USA > Maine > Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume II > Part 66
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William Shackford, of SHACKFORD Bloody Point, Dover township, New Hamp- shire, took the oath of fidelity required by the general court of Massachusetts in 1669. He was a member of the grand jury in 1682. He married Deborah, daughter of Thomas Trick- ey, an original settler of Bloody Point, New Hampshire, about 1637. William Shackford cultivated a farm and was a house carpenter by trade. William and Deborah (Trickey) Shackford had three sons, Samuel, John and Joshua. Bloody Point was named Newing- ton by Governor Dudley in 1714, but it had already been incorporated as a parish, but was not incorporated as a town until 1764. Will- iam Shackford was a member of the first church established in Newington. He died there in 1720.
(II) Joshua, son of William and Deborah (Trickey) Shackford, was born in Newington, New Hampshire. He married Elizabeth , and had three sons, Samuel, John and Paul, baptized in the church at Newington in 1728. He continued to reside in Newington up to the time of his death.
(III) Samuel, son of Joshua and Elizabeth Shackford, was born in Newington, New Hampshire, and was a mariner, sailing from Newbury, where he made his home. He mar- ried, July 19, 1740, Mary Coombs, of New- bury, Massachusetts. Having been brought up to the life of a sailor, he followed that call- ing and brought up his boys to the same hazardous and exciting vocation. The chil- dren of Samuel and Mary Shackford were: I. Captain John (q. v.), born in 1753. 2. Levi, a soldier in the American revolution, wounded in the battle of Bunker Hill. 3. William a sailor in the privateer service and a prisoner of war for three years and afterward served in the navy under John Paul Jones. 4. Mary, who married Caleb Boynton, for whom Boyn- ton street and the Boynton school in East- port are named. Captain Samuel Shackford died in Newburyport, Massachusetts.
(IV) John, son of Samuel and Mary (Coombs) Shackford, was born in Newbury, Massachusetts, in 1753. He was brought up a sailor and while so employed his ship visited Eastport, Maine, as early as 1763. He mar- ried, November 26, 1780, Esther, daughter of Captain Gideon and Hannah Woodwell. Cap- tain Woodwell was an extensive ship builder in Newbury, Massachusetts. Captain John Shackford was a pioneer settler of Eastport, Washington county, Maine, visiting the place
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for a second time in 1782, when he determined to remain and make provisions for the safety and comfort of his wife and children prepara- tory to permanent settlement. He built ac- commodations for curing the fish he hired caught by the Indians and some white fisher- men from the British province ; he also erected a strong storehouse of logs, where he kept and sold such merchandise as met the require- ments of the fishermen and Indians ; the fishery and storehouse were in full operation, and he set about builling a dwelling house and plant- ing part of his farming lands. Everything being ready in 1784, he set out in his small sailing vessel, the "Industry," for Newbury, Massachusetts, and brought to their new home his wife and two children, John and William Shackford. His little craft was the first ves- sel owned in the place, as the fishing business up to that time had been done in open boats. Among the vessels subsequently owned by him were the "Delight," "Hannalı," "Sally" and "Patty." The latter vessel plied between East- port, Portland and Boston, and was the first freight and passenger boat employed on this route. The "Polly" was commanded by John Shackford Jr., son of the owner. He also car- ried on a farm of one hundred acres on Shack- ford Cove, being lot No. 3, granted him in 1783, and one hundred acres called Shack- ford's Head or Broad Cove. He was a soldier in Captain Wood's company, which marched under General Benedict Arnold through the woods of Maine to the attack of Quebec, and in the assault on that fortress he was taken prisoner and was confined nine months in prison, six weeks of the time being in irons. Upon his return he was ordered to the army of General Washington at Kings Bridge, New York. After the close of the revolutionary war Benedict Arnold, then known as the trai- tor, took refuge in St. Jolin, New Brunswick, where he was a merchant and ship owner, and Captain John Shackford loaded a vessel for him at Campo Bello, Arnold personally direct- ing the work. He commanded the first militia company organized in Eastport, his uniform consisting of an old Continental three-cornered hat and he wore an old sword. His company was made up largely of veteran soldiers of the American revolution, a wild set of fellows whom their captain found it difficult to con- trol. During the war of 1812, when the Eng- lish fleet captured the town, the British com- mander was met at the wharf by the old patriot soldier who demanded of the British officer as follows: "Well, sir! what brought you here? I am king of Pascamaquoddy and
thou are my subject. If you behave yourself you can come on shore, if not you had better begone."
