G7: Shiels, William (1875-1946) & Mary Elizabeth McKenzie
William Shiels was born Jul 15, 1875 at Cranbrook, Ontario. He was the youngest of nine children of John Shiels and Janet McNair. William grew up on his father’s farm, Lot 19 Concession 14 in Grey County.
William married Mary Elizabeth McKenzie on Jun 25, 1901 in Brussels, Ontario.
They subsequently moved to Keppel, Ontario, about 90 minutes north of his home in Grey County. William became the town blacksmith.
They had one son, James Charles, born Feb 13, 1903 in Keppel, Ontario.
Another Shiels Heading West
Several years later, William and Mary, with son James, left Ontario and boarded the trans-continental train westward in search of new adventures in the fast-growing western logging industry.
They settled in Burnaby, British Columbia where William practiced his blacksmith trade in the sawmills. He also did much needed shoe repairs for the loggers and appeared to prosper very well in the family’s new location.
Its interesting that there is a connection to shoe repairs here. William’s cousin Thomas Shiels, son of William Shiels in Scotland, started the “Shiels the Bootmaker” shop in Biggar, Scotland. That business employed a number of Shiels relatives in Scotland.
In later years, William retired from the logging industry and became well known in the southern parts of the province for his favorite hobby – weaving many items of furniture from split willow strips. His porch and lawn chairs with tables were much in demand.
William and Mary continued to live in Burnaby for the rest of their lives. Mary died on August 24, 1938. William died on October 16, 1948 when he was 73 years of age.
The Story Continues
It’s especially interesting that only the oldest and the youngest of John Shiels and Janet McNair’s children would marry. What is even more interesting was that they both headed west!
William and Mary had only one child, James and we will continue this branch through James.