My DNA Matches Eight Shackford Descendents – will other Shackford Descendents Test to Increase the Knowledge of Shackford Ancestors? (Blog 487)

About a year ago I took an Ancestry DNA test and had 68 Shared Ancestor Hints and 667 4th cousins or closer and was in 8 DNA Circles.  In one year, these numbers have increased significantly! As of Jan 1, 2019, I have 94 Shared Ancestor Hints and 972 4th cousins or closer, and 13 DNA Circles.  I’ve corresponded with many of  the descendents of my shared Ancestors and shared the information I’ve gathered about these shared ancestors.  In some cases, folks have graciously shared copies of photos and newspaper articles that they have inherited about these shared ancestors.

In the past month I’ve focused on my shared SHACKFORD ancestors who I found by clicking on the 972 4th cousins or closer box, then entering Shackford into the Search Matches box, then researching their shared matches.  I wrote to those who have private family trees — some responded, others didn’t and also reviewed and flushed out some the trees of those with whom I share DNA until I found the shared ancestor.

Here’s the DNA connections with seven different Shackford descendents that I found (names deleted to keep their privacy).   I thank them for sharing their DNA with Ancestry or Family Tree DNA and for corresponding with me as we jointly tried to find the ancestral links.

My hope is that over time, these individuals and or other Shackford descendents will share their DNA with My Heritage, FamilyTree DNA, or GEDMATCH so that we can determine which chromosomes are shared amid Shackford ancestors and jointly learn more about this family history.

My DNA Matches

1. 2018 Dec 30, XXXX XXXXX 2,468 centimorgans shared across 63 DNA segments, MY SISTER

2. 2018 Dec 30, XXXXX XXXXX, FTDNA match of 50 cm, 10 cm longest segment WILLIAM SHACKFORD & MERCY ROSE via daughter Emeline Shackford m Peter Cushing [my ancestor WILLIAM BROWN SHACKFORD] FOURTH COUSIN (Larger DNA matches on chromosomes 3, 13, and 21)

3. 2018 Dec 20, XXXXX XXXX, 30.0 centimorgans shared across 1 DNA segment SAMUEL SHACKFORD & MARY COOMBS via daughter Susannah Shackford m Joseph Connick, [my ancestor LEVI SHACKFORD], SIXTH COUSIN

4. 2018 Dec 21, XXXX XXXX, 19.5 centimorgans shared across 2 DNA segments, SAMUEL SHACKFORD & MARY COOMBS via daughter Susannah Shackford m Joseph Connick [my ancestor LEVI SHACKFORD], SIXTH COUSIN ONCE REMOVED

5. 2018 Dec 21, XXXXXX, 11.0 centimorgans shared across 1 DNA segment, SAMUEL SHACKFORD m MARY COOMBS via daughter Susannah Shackford m Joseph Connick to William Shackford Connick, [my ancestor LEVI SHACKFORD] SIXTH COUSIN

6. 2018 Jul 28, xxxxxxxx, 6.1 centimorgans shared across 1 DNA segment, JOSHUA SHACKFORD & ELIZABETH BARNES via son Paul Shackford [my ancestor SAMUEL SHACKFORD]l, SEVENTH COUSIN TWICE REMOVED, no shared matches [Note:  this is a very small DNA match so still verifying

7. 2018 Dec 20,  xxxxxx xxxxx xxxxx, 12.0 centimorgans shared across 1 DNA segment, includes George Franklin Shackford, match at WILLIAM SHACKFORD and DEBORAH TRICKEY via Samuel Shackford [my ancestor JOSHUA SHACKFORD], 8th COUSIN

8. 2018 Dec 21, xxxxx xxxxx, 9.1 centimorgans shared across 1 DNA segment, WILLIAM SHACKFORD m DEBORAH TRICKEY via daughter Mary Shackford m Henry Nutter, [my ancestor JOSHUA SHACKFORD], EIGHTH COUSIN ONCE REMOVED

I’m hoping this blog might encourage other Shackford descendents to test their DNA.  I’d be glad to help others flush out their trees in these tools to maximize the matches.

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!

Copyright 2019 Joanne Shackford Parkes  (sharing a link to this post is appreciated but please do not copy this material and paste it elsewhere)

 

 

Treasure Chest Thursday – Searching for Guardian of Mary Shackford’s son Joshua Chase (Blog 319)

While working on the research question we’ve posed for Joshua Chase, son of Joshua Chase and Mary Shackford we’ve learned unexpected things about Joshua – an outcome described in Harold Henderson’s article  Ten-Minute Methodology: How to Ask Good Research Questions.

