Bible – did it include these ancestors or just list her parents? Was the Bible passed down to Susanna Sabrina’s descendents or donated to an archive? And was it transcribed by anyone? Also if it was transcribed, was a transcription left with the documents kept with Samuel Burnham Shackford’s manuscript???

If you’re a descendent of Susanna Sabrina Shackford Lanfair, perhaps you can help with these questions!

Samuel Burnham Shackford’s manuscript does take Sabrina’s ancestry back to William Shackford & Deborah Trickey and if correct, links me to the person with a small DNA match via Joshua Shackford & Elizabeth Barnes as a seventh cousin twice removed which aligns with this small match. The manuscript if correct also connects many Shackfords who I have not been able to connect to William & Deborah and had just left with no ancestors. However there is very little documentation for #62 John Shackford who according to the manuscript lived to age 103 (1743-1846) which seems unlikely. Also am a bit uncertain regarding the #26 Paul Shackford listed as the son of Joshua Shackford and Elizabeth Barnes — just difficult to sort out the many Paul’s. I plan to continue to look for more sources for this new information and review each new piece of information over the next few months.

SOURCES:

Find A Grave, Find A Grave, digital images (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 8 October 2018), Find A Grave Memorial, Susanna Sabrina Shackford Lanfair,# 96753875.

Massachusetts “Massachusetts, Death Index, 1901-1980,” index book, Ancestry.com(http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 October 2018), anfair Susanna S (Shackford) Hardwick, Year 1924, Vol 29, Page 259.

Sheldon George, A History of Deerfield, Massachusetts: The Times When and the People by Whom it was Settled, Unsettled and Resettled with a Special Study of the Indian Wars in the Connecticut Valley with Genealogies. Vol II(Deerfield, Mass.: 1896), page 229; digital images, Archive.org(http://archive.org : accessed 8 October 2018.

Vermont Phoenix, Brattleboro, Vermont (online archive), Married, Dec 22, 1843, Image 3, accessed Jan 9, 2013.

Vermont, Vermont Vital Records, 1760-2008, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V8MY-ZSB, Edwin Lanfair/Sabrina Shackford, 14 December 1843; digital images, FamilySearch(www.familysearch.org : accessed 5 June 2013).

Treasure Chest Thursday – The Will of Joshua Shackford (abt 1716-1772) (Blog 336)

April 1, 2016August 16, 2016 ~ Joanne Shackford Parkes ~ Leave a comment

We don’t know much about Joshua Shackford, the son of Samuel and Abigail (Richards) Shackford. We believe he and his brothers William and John were baptized in Portsmouth on September, 1716 which puts his birth before that date. He’s listed in his father’s will which was proved on March 11, 1731 and while he received Chester and Barrington rights, he married Lydia Lovejoy of Andover where the birth of two children, Samuel (who died young) and Lydia (who married Alexander Hodgdon) are recorded.

From his will, we learn that Joshua was a yeoman from Rochester, New Hampshire who now resided in Andover, Massachusetts Bay, left his wife Lydia his two cows, all his money, household goods, and furniture except his brass ketle, warming pan, & two chests which he left his daughter Lydia Hodgdon. He also mentioned a grandson Joshua Hodgdon of Rochester and appointed John Abbott of Andover to administrate his will.

JOSHUA SHACKFORD’S WILL

Will of Joshua Shackford Essex County, MA Probate File Papers, 1638-1881, digital images, American Ancestors

In the Name of God. Amen I Joshua Shackford of Rochester in the Province of New Hampshire (now present in Andover in the Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, Yeoman, Being Gifted with such bodily infirmities as gives me reason to think the time of my continuance in this life is but short and having some goods of Estate which I think ought to be disposed of in a different manner from what the Law will do in case I should die intestate, have thought fit while I am favored with the due exercise of my reason to make this my last will and Testament, whereby according to the Dictates of my confines I give and Dispose of the Same in the following manner, viz

1. ly
I Will that my Executor hereafter named give me a Decent Burial out of my Estate (at my Decease) and pay all my just Debts that may be Due, out of the same.
2.ly I give to Lydia my Wife, my two Cows & all my money, notes of hand Book Accounts, household goods & furniture, all of every Denomination, to be for her life and improvement & comfortable, Support, for and During the Term of her Natural Life, all the afore said Articles of every Denomination as above said I give to my said Wife as above Except & Excepting my Brass Kettle Warming Pan & Two Chests, which I give to my daughter Lydia Hodgdon of said Rochester.
3: ly It is my Will and I Do hereby Order, that if anything should remain which I have herein given to my afore said Wife after her Decease & her funeral charges paid, that the same be given to my Grandson Joshua Hodgdon of Rochester above said.
Lastly I do hereby constitute and appoint John Abbott the third of Andover afore said Yeoman the Executor of this my last Will and Testament.

Testament allowing this and no other to be so. In
Witness whereof I have hereunto set my Hand and Seal the
Thirty-first Day of July in the Eleventh Year of the Reigh
of our Sovereign Lord George the third of great Britain
France & Ireland King &c. Anno que Domini One Thousand
Seven hundred & seventy one.
Signed, Sealed and Declared by the
said Joshua Shackford to be his last
Will and Testament in Presence of
Asa Carlton
Peter Stewwing???
Benjamin Stevenson
Joshua Shackford

SOURCES:

Libby Charles T., Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire, Vol 5 (n.d.), page 622; digital image, FamilySearch.org (https://dcms.lds.org : accessed 10 January 2016.

Tibbetts Charles W. Editor and Publisher, The New Hampshire Genealogical Record. An Illustrated Quarterly Magazine Devoted to Genealogy, History and Biography Vol III, July 1905-April 1906 (Dover, N. H.: Charles W. Tibbetts, 1906), page 100; digital images, Google Books (http://books.google. com : accessed 26 April 2014.

Topsfield Historical Society, Vital Records of Andover Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849 Volume I. BIRTHS (Topsfield, Mass.: Topsfield Historical Society, 1912), page 329; digital images, HathiTrust (http://babel.hathitrust.org/ : accessed 31 March 2016.

SHACKFORD Family History

Sharing Our Discoveries of the Descendants of William Shackford (abt 1640-1720)

Lydia Shackford

Samuel and Susanna (Hobbs) Shackford of Duxbury, Vermont (1789-1831) (Blog 520)

Lydia Shackford of Waterbury, Vermont (1822-1840) (Blog 519)

Where is Susannah Sabrina (Shackford) Lanfair’s Family Bible? (Blog 479)

Treasure Chest Thursday – The Will of Joshua Shackford (abt 1716-1772) (Blog 336)