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Shackelford Clan Magazine
Genealogy of Shackelfords and Shacklefords
Editor: T. K. Jones 716 Ave. A Lubbock, Texas
$1.00 A Year Published Monthly 10c A Copy
Lubbock, Texas February 1947 Vol. 2. No. 10
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Motto: A people which takes no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors, are not likely to achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote descendants.
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Last month we promised you that we would begin the publication of some rare old letters and documents this month; and we feel that for a starter we have good one.
The letter following was written by Mr. George Francis, of Washington, D. C., to his niece - Josephine Hemenway, along with a bonnet string from the bonnet worn by Mrs. Abraham Lincoln on the night that president Lincoln was killed. And at her death she passed the letter and the bonnet string on to her brother - Charles Carrol Hemenway, who was the husband of Ida Eliza Shackelford, of Glasgow, Mo.
We pass it on to you because it is one of the most touching accounts of the martyrdom of the great emancipator that has yet come to our attention. The letter is as follows:
"Washington, D.C.
May, 5, 1865
Dear Josephine:
Your letter of last week and the one in January reached me in due time. I have been on the point of writing you for some time back, but we have had so much excitement here, so much to occupy my attention that it has seemed as if I must be in a dream and have hardly known what I was about. The fall of Richmond, the surrender of Lee's Army and the assassination of the President
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is all that has been thought of here. The President died in Our house and we witnessed that heart rending scene. I shall never forget that awful night, following as it did, one of such general rejoicing. For a week before the whole City had been crazy over the fall of Richmond, and the surrender of Lee's army. Only the night before the City had been illuminated as it has been illuminated several times before, but this time it was more general, and was the grandest affair of its kind that ever took place in Washington. At the time of the murder we were about getting in bed. I had changed my clothes and shut off the gas when we heard such a terrible scream that we ran to the front window to see what it could mean. We saw a great commotion in the theatre, some running in, others out, and we could hear hundreds of voices mingled in the greatest confusion.
Presently we heard some one say "The President is shot". Hurriedly I put on my clothes and ran across the street as they brought him out of the theatre. Poor man, I could see, as the gas light fell on his face that it was deathly pale and his eyes were clouded. They carried him out into the street and toward our steps. The door was open and a young man belonging to the house, standing on the steps, told him to bring him in there, expecting them to have him laid upon our bed. But the door of our room being fastened, they passed on to a little room in the back building at the end of the hall. Hulda, (Mrs. Francis) remained at the window looking out until she saw them bring him up the steps - our steps.
Mrs. Lincoln came in soon after, accompanied by Major Rathbone and Miss Harris. She was perfectly frantic, "Where is my husband, where is my husband" she cried, wringing her hands in the greatest anguish. As she approached his bedside she bent over him, kissing him again and again, exclaiming, "How can it be so, do speak to me".
Secretary Stanton, Secretary Wells, and all of the members of the cabinet except Secretary
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Seward, came in and remained all night. Also George Carter, Charles Lumm, General Augur, General Meigs, two or three surgeons, and a good many others. Our front parlor was given up to Mrs. Lincoln and her friends. The back parlor (our bed room) was occupied by Secretary Stanton. He wrote his dispatches there during the night. Judge Carter held an informal court there and it was full of people.
Mrs. Lincoln went to see her husband occasionally. Robert Lincoln was with her. Reverend Doctor Gurley was there and made a prayer by the bedside of the President, and then in the parlor with Mrs. Lincoln.
Mr. Lincoln was insensible from the first and there was no hope from the moment he was shot. As he lay on the bed the only sign of life he exhibited was his breathing. About two o'clock he began to breathe harder and with more and more difficulty until he died. After he died Doctor Gurley made a short prayer over him and then prayed again with Mrs. Lincoln in the parlor.
A Cabinet Meeting was then held in our back parlor, and soon after most of the people left. Mrs. Lincoln went soon, and in about two hours after he died he was carried away to the President's room. We saw him the last time before he was shot, up in the Capitol the day before.
Things are now resuming their natural appearance, but business seems to keep very quiet--"
Your uncle:
George Francis
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We thought the above letter would be of interest to all of you, in that it was originally written by an eye witness to the death of our one and only Abraham Lincoln, and by him in whose house the wounded President died. Then too, it is possessed of that quality of human interest of one person baring his innermost thoughts to another.