On taking possession of the town the in- habitants were ordered to swear fidelity to the king of England, but Captain Shackford re- plied to the officer who was about to adminis- ter the oath, "that he had fought under Gen- eral Washington; that he might take four horses and draw him to quarters, but never would he swear allegiance to the king of Eng- land." The old veteran was excused from taking the oath and his property was not dis- turbed. Captain John Shackford died at his home in Eastport, Maine, on Christmas day, 1840, having attained the eighty-seventh year of his age, and his widow obtained a pension from the United States government by reason of his service in the American revolution. His brother Levi was wounded at the battle of Bunker Hill, and his brother William was cap- tured on the privateer "Dalton" and confined in the "Old Mill Prison" for three years, and on being released he served under John Paul Jones, and he was either killed or died from hardships endured in the war, as he never re- turned to his home.
The children of Captain John and Esther (Woodwell) Shackford were: 1. Jolin Jr., born in Newbury, Massachusetts, July 1, 1781, was commander of the first vessel owned in the town and commander on the first freight and passenger traffic boat established between Eastport, Portland and Boston, and his last packet, the "Boundary," the swiftest vessel on the coast after twenty-one years in this service, had to give place to steamships. Captain John Shackford Jr. built a windmill upon the bluff at the entrance of Shackford's Cove, but it proved faulty in construction and was of no practical value, but remained standing on the bluff for many years as a conspicuous land- mark. He had three sons, all sailors: Cap- tain Benjamin, who died in Eastport in 1885, aged seventy-three years; Captain Charles W., master of the brig "Esther Elizabeth," who with his vessel was lost at sea; Captain John L., who died at St. Thomas, West Indies. 2. William (q. v.), born November 23, 1783. 3. Captain Samuel, born in Eastport, September 28, 1786, was probably the first male child born in the town; he married Elizabeth, daughter of Otis and Elizabeth (Thompson) Lincoln, of Berch Point, Perry, Maine, and died at Demerare, South America, August 31, 1820, of yellow fever. 4. Captain Jacob, born January 20, 1790, commanded the steam brig "New York," the first steam vessel to enter
& W. T hack ford,
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the harbor of Eastport, Maine. He followed the sea up to 1832, when he became a member of the firm of W. & J. Shackford & Company, merchants, ship builders and fishermen. He married Eliza, daughter of John Pearce, and had eleven children; Captain Jacob died June 19, 1869, aged seventy-nine years. 5. Hannah, married Captain Darius Pearce. 6. Esther, married Israel Hinckley. 7. Sally, married Captain John Lincoln.
