The Shields Line

The Shields line starts as early as we can find with Soloman Shields in 1800 born in South Carolina. His son Tom (b.1822) and his wife Susan (b.1835) Shields were born in Crumptonia, Alabama on the Cochran plantation. The plantation house is still there although it is not open to the public.

Tom and Susan had four children. Adam Wilson who may have been Tom’s son by another woman was born in 1859 and married Katie Seltzer.  So, DNA test with Wilson, that is actually the Shields family. Adam and Katie had three children, Captain Wilson (1884), William Willson (1887), and Leon Sellzer (1910). Tom and Susan’s second son Barry Shields (1822) married Married Mariah Selzer (1865-1945) who would be my great-grandfather. Their daughter Patsey Shields was born in 1875 and their son Tommie Shields was born in 1877.

Antebellum, Historic Home | Crumptonia in Dallas County

“Crumptonia is an unincorporated community in Dallas County, Alabama.[2] It is named for a local plantation house of the same name, built in 1855 by Claudius M. Cochran and later owned by the Crumpton family.” [Wilipedia]

Also referred to as the Cochran-Crumpton House, Crumptonia, and the McCrary House, this 2-story Greek Revival style home was built circa 1855 for South Carolina-born, Claudius M. Cochran. It was later owned by the Crumpton family and it became part of the Crumptonia Plantation. The front of this house is almost identical to those of the McMillan-Oxford House, Tasso, and Moseley Grove which are also located in the vicinity of Orrville. The Cochran House was documented in the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) in 1934. It is featured in “Silent in the Land” by Chip Cooper, Harry J. Knopke, and Robert S. Gamble.

This house is located approximately 8 miles southwest of Orrville on Dallas CR 21 (32°12’49.2″N 87°17’22.9″W – Google Maps).

This is a private residence – drive by only.

Sources: 1) wikipedia.org/Crumptonia_Alabama; 2) “Silent in the Land” by Chip Cooper, Harry J. Knopke, and Robert S. Gamble; 3) “The Alabama Catalog: A Guide to the Early Architecture of the State” by Robert S. Gamble.

B&W photographs courtesy US Library of Congress (HABS), photographer: W. N. Manning, date: March 17 & 23, 1934. The recent photographs that are provided were taken in February 2012.

The Shields line starts as early as Soloman Shields in 1800 born in South Carolina. His son Tom (b.1822) and his wife Susan (b.1835) Shields were born in Crumptonia, Alabama on the Cochran plantation. The plantation house is still there although it is not open to the public. Tom and Susan had four children. Adam Wilson who may have been Tom’s son by another woman was born in 1859 and married Katie Seltzer. On the several DNA tests I have taken, There are more Wilson matches than Shields.  So if one should see a DNA test with Wilson, that is actually the Shields family. Adam and Katie had three children, Captain Wilson (1884), William Willson (1887), and Leon Sellzer (1910). Tom and Susan’s second son Barry Shields (1822) married Married Mariah Selzer (1865-1945) who would be my great-grandfather. Their daughter Patsey Shields was born in 1875 and their son Tommie Shields was born in 1877. 

Prior to 1840, a White farmer from the Pee Dee region of Marlboro County in South Carolina settled in an area of Dallas County, Alabama which was then known as the Lexington Beat. His name was Claudius M. Cochran. In order to provide labor for his farm, Claudius brought along 26 slaves belonging to him. John Cochran was one of the slaves. John was about 10 years old in 1840. The slaves could have been John’s siblings, cousins, parents, etc. Slaves were only enumerated and identified as male or female between certain age brackets. In 1855 Claudius M. Cochran built a large plantation house, which took on the name, the Cochran Plantation House. My GGG Grandfather John Cochran was one of the slaves that built the Cochran Plantation house. The house still bares that name today, “Cochran Plantation House) in Alabama. The community that was then known as the Lexington Beat became known as Crumptonia after one of Claudius’s daughters married into a prominent family by the name of Crumpton.”

Claude Shields Sr.

“In Post-World War I Era Cleveland, a popular destination for African American migrants from the South, gospel music became increasingly popular. This growing popularity was due in no small measure to the business acumen of people like Claude Shields Sr., quartet singer, and owner of the Shields Brothers Cleaners on Cedar Avenue. Since the 1920s, Cleveland’s gospel quartet artists have not hesitated to support the recording of the music, public programs, and publications about gospel’s influence on other styles of American music, including Rock and Roll.” – Cleveland and the Rise of Gospel Blues

Claude Sr. had ten siblings: Isabella, Mary, Fannie, Maggie, Berry Jr., Louise, Claude, David, Willie, Coleman, and John.

(Johnnie, Claude Jr., John and Claude Shields Sr.)

Johnnie Calloway Shields is the sister of Hattie Lynn King, 

the mother of fight promoter Don King and the late Joesph Lynn (actor).

Claude Shields Jr. married Fannie and had two sons, Gerald and Dale.

“There comes a time when you look into the mirror and you realize that what you see is all that you will ever be. And then you accept it. Or you kill yourself. Or you stop looking in mirrors.”
— Tennessee Williams 

“It is not your job to like me… it is mine.”

The END…

TA-DA!