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Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Midlothian => Topic started by: Eve45 on Saturday 08 July 06 01:27 BST (UK)
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Hi all,
Does anyone out there have a Thomas Shiels, Shields or Shiells, born about 1833, who mysteriously disappears from the records before 1856?
My Thomas came to Australia sometime before 1856/7 and said he was born in Edinburgh. He gave his parents as Thomas Shiel/ls and Janet, maiden surname unknown.
My cousin and I have subscribed to Ancestry and Scotlandspeople in an effort to find him. We've also trawled the IGI and the internet, immigration and passenger lists etc., and made a list of all possible Thomases of the right age (+/- 5 years) born anywhere in Scotland, regardless of parents' names. Of about 50 possibles, we have eliminated all but 3 by finding out what happened to them. The 3 who are left don't quite fit the bill either, according to what we've found about my Thomas in Australian records - either the age, birthplace or parents are not quite right. Even if my Thomas was not entirely truthful, we still don't have any way of proving that any of them are him.
Of course, he may have slipped through the net - his birth wasn't registered, he was hiding under the house when the census man came, he lied about his parents... but it seems a bit hard to believe that ALL these things happened. Any suggestions as to what to do next?
We have a HUGE collection of census and vital records for the many Thomases - so if you have a Thomas Shiels who even comes close to this description, we've probably researched him - feel free to ask because you're welcome to anything we have.
Eve
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With respect to his birth it is quite likely that there won't be a record. It wasn't til 1855 that births had to be registered so if he was baptised outside the Church of Scotland (in a minor Presbyterian, Catholic or other denomination) then highly unlikely there would be a record for his birth. A major split happened in 1843 in the Church of Scotland so I'm missing lots of births for people in the 1840s but that doesn't explain it in 1833. Not sure what to suggest for the 1841/51 census thought. Sounds like you've tried practically everything. For this have you tried spellings that differ at the start of the word (i.e. Shiels being spelt without the i maybe Sh*l* might return somehthings???????).
Gordon
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Thanks Gordon,
As it became obvious that finding him wouldn't be easy we broadened our searches exactly the way you described - we're very flexible about the spelling! Even in Aus records he shows up as Shiells, Sheilds, Shiels, Sheil - even Shielly, so we're not real fussy about how it might originally have been spelled.
Thanks for the church info too - gee, nothing's easy, is it? There are so many gaps in the records and he seems to have slipped through all of them. He was a Presbyterian, but there's no indication of what kind.
There's also the possibility that he "reinvented" himself when he came here. The temptation must be great, coming to a brand new country, but I can't bear to think about the possibility that he changed his name...
Thanks again, have a great weekend.
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The first thing that sprang to mind when I read your post was that he may have actually come from Ireland. I have a couple of ancestors who migrated to Scotland from Ireland and then went on to emigrate abroad (once they had earned some money down the Scottish mines). At the time he may have thought it better for his future opportunities to say he was born in Edinburgh.
I also have a Charles Shields who arrived in Scotland from Ireland in 1852/3 (but he married stayed in Edinburgh). The girl He married was also Irish as were a huge sector of the community in and around Edinburgh at that time.
It's only a theory of course, but you could perhaps re-check those passenger lists and look for "Ireland" instead of Scotland.
Only thing that puts me off this idea is the "presbytarian" bit, which is very Scottish but you never know "in for a penny in for a pound" as they say.
Best Wishes
Joanne
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Thanks for your reply, Joanne. We haven't investigated the Ireland angle thoroughly, but we do have quite a few certificates and census records for men named Thomas Shield/s who were found in Scottish records but turned out to be born in Ireland.
On another line I have a family who was supposed to have been Welsh, according to descendants, but I'm fairly certain the earliest known person of the name was from Ireland and went to Wales to avoid famine or religious persecution. It pays to think outside the square occasionally!
Thanks again, it's definitely worth another look and may well be the reason we haven't had any joy finding him. Saying he was Presbyterian could have been a convenient thing to add to the disguise.
Cheers,
Eve
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Photo of Thomas Shiells attached. He was my great great grandfather.
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Hi Russell,
Were you at the Shiells Foundation thing at Stratford last August?
I'm Eve on Rootschat but in real life I'm Loretta, and Thomas was my 3 x great-grandfather.
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Only thing that puts me off this idea is the "presbytarian" bit, which is very Scottish but you never know "in for a penny in for a pound" as they say.
Don't be put off by that. There are large numbers of Presbyterians in Northern Ireland, the descendants of Scots who were 'planted' in Ulster in the early 17th century. Google for 'Plantation of Ulster' if you want the history and implications.
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Sorry missed that due to a nasty dose of the flu at the time.
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Thomas as I imagine him as a younger man.
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Hi Russell,
This is really interesting - you've done a great job. It's fascinating to put this photo on the same page as known photos of Thomas and Bridget's children - there's a strong resemblance between Thomas and several of their sons, and I can also see a resemblance between Thomas and my Grandma (granddaughter of Francis Alfred Shiells and Mary Johnson).
Loretta
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Would love to see those photos. I am working towards a painting of Thomas. I made this image in Photoshop blending in the jawline from a photo of my grandfather Francis Shiells. A couple of people think it also resembles my brother John.
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As much as we'd like it to be, this photo is not of Thomas Shiells. I was in touch with Margaret Julia Ross for many years and since her death I've seen many of her photos and documents, thanks to the cousin who inherited her family history stuff. Margaret was interested in family history from the 1950s and began to document it in earnest (her words) after her mother died. Margaret identified this photo as being of Neil Ross (1846-1914), Margaret's grandfather. Neil was married to Julia Bridget Martin, who was a daughter of the first marriage of Bridget Timmins (later Thomas Shiells' wife) to Thomas Martin. So Thomas Shiells was the husband of Neil's mother-in-law.
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Not sure if you have looked into this one or not.
County East Lothian
Place (with link) Stenton
Church name (with link) Stenton Parish Church
Register type (with link) Unspecified
Register entry number 32
Birth date 1 Jun 1831
Baptism date 17 Jun 1831
Person forename Thomas
Person sex M
Father forename William
Mother forename Jean
Father surname SHIELS
Mother surname TROTTER
Person abode Stenton
Notes William Trotter and Alexr MacLean
Transcribed by Margaret Macintosh
File line number 195
I have across several ancestors with Jean as a name that refer to themselves as Janet and vice versa. It’s quite possible my shiels family are connected to the above.
I am a descendant of Peter Shiels and Elizabeth Lemon. I haven’t been able to find Peters parents.
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Hi, thanks for your message. Yes, I did check out William and Jean. They had 13 children that I know of and their son Thomas (a contemporary of my Thomas) that you referred to died on 11 July 1908 at Gumledge Mills, Berwickshire, Scotland. He was married to Catherine Luke (1834-1886) and they had seven known children. Both Thomas and Catherine are buried at the Church of Lammermuir, Cranshaws, East Lothian. The MI has been transcribed: Catherine Luke beloved wife of Thomas Shiell who died at Fellcleugh 12th May 1866 [sic - possibly a misreading of 1886] aged 51 years / Also the above Thomas Shiell who died at Gumledge Mills 11th July 1908 aged 77 years.
I couldn't bear to throw away all the research we did into the many and various Thomas Shiel/d/s so it's really good to be able to look back. I'm just sorry I don't have anything about Peter Shiells and Elizabeth Lemon. Thanks again...