George Allison Shields (1776 - 1858)

Born 19 Nov 1776 in Mount Vernon, Fairfax, Virginia

Descendants

Died 13 Feb 1858 at age 81 in Cherokee, Alabama, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Darrell Shields [send private message]

Biography

From "Shields and Stewart Families" manuscript by William Chapman Shields circa 1860, with additions: "George Allison Shields, Died February 13, 1858 in Cherokee Co. Alabama. His disease was Bronchitis Consumption, which had lingered until it became Chronic. He was an orderly and consistent member of the Baptist Church for a number of years before his decease. His remains were deposited in the cemetery of the Mount Zion Baptist Church Cherokee Co., Ala. at which Church his membership was when he deceased. Aged 81 years 2 months, 24 days" (81 years, 2 months, 25 days)

George and Mary had 10 children and all of them achieved adulthood and married. That was a pretty major accomplishment in the early 19th Century. Eight of those children in turn produced at least 60 grandchildren for George and Mary. Not all of the grandchildren achieved adulthood. One of the objectives of this genealogy is to account for all of the descendants of George Allison Shields. The first child, John Allison Shields was born in 1801 and the last, Benjamin James Shields, was born in 1825. All of "George's Ten" children were born in the adjacent counties of Louisa, Hanover, and Henrico near Richmond, Virginia.

By 1828, or there a bout, George and most of the family had moved west to McMinn County, Tennessee. Court records in both Virginia and Tennessee, as well as the W C Shields manuscript, give glimpses into the difficulty that George had in providing for his large family. They were truly poor. Chapman Simpson Shields, and probably the other children as well, worked outside of the home to help support the family as they were growing up. In fact, Chapman contributed to the support of his father's family until he married at age 27.

The older children began moving into the newly opened Indian Lands in Northwest Georgia in 1834 and eventually George followed suit, apparently settling in Murray County in the mid or late 1840s. The 1850 census shows George, his daughter Sarah, and his son David all with households in Murray County, Georgia. The youngest daughter, Frances, was living in her father's household in 1850. Frances married on Christmas day 1851 in Carroll County, Georgia. I think the household moved to Carroll County because George Harris Shields lived there and David Harris Shields moved (or was moving) to Iowa.

Mary died in Carroll County in 1853 and shortly thereafter George relocated to Cherokee County, Alabama, most likely to live with or near Chapman Simpson Shields. In July of 1854, Chapman bought 40 acres on Terrapin Creek in Cherokee County, built a mill and housing for the family, and perhaps a house for his father. William Chapman Shields, in his biography, speaks of living in a house in his father's yard. I think that house was also where George Allison Shields had lived for about 3 years before his death. I believe the relationship that developed between George and his grandson William during this period lead William to write the manuscript that so much of this family history is based upon.

Year: 1850 State: Georgia County: Murray Sheet No: 286A Reel No: M432-78 Division: District 63 Page No: 278 Enumerated on: November 27th, 1850 by: Absalom Holcombe Transcribed by Michael Robert Babb for USGenWeb, http://www.rootsweb.com/~census/. Copyright: 2003

12 | 1912 1912 | Shields George A | 75 M | Farmer | Virginia 13 | 1912 1912 | Shields Mary | 69 F l | Virginia 14 | 1912 1912 | Shields Frances | 25 F | | Virginia

The family also appears in the 1830 and 1840 Census reports for McMinn County, Tennessee. 1840 and earlier census records list only the head of household by name and then counts of individuals by age groups and other classifications. The 1830 census shows the 2 adults, 2 boys, and 3 girls living in the household. The 1840 records show 2 adults, 1 boy, and 1 girl.

On a sad note that applies to many families of the era, George's grandsons served on both sides of the Civil War. So far research indicates that 6 served in the Confederate Army and 3 served in the Union Army (and it is probable that there were 2 more in the Union Army and 1 more in the Confederate Army). It is within the realm of possibility that first cousins could have come face to face on a battle field. There is family lore that says two unspecified brothers came face to face on a battle field on opposite sides, but that does not seem to be likely because there are not any indications at this time that there were brothers that served on opposite sides. There was at least one grand son lost in Confederate Service and two in Federal Service. I have not yet researched the records to get an idea of how many granddaughters had husbands in the Civil War. It may not be possible to do that research with any degree of accuracy.

One artifact from George Allison Shields has survived to the present. It is a straight razor with a few words scratched on the wood handle. On one side is scratched "Bought 1790 by G A Shields in Baltimore." The other side has "1790/1861 Presented to W C Shields by his father." In 1790 George was about 14, so my first question is what was he doing in Baltimore, Maryland? Perhaps he (and /or the family) was visiting relatives in the area. Remember those "several brothers" that came to America with Christopher? Could it be that this connection to Baltimore is a clue about them? Entered by Darrell Shields

George Allison Shields is buried at Mount Zion Cemetery Spring Garden, Cherokee County, Alabama, USA. ^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #209787478

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Darrell Shields for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Darrell and others.