Our research Question:

What document appoints William Plaisted as guardian of Joshua Chase, born about 1782 in Portsmouth, the son of Dr Joshua Chase and Mary Shackford?

We knew that a guardian was appointed for Joshua Chase around 1787 so we began our research by reviewing FamilySearch’s  New Hampshire, County Probate Records, 1660-1973  Rockingham Probate record index 1753-1800.  While looking for Chase, we found a Joshua Chase on Image 18:

1787-1788 Chase, Joshua Gdn

We then headed to FamilySearch’s  New Hampshire, County Probate Records, 1660-1973 Rockingham Probate records 1784-1793 vol 28-30 to find the actual document reviewing:
Vol 28 – Index C’s Image 6 – no Joshua Chase found
Vol 29 – Index C’s Image 298 – Joshua Chase Guardn 148

We found page 148 at Image 388 and found the unexpected!.  We had expected to find a document appointing William Plaisted as Joshua’s guardian but this document reflects the appointment of Giles Seaward of Portsmouth as the guardian of Joshua Chase!

 

 

 

 

Rockingham ss At a Court of Probate held at Exeter in said County the seventh
day of November Anni Domini 1787 by Phillips White Esq Judge Administration … And Giles Seaward of Portsmouth in said County Mariner was appointed Guardian to Joshua Chase (a minor under fourteen years of age Son of Joshua Chase late of Newbury, Newton Physician) deceased and with George Wentworth Merch & William Dearing Carver both of said Portsmouth gave bond according to Law – And at said Court held at said Exeter on the ninth Day of the same November by the said Judge

So why might Giles Seaward have been appointed as Joshua’s guardian?  He was Joshua’s great grandfather, the father of Joshua’s grandmother Deborah (Sewaward) Shackford. Giles would have been 70 years old and a widow when he was appointed the guardian of five years old Joshua.  Giles’ daughter Deborah (Joshua’s grandmother) who would have been 48 years old was probably living in Giles’ home — we base this assumption on Giles’ will which was written two years later on 22 Aug 1789 and left his daughter Deborah (Seaward) Shackford the westerly half of his dwelling house and half of his personal estate.

Interestingly this guardianship document states that Joshua’s father the physician Dr Joshua Chase was deceased.  We wonder why this claim was made to the court as we’re not sure this is a correct — later documents pertaining to the younger Joshua seem to infer that Dr Joshua Chase was living.

We didn’t answer our research question What document appoints William Plaisted as guardian of Joshua Chase, born about 1782 in Portsmouth, the son of Dr Joshua Chase and Mary Shackford? yet but certainly learned more than we expected about the younger Joshua as we had no idea that his great grandfather Giles Seaward was the first person who was appointed as his guardian.

We’ll continue looking for the document appointing William Plaisted as Joshua’s guardian.

SOURCES:

New Hampshire, New Hampshire, County Probate Records, 1660-1973, Giles Seaward appointed Guardian of Joshua Chase; digital images, FamilySearch, http://www.familysearch.org (: accessed ); >Rockingham>Probate records 1784-1793 vol 28-30>Image 388

“New Hampshire, Wills and Probate Records, 1643-1982,” digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 January 2016), Giles Seaward

 

 

 

Wednesday Wedding – Mary Shackford Marries Joshua Chase about Sept 7, 1780 (Blog 318)

Mary Shackford, the daughter of John Shackford and Deborah Seaward was born Sept 15, 1759.   We believe she also went by the name Polly Shackford and is the person to whom Doctor Joshua Chase of Newbury formally announced his intention to marry on September 7, 1780.

The announcement reads: “1780 Doct Joshua Chase of Newbury informed of his intention
of marriage with Polly Shackford, of Portsmouth and I posted up their intent. Sept 7, 1780.”

We assume that Dr Joshua Chase and Polly Shackford married but have not yet found a record of the marriage.  We also don’t know if they lived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire or Newbury, Massachusetts.  We do know from Paul Shackford’s probate records (he was her grandfather) that Mary died before 29 Jan 1787.  Her son, Joshua Chase who was born about 1782 was listed as a heir in Paul’s probate records.

