Captain Edward Wallace Shackford, a well-known shipmaster of Harrington, Washington County, was born in Eastport, April 14, 1840, son of Captain William and Mary C. (Lincoln) Shackford. He is a descendant of William and Deborah Shackford, of Dover, New Hampshire. The grandfather, Captain John Shackford, born in Newbury, Massachusetts, in 1753, was the first settler in Eastport, locating there in 1783. He had previously served in the Revolutionary War. As the town advanced in importance, he became one of its prominent business men and the owner of several vessels. He died in Eastport, December 25, 1840, aged eighty-seven years. Shackford’s Head, Shackford’s Cove, and Shackford Street were so named to perpetuate his memory. The maiden name of his wife was Esther Woodwell.
Captain William Shackford, father of Captain Edward W., was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts November 23, 1783. He became a ship-master, following the sea until he was about fifty years old, and commanding several stanch vessels engaged in the West India trade. During the last twenty years of his life he was in business at Eastport; and he died in 1870, aged eighty-seven. In politics he was successively a Whig and a Republican, and at one time he served as Inspector of Customs. He was a member of the Christian church. His first wife, in maidenhood Sarah Batson, bore him three children, all of whom died young. Mary C. Lincoln Shackford, his second wife, who was born in Eastport, May 15, 1814, became the mother of seven children, namely: John W., born January 30, 1839, who is now residing in New York City; Captain Edward W., the subject of this sketch; Mary L., born March 24, 1841, who married Andrew W. French, and lives in Philadelphia; Ebed L., born December 10, 1842, who is a wholesale leather merchant in St. Paul, Minnesota; Sarah E., born April 27, 1844, who is single and resides in Chicago; Charles R., born July 30, 1847, who died December 16, 1850; and Charles J., born May 5, 1854, who was lost at sea in April, 1870. The mother died December 2, 1867.
Edward Wallace Shackford was educated in Eastport. After leaving school he worked for four years at the spar-maker’s trade in Machiasport. About the year 1858 he shipped as ordinary seaman and carpenter on board the ship “Wild Rover,” bound for San Francisco. Later, he became a master mariner, taking command in 1866 of the brig “Emily Fisher,” of two hundred and one tons’ burden. Also, for eight years He was master of the bark “Ormus,” and since 1889 he has commanded the schooner “Johanna Swan,” built in Harrington by A. M. Nash. He has carried valuable cargoes to various parts of the world without disaster to ship or goods, showing his ability as a seaman and navigator, and proving that he held the interest of his owners as identical with his own.
On September 30, 1866, Captain Shackford married for his first wife Clara R. Gardner. She died February 22, 1873, leaving two children: Leslie G., born in Eastport, June 13, 1868; and Clara L., born January 21, 1873. On June 4, 1876, he married for his second wife Adeline Tobey, who was born at Machiasport, October 1, 1840. Her parents, Charles and Lydia Tobey, died respectively on May 11, 1875, and February 5, 1898. Captain Shackford has resided in Harrington since 1881, and occupies a pleasantly situated residence. Politically, he is a Republican. In Masonry he has advanced to the Royal Arch degree, and belongs to Eastern Lodge and Eastern Chapter of Eastport. Mrs. Shackford is a member of the Baptist church.
Source: Biographical review: containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine. Boston: Biographical Review Publishing Company, 1898.