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SHACKLEFORD CLAN MAGAZINE
Genealogy of the Shackelfords and Shacklefords
Editor: T. K. Jones, 251 Morgan St., Versailles, Ky
$1.00 a year. Published monthly. 10¢ a copy.
Versailles Ky. February 1954. Vol. 9. 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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GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH
This will be a second in a series of articles of methods, which in our humble opinion, are the best to be used in order to achieve maximum success in genealogical research.
The next stop to remember is full and correct names in all cases. Never be satisfied with uncle Bud, Aunt Polly or cousin Ted. Remember that in the beginning each person had at least two given names, and often they have three or four. Never be satisfied with nick name or initials it is stall possible to obtain their full and correct names. Nick names are often nice to know in order to prove identification. For example, if you find two men of the same name, which of course will be rare if you get their full names, and shall we say their names are John, one of them being know as "Jack", while the other may be known as "Bud". So in that case have their nick names in parenthesis thus -- John (Jack) Doe, and/or John (Bud) Doe. But always use the nick name for identifications purposes only.
After you have ascertained the full names of the ancestor, and the name of the City or County where he lived or she live, you are ready to begin your search for he extension of that particular line.
But in order to ascertain the above information it is often the case that the relatives will have
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forgotten the names of those long since passed on. But there is one other source that must never be forgotten. That is old friends and neighbors. Many of you will be surprised how often you may find some old man or old lady now in their declining years, but who as children or young people remember the old people they knew in their youth. And when you find one like that you have found a gold mine. We once met a very old lady over in Mississippi who had known some of the people of whom we were seeking information. She was nearing 90 years of age, but her mind and memory was clear as crystal. She told us many stories of them, who they married and where they came from and where they went to, and after following up on the clues she gave us we never caught her in a single error.
Another very important thing to remember are the old Bibles. In the early days of this country most, if not all, owned large Family Bibles, and always recorded the dates of births, marriages and deaths therein. And now and then we will find one that includes the names of the grand parents and even the great grand grand parents.
After you have ascertained the above information then you can begin work on a wider and more extensive scale. So then if you plan on doing your own work you next step is to go to the courthouse where they lived, if you know or have that information. In the court house the first books to look at are the Will Books to see if they left a Will. Then if they left a Will read it and see if all the children were mentioned. Often you will note that the names of the children were not mentioned, but he or she simply left their property to "all my children, or to my wife during her natural life, then to all my children". But never get discouraged and stop there. Go then to the Court Orders, Estate Settlements and Guardian Accounts. They will generally show you the names of the widow and all the heirs who participated in the division of the estate.
See your March Magazine for a continuation of these articles.
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"It's always a find thing to believe in yourself, but don't be too easily convinced" ---
Our plea for new and additional subscribers has met with some response, but not enough as yet. We are going to have to have several more subscribers if we are to continue publication after we have completed our tenth volume.
And this month we are happy to welcome the following new subscribers: Dr & Mrs Edmund Ford, of Terre Haute, Ind.; courtesy of Mrs Margaret Gray-Blanton, of New York City.: Mr Maynard Montgomery, of Casa Grande, Ariz, courtesy of Miss Ruth Ray, of Edwards, Calif.; and Mr Lloyd Mitchell, of Washington, D. C., courtesy of Mrs R. L. Thacker, of Franklin, W. Va.; We also wish to thank the following persons for their renewals: Mrs Fern Bachar, of Fort Morgan, Colo.; Mr H.M. Smith, of Decatur, Ga.; Mr George R. Shackelford, of Texarkana, Ark.; Dr B. L. Shackelford, of Atlanta, Ga.; Mrs Anna B. Records of Seattle, Wash, who also included an order for all back numbers.; Mrs Vernon E. McArthur, of Hutchinson, Kansas.; Mrs J. B. Shackelford, of Jones, La.; who also included one for Miss May Shackelford of Bentonia, Miss.; Mrs C. C. Crim, of Jackson, Miss.; and Mrs. G. C. Walker, of Lancaster, Ky.
And we also wish to thank Mrs Margaret Gray-Blanton, of New York City, who incidentally, is already a life time subscriber, for a nice donation to help keep the Magazine going; also Mrs Vernon E. McArthur, who included a nice donation for the same purpose, in addition to her subscription renewal.
We are forever grateful for this kind of co-operation which merits every consideration that it is in our power to show. Thanks a million to each one.
