The Shields sisters to sunny California

 by Roberta McGee

Samuel McColl Shields and Elizabeth Gray Dunsmore were married at Elbow Lane, Cumnock, on 29th August 1884. Samuel was an apprentice millwright at the time. They went on to have nine children, five boys and four girls. Six of the children were born in Elbow Lane, Cumnock. He served his time as an engineer in Drummond's Works in Ayr Road, Cumnock then he was employed at Lugar Works on the engineering staff and in 1899 he moved from Cumnock to Camlachie, Glasgow Barony, where he was employed with Blochairn Steel Works. A further three children were born in Camlachie. 

One of their daughters, Magdalene, died, aged seven years, in Cumnock. The three surviving daughters would later emigrate to California, USA, while the surviving boys seemed content to live in Scotland. Their 19 years old bugler son, Samuel was lost at Ypres in 1917 and 21 years old Willie, a recipient of the Military Medal, died of tuberculosis in 1921.

Cumnock Chronicle 1919

The first of their daughters to emigrate was Jane (Jean) McCartney Shields who was born in Elbow Lane, Cumnock in 1887.

Jean married James Alexander McClenaghan on 24/8/1906, born Glenanne, Co. Armagh, Ireland, at her family home at 932 Duke Street, Glasgow. He was a blacksmith and she was a provision saleswoman. They were both 19 years old.

James first emigrated alone to Vallejo, Sonoma County, California in 1909. He found work as a hired hand on a farm owned by Irishman David McClure. When WW1 was declared James travelled back to Glasgow and joined the Irish Guards. He fought throughout the war and was demobilized on 23rd March 1919. On 16th August 1919 James and Jean sailed out of Liverpool for New York on the "Carmania". They were accompanied by their daughters Elizabeth (Bessie) aged 12 years and Mary aged 10 years. 

In 1920 the family are living on a farm in Sonoma, California where James was employed as a farm labourer.

James and Jean were naturalised in 1925 and 1928 respectively and in 1930 the family are living at Stony Point Road, Vallejo, where James is employed as a labourer in the poultry industry.

Source Microsoft MapPoint

They may have been living on the other side of the world from the 'old country' but this didn't prevent them from returning back home to visit.  In 1924 Jean and her daughters Elizabeth and Mary travelled to Glasgow to attend Jean's sister Elizabeth Shields's wedding to Joseph McIver and in 1931 Jean and daughter Elizabeth visited Glasgow again. 

In 1940 James is a shipping clerk with a poultry feeding company and is living with Jean in Williams Street, Petaluma, Sonoma, California. In 1950 they are still there in Williams Street and James is still a shipping clerk this time with Wholesale Eng. Co.

Image - CardCow.com - Main Street, Petaluma

Jean Died on 16th July 1954 in Petaluma.

Jean’s Obituary - source unknown 

James (known as Scotty) died on 20th December 1956 at Petaluma

James’s Obituary - Source unknown

James and Jean had two daughters;-

Elizabeth (Bessie) Gray Dunsmore McClenaghan who was born on 22nd January 1907 in Glasgow. She married Robert Kirkland Young on 14th March 1933 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Robert was a Catrine lad who was born in 1905 in Mill Square. His parents were William Bryan Young, a bleacher and Marion Young, whose maiden name was Kirkland. They later lived in Ford Street, Catrine. 

Bessie’s Obituary - Source unknown

Mary (Minnie) McClenaghan was born on 1st November 1908 at 11 Todd Street, Glasgow and died in San Francisco on 28th June 1930 aged just 22 years old. She married Allan Jack Paetzold on 1st December 1929 in Petaluma, California. 

Mary’s Obituary - Source unknown

The second sister to emigrate to California was Agnes Dunsmore Shields who was born in Camlachie, Glasgow in 1907 and died in 1985 in Santa Rosa, California.  She married Glaswegian John Murray Melville on 1st November 1929 at Camlachie.

Agnes & John emigrated to Sonoma, California in 1952. John was the owner of Scotty's Delicatessen in Roseland Shopping Centre, Santa Rosa and he died in 1961 at Santa Rosa. 

Agnes’s Obituary - Newspapers.com

John's Obituary - Newspapers.com

The third sister to emigrate was Elizabeth Dunsmore Shields who was born in Camlachie in 1904 and died in 1967 in San Francisco. She married Joseph McElhone Donaldson McIver, a ship steward, on 30th August 1924 at 21 Hope Street, Glasgow.

On 2/10/1922, when she was 18 years old, Elizabeth, a typist, sailed on the "S.S. Cameronia"  to New York accompanied by her 30 years old brother Dan who was a boiler fitter. Their final destination was to their sister Jean McClenaghan at Catati, Sonoma County, California. They stated that they intended to stay in the USA permanently. They must have had a change of heart because they sailed back to Glasgow on the "Athenia" on 14/7/1923 and a year later Elizabeth married ship steward Joseph McIver. Perhaps she had met Joseph on her transatlantic journey. One of the witnesses to her marriage was her cousin Elizabeth Shields McClenaghan who had travelled all the way from California. 

Joseph McIver was born in 1898 in The Barracks in Maryhill, Glasgow. In 1947 he was working as a 1st Class waiter on the "Queen Mary". He died at sea on 3/12/1953 on the Llangibby Castle. His death notice says he was a Tourist 1st Class Steward aged 55 years, with 25 years of service, and died of a coronary thrombosis. His death was registered in New York. 

In November 1954, Elizabeth, now a widow, sailed on the "Eucadia" to the USA with her 22 year old son Joseph Jnr. who was a seaman at that time. He joined the military later and was a Vietnam veteran. Elizabeth's two daughter Betty and Marion had already emigrated to the USA which is probably the reason for her emigration. 

Elizabeth’s Obituary - No source