Shiels Family Reunions
The Shiels Family Reunions began as our family-history research brought us into contact with relatives from other branches of the family. The first reunion was held in Winnipeg in 1982, followed by a gathering near the original Shiels homesteads in Ontario in 1984 and another reunion in Winnipeg in 1986.
The reunions became more than opportunities to visit with relatives. They brought together descendants from different branches of the family, allowed photographs and family information to be shared, and helped build many of the relationships that contributed to the Shiels family history we have today.
And, as with most good family gatherings, they also created a few stories of their own.
Shiels Family Reunions
As our research into the Shiels family grew, so did our connections with relatives from other branches of the family. Names on family charts became real people, and before long there was a desire to bring everyone together.
The first Shiels Family Reunion was held in Winnipeg in 1982. It was followed by another gathering near the original Shiels homesteads in Ontario in 1984 and a much larger reunion back in Winnipeg in 1986.
The reunions became more than opportunities to visit with relatives. They brought together descendants from different branches of the family, allowed photographs and family information to be shared, and helped build many of the relationships that contributed to the Shiels family history we have today.
And, as with most good family gatherings, they also created a few stories of their own.
1982 Reunion in Winnipeg
After meeting Bill and Janet Ford and making contact with relatives from several branches of the family, Dan and Judy Shiels decided it was time to bring everyone together. In the summer of 1982, they hosted the first Shiels Family Reunion in Winnipeg. Some relatives travelled considerable distances to attend, including Bill and Ann Logan, who camped in Dan and Judy’s backyard.
To keep costs down, the family prepared the food themselves. Potato salad was an obvious choice—it was inexpensive, easy to make and could feed a crowd. The day before the reunion, a large group of visiting relatives gathered at Dan and Judy’s home, so naturally they were put to work.
The men gathered outside for what became a “potato peeling contest.” As they neared the bottom of the pile, Dan’s 67-year-old Aunt Olive Gannon came outside to inspect their progress. Someone asked what the winner would receive.
Olive had the answer:
“The winner gets to peel the eggs.”
The reunion was held at the Vasalund Hall in Winnipeg, with plenty of room both inside and on the surrounding grounds. Family charts and photographs covered the walls, giving everyone an opportunity to see how the different branches of the family were connected.
Dan acted as MC and spoke about the John Shiels line, while Bill Ford presented the George Shiels branch and Bill Logan spoke about the Thomas Shiels branch. Much of what was known about the family’s early history at that time came from Jack Shiels’s 1949 diary, which provided an important starting point for the research that followed.
At that first reunion, no descendants from the William Shiels branch were represented because those family connections had not yet been discovered. That would change by the time the family gathered again in Winnipeg in 1986.
The 1982 reunion did more than bring relatives together for a day. It allowed family information, photographs and stories to be shared and helped turn a growing family-history project into connections and friendships among descendants who, in many cases, had never met before.
Leonard Shiels - Buffalo Grass to Wheat
Among those attending the 1982 reunion were Leonard Shiels and his wife Hilda, who travelled from Craven, Saskatchewan. Leonard’s father, James Robert Grant Shiels, had been adopted by Thomas Shiels and Elizabeth Prentice following the death of his mother, connecting Leonard with the Thomas branch of the family.
Leonard arrived with something particularly appropriate for a gathering built around family history. He had recently completed a book about the Long Plains area entitled Buffalo Grass to Wheat and brought several copies with him to the reunion.
It was another reminder that preserving history was not limited to the Shiels family project. Leonard had been doing much the same thing—recording the people and places of his own community so their stories would not be lost.
1984 Reunion in Ontario
Two years after the first gathering in Winnipeg, the Shiels family came together again—this time much closer to where the family’s Canadian story had begun.
The 1984 Shiels Family Reunion was held at the Ethel Hall in Ontario, less than 10 kilometres from the original Shiels homesteads. Bill Ford and Bill Logan shared responsibility for organizing the gathering, which brought together descendants from the Thomas, John and George branches of the family.
