Individual Index Submissions Updates
William Thomas Shields & Martha (Mary) Matilda Jemeyson
name Extended Pedigree William H. Jimmerson
or Jemyson
name William James Jemeyson  
name      Feba Pate
William Thomas Shields Martha (Mary) Matilda Jemeyson  
name (1854 - 1899)1 (1869 or 1870 - 1950)   Elihu Creswell Allison
name   Margaret Matilda Allison  
name   Margaret Matilla Neely
Children
1.William Eli Shields (M, 1889 - 1913)
(Elfa Beatrice Corn)		see details below 3.Albert Shields (M, 1893 or 1894 - 1910) see details below
2.Annie Margaret Shields (F, 1891 - 1976)
(Jacob Franklin Arrington)		see details below 4.Celestia (Lessie) Shields (F, 1896 - 1952)
(John Brashears)		see details below


Other Links
William Shields (husband)
Martha Jemeyson (wife)
Vital Information
Birth: date 1854, place,Georgia2
Marriage: 26 Dec 1888, Granger, Williamson, Texas
Death: 17 Feb 1899, Granger, Williamson, Texas
Burial: ?, Friendship Cemetery, Friendship, Williamson, Texas
Temple Ordinances: (B E _ S)
 Baptism: 28 Feb 1948, place
 Endowment: 2 Dec 1952, place
 Sealing to Parents:
 Sealing to Spouse: 8 May 1958, Idaho Falls, Bonneville, Idaho

From Early Life to Courtship
  William Thomas Shields was probably born in 1854 in Georgia.  He presumably spent a fair amount of time in Kentucky3.  He came to Texas sometime in or before 1887, by which time he had been teaching for at least two years and was able to show a teaching certificate which he used to apply for teaching positions4.  By late 1887 he was able to show a teaching certificate which he used to apply for teaching positions5.
  William James Jemeyson owned a large amount of land near Granger, Texas.  He valued education, so much so that he built a school house near the center of his properties and sent out word he was looking for a good teacher6.  One day in 1887, W. T. Shields came riding up on a horse.  He only had very few clothes but showed Mr. Jemeyson his certificate to teach.  The certificate was accepted, so Will Shields boarded with the Jemeysons for one year and taught the school7.
  During the year that Will taught school, he met and courted Mr. Jemeyson’s daughter, Mary Matilda Jemeyson8.  Will wrote a letter to Mary on a Wednesday evening, March 4, 1888.  He mentioned having a cold, seemed a bit jealous of potential competition from other men, and talked of Mary’s learning to paint.  He also made some statements that may indicate relationships with other people in the area.  He wrote that "If I had some good clothes I might go over to Mr. Stiles."  He wrote of staying at a boarding house during this time, and that he "found Mrs.Sternenberg (Wife of the gentleman I am boarding with) playing on an Accordian." He signed the letter, "Forever yours, W. T. Shields9.

Marriage & Family
  Will and Mary were married on 26 Dec 1888 in Williamson County10.  After they were married, they wanted to make a life of their own.  Will apparently got the job teaching at a school in the settlement on Opossum Creek called Macedonia, 2.5 miles southwest of Granger in northeast Williamson County.  The couple rented a small farm there, hiring some of the farm work out.  Mary’s sister and youngest sibling Dora lived with them there and attended the school that winter11.  Mary was soon pregnant with her first child.
  Just before the crops from the Shields’s farm were harvested, Will landed a teaching position at a larger school in a German settlement Pflugerville in northeastern Travis County, near the city of Taylor and 15 miles north of Austin.  The couple moved and rented a farm there just after the birth of their first child, William Eli12 in August of 188913.  Willie was born in the Jemeyson home near Granger.  Mary was not in very good condition, and so she went back to be with her mother and father during this time14.
  Will had made good money for the times and was purportedly a good businessman.  A year later, after the crops were harvested in the fall, Will bought a little store in Circleville, about 10 miles from Taylor, and the family bought and moved into a house in Circleville15.  It was at this house that Annie Margaret was born in August of 189116.
  Will and Mary’s third child, Albert, was born in Circleville17 in March of 189318.  On April 16, 1894, Will was named Postmaster of Circleville in Williamson County, Texas.  He held that position until March 4, 1898.  Will and Mary’s fourth child, Celestia (Lessie), was born in Circleville19 in July of 189620.

