Laura Shackleford

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• Name	Laura Shackleford  [1, 2]
  Born	1862 Bainbridge, Decatur, Georgia, USA [1, 2]
  Gender	Female
  Residence	1920 Bainbridge, Decatur, Georgia, USA [2]  –  Relation to Head: Head
  Died	26 Nov 1961 Newark, Essex, New Jersey, USA [1]
  Buried	​ Newark, Essex, New Jersey, USA [1, 3]
  	Woodland Cemetery
  Notes	Laura Shackleford, born a slave Laura Shackleford was born a slave on a plantation in Bainbridge, GA, in 1861 and lived to be 100. But she was best known for starting an organization that arranged funerals for poor, black members of the several communities where she lived. The group was called the “Burial Aid Benevolence Society,” and it had chapters in Georgia and later in Elizabeth, Jersey City and Newark after Shackleford migrated to New Jersey. She moved to Newark in 1924 and remained in the city the rest of her life. It was through the society’s work that she became known as “Mother Shackleford.” At a party celebrating her 100 th birthday in April 1961, Shackleford said the secret to a long life was to “have faith in your maker.” Her greatest enjoyments, she noted, were listening to the radio and having friends over to visit. At that point, she lived with her daughter - Mrs. Lelia Mann, a nurse - at 32 Avon Avenue in Newark. Shackleford also remembered shaking hands with two U.S. presidents - William McKinley and Franklin D. Roosevelt. When asked about her approach to child-rearing, she advised parents to be strict with their offspring to the point of getting physical with them, should the need arise. The cake at her centennial party was baked by the Goodwill Industries of New Jersey, where her grandson, Francis L. Warren, was director of rehabilitation and personnel. Mother Shackleford died at the Martland Medical Center in Newark on Nov. 26, 1961. Funeral services were held at the Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Newark followed by burial at Woodland Cemetery. She was survived by two children, seven great grandchildren and three great, great grandchildren. Research by Guy Sterling. Guy Sterling. “Laura Shackleford, Born a Slave.” Blog. *Woodland Cemetery* (blog), February 19, 2020. [https://woodlandcemeterynnj.org/2020/02/19/laura-shackleford-born-a-slave/](https://woodlandcemeterynnj.org/2020/02/19/laura-shackleford-born-a-slave/).
  Person ID	I22231 SOALsearch
  Last Modified	1 Nov 2024

  
  
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  Children	1. Leila Shackleford b. Abt 1885, Georgia, USA  [natural]
  Last Modified	1 Nov 2024
  Family ID	F7500 Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Sources

  [S4551] U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Lehi, UT, USA; Date: 2012;), U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current Record. [S36] 1920 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010;), Year: 1920; Census Place: Bainbridge, Decatur, Georgia; Roll: T625_248; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 35. [S4] Findagrave, (Location: Penbrook, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, USA; Date: 1885;), Laura Shackelford 1962. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/207102069/laura-shackelford