William Simpson Shields (Knoxville, TN)
William Simpson Shields (October 13, 1853 – December 2, 1933)
Biography
William Simpson Shields was born near Bean's Station in Grainger County, Tennessee on October 13, 1853, to James Thomas and Elizabth (Simpson) Shields. James was a successful lawyer with an estate and William was raised and educated by private tutors in the family home. After his education he stayed at home and managed the family farm, which specialized in the breeding of Jersey cows. On January 6, 1886, he helped organize and was elected as a Director of the First National Bank of Morristown, Tennessee, charter 3432. This no doubt interested William in the business of banking.
In 1887, at age 35, he moved to Knoxville, Tennessee to help organize and manage a national bank. The City National Bank of Knoxville, Tennessee, was organized on November 17, 1887, and it received charter 3837 on January 19, 1888. William was elected Cashier of City National Bank and thus began his over 40 years of association with this institution. On October 30, 1889, William married Miss Anna Margaretta Watkins in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Anna came from a wealthy family and Chattanooga society welcomed the marriage. William and Anna never had any children.
On January 14, 1891, William was elected President of the City National Bank and he continued as President until January 8, 1929, when he resigned to become Chairman of the Board of Directors. The bank was very profitable during his tenure as President and it was known for loaning money to common citizens without much credit history. William became a Trustee for the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and he and his wife donated the money to purchase an athletic field for the university to use. This land eventually became Neyland Stadium, and today the Tennessee Volunteer football team plays its home games on Shields-Watkins Field, inside Neyland Stadium.
William had a brother named John Knight Shields (1858-1934). John became a successful lawyer like his father and 1902 was elected an Associate Justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court. In 1910, he was elected Chief Justice and stayed there until 1913, when he was elected by the Tennessee legislature as United States Senator from Tennessee. John was elected again in 1917, this time by popular vote due to the 17th Amendment. He served 2 terms as U.S. Senator.
William was very involved in local business and served on the boards of several local companies, as well as President of the Tennessee Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. In early November 1930, the City National Bank was subjected to a run due to the failure of the Nashville investment banking firm of Caldwell and Company. The City National Bank was forced into a merger with the East Tennessee National Bank of Knoxville, charter 2049, on November 14, 1930. William retired from banking at this time. In late October 1933, he became ill and about 6 weeks later, on December 2, 1933, he died at age 80 at home of cardio-renal vascular disease. William was buried in Berry Highland Memorial Cemetery, in Knoxville.
Bank Officer Summary
During his banking career, William S. Shields was involved with the following bank(s):
- City National Bank, Knoxville, TN (Charter 3837): President 1891-1928; Cashier 1888-1890
Sources
- Bio written by Greg Culpepper 3/24/2022
- Sources: Ancestry.com & Newspapers.com
- Findagrave.com: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/145360241/william-simpson-shields
- Banks & Bankers Historical Database (1782-1935), https://spmc.org/bank-note-history-project