James Shield

As I am researching my family line, sometimes I spiral back and find myself looking for information about a family with a very distant connection. The branch of James Shield (about 1670-July 1727) sits way up and far to the side on my family tree, but it runs through a Revolutionary War story, a president and one of the deadliest disasters in early American history. That makes it a branch worth exploring for the history lesson if nothing else.

It has been a crazy few months, but whenever I get an extra minute or two, I keep returning to the family of my second great-grandmother, Sarah Evelena “Lena” Booth Marbury (1868-1949). I will have more of that family uploaded soon, but for now, here is how I get from myself to James Shields, possibly one of my eighth great-grandfathers:

My mother is Shirley Ann Lovelace Williams (1939-present), the daughter of Virginia Brantley Lovelace (1917-2007), the daughter of Allie Ern Marbury Brantley (1898-1995), the daughter of Sarah Evelena “Lena” Booth Marbury (1868-1949), the daughter of William G. “Billy” Booth (1816-1892), who my research indicates was the son of James Booth (1790-after 1850), the son of Stephen Shaybe Booth (1765-1832), the son of John Booth (1735-1807), the son of Thomas Booth (about 1705-1766) and Elizabeth Cobb Booth (about 1715-1758), the daughter of Mary Shields Cobb (1692-unknown), the daughter of James Shields (about 1670-1727) and Hannah, whose maiden name has not yet been proven.

Older family trees often identify James Shields’ wife as Hannah Marot, but I have not found documentation for that. Colonial Williamsburg’s research report identifies her only as Hannah, and James Shields’ 1727 will names his “loving wife Hannah,” three sons, James, Mathew and William, and two daughters, Elizabeth Vaughan and Mary Cobbs. That does not prove every link in my line, but it does document Mary Cobbs as a daughter of James and Hannah Shields.

James Shields lived in colonial Virginia in the area that became Williamsburg. By 1707, Shields had petitioned the York County Court for a license to keep an ordinary at his dwelling house. An ordinary was a tavern or public house, a place where travelers could eat, drink, lodge and exchange news.

Stella Pickett Hardy (1877-1963) included the Shields family in her genealogical work, “Colonial Families of the Southern States of America,” first published in 1911. ¹ Hardy’s book is a useful guide, but like many early 20th-century genealogical compilations, it works best as a starting point rather than final proof.

That is where this faraway family branch begins to brush against larger American stories.

His son, James Shields II (early 1700s-1750), married Anne Marot Ingles Shields Wetherburn (early 1700s-after August 1769). Their daughter, Anne Shields Armistead (1742-unknown), married Robert Booth Armistead (about 1737-before July 21, 1766). Their daughter, Mary Marot Armistead Tyler (1761-1797), married John Tyler Sr. (1747-1813), a Revolutionary-era Virginian who later served as governor of Virginia.

John Tyler U.S. Pres. John Tyler, oil on canvas by George Healy, 1859; in the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.

That line leads straight to the White House. John Tyler Sr. and Mary Marot Armistead Tyler were the parents of John Tyler (1790-1862), the 10th president of the United States. So, if my Booth-Cobb-Shields line holds up, President Tyler and I share James Shields as an ancestor. That would make Tyler my third cousin, seven times removed, which is genealogically true, practically meaningless and still too good not to mention.

Oddly enough, I just saw a story on ABC News about President John Tyler still having two living grandsons: Lyon Gardiner Tyler Jr. and Harrison Ruffin Tyler. John Tyler was 63 when his son Lyon Gardiner Tyler Sr. was born, and Lyon was 75 when Harrison Ruffin Tyler was born.

Then there is the Cornwallis connection. Family accounts identify Col. James Shields III (1739-before 1795), another member of this Shields line, as a Revolutionary War soldier present at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown.

The Shields branch also connects to tragedy. Family accounts identify Elizabeth Page Shields (about 1788-1811), a descendant of the same family, as one of the people who died from injuries suffered in the Richmond Theatre fire of Dec. 26, 1811.

Hand-colored aquatint by Benson John Lossing, published by B. Tanner, Feb. 25, 1812. The New York Public Library.

That night, more than 600 people crowded into the Richmond Theatre to watch an evening of entertainment. Near the end of the first act of the second play, a lit chandelier was mistakenly raised into scenery made of flammable materials. The scenery caught fire, flames spread quickly and the poorly designed building gave many people little chance to escape. More than 70 people died, including Virginia Gov. George William Smith. Encyclopedia Virginia describes the fire as the deadliest urban disaster in American history at the time.

Now I can return to trying to figure out more about the Booth family and family connections a little closer to home.

For more of my genealogy research, visit rscottwilliams.info.

1. Hardy, Stella Pickett. Colonial Families of the Southern States of America: A History and Genealogy of Colonial Families Who Settled in the Colonies Prior to the Revolution. New York: Tobias A. Wright, 1911. 455. HathiTrust Digital Library. ↩︎