(V) Captain William (2), second son of Captain John and Esther ( Woodwell) Shack- ford, was born in Newbury, Massachusetts, November 23, 1783, and died March 28, 1870. He went to sea as a boy and continued to be a sailor all his life. He commanded the "Active" in 1807 and was subsequently master of the "Sally," "Orient," "Blockade," "Five Broth- ers," and was largely interested in the West Indian trade. He was in command of the brig "Dawn" when that American ship was captured by a French cruiser during the war with the French in the time of Napoleon I. He was carried to France, and upon being re- lieved at the instance of the American minis- ter he went to England and came before the mast as an ordinary seaman. He next com- manded the "Lady Sherbrooke" and then the "Sarah." His last vessel was the "Splendid," a fine packet engaged in the freight and pas- senger traffic between Eastport, Portland and Boston. He retired from sea service in 1833 and engaged in mercantile pursuits with his brother Jacob. He died in 1870, aged eighty- seven years. The children of William and Mary Cutter (Lincoln) Shackford were: I. John William, born in Eastport. Maine, Jan- uary 30, 1839, who for many years command- ed the steam packet "Illinois" and other ocean steamers and became master of the "Atalanta," a steam yacht owned by Jay Gould. 2. Ed- ward Wallace (q. v.), born April 14, 1840. 3. Mary Lincoln, born March 24, 1841, mar- ried Andrew W. French, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who was born in Eastport in 1837 ; children : William Shackford and Ferdi- nand Lampher French. 4. Ebed Lincoln, born December, 1843, married August 23, 1869, Lucy Parritt, who died July, 1893; at the outbreak of the civil war in 1861 he en- listed in Company D, First Maine Cavalry, and served with that regiment during its term of enlistment, when he settled in St. Paul, Minnesota, as a merchant, and there died, Oc- tober I, 1908. 5. Sarah Ellen, born April 27, 1844, removed to Philadelphia ; she never mar- ried. 6. Charles Russell, born July 30, 1847, died December 16, 1850. 7. Charles Joseph,
born May 5, 1854, went to sea and was lost in 1870 while making his first voyage.
(VI) Edward Wallace, second son of Will- iam (2) and Mary Cutter (Lincoln) Shack- ford, was born in Eastport, Maine, April 14, 1840. He was graduated at the Eastport high school, and learned the trade of block and spar maker at Machiasport. When he had mastered this trade he shipped on a vessel tra- ding with the West Indies as ordinary sea- man, and his second voyage was on a ship that made the hazardous journey to the Pacific coast of the United States by way of Cape Horn, South America, reaching San Francisco in 1860, and sailed as far north as Puget Sound, where he passed the year 1861-62, and returned to Maine by the same route, reaching home in 1864. His next voyage was before the mast, and he passed from able seaman to second mate, first mate and captain of the brig "Emily Fisher," commanding the brig in 1866. His next sea experience was on a steamer on the American line between Phila- delphia and Liverpool, England, in the ca- pacity of second officer, and he made four voyages on the steamships. He commanded a barque after leaving the steamship, and in 1887 resigned the command of the barque "Ormus" to assume a like position on the steam yacht "Atalanta," owned by Jay Gould, on a voyage to the Mediterranean. He was captain of the schooner "Johanna Swan," built by Albert M. Nash at his ship yards in Har- rington, Maine, from 1889 up to the time the schooner was wrecked in the terrible gale of November, 1898, in which gale the steamer "City of Portland" was lost with all on board, and scarce a vestige of the vessel was ever found. The wrecked schooner, however, with- stood the gale for seven days, when Captain Shackford and his crew were rescued by the German barque "Anna," and on his arrival home he abandoned the life of a sailor and re- tired from active participation in business life.
He established a winter home at Harring- ton and a summer home was a comfortable cottage by the sea, at Point Ripley, which has proved so delightful a summer retreat to seek- ers for an ideal seaside rest. Captain Shack- ford finds congenial spirits at the periodical meetings of Eastern Lodge, No. 7, Free and Accepted Masons, of Eastport ; Dirigo Chap- ter, Royal Arch Masons of Cherryfield, and Tomah Tribe, No. 67, Improved Order of Red Men, of Harrington, Maine. He was elected a member and chairman of the Har- rington Republican town committee; was chairman of the Harrington school board for
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three years; represented his district in the house of representatives of the state of Maine in 1903-04, and a member of the senate of the state of Maine 1905-06. He has been pres- ident of the Ripley Land Company of Maine from its organization. Mr. Shackford attends the Baptist church, of which his wife is a member.