Years of Decline
  In 1896 or 1897, Will became ill21.  It developed into such a bad mental illness that he was later pronounced insane and had a restraint by court order22.  It is unknown whether the illness was partly caused from the illness he had when he first met the Jemeyson’s23.  Mary sold the store and home and used everything she had to take care of her sick husband, although at William’s death he still owned 3 ½ acres in Circleville worth about $50024.  The family helped as well.  During the 2nd year of his illness, William Jemeyson built a house a short distance from one he had given his daughter Dora.  The family was able to have an organ in this home which Annie learned to play25.
  Eventually, the hospital where Will was staying would not keep him because they were not equipped for his condition.  Mary hired a man for $200 a month to take care of him.  Mary’s brother Sylvester, Dora’s husband John Smith, and others in the family built him his own room toward the end of Will’s life to protect him and his family from violent temper tantrums26.
 In all the accounts, Will was always described as a well-educated gentleman, kind, gentle, refined, honest, and he appeared to be a loving husband and father. 		Vital Information
Birth: 18 May 1869 or 1870, Granger, Williamson, Texas
Marriages:
W. T. Shields - 26 Dec 1888, Granger, Williamson, Texas
Louis B. Wells -
Death: 15 Apr 1950, Fort Worth, Tarrant, Texas
Burial: ?, Wichita Falls, Wichita, Texas
Temple Ordinances: (B E P S)
 Baptism: 1 Jun 1954, place
 Endowment: 10 May 1957, place
 Sealing to Parents: 6 Dec 1961, St. George, Washington, Idaho Falls, Bonneville, Idaho
 Sealing to Spouse: (W. T. Shields) 8 May 1958, Idaho Falls, Bonneville, Idaho

Biography
 Brief biography submission needed

Children Information
1.
William Eli Shields
Birth: 28 Aug 1889, Taylor, Williamson, Texas
Marriage: ? Nov 1912, place
Death:17 May 1913, place
Burial: place
Temple Ordinances: (B E P _)
 Baptism: 1 Jun 1954, place
 Endowment: 25 May 1957, place
 Sealing to Parents: 8 May 1958, Idaho Falls, Bonneville, Idaho
 Sealing to Spouse: date, place
 4.
Celestia (Lessie) Shields
Birth: 28 Jul 1896, Circleville, Williamson, Texas
Marriage: Nov 1914, place
Death: 7 Jan 1952 place
Burial: date, place
Temple Ordinances: (B E P _)
 Baptism: 1 Jun 1954, place
 Endowment: 10 May 1957, place
 Sealing to Parents: 8 May 1958, Idaho Falls, Bonneville, Idaho
 Sealing to Spouse: date, place
3.
Albert Shields
Birth: 4 Mar 1893 or 1894, Taylor, Williamson, Texas
Marriage:
Death: 4 Sep 1910, place
Burial: date, place
Temple Ordinances: (B E P _)
 Baptism: 28 Feb 1948, place
 Endowment: 2 Dec 1952, place
 Sealing to Parents: 8 May 1958, Idaho Falls, Bonneville, Idaho
 Sealing to Spouse:

