John Shields was born in Renfrew, Renfrewshire, Scotland, on April 1805, to Robert Shields and Mary Melvane (Melvine) Shields. John’s father was a weaver, and he taught the trade to his son. [The 1841 Scotland census shows John's father, Robert, and his family, living on Hairst Lane. If this is the same as the current Hairst Street, then they lived very close to the current Renfew Town Hall, at the center of the city.]
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| Renfrew Town Hall on Hairst Street, perhaps the location where John Shields' father lived. |
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| John Shields (1805-1887) |
John Shields married Primrose Cunningham, daughter of Archibald Cunningham and Ann Primrose, on August 16, 1827. Primrose was born in Tradiston Gorbals Parish, Lanarkshire, Scotland, on August 17, 1805.
Eight children were born to John and Primrose, but only five survived to adulthood: Mary Shields, Robert Cunningham Shields [our ancestor], Archibald Cunningham Shields, Primrose Shields, and John Cunningham Shields. John was a gifted musician. and he taught his children to play a variety of musical instruments.
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| Primrose Cunningham Shields (1805-1878) |
Eight children were born to John and Primrose, but only five survived to adulthood: Mary Shields, Robert Cunningham Shields [our ancestor], Archibald Cunningham Shields, Primrose Shields, and John Cunningham Shields. John was a gifted musician. and he taught his children to play a variety of musical instruments.
When missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came to Renfrew, John and Primrose welcomed them. Primrose Cunningham Shields was baptized on May 17, 1841, and John Shields was baptized on July 4, 1841. Following his ordination as an elder in January 1842, John Shields presided over the Renfrew Branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
On March 5, 1849, the Shields family sailed from Liverpool to the United States on the ship Hartley under the direction of William Hulme. At New Orleans, they boarded the vessel Marmaduke and headed for Saint Louis. Cholera broke out, and sixty passengers died, but the Shields family was spared. The Marmaduke caught fire at the landing, and the fire spread to a large area of the city.
After spending four days in Saint Louis, they embarked on the steamer Lightfoot and headed up the Missouri River for Council Bluffs. Cholera was again encountered on this trip and ten others died, but the Shields family remained in good health. Because of the strong current, the boat could go no farther than the Savannah landing in Andrew County, Missouri. The passengers were all put ashore and left to fend for themselves.
John’s daughter; Primrose Shields Lee, who was nine years old when her family immigrated, wrote the following:
“We boarded the ship Lightfoot and went up the Missouri River, But we were put off the ship far short of our destination and had to take refuge on the bank of the river. Father and the boys found an old log cabin where we took up our abode and had one good night’s rest.
The next night, a mob of about twenty men came and asked if we were Mormons. We said, “Yes.” They said, “Well, damn you! We are Mormon haters!” With that, they started to tear the fence down and threatened to kill us. Then Father, being inspired by the Lord, took his trombone and stuck the horn through the window and blew such a blast, it frightened the mob. They took to their heels and fell over each other in getting away. Thus we were preserved from the hands of the wicked demons.
The next day we went on to Council Bluffs and were all taken sick with chills and fever, but recovered. We had to live on corn meal, ground with a coffee mill. The boys put up a house, and we lived there for two years, working and enjoying the company of other church members.
In the early summer of 1852, our family started across the plains in Albert Merrill’s company Just after we had crossed the Missouri River [into Nebraska], Father was run over by a big wagon, heavily laden. We expected his life to be crushed from him, but the elders administered to him, and he was made whole by the power of God and was able to walk most of the way to the Rockies.
We arrived in Salt Lake City on Saturday, October 12, 1852. On Sunday we attended church and listened to President Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Jedediah M. Grant. President Young instructed us to go to Tooele and make our home there. We went through snow one foot deep. We camped at what is known as the mouth of Settlement Canyon. [We will visit the pioneer marker at Settlement Canyon.] We bent willows over so we could do our cooking under them. We slept in our wagons until we could build a log house. We had some bran bread, sego bulbs , and pigweed [amaranth] to eat, so were not bothered much with indigestion. The Lord was merciful and sent us “manna” from heaven, which settled on the willows. We gathered it in and served it fur our sweets.”
