John Williams Shackelford (November 16, 1844 – January 18, 1883) was a

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

veteran who served one term as a Democratic

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

between 1881 and 1883.

Biography

Shackelford was born in

Richlands, North Carolina Richlands is a town in Onslow County, North Carolina, United States. The 2010 population was 1,520. It is included in the Jacksonville, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. Incorporated on March 29, 1880, it was the first town in Onslow C ...

, the descendant of an early Virginia family which had settled at

Shacklefords, Virginia Shacklefords is an unincorporated community in King and Queen County, Virginia, United States. It derives its name from the Shackleford (or Shackelford) family, of whom the immigrant ancestor to the Virginia colony was Roger Shackelford, who was ...

Civil War

He enlisted in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

at the age of 17 and rose to the rank of lieutenant during the war.

State legislature

In 1872, he was elected to the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...

, where he served for six years, when he was elected to the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...

. He served a single two-year term in the Senate, before running for

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

Congress

He was elected to the

47th United States Congress The 47th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1881, ...

in 1880. Shackelford died in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, during his first and only term in office, in January 1883. He is buried in his hometown of Richlands.

Notes

References

Retrieved on 2009-04-30