George Shiels (1810-1877) & Mary White
George Shiels was born on August 9, 1810, in Eddlestone, Peebles, Scotland, the youngest child of Robert Shiels and Annie Dickson. While our main family story continues through his older brother Thomas, George began another branch of the Shiels family whose descendants would eventually spread well beyond Scotland.
At the age of 19, George joined the Scots Greys, beginning a life quite different from that of his farming family. In 1840, he married Mary White, and together they raised eight sons. Their family forms the beginning of the George Shiels (1810) Branch explored on this page.
A Young Man in the Scots Greys
On April 11, 1829, at just 19 years of age, George Shiels joined the Scots Greys. His military record provides something unusual in our early family history — a description of what George actually looked like. He stood 5 feet 10½ inches tall, with a fair complexion, grey eyes and red hair. Before entering military service, he had worked as a clerk.
George’s time in the military marked an interesting departure from the farming life that had shaped much of the Shiels family in the Scottish Borders.
George & Mary — A Family of Eight Sons
George married Mary White on June 5, 1840, in Penicuik, Midlothian. Mary had been born in West Linton, Peeblesshire, in 1815. Together they raised a family of eight sons:
Robert — 1841–1869; Ebenezer — 1842–1845; William — 1844–1918; George — 1846–1893;
David — 1848–1921; James — 1853–1897; John — 1857–1939; Thomas — 1861–1900
The family spent most of their lives in Midlothian. George worked at different times as a brewer’s laborer and a plowman, while his sons would establish families and lives of their own. Through them, this branch of the Shiels family continued into later generations.
From Scotland to the Wider World
For several generations, many of George and Mary’s descendants remained in and around Edinburgh and Midlothian, but over time the family began to spread farther afield.
Some moved south to London, Essex and Kent in England. Others crossed the Atlantic to Canada, with descendants settling in Toronto, Ontario, and later in British Columbia. Another branch emigrated to the United States, establishing roots in Texas, with later connections to Florida. One grandson moved to Australia however he had no children.
What began with George and Mary and their eight sons in Midlothian had, within a few generations, become a family spread across Scotland, England and North America.
Stories Along the Way
Behind the names and dates are stories of families adapting to changing times, enduring loss and eventually carrying the Shiels family far beyond its Scottish beginnings.
A Family Changed by War
William Shiels’ daughter Elizabeth married Robert Blythe Campbell and raised six children. During the First World War, two of their sons — Alexander Bell Campbell and William Shiels Campbell — were killed in action in France, just five months apart in 1917.
A New Life in Canada
George’s granddaughter Agnes Bain Shiels married John Archer, and the family emigrated to Canada in 1920, settling in Toronto. Their son Jack later served as an Air Gunner with the Royal Canadian Air Force and was killed in action during the Second World War in 1943. Agnes eventually made her way west and died in Burnaby, British Columbia, in 1957.
From Scotland to America
A later descendant, Nancy Jack Shiels, married Paul Dean Jacobs in 1965. They emigrated to the United States and settled in Texas, another step in the gradual spread of George and Mary’s descendants beyond Scotland.
Discover More in the Shiels Family History Book
George and Mary Shiels began a large family whose descendants followed many different paths. This page has highlighted only a few of the people and stories found within the George Shiels (1810) Branch.
More detailed family records — including additional descendants, marriages, dates and places — can be found in the book Shiels Family History, available on Amazon. The book follows these families in greater depth and preserves the genealogical information gathered during many years of research.
Return to the Main Family Story
The main Shiels family story continues through Thomas Shiels (1795), George’s older brother and the next generation in our direct family line.