It is related that one William Shields II, son of one Williams Shields I, of Cavan County, Coote Hill, Ireland, immigrated before the Revolutionary War, possibly about 1740 or 1750, and settled near Trenton, New Jersey. At the age of about 20, he sought the consent of his father to come to America. One story says he wanted to come because he was a second son and would therefore not be entitled to an inheritance since Irish law gave preference to the eldest son in this matter. Another story says that he was the oldest son but desired to surrender his inheritance rights to his youngest brother, John, for the privilege of coming to America.
It is persistently related that the estate in Ireland consisted of eighty acres of land, adjacent to the town of Coote Hill, with an Inn and Hostlery the care of which was their chief occupation. It is further related that this John died without issue, and the descendants in America were often enthused by the rumor of fabulous wealth that might come their way.
William Shields came to America in the most economical manner as a steerage passenger on a sailing vessel. He made his way from New York City to the Irish settlements north of Trenton along the Delaware River. Later he married a Miss Frame, also of Irish descent. It is further related that he became the father of seven sons and two daughters. It was a pleasure to my grandfather, Preston Shields, and all my uncles and aunts to relate that William Shields and his seven sons were patriots in Washington's Army and followed him to Yorktown. There is some doubt about the names of all of these sons as I was too young to have listed them when grandfather talked about them. However, we have a brief account of each of the following sons, David, William III (my great grandfather). Robert, Joseph, John, James and possibly one Amisiah and the two girls.
After the Revolutionary War, the state of Virginia offered land grants to Revolutionary soldiers. Many, if not all, of these seven sons, together with their widowed mother, migrated to Augusta County, Virginia. Robert and Joseph soon became dissatisfied and moved with their mother to the Holstein River Valley in Tennessee. The aged mother died upstairs at the age of 113 years. There are a number of Shields' still living there and the writer often meets these descendants who have a facial resemblance.
David the oldest son moved to Clinton county, Ohio, and had two sons, William and Robert, and a girl who married a Mr. King. He possibly had other children, unknown to the writer. However I do know his son William had a son. I have often heard my father, James Shields tell of going as a youth with his father to visit this David Shields, of Clinton County, who was my father's great-uncle. This was the source of much of my information concerning my great grandfather William Shields III since grandfather never returned to Virginia. This Great Uncle, David Shields, was very fond of military life and after the American Revolutionary War served six years in the standing Army of the United States of America. He was a First Orderly Sergeant serving under Captain Cunningham in the Revolutionary War. He lived to be ninety years old and died in Clinton County, Ohio.
We come now to the second son, William III, who was my great grandfather. He was born in 1760 and died in 1826. He married Elizabeth Phillips who died in 1825. They had three boys, William IV, Preston and Joseph, and two girls, Margaret and Ann.
Margaret married Riley Brinker and Ann married William Cooper. Later these two families moved to Cincinnati and then to possibly Green County, Ohio.
William IV remained in Virginia and had a family of which I have no further information. Joseph came to Cincinnati, later to Springfield, Missouri, and entered land north of Jefferson City, Missouri. There is no further information concerning him except for the following tale: Joseph and Preston operated a still for manufacturing liquor in Cincinnati. Through some misunderstanding the brothers quarreled and Joseph left his brother with 3000 bushels of mash. Preston managed to take care of the corn and then quit the business.
Preston Shields, named after a close and intimate friend of his father's in Virginia, was the second son of William III and Elizabeth Shields, and was born in Augusta County, Virginia, February 17, 1796. At an early age he came to Cincinnati as a teamster. Previous to this time he had served in the second war with England. He became a very efficient drill master and in the war with Mexico thirty years later became a colonel. In Cincinnati he was joined by his younger brother Joseph in the operation of the above mentioned still. After this venture he followed teaming up the little Miami River as far as Xenia for many years. I saw his wagon and Pete, one of the horses he brought from Ohio. My grandfather never used tobacco or liquor in any form.
Grandfather Preston Shields when he was a teamster, carried barrels of produce in a covered wagon pulled by five horses. Two were hitched next to the wagon two in front of these and a lead horse out in front. Grandfather rode on the horse next to the wagon on the left side of the tongue. From this position with a single line hitched to the lead horse he drove the team. During his itinerary he became acquainted with a cooper, Richard Fulkerson (died 1840) and his wife Clara Moore (1770-1834) who lived in Green Co. Ohio. He went to Mr. Fulkersons to buy his barrels, but he found something far more precious, for Richard and Clara Fulkerson's daughter Delilah became Mrs. Preston Shields and consequently my grandmother.
Preston and Delilah were married in February 1821 and to them was born two daughters and six sons. All of these children were born in Green County, Ohio. The following is a record of births and deaths.
William Lee Shields---------------Dec. 3, 1822 - Sept. 8, 1900
James Martin Shields ---------- Sept. 17, 1824 - Nov. 12, 1903
John Shields ---------------------July 21, 1826 - 1919
Joseph Shields ----------------- Jan. 31, 1831 - May 5, 1837
Benjamin Shields --------------- Sept. 18, 1336 - Aug. 23, 1861
Richard Shields, bachelor deceased at Monroe, La.
Clarinda E. Shields --------------Feb. 14, 1833 - Fall of 1917
Hanah Louise Shields -----------Sept. 13, 1840 - July 23, 1867
In September, 1848, Preston Shields moved to Richland Township, Jay County, Indiana and settled on a 400 acre tract of land one mile north and two miles east of Dunkirk, Indiana, where he lived until his death April 16, 1877. His wife died December 24, 1880. They were both buried in the Dunkirk Cemetery. Their graves are marked with two large cedar trees.
Preston Shields bought the above mentioned 400 acre of land in Indiana with money he received when he sold twenty-one of his twenty-six horses. He was very proud of these horses and parted with them reluctantly. However, the cheap land of Indiana proved a good investment and Preston Shields retained and farmed this land until his death.