Sheild History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Early Origins of the Sheild family
The surname Sheild was first found in Berwickshire where the name was local in origin. The Middle English version of the name was "schele" or "skali" which was "used first of a shepherd's summer-hut or small house." This distinguished Clan took their name from the reivers small houses or huts which abounded on the eastern English/Scottish border. 1
Robbie Burns included the line "the swallow jinkin around my shiel." North Shields and South Shields located on the north bank of the River Tyne and the mouth of the same river date back to 1225-1245, 2 but there is no record of any relationship to the surname.
"Thomas of le Scheie was juror on an inquisition made at Traqueyr, 1274. William Schelle of the county of Edeneburk rendered homage [to King Edward I of England in] 1296. Symon de Scheie was dean of guild in Edinburgh, 1403, and William de Schellis, presbyter and notary public in the diocese of Glasgow, 1448. Gilbert Schell witnessed sasine of lands of Walle, 1469, and John Scheill was citizen of Glasgow, 1527. Andro Cheill or Cheild was tenant of land of West Scheill, 1515, and Andro Scheill, tenant in barony of Glasgow in same year. Alexander Sheilds or Shields (1660-1700), the Covenanter, wrote his name 'Shells.' " 3
Just over the border in northern England, we found Robert Scild in the Pipe Rolls for Yorkshire in 1206 and later, William Sheld in the Assize Rolls for Staffordshire in 1267. Here the name is thought to have probably denotes "a maker of shields. " 4
Early rolls also included Roger ate Schelds in the Subsidy Rolls for Surrey in 1332, Geoffrey le Seldmakere in Essex in 1285 and Adam Scheldman in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1327. 4
Early History of the Sheild family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sheild research. Another 143 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1274, 1296, 1403, 1515, 1660, 1700, 1702, 1707, 1753, 1783 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Sheild History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Sheild Spelling Variations
Spelling variations of this family name include: Shiel, Shiell, Shiels, Shiells, Sheil, Sheill, Sheils, Sheills, Shield, Shields, O'Shiel, O'Shields and many more.
Early Notables of the Sheild family
Notable amongst the family name during their early history was
- William Schelle of Edinburgh; and Alexander Shields or Sheilds (1660-1700), a Scottish nonconformist minister, activist, and author from Earlston, Berwickshire
Migration of the Sheild family to Ireland
Some of the Sheild family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 118 words (8 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Sheild migration to the United States +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Sheild Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Thomas Sheild, who arrived in Virginia in 1638 5
- Walter Sheild, who landed in Virginia in 1650 5
Sheild Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- Roger Sheild, who arrived in Virginia in 1701 5
- Elizabeth Sheild, who settled in Charles Town South Carolina in 1772
- Elizabeth Sheild, who landed in South Carolina in 1772 5
- Samuel Sheild, who landed in Virginia in 1775 5
Contemporary Notables of the name Sheild (post 1700) +
- Rexford M. Sheild (1889-1982), American Republican politician, Member of South Dakota State Senate 8th District, 1945-48, 1953-56; Candidate for Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota, 1948 6
- Frank W. Sheild, American Democratic Party politician, Postmaster at Hampton, Virginia, 1893-97, 1913-22 6
The Sheild Motto +
The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.
Motto: Vincit qui patitur
Motto Translation: He conquers who endures.
Citations +
- Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html