Author: Shield, John
Biography:
SHIELD, John (1768-1848: ancestry.com)
The authoritative account of Shield’s life published in 1891 in (the publisher) Allan’s collection of Tyneside songs can now be confirmed and supplemented by reference to public records. He was born at Broomhaugh, Northumberland—a village to the west of Newcastle—and baptised on 22 Aug. 1768 at St. Andrew’s, Bywell, the son of John and Mary Shield. Nothing is known about his education but by 1800 he was in business with his brother Hugh (1765-1840) as a grocer in Newcastle. The business prospered and stayed in the family until 1890. On 10 Feb. 1798 he married Isabella Hill (1771-1851) at Newcastle; they went on to have at least ten children. Hugh remained unmarried and was the first to retire from business and return to Broomhaugh. After his death John inherited his brother’s property and left the business to his sons. Writing songs in dialect, generally comic ones but sometimes pathetic, was a hobby frowned upon, according to his early biographer, by the women in his family, and he sometimes saved it for the periods when he travelled for work. His first known publication was a contribution to the Newcastle Chronicle in 1802; three songs were included in the Northern Songster in 1806, and gradually his reputation grew and more of his songs were anthologised, like those of Thomas Thompson and William Midford, qq.v. He died at Broomhaugh on 6 Aug. 1848 and was described in the Newcastle Guardian as “formerly an extensive wholesale grocer in this town.” (ancestry.com 22 Oct. 2024; findmypast.com 22 Oct. 2024; Allan’s Illustrated Edition of Tyneside Songs [1891], 58-82; Goodridge; Newcastle Guardian 12 Aug. 1848)
Other Names:
- Shield
- J. Shield