Mr. Shackford married (first), at Eastport, September 30, 1866, Clara R. Gardner, who died February 22, 1873, at Eastport, Maine. Children : 1. Leslie G., born Eastport, Maine, June 13, 1868; married, June 2, 1903, Matie Schmidt ; he resides at St. Paul, Minnesota, where he is employed by the St. Paul Rubber Company. 2. Clara Lincoln, born at Eastport, January 21, 1873, single : superintendent of the John Sealy Hospital at Galveston, Texas. Mr. Shackford married (second), at Machias, Maine. Adelaide Tobey, June 4. 1876.
RIKER This family of German origin was located at a remote period in lower Saxony. They were in pos- session of the Manor of Rycken from which they took their name, at first written Von Rycken and passing through many changes before the simple form Riker was adopted in America. Hans Von Rycken, lord of the manor, took part in the first crusade to the Holy Land in 1096 and lost his life in the service. His descendants located in Lower Saxony, Holstein and Hamburg, where they occupied places of trust for two centuries. The American family it is supposed descended from a branch in Amsterdam. Captain Jacob Simonsz de Rycke, a wealthy merchant of Amsterdam, distinguished for his military service, is said to have been the grandfather of Abraham de Rycke, the progenitor of the American family. The name Jacob occurs in the early generations.
Abraham de Rycke came to this country about 1638 and was the founder of the New York and New Jersey families. His descend- ants, after three generations, spelled the name Riker. It is recorded that Abraham received in 1638 a grant of land from Governor Keith, for which he secured a patent August 8, 1640. In 1642 he was living in New Amsterdam, where he remained many years, engaged in trade. His wife was Grietie, daughter of Hendrick Harmensen. He died 1689.
(I) Thomas Jefferson Riker was born in New York City. He was a merchant and con- nected with the Methodist church. He mar- ried, in 1828, Amelia Ann, daughter of Sam- uel Worthman Bradley, a shipping master of
New York, who at one time owned a large sugar plantation in Rio Janeiro, South Amer- ica. Children : Samuel T., Edgar J. and Mar- garet A.
(II) Edgar Jefferson, second son of Thom- as J. and Amelia A. (Bradley) Riker, was born in New York City, July 7, 1832. When but eleven years of age he went to Notting- ham, New Hampshire, and was in the em- ploy of Alfred A. Lane. Six years later he went to Epping, New Hampshire, and learned the blacksmith's trade. In 1852 he went to Lowell, Massachusetts, and was employed in a machine shop for one year, when he secured a position with the Hill Manufacturing Com- pany at Lewiston, Maine. After ten years' service there he transferred to the Mason Lo- comotive Company at Taunton, Massachusetts, but three years later, in 1866, he returned to the Hill Manufacturing Company at Lewiston, which position he still retains. Like his father, he has been connected with the Methodist church, and in politics is a Democrat. He was a member of the Lewiston Light Infantry, First Corps, for seven years. Mr. Riker mar- ried, in Lowell, Massachusetts, July 2, 1853, Keziah, daughter of Thomas and Elvira (Lindsay) Pressey, who was born in Mer- cer, Maine, September 29, 1832. They had two children: Warren Edgar, born January 26, 1856, and Emma Frances, May 16, 1859, married (first) Charles McKenny; (second) Fred S. Merrill, a shoe manufacturer of Brockton.
