Shields Family papers, 1888-1968 and undated

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Summary

Creator:
Shields family
Abstract:
Reverend Robert Shields, his wife Louise Shields, and members of their family were Methodist missionaries in Angola between the 1890s and the 1960s. The Shields Family Papers consist of correspondence, legal papers, and photographs created by three generations of a missionary family. The correspondence documents the experiences of a missionary family in Angola (Luanda and Malange) and Zimbabwe (including the Umtali region) in the early twentieth century, and includes letters written from family members in England, among them letters written from Greta Gazeley to her mother, Wilhelmina Shields Gazeley, in the 1950s. The photographs, dating from the early 1900s to the 1960s, portray the lives of missionaries in Africa through portraits and snapshots of the Shields family and other groups both European, American and African, as well as photographs of groups of schoolchildren, mission buildings, and various scenes of African life and landscapes. The collection includes a handwritten memoir by Robert Shields, a biographical account of Louise Raven Shield's life compiled by her daughter, Irene Withey Shields, and various writings by Irene Withey Shields and Wilhelmina Taylor Shields on their experiences in Africa. Acquired as part of the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture at Duke University.
Extent:
2.7 Linear Feet
circa 1000 Items
Language:
Material in English, Portuguese, Afrikaans
Collection ID:
RL.01176

Background

Scope and content:

The Shields Family Papers consist of correspondence, legal papers, and photographs created by three generations of a missionary family. The correspondence documents the experiences of a missionary family in Angola (Luanda and Malange) and Zimbabwe (including the Umtali region) in the early twentieth century. In 1903, Louise Shields brought her children to live in London and gave birth to Helen there; much of the correspondence is between Louise and Robert during this period of separation. Leaving her children in England to return to Angola, Louise received additional correspondence from the woman who took care of the children in her absence. Also included in the correspondence is a series of letters written by Greta Gazeley to her mother Wilhelmina Taylor Shields Gazeley in the 1950s. The legal papers in the collection consist of marriage certificates, copies of birth certificates, an immigration visa for Robert Shields, and US Army discharge papers for Robert Dodson Shields. In addition, the collection includes a handwritten memoir by Robert Shields, a biographical account of Louise Raven Shield's life compiled by her daughter, Irene Withey Shields, and various writings by Irene Withey Shields and Wilhelmina Taylor Shields on their experiences in Africa. Also included are Irene's and Wilhelmina's diplomas from the University of Cape Town.

The extensive collection of photographs, dating from the early 1900s to the 1960s, provide a portrait of the lives of missionaries in Africa. The majority are portraits and snapshots of the Shields family and other groups both European, American, and African, as well as photographs of groups of schoolchildren, mission buildings, and various scenes of African life and landscapes. Several of the family portraits were taken during the family's time in England. The collection contains one photograph of Bishop William Taylor and a young African boy. Also included are a number of picture postcards. With the exception of three photograph albums, the photographs are unsorted and the majority are undated.

Acquired as part of the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture at Duke University.

Biographical / historical:

Reverend Robert Shields, his wife Louise Shields, and members of their family were Methodist missionaries in Angola between the 1890s and the 1960s. Members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Robert and Louise Shields went to Africa from Ireland and the United States, respectively, in the 1880s and 1890s as part of Bishop William Taylor's self-supporting missions. They worked as missionaries in Angola until 1936, and their children and grandchildren remained in Angola and Zimbabwe. Robert Shields, born in Ireland in 1866, moved to Angola as a missionary in 1887. There he married Lizzie Whiteside of Newry, Ireland in 1891. Lizzie died in 1895, and their son Wesley died at a young age. Shields remarried in 1895, to Louise Raven, who had moved from Chicago to join the mission in Angola. They worked in Quessua, Angola until 1902, when they moved to Luanda, Angola. Robert and Louise had five living children: Robert Dodson (born 1896), Irene Withey (born 1899), Margaret Louise (born 1902), Helen Augusta (born 1903), and Wilhelmina Taylor (born 1905). They also had a daughter, Suzanna, who died at three months from malaria.

Chronology List
Date Event
May 21, 1866
Robert Shields is born in Ireland.
1887
Robert Shields goes to Angola as a missionary.
1891
Robert Shields marries Lizzie Whiteside, of Newry, Ireland, in Angola.
1895
Lizzie Whiteside dies.
November 10, 1895
Robert Shields marries fellow missionary Louise Raven (from Chicago)
September 24, 1896
Robert Dodson Shields born.
October 5, 1899
Irene Withey Shields born.
1902
Shields family moves to Luanda, Angola
1902
Margaret Louise Shields born.
1902/1903
Louise, Robert Dodson, Irene and Margaret travel to England.
September 3, 1903
Helen Augusta Shields born.
October 1903
Louise returns to Angola.
September 15, 1905
Wilhelmina Taylor Shields born.
1906
Robert and Louise travel to England and Ireland on furlough.
1912
Robert and Louise visit their children in England on furlough.
1919
Robert and Louise visit their children in England and the United States on furlough.
1920
Robert and Louise return to Angola with Irene and Wilhelmina. Margaret and Helen remain in the United States at DePauw University.
1927
Robert and Louise travel to England on furlough.
1929
Wilhelmina Taylor Shields begins work as a teacher in Zimbabwe.
1935
Robert and Louise retire from missionary work, travel to South Africa and England.
April 17, 1936
Robert dies in London after an operation for an abscessed appendix.
December 15, 1936
Louise dies in Bermuda, where she had moved to live with her daughter Margaret.
July 15, 1938
Wilhelmina Taylor Shields marries George Gazeley.
Acquisition information:
The Shields Family Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 1999 and 2005.
Processing information:

Processed by Willeke Sandler, May 2012

Encoded by Willeke Sandler and Paula Jeannet Mangiafico, May 2012

Accessions 1999-0423 and 2005-0047 were merged to form one collection described in this finding aid.

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48 hours to retrieve these materials for research use.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Shields Family Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.