This month we wish to apologize for several errors that appeared in the January number, and to
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explain that they were strictly typographical errors of the printer. We checked our copy and double checked it. So let us hope that it will not occur again.
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Last month you found the following on page 6. "Yes, oldsters and people with imperfect sight are poor drivers, but are the ones who cause the wrecks". It was an error and following is as it should have been. "Yes, oldesters and people with imperfect sight are poor drivers, but are they the ones who cause the wrecks?".
It was strictly a question, not a statement.
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Subscriptions have been coming in at a rather brisk pace this month, and we wish to thank the following for their subscription renewals: Mrs. Laura H. Shackelford, of Beverlyville, Va; Mrs. R. M. Tichenor, of Scotch Plains, N.J.; (who renewed for two years) and Mrs.R. M. Davis, of Utica, Miss. And we wish to welcome the following new subscribers: Mrs. G. A. DeLong, of Lexington, Ky; Mr. J. K. Shackelford, of Lake Helen, Florida, whose subscription was sent in by his sister - Mrs. Electa Cottle, of Mount Hope, W. Va., Mrs. Pearl S. Richardson, of Axton, Va; Mrs. Dr. W. L. Baugh, of Lubbock, Texas, who also included one for Mrs. Fred I. Glenn, of Dallas, Texas.
To all of who we say again "Thanks, more than mere words can express".
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We also wish to acknowledge receipt of, and to thank again, those who have been so kind as to send us additional data this past month, as follows: Mrs. Pearl S. Richardson, of Axton, Va.; Mrs. O. M. Morrison, of Eagleville, Mo.; Miss Irene Morgan, of Tahlequah, Okla.; Mrs. George Fisher, of Lexington, Tenn.; Mrs. Vernon E. McArthur, of Hutchinson, Kansas.; Mrs. Margaret E. McGuinn, of Spartanburg, S.C.; Miss Ophelia Amason, of Crawford, Ga.; Mrs. Mary Moore-Sharp, of Hattisburg, Miss.; Mrs. Carrie G. Hickman, of Atchison, Kansas.;
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Mrs. Dr. John A. Shackleford, of Martinsville, Va.: and Mrs. J. M. Davis, of Utica, Mississippi.
We are indeed grateful for such splendid cooperation. Thanks again.
"Little words of kindness, little words of love;
Make this earth an Eden like the heavens above".
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And again this month we are happy to report two brand new members of the Clan. A very charming little lady - Claudia Catherine, appeared on this orb December, 7, 1846, and will henceforth make her home with the proud parents - Mr. Claud Rollin Hunsicker and his wife, the former Miss Margaret Katherine McBride. The Hunsickers live in Mansfield, Ohio.
Also a belated report of a probably future president in the person of master Frank Hampton, Jr., who arrived at the home of Mr. Frank Hampton Watson, Sr., and his wife - the former Miss Jane Shackellford. The Watsons live in Burnesville, N.C. Master Frank Hampton, Jr., arrived October, 2, 1946.
And so on behalf of the entire Clan we extend our warmest congratulations to the proud parents of both new arrivals.
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And that sly little elf - Dan Cupid, has not relaxed his efforts this month either. A belated report to us informs us that the lovely daughter of Mr. Young Shackelford, and the former Miss Nancy Jane Midyette - Audrey, became the happy bride of Mr. Wayne Moore Hypes, of Albermarle, N.C., at the Presbyterian Church in Statesville, N.C., November, 16, 1946. They are at home in Albemarle
Also another wedding that almost made it in time to appear in the January Magazine. Miss Maybelle Lee Marr, lovely and talented daughter of Mr. John Wesley Marr, and his wife - the former Miss Maybelle DeLong, of Lexington, Ky., became the bride of Mr. James Richard Bush, Jr., son of Mrs. J. R. Bush, and the late Mr. Bush, also of Lexington, October 9, 1946, at the Presbyterian Church.
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And so on behalf of the entire Clan we offer our warmest congratulations and best wishes for long lasting happiness.
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"Test of a conviction or principle: Would you change if the opposite idea would make you popular or rich?" - Quillen -
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Mrs. O. M. Morrison, of Eagleville, Mo., the former Miss Marguerite Alma Hunsicker, daughter of the late Jacob Hunsicker and his wife - Laura Ann Shackelford, is seeking information of, and to contact descendants of Rev. Joseph Tiffin Shackelford, and will appreciate help from any source.
