| John K. ShieldsOpen Collections |
John Knight Shields was born at Clinchdale (near Bean's Station), Tennessee on August 15, 1858. He studied law and was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in 1879. He served as chancellor of the twelfth chancery division from 1893 to 1894 and then returned to practicing law in Morristown, Tennessee. Shields served as an associate justice (1902-1910) and as the chief justice (1910-1913) of the Supreme Court of Tennessee until he was nominated for and elected as a U.S. Senator. Shields was reelected in 1918 and served in the Senate until March 3, 1925. He was unsuccessful in his 1924 bid for reelection. While a member of the U.S. Senate, Shields served on the Committee on Canadian Relations (63rd and 64th Congresses), Committee on Interoceanic Canals (65th Congress), and the Committee on Transportation and Sale of Meat Products (66th Congress). After his time in the Senate, Shields returned to Tennessee to practice law in Knoxville. He died at his Clinchdale country estate near Knoxville, Tennessee on September 30, 1934, and he was interred in the Memorial Cemetery in Knoxville.
The first collection consists of a transcript of a commencement address given by Senator John K. Shields in 1913 at Maryville College. The second collection includes numerous deeds and tax receipts of property owned by the Shields family throughout Tennessee. Also included are sets of business and personal correspondence for the Senator, his wife, and stepdaughter. The third collection consists of letters written to John Knight Shields in 1913 to congratulate him on winning the election to the U.S. Senate.
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