Collection Details:

Collection Name and Number:  William F. Shields Papers (Z/0040).
Creator/Collector: William F. Shields; and others.
Date(s): 1821-1870.
Size: 4.00 cubic feet.
Language(s): English.
Processed by: MDAH staff, circa 1947.
Provenance: Gift of Moina Evans, Mrs. Arrington Johnson, and William J. Evans of Columbus, MS, and Thomas Shields Evans of Hartford, CT, on June 5, 1947.
Repository: Archives & Records Services Division, Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

 

Rights and Access:

Access restrictions: Collection is open for research.

Publication rights: Copyright assigned to the MDAH. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to Reference Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the MDAH as the owner of the physical items and as the owner of the copyright in items created by the donor. Although the copyright was transferred by the donor, the respective creator may still hold copyright in some items in the collection. For further information, contact Reference Services.

Copyright notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).

Preferred citation: William F. Shields Papers (Z/0040), Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

 

Biography:

William F. Shields

Biography to come.

 

Scope and Content Note:

Personal and official papers of William F. Shields who was appointed a midshipman in the United States Navy on February 2, 1814, and who was placed on the reserve list as a Commander on September 13, l855. He died on May 30, 1856. The papers and correspondence pertain principally to Shields' service in the Navy. Seventy-three items are originals or copies signed by Shields, including his will dated in July 1842.

The secretaries of the Navy are represented in the collection as follows:
Smith Thompson, November 6, 1821 (1 piece). 
Samuel L. Southard, November  2, 1823 (1 piece). 
Abel P. Upshur, December 14, 1841 - October 26, 1842 (20 pieces). 
George Bancroft, May 14, 1845 - August 21, 1846 (12 pieces). 
John Y. Mason, May 29, 1844 - December 5, 1848 (7 pieces). 
William A. Graham, January 25, 1851 (1 piece). 
James C. Dobbin, September 13, 1855 (1 piece).

A number of letters in 1851 pertain to a controversy at the Memphis, Tennessee, Navy Yard between Shields and John G. Floyd, a civil engineer employed there. Other letters of interest are from: 
Jefferson Davis, June 27, 1850 (1 piece). 
V. M. Randolph, March 14, 1837 - September 2. 1843 (6 pieces). 
B. G. Shields, May 13, and June 26, 1843 (2 pieces). 
Charles Shields, October 14, 1841 - September 7, 1843 (3 pieces). 
H. L. Shields, June 6, 1856 (1 piece). 
S. B. Shields, May 13, 1829 (1 piece). 
Tom Shields, March 26, 1826 (1 piece).

Two printed items are the monthly report of Thomas P. Shields, Montrose Academy, Garlandville, signed on January 31, 1846, by John N. Waddel; and a letter of the Agricultural Society of Lowndes County signed on January 17, 1855, by Charles Baskerville.

The papers are distributed by dates as follows:
n.d., 23 pieces. 
1821–1829, 8 pieces. 
1830–1839, 26 pieces. 
1840–1849, 171 pieces. 
1850–1856, 51 pieces. 
1871, 1 piece.

The 8 volumes are as follows:

1. "Quarter Bill of the U.S. Ship North Carolina" and "Quarter Bill of the U.S. Ship Warren," n.d., pp. 118, 20 x 26 cm.
2. "No. 1, Private Journal of William F. Shields, Lieutenant Commanding U.S. Schooner 'Boxer,' 1832–1833," October 23, 1832 - August 10, 1833, pp. 152, 20 x 32 cm.
3. "No. 2, Private Journal of William F. Shields, Lieutenant Commanding U.S. Schooner 'Boxer,' 1833," August 11, 1833 - January 4, 1834, pp. 124, 20 x 32 cm.
4. Letterbook of William F. Shields, Commanding the U.S. Schooner "Boxer," October 25, 1832 - February 11, 1834, pp. 67, 19.5 x 32 cm. (also contains 14 pages of plantation records, December 7, 1839 - December 15, 1841).
5. Receipt and Expenditure of Stores, Boatswain, Carpenter, and Gunner, U.S. Schooner "Boxer," October 23, 1832 - February 27, 1834, pp. 148, 19.5 x 32 cm.
6. Journal of William F. Shields, Commanding the U.S. Sloop "Preble," September 10, 1846 - July 15, 1847, pp. 268, 25 x 38 cm. (contains 6 charts).
7. Journal of William F. Shields, Commanding the U.S. Sloop "Preble," July 15, 1847 - February 22, 1848, pp. 109, 25 x 38 cm. (also 3 pages concerning the U.S. Storeship "Erie," March 5 - May 23, 1848).
8. Order and Report Book of William F. Shields, Commanding the U.S. Sloop "Preble," September 18, 1846 - February 21, 1848, pp. 66, 21.5 x 27.5 cm. (also contains fifteen pages of plantation records, September 9, 1856 - April 1, 1870).

 

Series Identification:

Series Identification to be completed at a later date.

 

Box List:

Box list to be completed at a later date.