If any one knows anything of the present descendants of the above mentioned Reverend Joseph Tiffin Shackelford, who was a Methodist minister in a Kansas Conference for many years, please write Mrs. Morrison, or to the Editor.
Information wanted of one William Shackelford, Revolutionary soldier, born 1759, in King William County, Va. In his pension claim he stated that he was born in King William County, Va., and entered the army there. Later he moved to New Kent County, and still later to Caroline County, then to Montgmery, to Powhatan, and finally to Henry County, Va., where he remained the balance of his life, and died after 1833. He is known to have had three children, probably others, as follows:
William, Jr., - (married first - a Miss Taylor, and second - Sophia Lamkin-Matthews)
Harriet., ------(married Duke Price
Jane., ----------(married ??
Any one knowing the ancestry of William Shackelford, Sr., or the identify of his wife, will you please send it to Mrs. Pearl S. Richardson, of RFD #3, Axton, Va., or to The Editor.
And we are still seeking any information of the ancestry of, or data of descendants of Ambrose Shakelford who married Sarah M. Dorsey, 1826,
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in Hardin Co., Ky. Miss Irene Morgan, of Wilson Hall, Northeastern State College, Talequah, Okla., is particularly anxious to have this information, as she is trying to prove her DAR lineage.
We are also still seeking information of the ancestry of, and data of descendants of one Stephen Shackelford, born about 1775/80, whose descendants, many of them, still live at or near Birmingham, Alabama. Was he related to the Shackelfords of Elbert County, Georgia?
And we are still looking for information of one Francis Shackelford, born about 1760/70, and who once lived in Elbert Co., Ga., but died in 1827 in Montgomery County, Alabama. We want his ancestry and information of his descendants, many of whom now live in Georgia, Alabama and Missiissippi.
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"It has always been my desire to pluck a thistle and plant a flower wherever I thought a flower would grow." - Abraham Lincoln.
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David James Shackelford, born about 1796, probably in Abbeville Co., S.C., and died near Mobile, Alabama, 1837. He married Charlotte Godbold, and had the following children:
Richard., ---------------(married ??
Ruth Hannah., ---------(married John Spinney DeMerriot)
John Francis.,----------(married Sarah A. Vaughn)
William., --------------(married ??
Lea E., -----------------(married ??
Charlotte., -------------(married ??
Nathan Cade -----------(married Sarah V. Nolley)
Both Nathan Cade Shackelford and his wife died at Pensacola, Florida.
Mordecai Shackelford, Revolutionary soldier, stated in his pension claim that he was the son of John, and that he was born 1763, in Madison County, Virginia. (Madison County, Va., was not formed until 1790, and from Culpepper) He was granted a pension in 1832, at which time he was living in Abbeville County, South Carolina.
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His will was dated September, 16, 1839, in Abbeville Co., S.C. So he died after that date. He married Sarah (Polly) Jones, said to have been a daughter of John Jones and his wife Annie Shackelford, in Albemarle County, Va., 1789; and to them were born, according to our records, the following children:
John W., ---------(married Margaret B. White)
Robert., ----------(married Elizabeth McAllister)
Mary., ------------(married _________Grant)
Howard B., ------(married M. Carlyle)
Wylie., -----------(married Mary //. He died near Ripley, Mississippi.
Stephen., --------(married ??
William., --------(married ??
Hugh., -----------(married ??
Fanny., ----------(married ??
Mattie., ----------(married ??
Allen., -----------(married Elizabeth Maxwell, in Elbert County, Georgia.
Thomas J., -----(married Martha ??, and was living in Pike County, Georgia in 1850.
We will be grateful indeed for any additional information of the descendants of Mordecai Shackelford and his wife Polly Jones, or of the ancestry of John Shackelford, father of Mordecai. Also of the family and descendants of David James Shackelford and his wife Charlotte Godbold.
And please send us any old letters and documents that you feel would be interesting to others of the Clan.
Send us your questions and please report all births, marriages, and deaths of Clan members; we like to keep you informed. We solicit correspondence and will always reply to your inquiries.
And we shall be happy to send you whatever information you seek if we can, or to secure it for you when we do not have it.
And this month let us pay tribute to two great Americans - George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
Until next month - Adios, The Editor.
Transcribed by Phoebe Larne, May 25, 1998
UpdatedThursday, 01-May-2008 16:49:12 EDT