The book Seven Generations of the Descendants of Aquila and Thomas Chase states that William Plaisted was appointed guardian of Mary’s son Joshua sometime before 1792.  It also states that Mary’s husband Joshua Chase (Joshua’s father) died in Newbury Dec 1802 which leaves us wondering Dr Joshua Chase was not the guardian of Joshua.

CHILDREN:

Joshua Shackford (abt 1782-????) –

 

SOURCES:

Chase John Carroll and George Walter Chamberlain, Seven Generations of the Descendants of Aquila and Thomas Chase (Derry, New Hampshire: Record Publishing Company, 1928), page 80; digital image, FamilySearch.org (https://dcms.lds.org : accessed 10 January 2016

Massachusetts, Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, , Doct Joshua Chase, ; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 January 2016); Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records

 

 

Tuesday Tip – Add a Field Called Research Question to Roots Magic! (Blog 317)

I love researching Shackford Family History but have to admit that I’m not a very focused genealogy  researcher.  Many times while searching for a  information about a specific Shackford I’ll come across other semi-related information and will go totally off track in my research efforts.  I might spend hours or even days working on my “off track effort” with the belief that I’ll use that information sometime later for research on that other person. Days later I realize that I didn’t make much forward movement in my original research about a particular Shackford.

While I was recently  Dear Myrt’s Gen Tools Webinars and thinking about the various tools I use for my research, I developed an idea to help me focus.  The discussion about other researchers use of  Word, Evidentia, their genealogy software, and many other tools to help them organize their genealogy research led me to realize that I have the tools to help myself focus.  I recognized that to improve my focus I needed to spend the time to write out the main research question I have for each person I’m researching and focus my research on that particular question.  So I created a new field in RootsMagic called Research Question (see below) and used the Notes section to summarize the facts that help me answer that one key question.

I tested out this new field with Joshua Chase, born about 1782, the son of Joshua Chase and Mary Shackford (daughter of John Shackford and Deborah Seaward, grand daughter of Paul Shackford).  I’ve already searched for his birth record to no avail.  However I was puzzled by a comment in John Carrol Chase’s book about the Descendants of Aquila and Thomas Chase which states that William Plaisted became the guardian of Joshua Chase who was authorized to sell land inherited from Paul Shackford but also infers that Joshua’s father Dr Joshua Chase was still alive.  I found the Essex County Probate Records discussing this land sale but wondered why would a guardian have been appointed if the father is living and why William Plaisted who does not seem to be family member.  So I started with this research question “What document appoints William Plaisted as guardian of Joshua Chase?”

Right after I started creating Research Questions in my RootsMagic, Randy Seaver’s January 31, 2016 Best of the Gene-Blogs included a reference to a fabulous article by Harold Henderson on the Board for Certification of Genealogists titled Ten-Minute Methodology: How to Ask Good Research Questions  which states “a specific question is a magical thing. By concentrating our attention we focus on the right person and learn more than we expected about him.”

From this article I learned that I needed to improve my Research Question which now states “What document appoints William Plaisted as guardian of Joshua Chase, born about 1782 in Portsmouth, the son of Dr Joshua Chase and Mary Shackford ?”

And yes – when we concentrated on this one question we learned unexpected things about Joshua resulting in more research questions which we’ll share in a future blog.

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:

Chase John Carroll and George Walter Chamberlain, Seven Generations of the Descendants of Aquila and Thomas Chase (Derry, New Hampshire: Record Publishing Company, 1928), page 80; digital image, FamilySearch.org (https://dcms.lds.org : accessed 10 January 2016

“Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881,” digital images, American Ancestors (http://www.americanancestors.org/databases/essex-county-ma-probate-file-papers-1638-1881 : accessed 30 January 2016), Joshua Chase, minor, Essex County, MA Probate Case File No. 5145.

