Emily Ledyard Shields was born on Aug 29, 1883 in Nashville, TN. She was the eldest daughter of Frank E. Shields and Laura Taylor. She was only 3 years old when her father passed away in 1887 and 9 years old when her mother married William A. Gilchrist in 1892. Emily's younger sister, and only sibling, was Laura Hayes Shields Wickham.
By 1900, Emily, her stepfather, mother and sister had moved from Nashville to St. Louis, Missouri. Emily attended St. Louis High School and pursued a classical course of studies, graduating at the head of her class in January 1901. In October of the same year she entered Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. There she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in June 1905 and her Master of Arts degree in June 1906. Emily was an exceptionally intelligent young woman. A professor once remarked that if he could write a Greek examination that Miss Shields could not pass, he would feel he had accomplished something.
In April 1905 she was awarded Bryn Mawr's highly prized Traveling Scholarship and $500 which entitled the recipient to a course at any of the leading European universities. After graduating from Bryn Mawr, she studied at the University of Oxford and the University of Berlin (1907-1908). Returning to America, she attended the Johns Hopkins University (1910-1911) and the University of Chicago (summer 1913). The years 1913-15 she spent at the Johns Hopkins University pursuing courses in Classical Archaeology, Greek and Latin receiving her PhD in Classical Archaeology in 1915. Her thesis, "The Cults of the Lesbos", submitted to John Hopkins as a requirement to receive her PhD, was published in book form in 1917.
Emily taught at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts from 1915 until at least 1948. She is most often referred to as a professor of Latin. She seems to have been well-known for her expertise in her field and is among those listed in a book titled "Where They're Buried" which gives the years of birth and death and the burial place of over 20,000 "notable" people.
In the 1949 City Directory of Northampton, Emily is listed as "removed to South Carolina". She was first diagnosed with breast cancer about that year - the same illness that claimed her life 15 years later. She may have chosen then to retire from teaching. From that point, until her death in 1964, no further information on Emily has yet been found. According to her death certificate, she was cremated. Both she and her mother, who died in 1943, are buried in Oakdale Cemetery in Wilmington, North Carolina, and share a headstone.
Contributor note: Emily was a first cousin of my grandmother (my first cousin twice removed).
By 1900, Emily, her stepfather, mother and sister had moved from Nashville to St. Louis, Missouri. Emily attended St. Louis High School and pursued a classical course of studies, graduating at the head of her class in January 1901. In October of the same year she entered Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. There she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in June 1905 and her Master of Arts degree in June 1906. Emily was an exceptionally intelligent young woman. A professor once remarked that if he could write a Greek examination that Miss Shields could not pass, he would feel he had accomplished something.
In April 1905 she was awarded Bryn Mawr's highly prized Traveling Scholarship and $500 which entitled the recipient to a course at any of the leading European universities. After graduating from Bryn Mawr, she studied at the University of Oxford and the University of Berlin (1907-1908). Returning to America, she attended the Johns Hopkins University (1910-1911) and the University of Chicago (summer 1913). The years 1913-15 she spent at the Johns Hopkins University pursuing courses in Classical Archaeology, Greek and Latin receiving her PhD in Classical Archaeology in 1915. Her thesis, "The Cults of the Lesbos", submitted to John Hopkins as a requirement to receive her PhD, was published in book form in 1917.
Emily taught at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts from 1915 until at least 1948. She is most often referred to as a professor of Latin. She seems to have been well-known for her expertise in her field and is among those listed in a book titled "Where They're Buried" which gives the years of birth and death and the burial place of over 20,000 "notable" people.
In the 1949 City Directory of Northampton, Emily is listed as "removed to South Carolina". She was first diagnosed with breast cancer about that year - the same illness that claimed her life 15 years later. She may have chosen then to retire from teaching. From that point, until her death in 1964, no further information on Emily has yet been found. According to her death certificate, she was cremated. Both she and her mother, who died in 1943, are buried in Oakdale Cemetery in Wilmington, North Carolina, and share a headstone.
Contributor note: Emily was a first cousin of my grandmother (my first cousin twice removed).
