Encyclopedia Dubuque
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SHANKLAND, Edward R.
SHANKLAND, Edward (Lewis, DE, April 7, 1819--Calcasieu Parish, LA, Jan. 17, 1895) Shankland was the son of William L. and Elizabeth Shankland, both natives of Delaware. William L. Shankland was a seafaring man, the captain of a vessel. His parents died when our subject was a small boy, after which he went to Philadelphia, and was there taken care of until the age of twelve years, by a man whom he had previously known. (1)
At the age of twelve, Shankland began five years of work on the canal from Philadelphia to Pittsburg. At this time the Seminole war broke out and he enlisted in the army under Colonel Zachery Taylor and was in active service for two years. After this he learned the plasterer's trade, in Pittsburg, and followed that for a number of years. (2)
Shankland moved to Dubuque in 1856 and opened a seed and implement business, the first of its kind in state. In the PANIC OF 1857, like many others, he was financially ruined. He then began farming. He was the director of the State Agricultural Society for ten years, and for two terms president of the society. He served four years as Deputy United States Marshal for the northern district of lowa, the first term under President Johnson's administration and the second under President Grant. (3) In 1874 he was elected to the executive committee of the National Grange. (4) Locally Shankland was also involved with the Patrons of Industry. (5)
In 1885, he moved to Jennings, Louisiana and returned to agriculture and horticulture. He was president of the Southwestern Horticultural Society when it was organized in 1884. (6)
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Source:
1. The Shankland Families. Online: http://shankland.name/FamilyV3-o/p1.htm
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, February 18, 1874, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18740218&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
5. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, February 27, 1874, p. 4. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18740227&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
6. The Shankland Families