Henderson, Harold, Guest Author, Ten-Minute Methodology: How to Ask Good Research Questions Board for Certification of Genealogists Springboard, http://bcgcertification.org/blog/2016/01/ten-minute-methodology-how-to-ask-good-research-questions/

Seaver, Randy, Best of the Genea-Blogs – 24 to 30 January 2016, Genea-Musings, http://www.geneamusings.com/2016/01/best-of-genea-blogs-24-to-30-january.html

Copyright 2017 Joanne Shackford Parkes  (sharing a link to this post is appreciated but please do not just copy this material and paste it elsewhere)

Treasure Chest Thursday – Probate Abstract — John Shackford (1725-1764), son of Paul and Rebecca (Hudson) Shackford (Blog 316)

We know that John Shackford, the son of Paul and Rebecca (Hudson) Shackford was born September 16, 1735 in Newbury, Massachusetts and that he married Deborah Seaward on Dec 19, 1758  at the Queens Church in Portsmouth.  We believe she was the daughter of Giles and Mary (Hodgdon) Seaward and was his first cousin once removed.

John’s probate records tell us he was a mariner and we believe but have not yet proven that he was the captain of the:

Brig Tortuga which sailed to Antigua from Piscataway on 24 July 1760

Brig Brotherhood which sailed from Piscataqua to Barbados on 15 Jan 176, arrived there 10 April 1761, and returned to Portsmouth on 3 May 1761

Ship Nevin from Piscataqua to Barbados on 16 Feb 1764 and the

Brig Amherst from Piscataqua to Barbados on 5 Mar 1762, returning on 1 Jul 1762, leaving Portsmouth to Virginia on 10 Dec 1762, leaving Virginia for Piscataqua  on 12 May 1763, and from Picataaqua to the West Indies on 8 Sept 1763

John’s father Paul’s 1787 probate records list’s two of his children and then lists the Heirs of John Shackford which verifies that he died before his father – we have not found any direct sources but have old notes from a Shackford descendant of his line that tell us that he died on Nov 2, 1764 aboard a ship while traveling from London to Boston.  The timing of his probate record (1765) confirms that his death date was probably around this time.

John left Deborah with either two or three very young children who were listed as heirs of his father’s estate:

Mary Shackford (1759-bef 1787) m. Joshua Chase – son Joshua Chase is mentioned in Paul’s probate records

John Shackford (1761-1800) m Amelia Moore – John is mentioned in his father’s estate

poss Deborah Shackford – there is a Deborah listed as a heir in Paul’s estate – just not sure if it is another child or John’s wife.

We do not know when John’s wife Deborah died or if she remarried but believe she was alive in May 1800 as she is mentioned in her son’s obituary as “his venerable, widowed mother, already fainting beneath trials peculiarly fevere, needs every confolation to ftrengthen dying fortitude”  Deborah’s death date is listed as either 8 Jun 1808 or 14 May 1811 in Rosemary Melville’s From Trickey to Thorpe: a History of the Trickey, Shackfords, Sewards, Calalahan’s publication but no source is noted.

PROBATE ABSTRACT FOR

JOHN SHACKFORD 1765 PORTSMOUTH

[Administration on the estate of John Shackford of Portsmouth, mariner, granted to his widow Deborah Shackford, June 18, 1765.]
[Probate Records, vol. 23, p. 460]
[Bond of Deborah Shackford, with Giles Seaward and John
Bartlett, mariners, as sureties, all of Portsmouth, in the sum of
L500, June 18, 1765, for the administration of the estate;
witnesses, Samuel Marshall, William Parker.]
[Warrant, June 18, 1765, authorizing Samuel Penhallow and
William Knight, both of Portsmouth, merchants, to appraise
the estate.]
[Inventory, Oct 22, 1765; amount, L229, 9.6; signed by
Samuel Penhallow and William Knight.]

We are thankful that Mr Otis Hammond summarized this probate record and are hoping to find and share the original on a future trip to Portsmouth!

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:

Melville Rosemary, From Trickey to Thorpe: a History of the Trickey, Shackfords, Seawards, Callahans (about 1993), page 77; digital image, FamilySearch.org (http://familysearch.org : accessed 20 January 2016.

Hardon Henry W, Newington, New Hampshire Families in the Eighteenth Century (Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, Inc, 1991), page 164

Dolliver Louise Pearsons Historian General, Lineage Book National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Volume XXIII. 22001-23000 1898 (Washington, D.C.: 1907), page 313; digital images, Google Books (http://books.general.com : accessed 4 July 2014.

Hammond Otis S., Editor, Director of the New Hampshire Historical Society, Probate Records of the Province of New Hampshire, Volume 8 (1940), page 181; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/catalog/search : accessed 24 January 2016.

