John Shields was born about 1817 in England.  Naturalization records and two similar traditions from separate branches of his family shed light on his early life.  John was probably from London, England, and at an early age fell into the occupation of seaman, more specifically "cabin boy" aboard an English merchant vessel that used to sail the St. Lawrence River trading with villagers on both the American and Canadian shores.
     One day, the ship docked at a Canadian port for water and to do some fishing.  They sent John out ahead of them to scout out the village, but John kept walking and never returned to the ship.  His fellow shipmates searched for him to no avail and finally left harbor, making John a free man at about age 18.
        About the time that civil revolt against the British broke out in Canada, John crossed the great St. Lawrence to the village of Cape Vincent, Jefferson County, New York, where he was naturalized on 20 December 1837.
        He married in or before 1842 Sarah "Sally" Arnold, born about 1822 in Jefferson County, daughter of Edward Arnold and Judith Ellis.  Early in their marriage, John and Sally lived at Stone Mills in the town of Orleans.
      They were pioneer settlers of the town of Alexandria, purchasing a farm at Collins Landing early on.  It is not clear whether he built this home on the farm, or if it was already there when he arrived.  In the 1850 federal census they were living on the farm in Alexandria at Collins Landing with sons Hiram, age 7, and William, age 5.

        According to the 1860 federal census, John and Sarah's real estate was valued at $1,250 and personal estate at $300.  Land ownership maps of Jefferson County for 1864 show John owning property in Lot 20 in the town of Alexandria.  The farm is within two miles or so of the residences of Sally's relatives, the Arnolds, who lived just across the border in the town of Orleans on lots 9 and 13.
        John died in 1888 and was buried in Omar Cemetery, Town of Orleans.  Family letters indicate that during the last summer of her life in 1898, widow Sally was in the care of her son Eugene "Alt" Alton  Shields, who probably occupied the house until he died in 1933.
        The home still stands today, and has been improved on the exterior.