Shackelford Family History & Genealogy

"The Descendants of John Shackelford" by Donnie Shackleford

Generation #14

YOUNG LEE SHACKELFORD FAMILY

Young Lee Shackelford was the third child and the oldest son of John Harlin Shackelford and Jerusha Carrie Bonner. He was born January 23, 1882 in Carroll County, Georgia. Of the four children of John and Jerusha, Young Lee was the only one to leave the area that his ancestors had settled many years earlier. Young Lee's father passed away one month before his tenth birthday. This led to hard times for Young. His mother, two older sisters and his younger brother, John Gay Shackelford, who was only six years of age, and Young Lee were left to take care of the farm John Harlin Shackelford had left behind. Being the oldest son, the chores of the farm would become one of his primary responsibilities.
Soon after the turn of the century, Young's mother, Jerusha, married Sebron W. Millican. This was the second marriage for Sebron. According to the 1880 census report for Carroll County, Georgia, he was married to Mary F. , last name unknown, with four children. What became of his first wife and children is unknown.
Young Lee Shackelford and Sebron Millican had extreme difficulty in their relationship. Any reason for these misgivings is unknown.
One day while working in the fields, Young Lee confronted Sebron and a violent argument ensued. This quickly evolved into a fight. Young Lee became very agitated and struck Sebron with a garden hoe, rendering him unconscious.
Thinking that he had killed him, Young became frightened and ran away. Sebron quickly recovered and filed no charges. Jerusha, desperate to find her son, hired detectives to locate him. He was found several years later in Crenshaw County, Alabama, married and a father. Young Lee made two trips back to Georgia to see his mother, but only after he had learned of the death of Sebron. Jerusha made one trip to Alabama to see her son. After this last visit, they never saw each other again.

Donnie Shackleford 1999


More on Young Lee Shackleford and Mary Alice Nichols-Shackelford

Young Lee Shackelford came to Alabama in the early 1900s after a violent encounter with his stepfather, Sebron Millican. He became associated with the Nichols family of MT. Ida, Alabama, when he was employed to work in a logging camp. The Nichols family was noted for their timber holdings. Through this association, he met Mary Alice Nichols, daughter of George Marion and Mary Engram-Nichols. They were married December 22, 1905.
Young Lee and Mary Alice relocated in Petrey, Alabama, in the north-eastern section of Crenshaw County. Young bought a farm and started to raise a family with Mary. Seven children were born over the next several years, but only two children survived infancy. During this period a devastating tornado struck and destroyed considerable of Young's property. Due to overwhelming hardships, Young lost his farm in 1915. He returned to the logging camps and brought his family with him. Two more children were born to Mary Alice but they too, died in infancy. In the summer of 1926, Young Lee became ill at work and was taken by train to Montgomery, Alabama, sixty miles away. There he was rushed into surgery for a ruptured appendix. He never fully recovered and died at home September 23, 1926.
After her husband's death, Mary Alice, with her two surviving children, Zeddie and Ivera, moved to Carroll County, Georgia. They moved in with Young's mother, Jerusha Carrie Bonner-Shackelford. They attempted to help Jerusha with the farm but in 1929, they returned to Crenshaw County, Alabama. Zeddie moved away from home in 1930 when he was married. Ivera married in 1935 to Clarence Chance but Mary stayed with them until her death in 1953. She died in a diabetic coma.