We are also deeply grateful to the following persons for additional data passed along to us: Mrs B. W. Gandrud, of Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Mrs R. L. Thacker, of Franklin, W. Va.; Mr Henry E. Christiansen, of Salt Lake City, Utah.; Mr George R. Shackelford, of Texarkana, Ark.; Mr J. R. Johnson of Lexington, Ky.; Mrs A. B. McMullen, of Tampa, Fla.; and Miss Nannon L. Carr, of Kansas City, Missouri.
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To all of whom we say again -- "Thanks a million".
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Not a single birth has been reported to us since our last issue went to you, for which we deeply regret, as we would be so grateful if you would pass this information along to us so that we can keep the record up to date.
And only two marriages were reported, but we are thankful for those, although no dates were shown for one of them we presume it was of recent date.
And only two marriages were reported, but we are thankful for those. However, the announcement did not show where one wedding was consummated, or where they are to live. We presume in Atlanta, Ga.
Mr and Mrs Frank Shackelford recently returned from their wedding trip to Paris and Copenhagen. Mrs Shackelford was the former Miss Renee Fletcher, and they are now at home at 1898 Wycliff Road, N. W. (we suppose in Atlanta, Ga.)
Miss Martha Shackelford, lovely daughter of Mr & Mrs J. I. Shackelford, of Birmingham, Ala., became the bridge of Lt Robert C. Ruble, son of Mr and Mrs Clyde Ruble of Bismarck, Mo., at The Hunter Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama., October, 10, 1953. Then after a brief honeymoon trip to Lookout Mountain, the happy coupe will be at home in Las Vegas, Nevada, where the bridegroom is stationed.
On behalf of the entire Clan may we extend our sincere congratulations and best wishes to all.
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It is with sadness and depression that we now report the passing of three members of our Clan since our last issue went out to you. And this month it is of special significance since the death angel invaded a home among those of the family of ye Editor himself.
The death of Mrs Agnes Shackelford-Nock, of Gloucester Court House, Va, last Thanksgiving day, November, the 16th, 1953, was reported to us. Since the bulk of our records are still in Texas and since the book containing the record of the family of Mrs Nock is among them we are unable to give you the vital statistics, but we do know that she was the daughter of William Shackelford. And we believe
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that Mrs Nock had no children. Survivors include several nephews, nieces, and a host of other relatives too numerous to mention here.
Then it was reported to us that Mr William Robert Shackelford, of Texarkana, Ark -- Texas, age 79 years, died at his home January 11, 1954.
The book containing the vital statistics of this gentleman is also at our home in Texas, but we do know that he was born at Prescott, Ark., and is a descendant of William Henry Shackelford and his wife -- Martha Westmoreland, who came to Arkansas before the war between the States, and settled where the little village of Okolona is now located. He established the town of Okolona and gave it the name of Okolona in honor of the town of the same name in Mississippi from whence he came.
Survivors include his widow -- Mrs Deborah Weir-Shackelford, two sons, two sisters, and a multitude of other relatives.
Then on the early morning of January the 16th the death angel called at the home of our son - Mr and Mrs Melvin W. Jones, of 4912 36th St., Lubbock, Tex, and claimed their little son -- Kenneth Wayne Jones, their only son and the only grandson of ye Editor.
Kenneth Wayne Jones was born the son of Melvin Wayne and Edith Evelyn Hunter-Jones, in Lubbock, Texas, July, 26, 1948., and as before stated, he died in the hospital at Lubbock, Texas, January, 16, 1954. It was a surprise and a shock to us, as he did not know that he was ill. We can still hear the patter of his little feet and his shrill voice calling "gandpa" as he would come dashing in the door to stay with grandpa while his mother did her shopping. We shall miss him, but at the same time being fully aware that it is according to the master plan formulated by He who does all things well.
May the Lord bless and comfort each of the bereaved in their house of extreme sorrow.
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"The honeymoon is over when he growls because the bride disturbs him while reading his favorite newspaper"--
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In your January Magazine we concluded with some of the Gloucester County, Virginia, tax lists, and had reached the year 1803 in our investigation. We now continue from that date.
In 1804 we find John, Benjamin, Sr, and Benjamin, Jr., Robert, George, Warner, who now has 2 males in his home over 16 years of age; Charles, Elizabeth, and Priscilla. Just who Priscilla is not shown or indicated, but since there is no Zachariah, no Henry or William, it is possible that she was the widow of one of them, although there is nothing to show that either of them are deceased.
But in 1805 we again find Henry, and in this same year we find Abraham Shackelford and Catherine Shackelford. But again nothing to indicate who she might be.
The 1809 list consists of Henry, Abraham, Benjamin, Benjamin (GT), Charles, George, Mildred, Warner, William and John. So here we find another woman, but again nothing to indicate who she may have been. George had five tithes and four blacks, and John 3 tithes and 2 blacks. Elizabeth, Catherine and Priscilla are all gone.