[Several of Tooele’s early settlers wrote about the “honey dew” that appeared on the leaves of the willows that grew at the mouth of Settlement Canyon. They gathered it early in the mornings before the insects came out, and used it as a sweetener.]
John Shields built a home that still stands at 33 South First West Tooele. [We can drive by this home.] He made his living as a weaver, using the skills that he had learned in Scotland. He wove a considerable amount of homemade cloth and taught his trade to others.
It was quite a feat to saw lumber in those pioneer days. A trench was dug about five or six feet deep, and logs were sawed by placing them across the pit. One man would operate a large handsaw from inside the pit, and a second man would operate a saw on ground level. One of these pits was located near the corner of Vine Street and First West. John and Archibald Shields did a great deal of the sawing, and they were considered experts at this work. The Shields’ saw can be seen today in the log cabin owned by the Tooele Daughters of Utah Pioneers. [Click on the link, then "Museums" to see the cabin, which we will be visiting.]
In the early days, the settlers of Tooele had no timepiece. They donated funds to purchase an eight-day metal clock for John Shields so that he could keep time for the rest of the town. The sturdy clock adorned the Shields' living room, and strict rules were observed to insure that it was wound regularly and correctly. John would walk up and down the streets blowing his trumpet thirty minutes prior to church meetings, concerts, and other gatherings. He also blew his horn every morning to summon the herders who would take the town’s livestock out to graze. Later, when the town got a meetinghouse with a bell on it, he became the official bell-ringer. [We will see this bell on the marker for the first meetinghouse in Tooele. Click on the link to see photos of this and other markers of interest.]
John Shields was a natural musician, and he could play practically any instrument he got his hands on. He brought several musical instruments with him from Scotland, including a fife, piccolo, trombone, clarinet, and flute. With Joseph Robinson and his two sons, Robert C. Shields and Archie Shields, he organized the first brass band in Tooele. His brass and military bands played for celebrations, parades, patriotic ceremonies, and visits by General Authorities. He also played the violin for dances and entertainments and was known for his fine bass voice. His sons and Robert Meiklejohn also played for socials where the Highland fling and other Scottish dances were enjoyed. The Shields’ grandchildren loved to sing and play musical instruments at their grandfather’s house. But when it was his bedtime, he sent them all home.
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| "Old Tooele (South) Ward Church" was located on the corner of Main and Vine Streets, now the plaque is on the "Bell Marker" which sits on the same location. (www.duptooeleco.org) |
There was a military organization in Tooele as early as 1852, and John Shields served as a platoon captain in the Tooele Militia under the command of Major John Rowberry. He was also the battalion musician and played for maneuvers on their regular muster days.
John Shields was the leader of the first ward choir in Tooele. He also served his church as Sunday School clerk, beginning in 1856 and continuing for several years. He kept detailed accounts of the activities of the Sunday School in his beautiful handwriting. One of the assignments of the Sunday School was to teach young and old how to read. Some of the older citizens had never had that opportunity before. Shields also served as clerk of the Tooele Ward and as president of the 43rd Quorum of Seventy.
On November 3, 1859, John Shields married Isabella Sutherland McPherson Muirbrook as a plural wife. She was born on January 28, 1805. John and Primrose Shields had met her while they were still living in Scotland.
In February of 1864, the Tooele Library was organized. The History of Tooele County states that John Shields was the first librarian. However, The History of Tooele Stake states that Richard Warburton was the first librarian and John Shields was one of the officers of the library board.
Primrose Cunningham Shields died on July 4, 1878, at the age of seventy-three. Isabella Sutherland Shields died on March 26, 1884. John Shields died on January 5, 1887, at the home of his son Archie where he lived during the last months of his life. His funeral was held in the Tooele Ward, and he is buried in the Tooele Cemetery. [If time allows, we can visit the cemetery and see his head stone. Click on this link to see a photo and find links to graves of other family members.]
SOURCE: Pioneer Pathways: Pioneers of Tooele County, pp. 390-394. Daughters of Utah Pioneers May 2003 Lesson Book
(Post by Mary Lee Scott Call)
(Post by Mary Lee Scott Call)
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