Re: Rebecca Shields, Henry Co. KY 1831
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In reply to:
Re: Rebecca Shields, Henry Co. KY 1831
Richard Ferguson 1/21/01
You have a long list of questions.I will give you my best shot...Some of what follows is conjecture, and I have tried to identify the conjecture as distinct from the known facts.
1. To the best of my knowledge, Miles was the only sibling of Rebecca.Simeon was listed in various court records as an heir of Patrick Shields long before Alexander married Nancy, so I presume that he was the child of Patrick and Mary Ann, but I am not sure that I can prove that.Isaac may have been a child of Simeon, but I have never seen any evidence that Simeon ever got married.Isaac may have also simply been a cousin of some sort, or a child of Alexander that simply wasn't always mentioned in the court documents.Simeon apparently died during or prior to 1844, because he is referred to in court papers in that year as "the deceased brother."Isaac was married in Henry Co. in 1828, and David was born in about 1829, and Angeline some years later.I don't know what ever happened to Isaac, but Nancy spent the latter years of her life with David and Angeline in NW Missouri.This leads me to believe that she may have been the mother of Isaac, as well as of Rebecca and Miles.That is all conjecture, however.All I know is that Rebecca, Miles, and Isaac were all considered at some point by the courts to be legal heirs of Patrick Shields.I don't believe David or Angeline were ever so identified...
2. I don't know the birthdates, but I am pretty sure they were all born in Henry County, because Alexander (their father) lived there, and worked there, with a short service in the war of 1812, until he died.He was involved in a number of lawsuits, he served on juries, and he bought and sold property.There is some evidence that Nancy and her children lived with Mary Ann after Mary Ann became a widow for the third time.
3. It depends on which Patrick you are talking about...The Henry Co. Patrick (the father of Alexander) was the son of another Patrick Shields, the grandson of a Samuel Shields, and the great grandson of a third Patrick.I am pretty sure that some researchers have demonstrated that the Jefferson Co. TN Shields are related to this line somewhere, but I don't know exactly how.They could have even been children of Rebecca Dobbins, but I don't think that is likely.It would be worth checking out, however...
4. Not to my knowledge.Alexander was almost as popular a name as Patrick and William in this group...:-)
5. I don't know.Someone may know, but I don't.
6. It is possible that Patrick had 6 children with Rebecca Dobbins, if he and she lived near where they were married until about 1790.The census in 1790 shows a Patrick Shields in his late 20's with 4 boys and 2 girls and no adult woman.I don't know what happened to Rebecca, or when she died, or even whether she died in Kentucky, or earlier in the upper Shenandoah where they were married.I don't even know for sure that she died.The census, unfortunately, doesn't give any names except the head of household.
Mary Ann wrote a letter to William Shields in Sullivan Co, Indiana in 1843 (if I remember correctly) asking him to come sell the farm in Henry Co. KY, which he did.She died shortly thereafter.I am trying to locate a copy of that letter, which I have somewhere...My uncle has found the original, and says that he is making a new copy for me.As I recall, the letter chats a bit about various family members and their travels.Since Mary Ann didn't read or write, the letter was dictated to someone else...
David Shields
More Replies:
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Re: Rebecca Shields, Henry Co. KY 1831
carolyn allen 1/23/01
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Re: Rebecca Shields, Henry Co. KY 1831
David Shields 1/23/01
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Re: Rebecca Shields, Henry Co. KY 1831