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Clayton and Elnorah (Clayt and Norey) Shackelford In
Enterprise, Oregon James Clayton Shackelford ( Clayton, or “Clayt“ to friends) was my maternal Grandfather. He was born Dec. 17, 1862 in Indiana, & moved to Oregon with his family at the age of 11.
Clayton Shackelford, age 8 and later life In about 1880 he located near Enterprise, Oregon. He married Elnorah Ann Gillespie at Crawfordsville, Oregon on Jan. 1, 1895. Their first child, Wilbur, was born on Oct 2, 1895, & died only 1 month later on Nov. 4. Susannah Angeline (Angie, my Mother), was born Sept. 7, 1896 at Wagner, Oregon. The family moved to Enterprise shortly after my Mother was born, in 1895. Clayton and Elnorah had three more children, all born in Enterprise: Eddeth was born Nov. 7, 1898, Hazel was born in 1900 (but lived only three years), & Elnorah was born July 16, 1902.
Mrs, Clayton Shackelford, Elnorah Ann (Gillespie), was born in LaFayette, Oregon in May, 1864 to George Gillespie & Angeline Jackson Gillespie. Elnorah had a sister, Mary A., born in 1862, a sister, Jennie, born in 1871, & a brother, John Edward, born in Moscow, Idaho in 1873. In 1900, Clayton was a farmer at Enterprise, Oregon & owned farm #77 free & clear. He was elected Sheriff of Wallowa County in 1902. He owned & operated the Enterprise Livery & Feed Stable for many years where he raised fine horses and rented out horses and buggies.
Clayton's Business Card, Front and Back
Unfortunately, Clayton co-signed a promissory note on behalf of a trusted friend, Guy Horner, for $25,000.00. Something went wrong with Guy‘s finances, & Clayton lost his farm & Livery Stable business. Because of this unhappy situation. Clayton and his little family packed up and moved to Clarkston, WA in July 1910 over the Olde Shumaker Grade. Anyone who ever traveled the Shumaker Grade knows that such a trip was no picnic. At Clarkston, Clayton was into several businesses and occupations including running a fruit orchard, canning fruit, and handling Real Estate, Clayton died in Lewiston on December 7, 1931. Clayton had been a loving Husband and Father - and took good care of his family. Clayton’s children, Susannah (Angie), Eddeth (Ted), and Eleanor (Babe), were very unhappy about having to move from Enterprise and leave all their good friends behind. They went back to visit often. During summer vacations in the late 1920's. Angie and Aunt Ted (Eddeth) would take their families (my Brother, Jim, Sister Frances, and Cousin Dick Hellings) over to Wallowa lake, near where they had been raised as girls. They still had girlhood friends living there, notably Clara Litch, who with her husband, Charley, had a large ranch outside Enterprise. The Litches had an old, very crafty horse who didn’t like being ridden by town kids. He ran under a clothesline with Frances, scraping her off his back. He also ran away with Jim, deliberately trying to scrape him off by running down along lane, under the weeping willow branches. Jim stayed on but his face was cut up. Dad (Phil Schnbel, Sr.) would drive us over to Wallowa in his C. O. D. Laundry truck. It was genuinely dangerous trip that few would risk today. The Schumaker grade (see Map) was narrow, steep, and on some switch back curves, one way. It was one of those old time Western mountain roads where the horses could eat out of the back of the wagon. Everybody was terrified until we had crossed the grade. Mom & Aunt Ted would scream and get out & walk around the curves. If someone drove up from the other direction, one would have to back up to a wide spot for passing. We rented cabins at the south end of the Lake from a Mr. Hopkins. He had one arm and a great deal of patience. The cabins were reasonable, but rustic with a capital R. We had to chase elk out of the way to get out of the front yard. There would be at least a half dozen big ones around the cabin every morning. We played all over the mountains, went roller skating in a big wooden rink near the brand new Lodge (We called the Chalet) and did as much horse back riding as we could afford at fifty cents an hour. Jim, Fran, Dick, and I discovered that the old man who ran the riding stables had worked for our grandfather Shackelford in his Livery Stable thirty years before. We took advantage of this fact to enjoy a lot of free rides. Some of the Enterprise names I remember hearing about from my Mother were: “Toots” Fordyce. “Tizzie” Litch, Ben and Ellen Boswell, Lillie Boswell, the Guy Horners, & the Stubblefield family. Shackelfords lived at the Boswell home when they first moved to Enterprise in 1895.
After Clayton (Grandpa Shackelford) died in 1931, one of our keepsakes was a six-shooter he had saved. It contained one notch on the handle. He explained that he had to shoot a murderer who had escaped and was trying to escape again. Unfortunately, that keepsake is no longer with the family. Phil Schnabel, Jr. Hanging Invitations (don't you love it!!) |
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