(III) Warren Edgar, only son of Edgar J. and Keziah ( Pressey) Riker, was born in Mercer, Maine, January 26, 1856, and was ed- ucated in the Mercer public and Lewiston high schools. In early life he learned the jeweler's trade, which business he followed for about nine years, five of which he was in busi- ness for himself. He was for a time in part- nership with B. F. Bradford, a druggist, the firm name being B. F. Bradford & Company. In 1888 he bought out the business which he has since continued. Mr. Riker. while inter- ested in politics, has devoted much of his time as commissioner to the developing and per- fecting of the fire department. He also or- ganized the ambulance corps and was com- missioned captain, serving for six years when the rank was reduced by act of state legisla- ture to second lieutenant, and as this officer served till the corps was discontinued. Mr. Riker has always been interested in military affairs, serving for many years as captain of the local militia company and for eighteen years he has been a member of the Ancient
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and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston. He is also a member of the following secret societies : Ashlar Lodge, No. 105, F. and A. M .; King Hiram Chapter, No. 9, R. A. M .; Manufacturers' and Mechanics' Lodge, No. 62, I. O. O. F .; Worumbus Encampment, No. 13, I. O. O. F .; Industry Lodge, No. 2, K. of P .; member of First Regiment, uniformed rank, K. of P., and is colonel of the regiment ; trus- tee and chairman of finance committee of Lew- iston Lodge, No. 371, Elks, from the time that the charter was obtained until 1905; F. of A., holding all local and state chairs in the last- named, and is now holding office in the su- preme court of same. Mr. Riker married, at Lewiston, November 4, 1884, Carrie Leona, daughter of Horace and Sarah (Sawyer) Daggett, who was born in Auburn, Maine, September 1, 1865. They have no children.
PRESSEY This name came to this coun- try soon after the landing of the Pilgrims, and has been identified with the growth and development of New England and of the state of Maine. The name in the old records is found spelled Pressie, but the usual spelling has been that used in this article.
(I) John Pressie, the emigrant ancestor, was born in England in 1638, and came to America about 1650-51. He was called a planter in the records of Salisbury and Ames- bury, Massachusetts. He was taxed in the former place in 1659 and five years later pur- chased land in the latter town, where a meet- ing-house seat was assigned to him in 1667. He served in King Philip's War under Cap- tain Turner, and participated in the "Falls Fight," May 18, 1676. The next year he sub- scribed to the oath of allegiance at Amesbury, and was a member of the training band there in 1680. He was a witness before the courts in 1692, concerning matters which occurred about 1668, and died November 18, 1707, in Amesbury. He was married December 4, 1663, to Mary Gage (or Gauge, sometimes spelled Gough), probably a daughter of Will- iam. She was born about 1645 and was prob- ably the "Mariah Presse" who was dismissed from the Salisbury to the Amesbury church in March, 1700. Their children were John, Mary, Hannah and William.
(II) John (2), elder son of John (I) and Mary (Gage) Pressey, was born October I, 1664, as recorded in Salisbury, and was still living in 1736.
(III) John (3), son of John (2) Pressey, resided in Amesbury.
(IV) John (4), son of John (3) Pressey, removed to Sandown, New Hampshire, before 1735, and married Mary Chase previously to that. They had seven children: Charles, Eliza, John, Polly, Chase, and two daughters whose names are unknown. On March II, 1766, he deeded the property in Sandown to his son, Charles, and subsequently removed to Deer Isle, Maine. He must have been among the pioneers of that town, as the earliest settler there arrived in 1762. One of his daughters was the wife of Ambrose Colby and the other of Nathan Johnson, both of Deer Isle.
(V) Elijah, second son of John (4) and Mary (Chase) Pressey, settled in Weare, New Hampshire. The maiden name of his wife was Blaisdell, and they had four sons : Moses, Benjamin, Jacob and John. The eldest died in Stark, Maine; and the second, who was born in 1784, died in Waterville, same state.
(VI) John (5), son of Elijah Pressey, set- tled in Stark, where he has descendants now living.
(VII) Thomas, son of John (5) Pressey, married Elvira Lindsay, of Norridgewock, Maine, about 1824, and they were the parents of four sons and four daughters, namely : Warren, Francis, Melzar, Charles, Elizabeth, Keziah, Maria and Laura.
(VIII) Keziah, daughter of Thomas and Elvira (Lindsay) Pressey, became the wife of Edgar Jefferson Riker, of Waterville. (See Riker.)
