Walton Shields (October 15, 1870 - January 19, 1927) was an American politician and lawyer. He was a member of the Mississippi State Senate from 1917 to his death in 1927.

Walton Shields
Member of the Mississippi State Senate
from the 29th district
In office
1917 – January 19, 1927
Preceded byVan Buren Boddie
Personal details
Born(1870-10-15)October 15, 1870
Oxford, Mississippi
DiedJanuary 19, 1927(1927-01-19) (aged 56)
Greenville, Mississippi
Political partyDemocratic

Biography

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Walton Shields was born on October 15, 1870, in Oxford, Mississippi.[1] He was the son of John Whitfield Shields and Sallie (Walton) Shields.[1][2] Shields attended the public and private schools of Greenville, Mississippi.[1] He then attended the University of Mississippi and received his B. P. degree in 1889 and L. L. B. degree in 1890.[1][2] He began practicing law in Greenville in 1891.[1] In 1891, Shields also served as District Attorney.[3] In 1898, after the Spanish-American War was declared, he enlisted as a private in Company C of the Second Mississippi Infantry.[2] By the time he was mustered out in 1901, he was a Captain of the Fifth United States volunteer infantry (under Major James K. Vardaman).[1][2][4] In 1902 and 1903, he was the mayor of Greenville, Mississippi.[4] Shields began representing the 29th District as a Democrat in the Mississippi State Senate in the 1917 session, succeeding Van Buren Boddie in the middle of his term, and the term ended in 1920.[5][1] In 1919, Shields was elected to a full term and served from 1920 to 1924.[1] Shields was re-elected again for the 1924–1928 term.[6] Shields died in the middle of this term, on January 19, 1927, in Greenville, Mississippi.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Rowland, Dunbar (1923). The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi. Department of Archives and History.
  2. ^ a b c d Rowland, Dunbar (1907). Mississippi: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. Southern Historical Publishing Association. p. 743. ISBN 978-0-87152-221-4.
  3. ^ "Report of the Secretary of State to the Legislature of Mississippi from 1890-91". Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  4. ^ a b c "Obituary for HON. WALTON SHIELDS". Clarion-Ledger. 1927-01-20. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  5. ^ Rowland, Dunbar (1917). The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi. Department of Archives and History. p. 748.
  6. ^ Mississippi Official and Statistical Register. 1924. p. 131.