Gen Kirwan Shields


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Name:	Genevieve Theresa Kirwan Shields
Nickname/AKA:	Gen
Born:	02/17/1893, Brooklyn NY
Died	09/01/1989, Portland ME
Spouse(s):	09/15/1915: Francis James Shields Sr. ("Chief")
Parents:	James ("Bingo Pop") Kirwan, Delia ("Ma") O'Connor
Siblings:	James Kirwan, Peter Kirwan, Angela (Ane) Kirwan O'Brien, Thomas (Tommy) Kirwan, Aloysius (Al) Kirwan
Children:	Dorothy (Dot) Shields, Joseph E. Shields, Francis (Frank) J. Shields, Jr., Veronica (Ronnie) Shields, Genevieve (Vee) Shields, Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Shields
Other Relatives:
Friends:	Gladys Katz,
Military History:
Education	In November of 1910, Gen graduated from the Euclid School.
Personal History:	In 1943, during WW II, Gen took Advanced First Aid classes with her friend, Gladys Katz. Gen worked as a babysitter for several families during the war. Gen was skilled at sewing clothes and in crocheting. Starting in the 1960's Gen's hearing started to deteriorate; she would often wear a hearing aid. In the mid 1980's Gen stopped living at 244 87th St. and lived for a time with various of her children. In the late 80's, she moved to Maine to be near Dot and Ronnie. She died on September 1, 1989.
Notable Documents:	1193 - Gen's budget record from 1915-1916. There's also a searchable web page with the data. 327 - 04/05/1943 letter to Frank. As usual, a newsy letter from Gen. In this one, she mentions beer several times: Chief has just got some from Boyle's but is cussing because he thinks he's been shortchanged. They had a beer party at Touhey's, but they left when there was still plenty of beer! Lastly, some war-era prices for food. 771 - 09/14/1944 letter to Dot - Gen is sick of the damn war; Frank is about to ship out to a war zone on the eve of her anniversary, so she wonders what she would have done had she known at the time. But then admits she'd do it all over again.
Address(s):	? - 1915: 205 Gelston Ave, Brooklyn NY 1900 Census: Family on lines 17-23, Gen on line 21. 1905 Census: Family on right-side page, lines 10-17, Gen on line 14 1915: 433 88th St. (from unscanned clipping of Gen's announcing their marriage) 1918: 205 Gelston Ave. 1920 Census: Family on lines 17-19 1920: 628 90th Street 1922: Dora & Grandpop purchase 244 87th St. (Gen & Chief didn't live there yet). ?- 1933: 9612 3rd Ave. 1930 Census: Family on lines 42-48 1933 - 1980's: 244 87th St. 1940 Census Page: Family on lines 62-70. Vee is on a different page.
Other Info:	Geneanet.org family tree Gen's Prayer Card from her Funeral findagrave.com link


Rogue's Gallery	Frank's Files	Photos	About Shields Family Archive