G4 - Robert Shiels (1769-1845) & Annie Dickson
Robert Shiels was born on January 16, 1769, at Skirling in Peeblesshire, Scotland, the eldest son of James Shiels and Janet Younger. Skirling lies only a few miles east of Biggar, in the countryside where the Shiels family was becoming firmly established.
Robert & Annie — A Family Takes Root
Robert Shiels married Annie Dickson on July 9, 1790, at Drumelzier in Peeblesshire. Parish records show that both Robert and Annie were living at Drumelzier at the time, with their marriage banns recorded on June 26, 1790.
Annie had been born in 1768 and was baptized on September 18 at Kilbucho and Broughton and Glenholm. She was the daughter of James Dickson.
A Life on the Land
Robert spent his working life as a farmer, and the records of his family place them throughout the countryside of Peeblesshire. From Drumelzier, where Robert and Annie married in 1790, the trail of their children’s records leads through Traquair, Stobo, Broughton, Eddleston and Peebles.
These communities were all part of the relatively small world in which the early generations of the Shiels family lived and worked. Although individual records capture only moments in their lives, taken together they reveal a family firmly rooted in the Scottish Borders.
In their later years, Robert and Annie were associated with Coulter, the area that would become increasingly important to the generations that followed. Annie died there in 1840, and Robert died in 1845.
The Children of Robert & Annie
Robert and Annie went on to raise a family in the countryside of Peeblesshire. The surviving baptismal records of their children place the family at several communities in the area over the following two decades, including Stobo, Broughton, Eddleston and Peebles. These records provide small but valuable glimpses of the family’s movements during a period when few other details of their everyday lives survive.
Alison Shiels was born Jun 3, 1791 and was christened on Jun 9, 1791 in Drumelzier, Peebleshire. She married Robert Wallace on Apr 14, 1815 in Peebles. They had five children and spent their lives in the Liberton, Scotland area.
Thomas Shiels was christened on Sept 27, 1795 at Traquair, Peebleshire. He married Barbara Jean Cranston on Apr 5, 1817 in Peebles. They had 8 children. It is through Thomas that the direct Shiels line followed on this website continues.
Isabella Shiels was born May 15, 1798 and christened May 20, 1798 in Stobo, Peebleshire. She married Thomas Goldburn on May 30, 1824. They had one child and remained in Scotland.
Jane Dickson Shiels was born in 1801 in Liberton, Midlothian. She married Ebenezer Grosset on Dec 26, 1828. They raised nine children and remained in Scotland.
Robert Shiels was born Sept 28, 1802 and was christened Oct 3, 1802 in Broughton, Peebleshire. He married Margaret Purdie on Jun 5, 1825 and they had two children, James in 1825 and Ann in 1833. At present, no further verifiable information has been found about this family.
Helen Shiels was born Aug 7, 1804 and was christened Aug 28, 1804 in Eddleston, Peebleshire. Helen never married and died in 1837.
George Shiels was born Aug 9, 1810 and was christened Aug 19, 1810 in Peebles, Peebleshire. He married Mary White on Jun 5, 1840. They had 8 children. George began another large branch of the family. George remained in Scotland, but in the generations that followed, his descendants spread far beyond their Scottish roots. His branch provides another fascinating chapter in the wider Shiels family story.
The Story Continues…
Robert and Annie’s second child, Thomas Shiels, carries our direct Shiels line into the fifth generation.
Born in 1795 and christened at Traquair, Thomas married Barbara Jean Cranston in 1817. Their story brings the family to East Mains near Coulter and begins one of the most fascinating chapters in our Shiels family history.
While this story follows Thomas Shiels through our direct family line, Robert and Annie’s youngest son, George Shiels, begins another large branch of the family.