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Our William was almost six feet tall, lithe and strong, had deep set blue eyes, raven black hair which was worn rather long in the mountaineer style, had a heavy, full, black beard, trimmed to about an inch long. He was feared by the Indians, but did not make a practice of hunting them down, as he had no deep-seated hatred of them. They gave him wide berth, for he was known up and down the mountains of East Tennessee as a terror to the redskins. He was man of courage and keenest vision, with a quickness of hearing and skill in woodscraft exceptional even among pioneers. It is said that in this respect, he exceeded the Indian on his own ground. He could walk through dry leaves without making a sound or leaving a perceptible trail. He could track an Indian at night and find his way through a forest with neither moon nor stars to guide him.
He was especially adept at imitating birds, beasts, and other sounds of the forest, and could distinguish a hostile Indian as far as he could see him. In his understanding of Indian character, he excelled all his brothers except John, who later accompanied Lewis and Clark as gunsmith and blacksmith, on their expedition to the west coast. In physical strength, William was excelled only by his brother, Big Dave. He was a hard worker, and especially devoted to this family.
He was married about 1789 to Margaret Wilson, daughter of Samuel Wilson, a farmer, blacksmith, politician and Baptist preacher. Samuel, a man of quick temper and sharp tongue officiated at the marriage of his daughter to William Shields. As the ceremony began, someone remarked, with the intention of being overheard, that William had been sleeping with "Sally" for ten years. The McMahons (Nancy's sister and family) had a slave named Susan, and as was hoped , the preacher confused the names, and jumped to conclusions. He flew into a furious rage, halted the proceedings, and created a great disturbance for several minutes, until it was explained that "Sally" was William's long rifle.
One time William, Margaret and their baby were in the peach orchard, about a mile from the fort, when William saw signs of Indians nearby, then saw some hostile Indians picking fruit. They hid, holding their dog ready to kill it if it made a sound, and Margaret held the baby to her breast to keep it quiet. Soon the Indians crept away and William said, Hah, if I'd known there were only seven, I could have killed five, and the other two would have run away, and we could have gathered our peaches...William and Margaret lived inside the fort for ten to
twelve years, until it was safe to live outside its walls.
William, Margaret and their family were members of the Forks of the Little Pigeon Baptist Church, now the First Baptist Church of Sevierville, Tennessee.
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