George Howell Shields was an American politician and jurist.
Background
George was born on June 19, 1842 at Bardstown, Kentucky, United States, was descended on both sides from Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. His father, George W. Shields, came of ancestry that had early settled in Pennsylvania, moving thence to Ohio; his mother, Martha Howell, belonged to a pioneer Kentucky family. The Shields household removed in 1844 to Hannibal, Missouri, where the father, as a civil engineer, surveyed turnpikes and subsequently railroads, invested in the packing business, and amassed a comfortable fortune.
Education
Shields was educated in the schools of Hannibal, and then spent two years, 1859-60, at Westminster College, Missouri. The Civil War interrupted his education, caused the loss of his father's fortune, and disrupted the family.
Later he studied law in Hannibal, graduated from the Louisville Law School in 1865.
Career
Shields served as a captain in the militia, protecting the local community against bushwhackers and guerrillas. He returned home and entered practice. For several years he served as city attorney and participated as counsel in many contested election cases in an era of bitter partisanship. He was elected to the legislature from Marion County. He was prominent in the session as a minority member of important committees, and as spokesman for his party.
Following his defeat for judge of the supreme court by Thomas A. Sherwood in 1872, he moved to St. Louis and formed a partnership with John B. Henderson. He was chairman of the Republican state committee from 1876 to 1880, and was one of the few Republicans in the constitutional convention of 1875. His demonstrated ability and integrity made him the choice of his Democratic associates for the chairmanship of the Board of Freeholders, under whose auspices the city of St. Louis was separated from the county and the first home-rule charter in the United States was framed in 1876.
He enjoyed the complete confidence and respect of the secretary, John W. Noble. From 1893 to 1895 he practised law in Washington and served as counsel of the United States before the Chilean Claims Commission. Encouraged by the Republican landslide of 1894, he returned to Missouri where he formed a partnership with John W. Noble and reentered state politics.
He continued in private practice until 1906, when he was elected to the circuit bench. During his two terms, 1906-12 and 1914-20, he acquired a reputation for fairness and for wise use of judicial power. He was deeply interested in many patriotic and veterans' organizations. He died in St. Louis of the infirmities of age, survived by two sons and a daughter.
Achievements
His career was a successful combination of law and politics. His lucrative practice included many cases involving the rights of bondholders in connection with defaulted county and township bond issues; he was also active in the "Whiskey Ring" prosecutions and in important public-utility litigation. George Howell Shields served for many years as master of chancery in the federal court of the eastern district of Missouri.
As assistant attorney-general he was successful in the solution of complicated legal issues concerning Indian lands, forest reserves, and conflicts with railroads and land-hungry settlers.
Religion
He was a leading member of the Presbyterian church.
Politics
George became a Republican; his father and brother remained stanch Democrats. A strict believer in party regularity, he refused to join the Liberal Republicans in 1870.
