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.
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 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 4, Samuel Shackford James 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.
Copyright 2024 Joanne Shackford Parkes – typo corrected in 2024 (sharing a link to this post is appreciated but please do not copy this material and paste it elsewhere).
SHACKFORD Family History 