Being so close to the old farms gave this reunion a special connection to the past. As part of the weekend, a number of family members travelled to the former homestead of John Shiels, who had settled there after arriving in Canada in 1850.
By 1984, however, little remained. The old buildings were gone and only remnants of the foundations could still be seen. During an earlier visit, Dan and Judy had been fortunate enough to collect a brick from the old house and a stone from the barn—small pieces of the place where generations of the family story in Canada had begun.
The Ontario reunion was smaller than the first gathering in Winnipeg. Many Shiels descendants had moved west over the generations, leaving fewer family members in the area. But gathering so close to the original homesteads gave everyone an opportunity to reconnect not only with one another, but with the place where John and George Shiels had established their families more than a century earlier.
Before the reunion ended, everyone was already looking ahead. The family agreed to gather again in Winnipeg in 1986.
1986 Reunion in Winnipeg
The Shiels family returned to Winnipeg in 1986 for what became the largest of the three reunions. Held at the Varsity View Community Centre, the gathering brought together relatives from several branches and gave many family members another opportunity to meet people they had previously known only through names, photographs and family charts.
This time the meal was catered, making considerably less work for the organizers. Dan’s sister Rose and her husband Bud Carriere, who operated a ceramic business, also produced reunion souvenirs that were sold to help with the costs.
One of the goals of the reunion was simply to get people talking to one another. Everyone received a questionnaire containing questions about specific family members. To find the answers, you first had to find the person named in the question and then introduce yourself and ask.
It worked. Nametags helped identify everyone, and before long relatives from different branches were searching the hall for one another, asking questions and getting acquainted. What began as a questionnaire became a simple and entertaining way of bringing a very large family together.
The descendants of James and Ellen Shiels were also invited. At the time, research had not yet determined whether James might have belonged to the same Shiels family, and many of his descendants attended. Later research established that the two families were not connected, but in 1986 they were very much part of the gathering.
There was also an important new connection. By 1986, descendants from the William Shiels branch had been found and could be represented alongside the Thomas, John and George branches.
The reunion was recorded on video to preserve the gathering for the future, leaving us with photographs of many of the people and family groups who attended.
One of the final photographs brought the different branches together around the reunion cake. Representatives gathered to cut it together: Christine Shiels Cox for the William branch, Leonard Shiels for the Thomas branch, Bill Ford for the George branch and Olive Shiels Gannon for the John branch. Isabella Emberley represented the James family, which at the time was still believed to possibly share the same ancestry.
It was a fitting photograph for what the reunions had accomplished—bringing together people from family lines that had spread across the country and giving them an opportunity to meet, share their stories and discover how they were connected.
We had a reunion cake and had members from each Branch cutting the cake. Here is (L-R)
Christine Shiels Cox – William Branch
Leonard Shiels – Thomas Branch
Bill Ford – George Branch
Olive Shiels Gannon – John Branch
Isabella Emberley – James Branch
The Story Continues
The Shiels Family Reunions of 1982, 1984 and 1986 brought together relatives from family lines that had separated many generations earlier. For some, it was an opportunity to renew old family connections. For others, it was the first time they had met relatives whose names they had only seen on family charts.
The photographs, stories and information shared at those gatherings became part of the continuing Shiels family-history project. More importantly, the reunions created friendships and family connections that continued long after everyone returned home.
Much has changed since those gatherings. Our understanding of the family has grown, new branches have been discovered and today’s technology makes it much easier for relatives separated by thousands of kilometres to remain connected.
The James Branch has grown significantly and has held their own reunions. We have proven that James & Ellen Shiels came from a completely different Shiels ancestry traced back to about the same period in Scotland but not connected. We believe the mysterious James, that we chased down from the Jack Shiels diary, was in fact Thomas & Barbara Jean’s son that died when he was only three years old.
But there is still something special about getting everyone together in one place.
Perhaps there is another Shiels Family Reunion still waiting to be held.