Personal Info________________________________________
Father: David B. Shields
Born: April 21, 1816 Orange County, Indiana
Died: September 29, 1881 Age 65
Parents: James Sr. & Nancy Shields
Mother: Susannah McKnelly
Born: May 20, 1823 Virginia
Died: May 22, 1865 Age 42
Parents: Unknown
Married: May 19, 1844 for 21 years
Buried: Old Union Cemetery east of Hord, Illinois.
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According to family records, David was the youngest by five years of a huge family of nine boys and seven girls. It is unlikely the entire brood was at home the same time. The elder siblings, being well over twenty years older than David, would have long since left home to start their own lives.
David was only eight years old when his father James passed away. In settling the estate, a guardian by the name of Lewis Byrun was appointed for the boy. This shows that the family was looking out for its youngest member.
Nothing is known about David’s wife, Susannah, or how the two met. We do believe this was the only Shields family to move to Illinois. The only other information on the couple comes from records of inheritance transactions.
When David’s mother passed away, David and his wife sold their part of the estate to a Moses Mathers in August of 1846. Later in life David also received money via his uncle Ambrose Shields as part of his (David’s) share of the estate of a Daniel Shields, another uncle, who had died childless.
Children of David & Susan Shields Elizabeth J. Shields Mary M. Shields (McPeak) James B. Shields Florence M. Shields (Barnes) John W. Shields Sara E. Shields (Austin) Infant Buried in Old Union Cemetery, Hord, Illinois
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