Alfred Colquitt “Corky” Shackleford, Jr.
Interview at Grace Church with vestry members Beth Sutton, Kathie Woods with Corky Shackelford. Corky is one of the senior members of Grace church, and a lifetime farmer, teacher, and landowner who still lives on the family property on Route 20 in Stony Point. Corky served on the vestry during the time of the “massive resistance” to integration of Virginia Public Schools. We asked him for any memories he might recall of the church and the black community during the early ‘60s.
Corky Shackelford said that in the 1960’s during the time of civil rights upheavals nationally, local people in the community and in the church were (and are still typically) resistant to change. The rector of the church, Charles “Buck” Carnan, wanted to follow the Christian tradition of welcoming any and all people, but some of the vestry members disagreed and resigned. Bishop Gibson advised in a letter to the church that new vestry be elected to replace the ones who elected to leave, and to go along as best they could as peacefully as possible. Corky stayed on the vestry, and he said there was never a problem. Corky noted that he has served on the vestry several times through the years, and that he took the vestry minutes to UVA Special Collections for safe keeping. Many of his notes are recorded in these archives, and he said that we might be able to learn more from that resource, since he regrets his memory isn’t as good as he would like. He also said that he does not know many of the black community members in Cismont, since he lives” on the other side of the mountain.” Due to the very separate communities then and now, his acquaintances are local, with people he has worked with or been neighbors with in the largely agricultural community of Stony Point. His family have been members of Grace Church for generations, at least a century, and Corky’s entire life.
He did say, occasionally there have been one or two black congregants at Grace, but he said that the churches had always been segregated, partially due to the difference in socio-economic status of the neighborhood community, as well as a general difference in worship style and preferences. He did not recall any times that black visitors were not welcome. He remembered the times in more recent years when then Reverend Julie Norton initiated joint worship services with Zion Hill. He said that we held several outdoor services during the early 2000’s but that they stopped because some of the black members of Zion Hill felt uncomfortable worshipping on the properties where their families had been employed, and possibly formerly enslaved. The initiative to hold joint services was one of pastoral preference rather than any formal policy decision. However, our church has often been invited to attend services at Zion on various occasions, notably during the Thanksgiving season.
Corky told the story of his grandfather, a surgeon in the confederate army. He had a faithful family servant who went along with him to serve as a personal aide or manservant. After the war, Henry Tyree asked to stay in service on the Shackelford farm with his wife, and at his request they are buried in the Shackelford family graveyard. Corky said that he does not know if these kinds of congenial family relationships between enslaved people and their employers are commonly known, but there are many examples of the close bonds that were often formed, and he thinks that one of the problems in today’s turmoil amongst the protesting younger generation is the lack of thorough knowledge of history in general.
Corky recommended we contact Dot Proffitt for her memories of the Cismont School and the 1960s in Cismont. He mentioned that two of his wife Mary Aston’s siblings attended there.
Corky remembered Moses Ladd, who was a very important person in recent Church history, having served as Sexton until 1960 and who also sang in the choir. His land adjacent to the current church building was purchased by Grace in recent years. Moses Ladd’s granddaughter Lynly is married to a local prominent farmer in Scottsville, Paul “Peanut” Coleman. Corky suggested we could talk to them regarding any memories or information about the local community.
Beth Sutton
July 25, 2020
Reviewed and revised by Corky -August 2020
Corky Shackelford said that in the 1960’s during the time of civil rights upheavals nationally, local people in the community and in the church were (and are still typically) resistant to change. The rector of the church, Charles “Buck” Carnan, wanted to follow the Christian tradition of welcoming any and all people, but some of the vestry members disagreed and resigned. Bishop Gibson advised in a letter to the church that new vestry be elected to replace the ones who elected to leave, and to go along as best they could as peacefully as possible. Corky stayed on the vestry, and he said there was never a problem. Corky noted that he has served on the vestry several times through the years, and that he took the vestry minutes to UVA Special Collections for safe keeping. Many of his notes are recorded in these archives, and he said that we might be able to learn more from that resource, since he regrets his memory isn’t as good as he would like. He also said that he does not know many of the black community members in Cismont, since he lives” on the other side of the mountain.” Due to the very separate communities then and now, his acquaintances are local, with people he has worked with or been neighbors with in the largely agricultural community of Stony Point. His family have been members of Grace Church for generations, at least a century, and Corky’s entire life.
He did say, occasionally there have been one or two black congregants at Grace, but he said that the churches had always been segregated, partially due to the difference in socio-economic status of the neighborhood community, as well as a general difference in worship style and preferences. He did not recall any times that black visitors were not welcome. He remembered the times in more recent years when then Reverend Julie Norton initiated joint worship services with Zion Hill. He said that we held several outdoor services during the early 2000’s but that they stopped because some of the black members of Zion Hill felt uncomfortable worshipping on the properties where their families had been employed, and possibly formerly enslaved. The initiative to hold joint services was one of pastoral preference rather than any formal policy decision. However, our church has often been invited to attend services at Zion on various occasions, notably during the Thanksgiving season.
Corky told the story of his grandfather, a surgeon in the confederate army. He had a faithful family servant who went along with him to serve as a personal aide or manservant. After the war, Henry Tyree asked to stay in service on the Shackelford farm with his wife, and at his request they are buried in the Shackelford family graveyard. Corky said that he does not know if these kinds of congenial family relationships between enslaved people and their employers are commonly known, but there are many examples of the close bonds that were often formed, and he thinks that one of the problems in today’s turmoil amongst the protesting younger generation is the lack of thorough knowledge of history in general.
Corky recommended we contact Dot Proffitt for her memories of the Cismont School and the 1960s in Cismont. He mentioned that two of his wife Mary Aston’s siblings attended there.
Corky remembered Moses Ladd, who was a very important person in recent Church history, having served as Sexton until 1960 and who also sang in the choir. His land adjacent to the current church building was purchased by Grace in recent years. Moses Ladd’s granddaughter Lynly is married to a local prominent farmer in Scottsville, Paul “Peanut” Coleman. Corky suggested we could talk to them regarding any memories or information about the local community.
Beth Sutton
July 25, 2020
Reviewed and revised by Corky -August 2020