Emily Ledyard Shields was born on Aug 29, 1883 in Nashville, TN. She was the eldest daughter of Frank E. Shields and Laura Taylor. She was only 3 years old when her father passed away in 1887 and 9 years old when her mother married William A. Gilchrist in 1892. Emily's younger sister, and only sibling, was Laura Hayes Shields Wickham.
By 1900, Emily, her stepfather, mother and sister had moved from Nashville to St. Louis, Missouri. Emily attended St. Louis High School and pursued a classical course of studies, graduating at the head of her class in January 1901. In October of the same year she entered Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. There she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in June 1905 and her Master of Arts degree in June 1906. Emily was an exceptionally intelligent young woman. A professor once remarked that if he could write a Greek examination that Miss Shields could not pass, he would feel he had accomplished something.
In April 1905 she was awarded Bryn Mawr's highly prized Traveling Scholarship and $500 which entitled the recipient to a course at any of the leading European universities. After graduating from Bryn Mawr, she studied at the University of Oxford and the University of Berlin (1907-1908). Returning to America, she attended the Johns Hopkins University (1910-1911) and the University of Chicago (summer 1913). The years 1913-15 she spent at the Johns Hopkins University pursuing courses in Classical Archaeology, Greek and Latin receiving her PhD in Classical Archaeology in 1915. Her thesis, "The Cults of the Lesbos", submitted to John Hopkins as a requirement to receive her PhD, was published in book form in 1917.
Emily taught at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts from 1915 until at least 1948. She is most often referred to as a professor of Latin. She seems to have been well-known for her expertise in her field and is among those listed in a book titled "Where They're Buried" which gives the years of birth and death and the burial place of over 20,000 "notable" people.
In the 1949 City Directory of Northampton, Emily is listed as "removed to South Carolina". She was first diagnosed with breast cancer about that year - the same illness that claimed her life 15 years later. She may have chosen then to retire from teaching. From that point, until her death in 1964, no further information on Emily has yet been found. According to her death certificate, she was cremated. Both she and her mother, who died in 1943, are buried in Oakdale Cemetery in Wilmington, North Carolina, and share a headstone.
Contributor note: Emily was a first cousin of my grandmother (my first cousin twice removed).
By 1900, Emily, her stepfather, mother and sister had moved from Nashville to St. Louis, Missouri. Emily attended St. Louis High School and pursued a classical course of studies, graduating at the head of her class in January 1901. In October of the same year she entered Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. There she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in June 1905 and her Master of Arts degree in June 1906. Emily was an exceptionally intelligent young woman. A professor once remarked that if he could write a Greek examination that Miss Shields could not pass, he would feel he had accomplished something.
In April 1905 she was awarded Bryn Mawr's highly prized Traveling Scholarship and $500 which entitled the recipient to a course at any of the leading European universities. After graduating from Bryn Mawr, she studied at the University of Oxford and the University of Berlin (1907-1908). Returning to America, she attended the Johns Hopkins University (1910-1911) and the University of Chicago (summer 1913). The years 1913-15 she spent at the Johns Hopkins University pursuing courses in Classical Archaeology, Greek and Latin receiving her PhD in Classical Archaeology in 1915. Her thesis, "The Cults of the Lesbos", submitted to John Hopkins as a requirement to receive her PhD, was published in book form in 1917.
Emily taught at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts from 1915 until at least 1948. She is most often referred to as a professor of Latin. She seems to have been well-known for her expertise in her field and is among those listed in a book titled "Where They're Buried" which gives the years of birth and death and the burial place of over 20,000 "notable" people.
In the 1949 City Directory of Northampton, Emily is listed as "removed to South Carolina". She was first diagnosed with breast cancer about that year - the same illness that claimed her life 15 years later. She may have chosen then to retire from teaching. From that point, until her death in 1964, no further information on Emily has yet been found. According to her death certificate, she was cremated. Both she and her mother, who died in 1943, are buried in Oakdale Cemetery in Wilmington, North Carolina, and share a headstone.
Contributor note: Emily was a first cousin of my grandmother (my first cousin twice removed).
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Records on Ancestry
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North Carolina, U.S., Death Certificates, 1909-1976
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U.S., Passport Applications, 1795-1925
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Missouri, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's-current
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Massachusetts, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's-current
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U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
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