Hammond Priscilla, Vital records from the Parish register of Queen’s Chapel Portsmouth, New Hampshire (Concord, New Hampshire: n.p., 1943), page unknown

Massachusetts “Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915,” database, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 29 March 2015), John Shackford b 16 Sep 1735

“New Hampshire Gazette: Newspaper Abstracts, 1756-1769,” database, New England Historical Genealogical Society (http://www.americanancestors.org : accessed 21 January 2016), Capt Shackford; New Hampshire Gazette (Portsmouth, New Hampshire), 10 April 1761, p. 2, col. 1..

“New Hampshire Gazette: Newspaper Abstracts, 1756-1769,” database, New England Historical Genealogical Society (http://www.americanancestors.org : accessed 21 January 2016), Capt John Shackford; New Hampshire Gazette (Portsmouth, New Hampshire), 16 January 1761, p. 2, col. 2..

“New Hampshire Gazette: Newspaper Abstracts, 1756-1769,” database, New England Historical Genealogical Society (http://www.americanancestors.org : accessed 21 January 206), Capt John Shackford; New Hampshire Gazette (Portsmouth, New Hampshire), 25 July 1760, p. 3, col. 2

“New Hampshire Gazette: Newspaper Abstracts, 1756-1769,” database, New England Historical Genealogical Society (http://www.americanancestors.org : accessed 21 January 2016), Capt John Shackford; New Hampshire Gazette (Portsmouth, New Hampshire), 5 March 1762, p. 1, col. 3..

“New Hampshire Gazette: Newspaper Abstracts, 1756-1769,” database, New England Historical Genealogical Society (http://www.americanancestors.org : accessed 21 January 2016), Capt John Shackford; New Hampshire Gazette (Portsmouth, New Hampshire), 8 May 1761, pp. 1, 2, cols. 3, 1..

“New Hampshire Gazette: Newspaper Abstracts, 1756-1769,” database, New England Historical Genealogical Society (http://www.americanancestors.org : accessed 21 January 2016), Capt Shackford; New Hampshire Gazette (Portsmouth, New Hampshire), 17 February 1764, p. 1, col. 3..

“New Hampshire Gazette: Newspaper Abstracts, 1756-1769,” database, New England Historical Genealogical Society (http://www.americanancestors.org : accessed 21 January 2016), Capt John Shackford; New Hampshire Gazette (Portsmouth, New Hampshire), 10 December 1762, p. 2, col. 1..

“New Hampshire Gazette: Newspaper Abstracts, 1756-1769,” database, New England Historical Genealogical Society (http://www.americanancestors.org : accessed 21 January 2016), Capt John Shackford; New Hampshire Gazette (Portsmouth, New Hampshire), 13 May 1763, p. 3, col. 2..

Vital Records of Newbury Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849 Volume I.-Births (Salem, Mass.: The Essex Institute, 1911), page 472; digital images, Essex County Ma (http://essexcountyma.net/ : accessed 12 July 2014

Copyright 2017 Joanne Shackford Parkes  (sharing a link to this post is appreciated but please do not copy this material and paste it elsewhere)

 

Treasure Chest Thursday – The Heirs of Paul Shackford (1702-1786) (Blog 309)

Paul Shackford’s heirs are listed on a piece of paper in his probate records  because the heirs asked the Probate Judge, Benjamin Greenleaf, to assign a committee to divide Paul’s real estate for them – we have added their birth dates and Paul’s other children based on the birth records listed in the Vital Records of Newbury Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849 Volume I.-Births. 

 

 

 

His two children:

     Sarah Pearson (born Feb 1, 1728)

     Deborah Currier (born May 24, 1731)

and the

Heirs of his son John Shackford (born Sept 16, 1735)

  John Shackford

  Deborah Shackford

  Child of Mary Shackford, deceased – Joshua Chace

————————————–

The book Vital Records of Newbury Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849 Volume I.-Births lists two other children who probably died before 1786 and left no heirs:

Sumner Shackford (born 19 Jan 1737)

Rebecca Shackford (born 2 Dec 1743)

 

SOURCES:

“Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881,” digital images, American Ancestors (http://www.americanancestors.org/databases/essex-county-ma-probate-file-papers-1638-1881 : accessed 1 July 2015), Paul Shackford, Case 25092

Vital Records of Newbury Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849 Volume I.-Births (Salem, Mass.: The Essex Institute, 1911), page 472; digital images, Essex County Ma (http://essexcountyma.net/ : accessed 12 July 2014