CHAPLIN The ancestry of this numerous and distinguished family is traced back to Bradford, Yorkshire, England. The New England stock is descended from a Puritan who was driven to Leyden, in Holland, on account of his re- ligious views. The Bridgton and Harrison families came from Rowley, Massachusetts, about 1778. They are noted for great size, many having weighed three hundred pounds. (I) Jeremiah Chaplin lived in Bradford, England, where he was born August 4, 1541. (II) Ebenezer, son of Jeremiah Chaplin, was born in Bradford, England, May 10, 1572.
(III) Hugh, son of Ebenezer Chaplin, was born in England, May 22, 1603, and died in Massachusetts. He probably came to Massa- chusetts with Rev. Ezekiel Rogers and settled in Rowley, in 1638, and there became a free- man, May 18, 1642. He had an acre and a half house lot on Bradford street, in 1643. He was buried first month 22d day, 1653. He brought with him his wife Elizabeth, who mar- ried second, December 9, 1656, Nicholas Ja-
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cobson. The children of Ilugh and Elizabeth were: John, Josephi, Thomas, Jonathan.
(IV ) Josephi, son of flugh and Elizabeth Chaplin, was born on the eleventh day of the twelfth month. 1646, and died April 17, 1705. His will, dated April 13, 1705. was probated May 7, 1705. Ile married, February 21, 1672, Elizabeth, daughter of Twiford and Mary West, then of Rowley. She was buried Octo- ber 12, 1702. Their children were: Joseph. John, Jonathan, Jeremiah and Elizabeth.
(V) John, second son of Joseph and Eliza- betli (West) Chaplin, was born in Rowley, October 26, 1674, and died January 24, 1767. "aged 92 years & 2 months and some days." His will. dated January 22, 1756, was proved March 30, 1767. His inventory was presented June 29, 1767. He married, April 9, 1701, Margaret, daughter of Sergeant Caleb Boyn- ton. She died April 22, 1735, suddenly. "She was distracted many years." Their children were Hannah, Elizabeth, John (died young), MIehitable. Jolin (died young), Margaret, John and Moses.
(VI) John (2), third son of John (I) and Margaret ( Boynton) Chaplin, was baptized in Rowley, May 12, 1717, and died January 21, 1774, styled "Lieut." His will, dated Jan- uary 4, 1774, proved February 8, 1774, men- tions wife Sarah, and children Josepli, David, John, Daniel, Caleb, Lydia, Lois and Eunice.
(VII) John (3), third son of John (2) and Sarah Chaplin, is one of the Chaplins who set- tled in Bridgton and Harrison. He learned the blacksmith's trade in his native town and worked at it for some time. He left his forge at the call to arms in the days of the revolu- tion and entered the ranks of the militia, going up from Ipswich and Rowley to Boston to join Washington's army. After the close of the war, some time prior to 1790, he removed to Cumberland county, Maine, and settled in the town of Bridgton, now Naples, where he died in 1830. The Massachusetts Revolutionary Rolls state that John Chaplin was a private in Captain Richard Peabody's company, Colo- nel Edward Wigglesworth's regiment ; and the pay abstract shows that he had a travel allow- ance from Ticonderoga home in 1776. He married, in Rowley, Lydia -, by whom he had thirteen sons, among whom was Ca- leb A.
(VIII) Caleb A., son of John (3) and Lydia Chaplin, was born in Naples, in 1804, and died in 1879. He stuck to the soil and prospered, having a farm of two hundred acres. He never held any offices, and by mind-
ing his own business made life a success. He was extensively engaged in lumbering and farming, and was one of the leading men of the community, and a staunch Whig. He mar- ried Ruth Ann, daughter of Thomas Jordan, of Naples. She was born in 1807 and died in 1883. Their ten children were: 1. Augustine, married Ellen Plummer. 2. Mary Jane. wife of Newell Chute. 3. George Henry, married first, Sarah Sanborn; second, Ellen Chaplin. 4. Ann. 5. Alonzo C., married Antoinette Peabody. 6. Ashbel C., mentioned below. 7. Linda, wife of Isaac Waldron. 8. Cynthia W. 9. Maria, married David Chaplin. 10. Caroline.
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