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 earliest American ancestor was Roger Shackelford, who was born in Old Alresford in the English county of Hampshire in 1629. (The orthography of the name of Roger Shackelford's descendants varies, sometimes spelled 'el' and sometimes 'le. ') The immigrant Roger Shackelford was first mentioned in Gloucester County, in a grant of land in 1658. One branch of the Shackelford family are descendants of President Thomas Jefferson. The family likely took its name from the village of Shackleford, in the English county of Surrey, which adjoins Hampshire and is not far from London. A North Carolina barrier island, Shackleford Banks, is named for descendants of the family, as is Shackelford County, Texas. The post office in Shacklefords (which was at one stage spelled with an apostrophe) was established in 1800.