William James Shiels was born Jan 27, 1833 at East Mains, near Biggar, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was the 8th child of Thomas Shiels & Barbara Jean Cranston.
He married Agnes Brown and they raised a large family with 9 children. Many of their descendants remained in Scotland, however some went to Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The following pdf file tells their story and the stories of their descendants.