Mildred Shackelford is gone in 1810. Then in 1816 James appears and Abraham is gone.
In 1820 George, Warner, James, one Benjamin and William are all that are left in Gloucester. And since this is as far as we checked we have no way of knowing any more at this time.
It has been extremely difficult for us to obtain additional records of the Gloucester Shackelfords, so any one knowing how, when or where we could find them, would be doing us a great favor if they would pass that information along.
Next on our list is Matthews County, Va., whose records have been almost totally destroyed.
The first tax list for Matthews is 1799, and that year we find but one Shackelford, who happens to be Line, with 12 tithes and 13 blacks. We feel certain this should be Lyne instead of Line, and we feel equally as certain that this was Lyne Shackelford, Jr.
In 1802 we again find Lyne Shackelford and now he has 14 tithes and still 13 blacks, which indi-
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cated that a son had reached the age of 16 years, or perhaps a hired man living in the home, as he had two males in his home over 16 years of age. We also find George Shackelford and Seamor Shackelford here this year.
In 1805 Lyne Shackelford was gone, and in 1807 the only Shackelford listed in Matthews County was Seamor.
Then we took a quick look at the tax lists for James City County, and find only Sarah Shackelford there in 1783, with 100 acres of land. In 1787 she was deceased and her estate was listed through and continued until 1791, at which time some disposition was made of it, but nothing to indicate who inherited it. This was the only Shackelford listed in James City County from 1783 through 1791.
Another County where the records have been destroyed is Dinwiddie, which incidentally, is where John Shackelford, who is thought by some to have been the immigrant, settled after coming back to Virginia from South Carolina. That however, is one claim that this writer has never found proof for.
One Dicey Shackelford was in Dinwiddie in 1782 with 200 acres of land, but she appeared on the tax lists that one year only, and along with one Mary George at that time. Query: who was Dicey Shackelford, and who was Mary George?
One Lyne Shackelford was on the tax lists in New Kent County from 1789 through 1800. This writer is not certain if this was Col Lyne Shackelford, Sr, or his son -- Lyne Shackelford, Jr.
Since we did not give you a complete list of the Shackelfords in Pittsylvania County in the January issue we will now add a few notes from there. The records of Pittsylvania County have not been destroyed, so we never spent very much time with the tax lists.
The original records show that the first Shackelford into Pittsylvania was John, and he was there as early as 1777. This was evidently the John who later went to Shelby County, Ky. The tax lists show one John there in 1782 with 112 acres of land.
Then in 1791 we find one John there and entered on the tax list as John (Young) Shackelford. The name
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Young in parenthesis indicating that he purchased his land from a man by the name of Young. This same year we also find Henry, but in 1794 Henry was gone.
On the personal tax lists we find two John Shackelfords, one of them with 2 tithes and 1 black, the other with 1 tithe and no blacks. No other Shackelfords are shown until 1789, when Henry appears.
In 1793 we find Armistead Shackelford, and then in 1796 we find John (Sandy River) Shackelford and John (Cane Creek) Shackelford, each having 1 tithe and no blacks. No doubt one of these was the son of Francis, and the other the son of Henry, and Henry of King William County has now moved over into Henry County.
Since the original records of Pittsylvania are so complete we never checked the tax lists any further than 1796.
Spottsylvania County, where many of the early Shackelfords lived, are supposed to have all their early records, but they are in such a condition that we are unable to get a complete and intelligent record of the people there, so we spend some time on their tax lists, but found little.
In 1786 we find on the real estate tax lists that Ann Shackelford is there with 230 acres of land; John has 50 acres, and Ambrose has 100 acres. And these three remain here through 1788 at which time Ann is either gone or deceased, but if she is deceased there is nothing to indicate who inherited her property.
In 1789 Ambrose is shown with 2 males over the age of 16 years. Then in 1790 he is shown with 3 males over 16 years of age.
In 1794 Ambrose does not appear, but in 1795 he is deceased and his estate is listed. And this year Zach appears on the personal tax lists, and has 3 tithes and 2 blacks. Evidently Zach is a son of Ambrose.
In 1797 we find two Johns, one of them listed as John (Hatten) Shackelford, indicating that he purchased land from Hatten. The other John then must have been a son of Ambrose. Leonard and Samuel appear in 1800.
Until next month, Adios -- The Editor.
[Transcribed 6 Jun 1998 by Tee Forshaw]
UpdatedThursday, 01-May-2008 17:18:39 EDT