Kate Shields was the widow of veteran Anderson Shields. In 1910, she testified that she was 68 years old and was born and lived in Claiborne County, Mississippi all her life. “I was born Kate Street,” she said, and both she and Anderson had been born on Waterman Crane’s place near Westside, Mississippi. Both slaves, Kate married Anderson Shields at Christmastime in 1859. It was the first marriage for them both. She did not state if their union was voluntary or if they were placed together as a couple by Crane, but it seems likely that it was a willing union, since they remained married for Anderson’s lifetime.

“In May 1863 Anderson left me and three innocent children, one at the breast, to join the army,” she said. “I heard that he was killed in the battle of Milliken’s Bend, La. But some considerable time after the battle, he returned to me, very badly hurt and almost perfectly disabled. I nursed him day and night for months before he was able to be about, doing moderate plantation work.” When he died on Dec. 23, 1883, Kate “verily believe[d]” his death was caused by his injuries: “He was both shot and hurt otherwise, internally and externally.”

Kate remained unmarried and this enabled her to file her claim for a widow’s pension. She described her hardship: “I have no property of any kind but depend on my daily labor in the fields for a support.” She asked Henry “Wells” [Woods] and Padon Turner “both of whom knew us well before the war” to testify on her behalf.

Part 4 of a series.

Sources: Kate Shields widows pension record, #954257, National Archives.