Some time ago, I was at the Southampton Cemetery getting pictures of a family stone for a story I have been working on. On the way, I walked past one of the most impressive stones – a beautiful, light grey, eight-foot-high, marble stone memorializing Harold and Etta Shields.
Then, in 2021, during COVID-19, I started to research their history.
In 1955, the opening of the beautiful ETTA SHIELDS MEMORIAL LIBRARY in Southampton was a “big deal”. The old library had done a great job serving our town from 1887 when it was constructed as a subscription library by the Mechanics Institute for local people to learn a wide variety of trades from books that they could subscribe to use. It eventually became a full public library. After 1955, it quickly morphed into a new life as the highly respected Art School, offering skills training and creative learning that hundreds of patrons enjoy to this day.
Henrietta McLellan was born in Southampton on July 1, 1892 to parents John and Mary Ann McLellan. There were only two doctors delivering babies in town that year and they were Dr. William Sumner Scott and his son, Patrick John Scott. The elder Dr. Scott arrived here in 1855 and was the first doctor in the area with training as a surgeon. It was Dr. Patrick Scott who attended the arrival of little Henrietta.
The McLellan and Scott families were a big part of our early history. The McLellan family was well known for their work-horses and provided a delivery and pick-up service for everything that came and went by train for decades before the advent of motorized vehicles.
Harold Cecil Shields was born in Orangeville on November 22, 1892, to James Henry and Ameilia Theresa Shields. In 1901, the Shields family was living in Palmerston. Following school, Harold went into banking and, in 1921 at 28 years of age, he was working in Chesley as an accountant.
Harold was working in Chesley as a bank clerk and Etta was here in Southampton as a “domestic”.
What brought Harold and Etta together we do not know, but they married in Southampton on January 27, 1923 when both were 30 years of age.
Harold continued working in the banking and investment field. In 1931, they lived in Toronto at 19 Anderson Ave. and he became what is now known as a “stockbroker”. My first recollection of Harold and Etta was from the late 1940’s, early 50’s when they lived in one of my favourite homes in Southampton at 331 High St., across from the hospital. When we lived at Grey and Morpeth, it was on one of the regular routes that I took to school or downtown every day and there was always a nice car in the driveway of this very attractive home.
The fall of 1955 was the start of my first year of high school and I would catch the bus to Port Elgin on the southwest corner of High and Albert Streets each day. My memory of the ‘old’ library is limited to Millie Bannister, the librarian, and the rule that public school kids could not go upstairs to the adult book section until they were in high school. Millie had worked for her father who owned the Insurance business on High Street. When her father died, Millie sold the business to Ellis Millard and she became our Librarian. Ellis of course became a citizen of renown as being the ‘big push’ behind Southampton having a hospital in 1947. Harold and Etta were also next-door neighbours to Ellis Millard.
Etta and Harold Shields never had children. Their generosity to our town will never be totally known but we do know that they were there in support of the hospital, as well as giving us the wonderful library that has served us for close to 70 years. Harold passed away in 1955 and Etta in 1957 leaving sufficient funds to attach her name to the “new” library.
Thanks Harold and Etta.
Researched and written by G. William Streeter
