William Bayard Shields
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|---|---|
| Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Mississippi | |
| In office April 20, 1818 – April 18, 1823 | |
| Appointed by | James Monroe |
| Preceded by | Seat established by 3 Stat. 413 |
| Succeeded by | Peter Randolph |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Bayard Shields 1780 (1780) Maryland |
| Died | April 18, 1823(1823-04-18) (aged 42–43) Natchez, Mississippi |
| Education | read law |
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William Bayard Shields (1780 – April 18, 1823) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Mississippi.
Born in 1780,[1]inMaryland,[2] Shields read law[2] with Caesar Augustus Rodney.[3] He entered private practice in Wilmington, Delaware until 1802.[2] He was Secretary of State of Delaware in 1802.[2] He resumed private practice in Natchez, Mississippi Territory (State of Mississippi from December 10, 1817) from 1803 to 1809, until 1812, and from 1814 to 1817.[2] He was a United States agent to adjust land claims west of the Pearl River in 1804.[2] He was a member of the Territorial Legislature of the Mississippi Territory from 1808 to 1809, and from 1813 to 1814.[2] He was Attorney General of the Mississippi Territory starting in 1809.[2] He was a Judge of the Superior Court of Mississippi and a Justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi from 1817 to 1818.[2][4]
Shields was nominated by President James Monroe on April 20, 1818, to the United States District Court for the District of Mississippi, to a new seat authorized by 3 Stat. 413.[2] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 20, 1818, and received commission the same day.[2] His service terminated on April 18, 1823,[Note 1] due to his death in Natchez.[2]
Shields obituary in the Natchez Gazette of April 23, 1823, describes his last days and death thus; "On the morning of the 16th inst. he had a severe attack of Apoplexy, which was followed by a severe derangement of his mind which continued in violent paroxyms, with intervals of apparent rationality, until the evening of the 18th when in a most agonizing exacerbation he relieved himself of sufferance by suddenly terminating his existence."[3][Note 2]
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Seat established by 3 Stat. 413 |
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Mississippi 1818–1823 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Newly established seat |
Justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi 1817–1818 |
Succeeded by |