Footnotes
  1. W. T. Shields tombstone inscription.
  2. 1900 census in Granger, Williamson, TX.  The children's father is listed as being born in Georgia.  See also the register or teachers applying for examination in Williamson County.
  3. 1 Jun 1976 Phoebie Bales letter.  Phoebie claims that all of Mary Jemeyson Shields’s family felt he was from Kentucky. "Grandfather Jemeyson was from there and in their (William Shields and William Jemeyson) conversations about places he seemed to know so much, but never said."
  4. See register of teachers applying for examination, Williamson County, TX.  William T. Shields is listed with his age as 30 and his nativity as being Georgia.  The post office address listed was Corn Hill, and it was written that he had two years’ experience teaching.  He already had one certificate at application time
  5. 12 Apr 1963 Phoebie Bales letter.
  6. Ibid.
  7. Ibid.
  8. Ibid.
  9. 4 Mar 1888 William Shields letter.
  10. Marriage certificate of W. T. Shields and Mary M. Jemeyson.
  11. 12 Apr 1963 Phoebie Bales letter.
  12. Ibid.
  13. 1900 census in Granger, Williamson, TX.
  14. 4 May 1963 Phoebie Bales letter.
  15. 12 Apr 1963 Phoebie Bales letter.
  16. 1900 census in Granger, Williamson, TX.
  17. 12 Apr 1963 Phoebie Bales letter.
  18. 1900 census in Granger, Williamson, TX.
  19. 12 Apr 1963 Phoebie Bales letter.
  20. 1900 census in Granger, Williamson, TX.
  21. 1 Jun 1976 Phoebie Bales letter.
  22. 9 May 1898 Williamson County court record.
  23. 12 Apr 1963 Phoebie Bales letter.
  24. 7 Dec 1900 application for letters of guardianship.
  25. 1 Jun 1976 Phoebie Bales letter.
  26. 12 Apr 1963 Phoebie Bales letter.

Bibliography
  • 1900 United State Census, Granger Township, Williamson County, Texas; p. 6B, family 103, dwelling 103, lines 58-65; June 5, 1900; Ancestry.com Roll T623, Enumeration District 124. [This is a readable film.]
  • Application for Letters of Guardianship, Louis B. and Mary Wells, 7 Dec 1900, County Court records, Williamson County, Texas. [Copy in possession of Randy Cox, American Fork, Utah.]
  • Certificate of Marriage, W. T. Shields to Mary M. Jemeyson, 26 Dec 1888, Georgetown, Williamson County, Texas. Copy in possession of Randy Cox, American Fork, Utah.
  • Margaret Phoebie Jemeyson Bales, Letter to Valene Crockett, 18 May 1976.  [The original handwritten letter is in the possession of Valene Crockett, Twin Falls, Idaho.  Phoebie was William James Jemeyson's granddaughter & 2nd oldest grandchild, daughter of Sylvester Jemeyson (William Thomas's niece).  She was born around 1889, living in ?.  Phoebie wrote many such letters as prompted by Valene with questions about the family in Texas.  Phoebie was told she was named after her Grandfather Jemeyson's mother.  Some of the facts noted by Phoebie Bales in her letters were incorrect, including birth order of Jemeyson and Shields children.  Those things ascribed to Phoebie in this history have either been verified with other sources as noted or cannot be proven false.]
  • Phoebie Bales, Letter to Valene Crockett, 12 Apr 1963.  [The original handwritten letter, as with all other handwritten letters from Phoebie to Valene, are in the possession of Valene Crockett, Twin Falls, Idaho.]
  • Phoebie Bales, Letter to Valene Crockett, 4 May 1963.  [The original handwritten letter, is in the possession of Valene Crockett, Twin Falls, Idaho.]
  • Phoebie Bales, Letter to Valene Crockett, 1 Jun 1976.  [The original handwritten letter, is in the possession of Valene Crockett.]
  • Register of Teachers Applying for Examination, Williamson County, TX.  The date of this registry is yet unknown, but several of the other teachers on the list were found in census records to put the date somewhere between June 1886 to June 1887 (see .   See 1870 and 1880 census records of caucasians Nettie Hardy (20) of Texas and Kate R. Miller (19) of Mississippi.
    • William Thomas Shields, Letter to Mary Jemeyson, 4 Mar 1888, Williamson County, Texas. [The family has only one letter from Will to Mary.  The original letter is in the possession of either Valene Crockett or Velma Cox.]
  • William Thomas Shields tombstone inscription in Friendship Cemetery, Williamson Co., TX, photograph shown to Randy Cox by DeLayna Crockett in 2005.
  • Williamson County court record, 9 May 1898, special issues submitted to the jury, State of Texas vs. W. T. Shields, call number 977,894 p. 140, copy taken from LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City, UT on 13 Nov 2001, copy in possession of Randy Cox, American Fork, Utah.



Submission Contributors: Randy Cox


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Page last updated: 7/6/2016